So much had to go right for us to end up here today. We met back in 2018, Shelby was just starting his Ph.D. and Rachel was in his first class that fall. We didn't connect right away, nothing scandalous at least. The 2018-2019 year flew by, Rach transferred to Kansas State while Shelby finished his Ph.D. three years later and moved on to Pittsburg State in 2021. But it wasn't until January 2022 that we reconnected. While preparing for a conference in Manhattan, Shelby remembered that a certain goalkeeper and former student had transferred to Kansas State, so he sent Rach a message asking for a good place to get a drink while he was in town. We didn't meet up then, but we both knew there was a connection. We texted back and forth, but Shelby didn’t think she was interested nor did he think he had a chance in hell with her. But Rachel was persistent, she felt drawn to him by something she couldn’t (and still can’t) explain. She would text him and not hear from him for days at a time, often calling her mom for advice on how to advance the conversation and sharing her excitement when he did finally reply. Finally, in March, Shelby called Rach on the way back from the ranch just to fill the time - by the end of the drive and a nonstop 5-hour conversation we both knew it was a lot more than just a connection. Rach planned a visit to Pittsburg, but Shelby kept pushing it back, he just wasn't sure he was ready to be all she deserved. Until he was. On May 13, 2022, Rach drove down to visit for the weekend, and her heart never left. She was only scheduled to be in town for the weekend but ended up staying until Monday night. We talked for hours about everything you aren’t supposed to on first dates, and we fell hard for each other. Rachel called her parents on the way home and told them she was going to marry Shelby, and a year from the day she showed up, she is going to keep her promise. Believe us, we know it's happening fast, but nothing is more clear to us than the fact that everything we have been through led us to each other. So much had to go right. Every decision, every job interview, every thought of transferring again, every trial and tribulation, it all had to go right. It was all a series of coin flips that somehow, someway went right. We are so lucky to be here today, to have found each other again, and to be so certain that no matter what life throws at us, we are better facing it together.