We are so excited to celebrate with you !

We met how most young people meet nowadays, Online... specifically on tinder... We matched in early February, and Braden struck up a conversation by first complimenting my pup, Maisey from my photos, which caught my attention. We talked for about a week over text and snapchat and decided to meet in person at Mallards Ice Cream in Bellingham. We sat and ate our ice cream as we asked the usual first date questions. We decided to go to the arcade a block away, which is where Braden won me a rubber duck from the claw machine on the first try! We played around for a while there and walked over to a bar near by to play pool (I won). We were having so much fun! I was full of butterflies but comfortable at the same time. We didn't want the night the end, so we walked around downtown in the cold and Braden took me to the top of a parking garage so he could point out different spots around Bellingham and told me stories about the this beautiful place he grew up in. While we were up there I pointed out this huge building that read "Faithlife" and asked "What's that? It's a huge building, it must be pretty important?" and Braden said "I have no idea." so he made up a story about Faithlife for me to satisfy my curiosity (if you get the chance you should ask him about it). After a while Braden asked permission to kiss me. I said yes and we shared our first kiss that night. It was soft and sweet, BUT my awkward self didn't realize he went in for another one and I looked away! ugh! Anyways, we were freezing our asses off but we still didn't want to say goodnight, so we got some hot chocolate and sat on the beach and talked for even longer! We finally had to say goodnight, but the rest was history! Now we are here and we have "our spot" at Mallards, Braden wins me a new rubber duck every time we go to that arcade (I have 14), and surprisingly enough, Braden now works for Faithlife! The pup he complimented when we first talked is now OUR pup, and we have two cats, Jackie and Wilson!

We moved in with just each other in February of 2020. We lived with Shelby's sister Sloan for a year before that, but this was the first time we would live with just each other and our pets. We finished unpacking our boxes a few days after COVID-19 hit, and found ourselves not only living with just each other for the first time, but doing so in near complete isolation. We joked with each other that the pandemic would really test out quite a few relationships, and cause issues now that some couples would be forced to actually spend time together. In the time we were "forced" to spend together our relationship flourished. We grew stronger as a couple, closer as friends, and more capable as life partners, and while they joked about the pandemic ending a lot of relationships, for us it served to prove that we were meant for each other. In 2020 Shelby and I were able to celebrate the 4th of July together for the first time. On that night I caught a glimpse of my future (good food, family, friends, and joyous nights) and knew I could not spend my life without Shelby in it. I went to my mom later that week and told her I was ready. She had been waiting eagerly for me to realize what she already knew, and sat me down while she brought out a ring that belonged to her great aunt. She told me that she would be honored if I brought Shelby into out family with a ring that belonged to someone who meant so much to her.

I decided to propose to Shelby on the shores of Lake Diablo in the Cascade mountains, as it was a landmark on one of our first adventures together. Three days before the trip though (on Shelby's birthday), our cat O'malley's health took a turn for the worse and Shelby and I had to say goodbye to him. We decided to continue with Shelby's "Birthday Road Trip" though because we needed a happy day outside of the house. I devised a plan with my best friend David where Shelby and I would pose for a photo on the lake shore while I was wearing his camera around my neck, before kneeling down to put it away in my camera bag. The bag had the ring in it, and Shelby was completely caught off guard when I turned to her on one knee, holding my great great aunt's wedding ring, asking for her hand in marriage. After catching her bearings, and clarifying what was happening, SHE SAID YES and the rest is history that's still being written