There were so many times that we could have met before we eventually did. While neither of us remember the exact time we first met, we know it was shortly after I started working at Vanguard Sciences with Luke in August 2016. Looking back it seems like it took us forever to meet! I was good friend with Rachael Arnts during college and she turned out to be Luke's cousin and grew up just a few miles from him. Luke and I were even in the same class at one point! Seems crazy that we all went to Morningside, but our paths never seemed to cross. I definitely had a crush on Luke while we were working together, but it never turned into anything. In fact, we never really reached the level of good friends. Shortly before I moved to St Louis for medical school, Luke took a job in Sioux Falls. Needless to say, I was super bummed when I heard the news. I thought it was the end of what could have been a relationship with a great guy, but thankfully I was mistaken.

It was more than a year later that I got a text from an unknown number asking me to be a plus one to a wedding on May 19 in my hometown. You see we have another connection I haven't mentioned yet. Luke's older sister, Kathleen, was (& is) best friends with a woman named Tori Zalaznik. They met while working together in Sioux Falls & Luke had become friends with Tori too. I've known Tori for what seems like forever though. :) The Muyskens and Zalazniks have been family friends for years! Tori even dressed up as a clown for my 7th birthday party. We had a fun time that night with our families. After we said our goodbyes that night, we mostly communicated via snapchat until the very beginning of 2019.

We finally had our first real date on Jan 4-5 in Sioux Falls. We count the 5th as our anniversary since we talked for so long that we didn't address if we were officially dating until after midnight. We saw each other infrequently over the next few months. We'd ask each other a Question of the Day each day via text as a way to get to know each other better and eventually starting video chatting most nights. By April we were in love. <3

We talked about marriage quite a bit during the months before the proposal, but the timing still caught me by surprise. A few nights before my birthday, I was startled by someone knocking at my door around 8 pm on a Friday night. I refused to answer the door (for safety reasons) and texted Luke about someone being there when he told me to answer it. It was him! He had flown down to St Louis to surprise me for the weekend!! I was so excited because I thought we'd have to spend my birthday apart due to me having to go into the hospital that weekend. We had a lovely weekend together and on Monday we went for a walk in Forrest Park. Luke asked me what my Question of the Day was and I said "What has been your favorite part of the weekend?" and he said "what I'm about to do now." He got down on one knee and as his QOTD asked me to marry him. It was the best. One of us spilled hot chocolate on my coat during the excitement and we still don't know who did it. (Honestly it was probably me.)

We are hoping to build a life based on the love of Jesus Christ. We want our home to be warm and welcoming. While we strive to be successful in our professional lives, we will put each other and our family before our work. Keep in touch to see where our journey takes us!