Tommy and Kala met the old fashion way - Tinder. Kala swiped right for Tommy's rugged outdoorsmanship, and Tommy swiped right for the 10 years of good luck he was promised if he pronounced Kala's name correctly on the first date. Kala suggested meeting for coffee - a strategic choice in case Tommy ended up being a creep. "Just coffee" turned into dinner and Jamba Juice as their first date ended up lasting 5 hours. Maybe it was the coupon Kala pulled out at Jamba Juice, or maybe it was Tommy fearlessly bringing up politics, but they became inseparable after that first date. Well...until Utah. In August 2018, Kala moved to Utah for graduate school and the couple began two years of long distance. The worst part of a long distance relationship was watching Pam and Jim complain about being long distance for 3 months on The Office (only 3 months! And she only lived two hours away!). After racking up some frequent flyer miles from 2 years of biweekly flights, Kala finally returned home to Southern California in May 2020. Tommy flew to Utah and helped Kala pack her entire apartment into her Crosstrek (check out the Photos page for a picture of that). Since then, Tommy and Kala have been blessed with a community of supportive and loving friends in Redlands, CA who have helped the couple grow in Christ and learn how to live for Him.

One day Tommy disappeared to the "gym" for 3 hours. It ends up he was going to pick up a ring - however, he was disappointed by the ring he ordered at Kay's. Eager to purchase a ring as soon as possible, Tommy found his way to a small, family-owned jeweler around the corner. Tommy shared with the store owner the story of his love for Kala and their desire to follow God's will in their lives. In their conversation, Tommy learned that the store's owner emigrated from Turkey over 30 years ago to flee persecution for his Christian faith. Impressed by Tommy's love for God and knowledge of Christianity in Turkey, the jeweler chose to add a diamond pavé band to the ring as an engagement gift. Finally, Tommy had a ring! He held onto it for 3 days before making plans to propose on Friday, April 16. Tommy struggled to concentrate at work on Friday and made some last minute plans to go on a short hike with Kala. Tommy chose San Timoteo Canyon Creekside Trail and brought his drone alone to capture the special moment. Once they made it to a scenic overlook, Tommy suggested that he take a cute picture of Kala looking into the distance over the canyon. Kala was pretty sure she knew the plan by this point, so she complied without question. When Tommy asked her to turn around, he was on one knee ready to pop the question. Kala was a little too excited and answered yes before any question was asked - but she was pretty sure he wasn't about to ask what she wanted for dinner! Tommy asked, "do you want to marry me?" and Kala responded, "I really really do!" Check out the Photos page for screenshots of the drone footage!