Celebrate with us!

He was living on the East Coast (Maine!) and I was living on the West Coast (Oregon!). Over 3000 miles apart, but the Lord in His Sovereignty saw it fit to bring us together. After much individual prayer and consideration, Max and I both started our free 7 day trials on a website called Christian Cafe. On. The. Same. Day. I was at work when I received my first message from Max - a simple "Hi". To which I replied, "Hey Max, tell me about yourself!". Soon we were talking about EVERYTHING - theological views, family, hobbies, likes and dislikes, dreams and hopes for the future, what we were looking for in a relationship, etc. Our first video chat lasted 3 hours! It didn't take long before we were averaging 21 hours of video chatting a week which was also supplemented with texting, phone calls, and snail mail. Everything was fitting! But it wasn't until we started studying God's Word together daily and sharing what we had been learning individually that I was certain - I knew he was the one. I had been waiting for Max. ❤

Things were getting real! I already knew I loved Max and he loved me. It was time to meet! As soon as Max had a long weekend off of school and work he flew out to Oregon to see me and to meet my family. The first time I saw him walk out of the airport I was frozen in place and just stood there motionless until our eyes met. He was real! (Lol!). My heart went from my throat to my toes! I couldn't believe he was finally here! It was a weekend packed full of activities! Every morning I would meet him in the lobby of his hotel and have continental breakfast and study God's Word with him. Then we would go out try to fit as much into a single day as possible. I took him to Newport, Nye Beach, mini golfing, bowling, billiards, dinner with my parents (where he asked my parents if he could date me), Thanksgiving with my family, flew kites, went to the aquarium, Sunday school, and church services. It was a sweet time - it was then that we started making solid plans. He said he would move out to Oregon once he was finished with his last semester of school. We even talked about our desire to marry each other in 2020. God was guiding each and every step.

Max graduated with his second degree in December (I am super proud!), therefore it was time to find a place for him to live and time to find a job here in Oregon...in the middle of a pandemic. But, as always, the Lord provided for us! We were able to find him a room for rent in a house with three other Christian guys and he was able to find a job during a time when a lot of people were losing their jobs. We are so blessed!

Ah, yes! I always love engagement stories, because it is funny to hear all of the "hints" that SHOULD have tipped off the bride-to-be that the big question was about to be popped. Mine is no different! Every Sunday afternoon we have lunch at my big brother's house after church service. He was going to be out of town, so Max suggested we go to the beach after services. Specifically the first beach we went to in November - Nye Beach. We even invited Sheldon, Rebecca, and Piper to come along with us the day of the trip. We had a lovely time on the Newport Bayfront - window shopping, watching sea lions, and eating at Gino's. We left the bayfront to go walk on Nye Beach, but we were greeted with Oregon rain upon our arrival. So, we sat in the car and talked while we waited for a break in the rain. Finally, it came. As we were gathering our things to go down to the beach Max began excitedly talking with an elderly couple that were parked near us - explaining to them about how he was here with his girlfriend after a long absence. "This was where we went on our first beach trip," he said. "This is where we were when we both knew we wanted to marry!". This probably should have been a giveaway as to why we were there. We walked down to the beach hand in hand as Max was telling me how happy he was he moved over to Oregon. We stopped at the approximate location where we flew our kite together in November, when Max asked Sheldon to take our picture. Sheldon snapped a few photos then Max turned toward me and suddenly I knew EXACTLY what was happening. I can't tell you what he said, because I only remember bits and pieces. As he was talking to me, I remember saying "Wow, this is it! This is it!" over and over in my head. Which apparently came out as me saying, "That's what this was! That's what this was!" over and over. What I DO remember clearly was Max getting down on one knee and saying "I love you. Will you please marry me?". I said, "Yes! Of course!".