The first time we met was at a swing dance with a group from our school. Neither of us was very outgoing, so a friend walked Lizz over and said to Caleb, "Have you met Miss Padgett?" Lizz was wearing a Greek shirt, so we talked about Greek and other favorite school subjects while we danced. Caleb's first impression was that she was smart (probably because, for about 3 weeks, Lizz knew more Greek than he did!) We ran into each other again at a friend’s house later that week. He was wearing a Wingfeather Saga shirt (one of Lizz's favorite books). She said she liked it on three separate occasions that night, which eventually led to a conversation and story about Andrew Peterson—that's when Caleb first noticed she was cute.

Caleb used to invite Lizz to study with him and his friends at the picnic tables outside the 4-Plex. But as the weather got colder, we ended up studying with some of his friends at their house. He brought over some grapes as a snack and asked her, “Do you like green grapes or purple grapes?” She said, “Those are red grapes.” Confused, he said, “No one has ever questioned me on that…” We argued for around ten minutes, and Lizz would frequently say that “it’s just like when your friends don’t tell you when there’s something in your teeth!” and point to the label to prove that they were red and not purple. Eventually he thought she was suggesting there was something in his teeth at that moment, and storming off to the bathroom mirror, said, “If I don’t have something in my teeth, like you say, I’m gonna be really mad!” Unbeknownst to Lizz, he did have a little something stuck back there. That was the day Caleb knew he needed to ask this girl out. Coincidentally, at a bonfire that evening, two people (who hadn’t seen that conversation) confronted him about liking her.

Lizz knew pretty quickly that Caleb liked her, and figured it was only a matter of time before he asked her on a date. She was definitely interested in getting to know him better, but for most of the time, she would have also been okay with staying just friends. Then we were hanging out with a couple of friends. We were supposed to be working on homework, but the four of us were playing ping pong and trying Lizz’s massage chair and getting really hyper. But there was a moment when Caleb was talking to one of our friends, and Lizz was impressed by how carefully and thoughtfully he was talking about her. That’s when she knew she wanted to be more than friends. 4 hours later, at 1:07am after a long conversation in the car, he said, “Would it be okay if I took you out for coffee sometime?” We went on our first date at Maria's Cafe a few days later. ~ Both of our parents were pretty supportive and excited from the start. Lizz and her mom had to drag her dad’s opinion out of him–kicking and screaming. "I like how he treats you. He’s got a good head on his shoulders." Caleb's mom was pretty happy God had brought her son a woman who could cook. (Lizz thinks they're both far too easily pleased.) ~ Neither of us remembers exactly when we knew we wanted to marry each other; all we know is that it was sometime between nine and twelve months into our relationship. Early on, we had also both agreed it was important to us not to say "I love you" until after we got engaged. (Lizz's mom, however, insists she could tell we loved each other that summer when she brought Lizz home from Minneapolis.)

When it came to rings, Lizz wanted to have her cake and eat it too–she wanted to be totally surprised, but she also had very specific taste. So she told Caleb “You’ll know who to talk to,” and made sure that the people closest to her knew what she liked. Or in Caleb's words, “I had spies…” After asking her parents’ blessing and faking her out a couple of times, Caleb took Lizz on a surprise date to Stillwater. They looked through memories from their relationship, like their "UP" scrapbook, a note she had written him, and a funny plaque about all the things he does for her. Then he got down on one knee and said, “Lizz, I love you. Will you marry me?”

We can't wait to say "I do!"