~From Holland's Point of View~ Many of you are aware of the confusion over when we really met for the first time. Bear creek, sports, speech and debate, snapchat, mutual friends? There are many possible events that could be considered our first time meeting however there is only one day that I consider the beginning of us. It was about a month or so into Covid lockdowns and I had somehow convinced my parents that I could drive, as a brand new driver, all the way to Redmond from Shoreline. Just to see a boy. Whether they knew that was my true intention is up for debate... and I sincerely apologize for the teenage times of endless attempts to find ways to get over there regardless if they approved. Anyway, back to the story! I made it to where he told me to meet him for our walk, since that was a covid approved activity of course, and waited until I saw a a crazy 16 year old boy leaping down the street. He was bubbly, outgoing, and maybe a little crazy. I was instantly nervous now that the initial adrenaline of driving over was gone and I had questions running through my head. Why was I 40+ minutes away from home with a strange boy? He is so energetic.. what if he finds out I just like to chill? How is he still bouncing around? Is he on something? All questions I still find myself asking. However, as we started on our walk he opened his phone to play music and started playing the guardians of the galaxy soundtrack. This is arguably the choice that led to me saying I would marry him, or at least the first domino to fall. He did everything in his power to make me feel comfortable since I was a walking ball of anxiety- something he would probably still agree with. One of his attempts was an intermission in our walk to prove to me he could hurdle me. He did. Twice. Admittedly this did help break the ice and we were pestering each other for the rest of the walk, and now life. We got to a little pond that had a bench and we sat there for a while talking about life, values, and hard times we had experienced before he almost pushed me into the water. We laughed about it as we walked back to my car where he tried to give me a hug. I rejected his hug and got in my car and drove home. As soon as I parked, I started messaging a friend, Rylie, to tell her I had found the one. It could have been teenage delusion with no real meaning behind it but it just happened to be right. Josh Linnenkohl, you have been the one since day one and I am sorry I rejected your hug. I promise to make up for it during the rest of our lives.

~ From Josh ~ As we get ready to say 'I do,' people keep giving us advice about how much work marriage is. But honestly? The way I see it, getting to spend every day with my best friend isn’t work at all. Life is the hard part; marriage is the reward. Now, obviously, there will be some struggles and disagreements between the two of us, as that’s just part of growing together. But that is where our friendship comes in. As the verse says, “Two are better than one... For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10). There will be tough days ahead, but I know as long as we’re doing it together, we can handle anything. Holland, thank you for being the person I chose and for choosing me back, today and every day. ~ From Holland ~ I could not agree more with what Josh said. As we enter into this exciting new season we welcome positive encouragement and support. While we understand comments like "marriage is hard" come from a well meaning place, we want to focus on the positives and create a mindset of thankfulness and gratitude. We have witnessed the hard parts of marriage and do anticipate our own valleys, but we would like to focus on the bigger gift of marriage. When we do ultimately hit those hard places, we will go to those who encouraged us to look for the beauty and not those who reiterated the ugly so please be considerate of this request. We appreciate all of you for understanding, thank you!