We were both invited through mutual friends to a pizza party where everyone makes their own pizza. I was immediately drawn to Victoria with her piercing gaze and fun loving laugh. However, my suave attempts to talk to her one on one were unable to reveal if she was interested in me. Thankfully, I knew I had been smooth enough to not reveal too much of my own interest. After the party, I debated trying to reach out to her to see her again or wait until I saw her again. My grandma and brother told me that you never know if you'll even see her again, do it now! So, I did. I knew from the moment I looked up at the dinner table Jon was going to ask me on a date. I caught him staring at me without blinking multiple times and every time I moved around the party, Jon seemed to follow. It was just a matter of time. I left the party and went home expecting to see Jon at the next pizza party and to be asked on a date then. Lo and behold, two days later I received a message from him asking me on a date. I was surprised enough to fall on my face and get a black eye...two days before our first date! Jon drove from Stanford to San Francisco to take me to dinner after a long shift. I was impressed by Jon's ability to talk so much after such a long shift. Two days later he called me to ask me on a second date. This time, he picked me up from the airport after my Thanksgiving travels. First, we went to my house to drop off my luggage. When I got out of the car to bring my bags inside, the car went from parked (or so Jon thought) into the car parked in front of us. Whoops! I really enjoyed our early dates and getting to know how Jon became the man he is today! The next summer, Victoria and I were starting to think about our future together and were almost ready to get engaged. But there were a few things we wanted to move through first before planning to take that next step. We'd met each other's families, close friends, and had shared much of our joys, wounds, and various personal realities. Ironically in July, I needed an outpatient surgery (life of a transplant recipient). This experience invited her into the life of my health as a transplant recipient in a way that naturally unfolded my readiness to propose. So I organized travel to ask for her parents' blessings and devised a genius plan to woo her. First part of the plan was to make her think it could happen at any moment. Therefore, she had to dress up every time we went out. Mwuhahaha! Next part of the plan was to throw her off by inviting my brother to California for the weekend of the proposal so the three of us could go on a day beach trip, and secretly inviting some friends and family to share in the after engagement. The day of: everything had gone according to plan; my brother was in town, we were on the way to Half Moon Bay, family was in town, I had the ring, and my friend and her soon to be matron of honor were setting up for pictures of the proposal. I brought my brother and her to Maverick's beach, then when my brother had a fake research call, I sneakily told her to follow me for a short walk. We made our way to Ross Cove beach where I shared my desire to love her for the rest of my life, run towards heaven with her, and build a family. I asked her to marry me and of course she said yes. The week Jon was preparing to propose to me, he told me to dress up so we could take nice pictures in Half Moon Bay. I was not caught off guard because he had told me to dress up every date for the past month. As Jon and I were on our short "walk", he was silent. A tell tale sign of what was about to happen. Jon asked me to marry him and when he opened the ring box, it was empty. The ring had fallen into the sand! After a good giggle I said yes! We are overjoyed to become one in Christ and to be on pilgrimage to Heaven together!