We met when we both took jobs as first year teachers in Avondale, AZ. TJ, who is from Wheaton, IL, graduated from Western Michigan and moved to AZ to teach physical education. I moved from Toledo, OH via Ypsilanti after graduating from Eastern Michigan to teach kindergarten. Even though this commonality brought us together as friends, it wasn't long before we both realized what we had was something more than a friendship.

TJ proposed while we were vacationing in North Carolina. We set up back to back weeks at the beach with his family and then mine. It took some convincing, but on his family's last night in town we went for a very short walk on the beach. TJ wasted no time getting down on one knee to ask me to marry him. Afterwards, we returned to the house where my family was waiting to surprise me. I'm still impressed with everyone's ability to keep it a secret all week. Looking back, the signs were all there but it was still a complete surprise to me.