October 13th, 2019 - First Date at Mango's in Grapevine, TX February 3rd, 2020 - Army Officer Training Begins February 14th, 2020 - Emily Moves to CO March 20th-22nd, 2020 - Peter's First Visit to see Emily in CO April 13th, 2020 - Peter's Interview for CO Job May - Meet the Parents Month June 26th, 2020 - Peter Moves to CO July 25th, 2020 - Proposal May 7th, 2021 - Wedding Day!!! Read our full story in the sections below!

Mango's in Grapevine TX We were set up on a blind "date" by our mutual friend, Carolyn Vecera. She was Emily's freshman college roommate at Ave Maria University and a friend of Peter's from St. Andrew's Catholic Church in Fort Worth. At the time Peter was at Army training in Fort Sill, Oklahoma and Emily was looking for a new job. On Emily and Carolyn's lunch date, Carolyn mentioned she knew of a man she thought would be a perfect match for Emily. That night Carolyn messaged Peter and asked if he would be interested in meeting her friend, Emily. Very surprised by this message he received sitting in his barracks that night, Peter agreed to meet her when he returned from training. Three weeks later, Emily and Peter found themselves sitting across from one another at a brunch spot called Mangos in Grapevine, TX. Both were a little nervous, but excited and the conversation never ended. The food came and went, but the talking never stopped. The waitress dropped off the check, but the talking still didn't cease. They talked so long that the waitress came over to tell them that the restaurant had closed. At this point, Emily stood up and went to the bathroom, leaving the check inconspicuously on the table. She was NOT about to pay it. Confused, Peter kindly paid for the check that he thought they were splitting. Months later, Peter learned that this was in fact their first date.

In November, Emily was offered a job in Boulder, CO. This was her dream job, in her dream city, with her dream company. She could not possibly turn it down. But that meant telling Peter she was moving and ending this budding romance. On December 9th, we met in Fort Worth for dinner and drinks. At dinner, Emily broke the news, "I am moving to Colorado in February for a new job." The look on his face revealed all his disappointment despite his smile and assurance that they would continue hanging out until she left. Though this was a very sincere sentiment, Emily thought there was no way he would continue seeing her knowing she was moving. It was at drinks later that night that we finally started relaxing around each other and really let our laid back and goofy sides show. When we left that night, we were both a little sad because we were really enjoying the time we spent together but were very unsure of our future. After Christmas, our relationship really began to grow and blossom. To Emily's great surprise, we spent most of January getting to know each other, going on dates, and growing in our friendship. By the end of January, we were faced with our separation. Peter was headed off to Army officer training in San Antonio for a month and when he returned, Emily would be gone. After a long conversation in Dallas and a few discussions with close friends and spiritual directors, we decided to give our relationship a chance and embrace the long distance. We barely knew each other and yet we were committed to giving all control to Christ. We trusted that He would lead us down the right path. January came to a close with hope and excitement for our future adventures.

On February 3rd, 2020, Peter picked Emily up from the airport, ready with coffee for her, before leaving for San Antonio to complete a month of Army officer training. We only had a few minutes of time together before Peter departed. This was the last time we saw each other until March, when Emily would be living in a new state. We were both apprehensive saying goodbye, not knowing what Christ had in store for our relationship and the future. We both thought that we would have very minimal contact during Peter's training. We knew it would be hard to manage a young relationship and minimal communication, but we were up for the challenge and trusted in Christ's plan. To our surprise, we were blessed with the opportunity to talk on the phone every night! Evenings during training were free of obligation and became conducive for deep connection. Nightly phone calls, occasional written letters, and weekly rosaries became the bedrock of our relationship. A weekly Sunday rosary continues today and will remain a cornerstone of our marriage. By the end of February, we were daydreaming about when Peter could move to CO. On his last day, out of curiosity, Peter reached out to an old friend to discuss the job market in CO. To our great surprise, this friend in fact had the perfect position open for Peter. The move to Colorado was set in motion before we had even seen each other again.

COVID-19 began to take hold of the nation just before Peter came to visit Emily in March. To our pleasant surprise, this virus completely changed the trajectory of our relationship for the better. Through safely traveling to see each other, we were able to spend more time and get to know each other more deeply. Social distancing and sheltering in place together allowed us to learn more about each other and slowly affirm that we were living through this monumental moment with our future spouse. Initially, we were both concerned how the pandemic would affect our relationship, but it ultimately served as the catalyst in bringing us closer together. While there was an abundance of uncertainty and unknown throughout the spring of 2020, we were slowly becoming certain that we had met our future spouse and an engagement would soon be known.

Peter moved to Colorado on June 26th. It was such a blessing to FINALLY be living only 25 minutes of each other. We capitalized on this time and spent our days and weekends together. In mid-July, we planned a 27 mile backpacking trip in the Maroon Bells Wilderness. We were both so excited to venture out on our first backpacking trip in Colorado! Two days before we were going to begin our trek, we were in my spare room going through our gear and packing. Goofing off and having fun as we normally do, I lunged forward trying to playfully attack Peter (he was snapping rubber bands at me earlier) and awkwardly landed on my foot. At 1:00 AM we made a trip to the ER in Lafayette, where it was confirmed I had indeed fractured the outside of my foot! Peter couldn't hide the disappointment on his face, which I later found out was because it ruined his proposal plan for the next week! Originally, I wanted to take Emily up to the Long's Peak trailhead, where we took our first picture together and hiked our first mini-hike back in March. However, because of our silliness and goofiness, Emily's foot fracture prevented that plan from happening. I'm so grateful! As always, God provided an even better opportunity and experience. Rather than propose at the original location, I made a last minute switch to St. Catherine's Chapel on the Rock, just down the road from Long's Peak with an absolutely stunning view of the mountains. I was able to reserve the chapel for an hour just before it opened, so we had the entire chapel to ourselves. With our good friend Chelsea concealed behind a bush, on the top steps of the chapel, I embraced that monumental moment in bending down on one knee and asking Emily if she would marry me. She said yes!! We then entered the chapel where both our parents and some close friends were waiting to surprise Emily and celebrate our elation with us. We were then blessed to lead our close friends and family in a rosary as our first act as an engaged couple.