We met on what we like to call, the modern matchmaker, Hinge! In February 2023 I (Katie) hesitantly re-downloaded the app not sure if I was going to actually go on any dates. As I swiped through profiles I came upon Dalton’s: Cute, a Christian, and had both humor and intentionality. Everything I was looking for , but still, I wanted to take my time. As I looked at the app each day I found myself easily swiping no on everyone else's questions and messages, except his. Little did I know that in the month it was taking me to respond, Dalton was getting closer to deleting his profile. In fact, Dalton was opening his app to delete it when he saw that I had finally responded! His certainty in making decisions and willingness to be patient has continued to be a prominent strength in our relationship, and a welcome balance to my slow discernment. Our first date went so well that we made up for lost time by going on 3 dates that first week, with our third at Powell’s bookstore. Dalton and I had bonded over poetry and lyrics, so his plan was for us to each find a poem that we liked and read it to each other. His thoughtfulness and romance won me over from the start. On my way to search for my poem I caught him looking at me with a look that told me he was smitten! I thought “oh no, I think he’s already falling in love!” And ordinarily that would’ve intimidated me, but not with him. I would tease him about this later, and Dalton would always deny that it was “love” yet, but did acknowledge two years later when he proposed in that poetry aisle that it was definitely where he knew he wanted to choose me. My response was much quicker with that question ;) There are so many stories I'd love to tell, that probably impacted our choice to spend the rest of our lives together more than just how we met. Beginnings are special, but it's the learning to love unconditionally and most of all, rely on God that has defined our story most; our prayer since the beginning has been "Without you we don't work", and we have been so thankful to see that proven true over and over again. Many of you also carry pieces of our story, and we are so excited to celebrate those with you. We are so grateful for the wisdom, love and support you have shared with us, and we look forward to sharing this new beginning with all of you as well. Love, Dalton and Katie