I have found the one whom my soul loves.

It was the end of summer 2018. I was invited to go hang out in Montgomery with friends at Jake’s house. I did not know him well, but I knew of him through mutual friends. That evening, I sat on the footrest of the couch where he was sitting. We giggled and laughed at and with our friends. As the night proceeded, I became more and more in awe over this boy. He was stealing my heart no matter how hard I was fighting it! We found ourselves sitting in the living room just talking and laughing and before we knew it, the sun was coming up. The next day, his guys picked on him because they knew Jake was falling for me. After that night, Jake and I spent the next 3 weekends hanging out together. Meanwhile, Jake had already accepted a job in Huntsville and would soon move that way. Because of how sweet and dedicated Jake is, the distance was not going to keep us apart. I thought he must be crazy to drive 3 hours every weekend and find a place in Auburn to stay just to see me for no more than a day, but he was determined. Jake never complained as he prepared for each trip back to Huntsville every weekend. He simply pursued me, expressed how excited he was to see me, and always made it happen. After a couple of months into dating, Jake told me he loved me, and I was the one he would marry one day no matter what he had to do. As time in our relationship passed, these feelings he shared became more evident. He never gave me a reason to question how he felt for me. He would spend hours talking about a future with me and the things he was excited to accomplish in life and wanted me to be a part of it. His true, heartfelt feelings were obvious over and over again. OH! Was my heart full?! No matter what, to this day, Jake goes above and beyond to show me an unconditional love like no other. He is the husband I have prayed for and I thank God every day for the opportunity of that night together in Montgomery.

Our story started at the end of the summer of 2018. I had just graduated from Troy University and was in the process of moving up to north Alabama to begin my new job at SAIC in Huntsville, AL as a Systems Engineer. During the few weeks I had between graduation and my start date with SAIC, Jaima and her friend, Mary Baker, came over to the house in Montgomery, AL to swim and hang out with my friends and me. The best way to describe how I was feeling when we first hung out that night was like those butterflies you get whenever you first talk to the prettiest girl in your grade in middle school. It’s those moments and feelings that I never forget. Jaima and I stayed up all night long just talking. I could honestly say I don’t know if I could talk to someone for a consecutive period of time like that, but Jaima truly brought out my best the first night we met. We sat in my living room and watched the sun come up, not recollecting the time because we were so infatuated with each other. We both shared the same passion for outdoors and sports, other than her being an Auburn Tigers fan. I can vividly remember that first night though, as well as the smiles that I couldn’t wipe off my face because we sincerely connected. From that point on, it’s like our time together just raced by and here we are two years later getting married. Jaima and I could not be separated after that. We spent every weekend together that we could. I believe that shows both of our commitment towards each other, especially when you consider that we live 3.5 hours apart (206 miles to be exact). I have constantly prayed for that one person that would come into my life out of nowhere, unexpected, and change me forever. I had no clue or plan that Jaima would appear in my life right before I moved 3.5 hours away, but God knew and had a plan that this was going to be my wife one day.

Our proposal story all started about two weeks before the big day that I was going to ask Jaima to marry me. I traveled down to Auburn, AL on a Thursday and talked with her parents that next Friday morning after Jaima went to school to teach. After receiving their blessing to ask their daughter for her hand in marriage, we went on a family vacation to Gatlinburg, TN. I had a feeling for quite some time that I wanted to ask her during this time, but after talking with her parents, I knew this was going to be the perfect time. Jaima’s mother, Michele, and I had coordinated that the best time to ask her would be after a day trip to the beautiful attraction, Anakeesta Park, on top of a mountain in Gatlinburg. I knew I wanted to ask Jaima during sunset because that is her favorite time of the day. The best part about the day, other than Jaima saying “yes”, of course, was the anticipation from the both of us. Jaima and I had obviously talked many times about getting married and I knew she was getting antsy for me to pop the question. Earlier that day I remember Mr. Jamie coming up to me and saying that Jaima had found a $20 ring in one of the shops at Anakeesta and that she would “literally settle for that right now.” That’s what made it so special though, I knew that in a few hours, I’d be getting down on one knee to propose. As the sun began to set, I could tell Jaima had the thought running through her head because it was a beautiful spot and timing. Little did she know, I had that diamond ring in my pocket the entire time. We finally waited until the sun was going down and I asked her to take some pictures with me with the mountains in the background. This was when I got down on one knee, as nervous as can be, and asked Jaima to be my forever. The tears started pouring and she, of course, said “yes.” We were both so happy and I knew that she finally didn’t have to wait anymore.