Howdy folks! This is our story told by Connery. Joy and I grew up attending school together (starting in kindergarten), but we never had a class together until our sophomore year of high school. Little did I know that Joy would be my future wife! A year later, she started working at Sky Ranch (where all my closest friends and I worked), and she slowly started to hang out with us after work on Saturdays. This shortly led to her becoming a part of the friend group, which allowed me to see her all the time. One day the boys and I were talking, and I decided to share that I had a crush on Joy. I am not someone who just asked anyone out, so after a lot of debating and praying about it, I decided to do it. I was going to ask Joy on a date! So, there I was, trying to figure out how I was going to do it, but I wanted to see what our friend group thought of me asking out someone who was also in our friend group (because you do not want things to be awkward). During dual-credit algebra, I passed a note to Braeleigh and Grayson to see their thoughts, and they confirmed it would be a great idea (which boosted my confidence a ton!!). Then, everything changed. I soon found out that Braeleigh had spilled the beans, and Joy knew that I was going to ask her out, which, as you could guess, made things very awkward…but eventually, I gained the courage to ask her out on a date. After five months of going on dates, I worked up the nerve to ask her out as my girlfriend, and it was the BEST! We always laugh about how long it took me to ask her out. As our senior year of high school went on, we were planning on going to two different colleges, and Joy was uncertain of what college + dating would look like... so she dumped me. :'( BUT, the Lord continued to work on our hearts and within our friendship, and we continued to talk throughout freshman year. We spoke nearly every day as if nothing had ever changed. One day in February of our freshman year of college, the Lord put it on my heart that I needed to stop talking to Joy as much or pursue her in a relationship. I did not know how to tell her, but the Lord knew. Not even a week later, Joy texted me saying that she was coming home that weekend and that we should talk. So, this is a perfect time to tell her. When we met that weekend, I was blown away. Joy told me she really liked me and wanted to date if I felt the same. Which was a no-brainer answer for me... OF COURSE I DID. Shortly after COVID hit, we got to be in the same town again. Joy was not enjoying her time at A&M and decided to look into other options for school. So she applied to UT just for the heck of it... and she got in (which meant she would be in Austin with the boys and me)! After two years of amazing memories in Austin with Joy, I wised up, and on August 11th, 2022, I proposed to Joy, my favorite person in the entire world! It was the best decision I have ever made, and I am extremely honored that she said "yes." Come June 10th, Joy and I will be married. We are so thankful for what the Lord taught us through dating and engagement, and we are so excited about how He will use us in marriage!