Jacob and I went on our first date on November 7th, 2016. Jacob took me on a hike, and anyone that knows me understands how much I had to like someone to go on a hike with them! At the time Jacob was living in Lexington and we would commute a few times a week to spend time together. After a few months, Jacob decided to move to Northern Kentucky for a “job opportunity” and we started spending more time with each other. We officially moved in together during the summer of 2017, and found out we were expecting sweet baby Brody in the fall of 2017. We got engaged October 20, 2018. Although the typical narrative and timeline of relationships doesn’t really apply to us, we wouldn’t change our “backwards” journey for anything!

Ever since baby B has been born, it’s been increasingly difficult for Jacob and I to get out of the house. With that being said, I was convinced that I would see our proposal coming from a mile away! I was certain that we would be getting engaged on our 2 year anniversary (Nov 7th), so when we ended up getting engaged on Oct 20th, I was incredibly surprised! We had plans to celebrate my birthday with some friends on Oct 20th, and Jacob asked me if I wanted to celebrate my birthday with him that day so we could dedicate Halloween weekend to Brody’s first Halloween. We made plans to go out to lunch and spend some time together before my friends came over that evening. We went out to lunch and Jacob asked if I wanted to go to Eden Park and take a walk (it was going to be one of the last warm days of fall) and go to the art museum. Wanting to take advantage of the beautiful weather, I happily agreed and we headed towards the park. Once we got to the park, Jacob and I walked around the fountain. Jacob kept looking at his phone, but I didn’t think too much of it. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted someone lurking in the bushes. I was weirded out, and even said something to Jacob along the lines of “who is watching us over there in the bushes?!” I was so distracted by the person watching us from the bushes that I hardly noticed that Jacob went down on one knee! I was stunned! After he slipped the (GORGEOUS) ring on my hand, I looked up to see the creepy person in the bushes was actually my best friend Kim! Jacob had told her about his plan, and she flew in from Florida to be here for my engagement to take pictures since I had done the same thing for her when she got engaged. We spent the remainder of our day spending time with friends and family and celebrating not only my birthday, but our engagement! Jacob told me later that he picked Eden park because my Great Grandparents and a cousin had gotten engaged there. Jacob and I can’t wait for August 3rd!