10.24.26

Mary Claire and I met in October of 2020 at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes event during my sophomore year and her junior year of high school. Our first interaction was brief, but the moment I saw her smile and looked into her eyes, I knew there was something truly special about her. That November, we started talking more often, and it eventually led to our first date. We went to look at Christmas lights in Central Park in College Station, and ended up driving all over town to find the prettiest lights. Over the course of the evening I realized that the most beautiful light was right beside me. On December 5, 2020, I asked her to be my girlfriend, and we’ve been together ever since. Throughout my sophomore and junior years of high school, our relationship continued to grow—and so did we. In 2022, Mary Claire began college at Texas A&M just as I started my senior year of high school. Our relationship was finally tested, and it wasn’t always easy, but it was so much fun. It was filled with Thursday night date parties coupled with early high school mornings for me, and a lot of intentional effort. We walked through that season together, alongside the Lord, and came out stronger on the other side. Soon enough, I followed her to Texas A&M, where we shared the most fun, formative experiences together. During my sophomore year of college, we continued to fall more deeply in love with each other, and the following summer turned out to be the best of our lives. Mary Claire interned in New York City while I interned in Washington, D.C. Almost every other weekend I would drive my Ford F-150 up from D.C. to NYC (looking like a complete fish out of water), explore incredible places together, and make memories I’ll never forget. It was during that summer that I knew it was time to start planning to ask her to marry me. This past fall, after months of planning, conversations with both her and my parents, I finally decided it was time to pop the question. On November 30th, I picked Mary Claire up for church at Grace Creekside, and I was absolutely sweating bullets. After church, I told her a little white lie that we were meeting her parents in Houston for lunch. The fib paid off, and from there we went to Bayou Bend Gardens in Houston, where I asked her to marry me. It was the greatest moment of my life when she said yes. The Lord has blessed us so much throughout our relationship, and we could not be more excited to get married!