In January 2024 Ethan texted Erin asking to get coffee and meet for the first time. But the story really started in November 2023 when their friends Mila and Niko were trying to set Erin up with one of Niko's friends. After much deliberation (that is now a point of joking) they decided Ethan would be a great match! They convinced us both to give the long distance and each other a shot and Niko passed along Erin's number to Ethan. Two long months passed and when Erin was convinced that Ethan just wasn't going to text, he did (and with good reasons for waiting)! We met somewhat halfway along I-94 at a coffee shop in Marshall during a snowstorm and talked for hours. The following weeks consisted of dates on the weekend, some in Kalamazoo and others in Ann Arbor. On February 10th 2024, Ethan took Erin out for Mediterranean food, a walk through Ann Arbor's arboretum, around U of M's campus and asked Erin to officially begin dating. That year was full of spending time exploring each other's worlds alternating weekends between Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo, going on dates, running together, each experiencing new things, meeting all the important people in each other's lives, a few weekend trips with friends and lots and lots of I-94 driving. Almost a year to the day that they started dating, Ethan asked Erin to marry him in a nature preserve in Kalamazoo and she said yes! We both can confidently say that the other person has influenced us to follow the Lord more closely and we can't wait for that to continue throughout our marriage!