this is us.

adam's childhood best friend, thomas schlierf, married one of my best girlfriends from high school, jennifer dailey. insert cliche here :: adam was a groomsman and i was a bridesmaid. i remember seeing this really cute guy before the ceremony rehearsal and secretly hoped he would be the one walking me down the aisle the next day. thomas and jennifer had their rehearsal dinner at selena's in anchorage later that evening. the wedding party and guests took their seats before dinner was served. i sat down in a booth against the wall, and adam's friend, trent, attempted to sit next to me for dinner. little did trent know, his plans were about to drastically change. adam pulled trent out of the booth by his arm and proceeded to claim the new empty seat next to me as his seat. during adam's groomsman speech after dinner, i took a swig of his woodford bourbon from the bottle - a groomsman gift that he had just unwrapped - and proceeded to pour more woodford on my bread pudding dessert. this was the exact moment that adam fell in love with me. well, not exactly at that moment but it was the beginning of our love story. it was pure coincidence that we found each other during our best friends’ wedding weekend. we grew up in the same town with many of the same friends – yet, we never knew each other growing up. there are so many amazing connections with our families, mutual friends, previous jobs, etc. one thing we know for certain is God's timing was perfect timing for two souls who were searching for true love to finally find each other. i was escorted down the aisle by another groomsman on the day of thomas and jennifer's wedding. however, never in my wildest dreams did i ever think my secret hope of walking down the aisle with adam would come true just a couple of years later on 09.28.19.

it all started as a routine sunday morning - frantically making breakfast and getting ready for church so we were not late. well, we ended up leaving the house late because gracie had nothing to wear in her closet. for those of you that are wondering, this is a typical morning in our household when gracie is not wearing a school uniform. as i was riding shotgun in adam's car on the way to church, i heard a genesis diamonds commercial on the radio about engagement rings. i casually told adam that i wanted to look at rings with him when he was ready to take that next step so i could show him what style i preferred. this was the very first time i mentioned shopping for engagement rings. meanwhile, adam became very nervous - ironically my ring that he purchased in july was in his pocket. and no, i had no idea of his secrets plan for me later that day. for those of you that have never attended southeast christian church, make sure you arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the start of their church service. otherwise, you will park in the back parking lot and wait in traffic for over 45 minutes before exiting. while sitting in the parking lot traffic, i was becoming more hangry by the minute and gracie was becoming more thirsty by the second. meanwhile, adam became very nervous (again) as his engagement plans were not unfolding as originally planned. adam finally turned to me and gracie and told us to trust him for the next hour and a half. um, trust you? i am starving and gracie is literally dying of thirst. i was about to dial 9-1-1 for gracie's thirst condition when i suddenly realized adam was taking us to his parent's house in anchorage. i gave him the look and made sure he could read my mind...did you really forget that we were hungry and thirsty? when we arrived at his parent's house, adam kindly informed me that we were taking his dog (puppy jack) on a walk at anchorage trail before eating lunch and surviving the desert thirst. A WALK?! i just about exploded...

after i got out of the car with puppy jack, adam turned to gracie and said, “gracie, do you remember when i told you last night that today is a big day? today is the day i am going to ask…”. before adam could finish his sentence, gracie replied, “she is going to say yes!” gracie did not know anything about the proposal until her conversation with adam that afternoon – her immediate reply was reassurance that she accepted adam into her life and gave approval for him to ask for my hand in marriage. i should also mention anchorage trail also has a very special meaning to our family because this is the very place where adam first met gracie. gracie held my hand as adam led us down the brick trail path to a tree swing that gracie always swings on before we start our journey on the trail. adam knelt down on one knee and proposed to me in front of gracie and puppy jack. cue the tears, lots of tears. i do not recall the sweet things he said during his proposal, but i do recall exclaiming “YES!” to marrying my best friend. adam also coordinated for thomas' sister, michelle, to capture the entire proposal from a wooded tree line. the photographs from that afternoon will always be so incredibly special to us. i cannot believe it took me 33 years to find adam, but i am incredibly thankful that i get to spend forever with him!