Let’s take a trip back to 2015. A new student arrives at Isabelle’s K-12 school for his first day of freshman year, joining her small class of just 11 students. In such a vast sea of peers, what are the odds they’d find each other? That’s a joke… Over the years, this inevitably led to shared lunch hours and QuikTrip runs. Their story truly began junior year, as Isabelle played hard to get—one of the few games she could win against Dakota. Still, she engaged in daily conversations with him throughout their senior year, leading up to graduation. At the afterparty at Dakota’s house, he made his move, bravely draping his arm around her while their classmates mingled. From that moment on, they unofficially “dated” for several months while hanging out with their friends and looking forward to their college years ahead. These months saw their transition to separate colleges 9.5 hours apart. This was just the start of the distance they would navigate together. On March 3rd, 2019, Dakota officially asked Isabelle to be his girlfriend over the phone while she was evacuated from her dorm at the University of Dayton due to a fire alarm, and he relaxed at home during his spring break. They talked every day, now as a couple. They made time to visit each other at college, spending summers and breaks together, and slowly becoming part of each other’s families. In their second year of dating, Dakota decided to join the Army. They had managed long distance before, but this time, their only forms of communication for the first three months were heartfelt letters and brief, 15-minute weekly phone calls. It was challenging, but they cherished those handwritten letters, sharing stories of Dakota’s platoon and Isabelle’s adventures juggling two jobs while living at home with her parents during her gap year. After several months of basic training, they could finally visit each other every three months for short weekends while Dakota completed his training in Texas. During this time, Isabelle transferred from UD to Benedictine College, and after nearly two years apart, Dakota finally returned to Kansas. At last, they were reunited, attending the same school for the first time since 2018. After five years together, countless long-distance miles, and an abundance of cherished memories, Dakota proposed to Isabelle on a dock in Washington, Missouri. The proposal came while the two traveled home for maple sugaring at the Honigfort's farm and the Super Bowl at his parents’ house. They are overjoyed to embark on this next chapter as husband and wife, and, by the grace of God, they hope to welcome children and grow their family together! We could not be more thankful that you are here! Please pray for us as we prepare our hearts to enter into this most beautiful sacrament.