The Start of Our Adventure

Jake and I met on a snowy day in November when my friend, Caroline (YES, my bridesmaid!), invited me over to play broom ball with a bunch of her friends from church. Jake reached his hand out speedily to shake mine when I first met him, he had a twenty minute joking conversation with a life sized teddy bear that had all of us laughing on the floor, and maybe he awoke my competitive spirit by shouting across the ice “are we talking or are we playing?!” I don’t think I could nail down one moment of this night that I loved, it was truly every part. 

Fast forward to February…Jake, Jordan, and I were working on preparing to play worship music for a retreat coming up dubbing ourselves as the band “Humperdinck and the Bubbly Toads!” Annnnnddd that reference would take way too long to explain… A week before retreat, Jake and I were walking out of church, I had been up for over 24 hours and was counting down the minutes to my bed. We were almost to my car when he said he needed to talk to me for a second. He jumped in my car, and with both hands still in his pockets, he started to stammer out the words “I can’t stop thinking about you.” I was dumbstruck as he told me how he had been feeling over the last few weeks and how he thought we worked really well together. But I can’t say I hadn’t been thinking the same way. That’s where our story began! We spent a wonderful year hanging out with our friends, going on adventures up to my cabin, flying out to Idaho with his family, singing to Bruno Mars on long road trips, and spending countless hours getting to know each other. We went through many sunny, fun-filled days together and many tearful, difficult times together. We worked well together, we were there for each other, and we fell in love with each other. Which is what led to February 15, 2020…

One day Jake asked if I wanted to relive our first date, and I was so excited for every part of it! We started by going back to the hole-in-the-wall coffee shop we spent our first date. We laughed about the first time we went on a date there and how nervous we both were! Then we were off to Como Park! Jake seemed a little rushed as he walked quickly through the different exhibits barely looking around (he was so nervous!). Finally we arrived into the sunken garden filled with bright hues of pink and green as the sun shone through the glass covering. Jake walked down the stairs like he was on a mission! Then all of sudden he stopped and turned around and looked me dead in the eyes. Yup. This was it! He said a lot of things that are a blur as my mind was spinning while he talked. I remember smiling a lot so I know it was all very sweet :) And then he reached in his pocket, opened up small box, and got down on one knee as he asked me to be his wife. Without remembering to put the ring on I flung my arms around him in a giant hug and said YES!!!  Now here we are! Planning our wedding and planning on a lifetime of coffee dates, late night talks, and chasing after God’s plan for our lives together. Starting with a celebration with friends and family where I get to take his last name :)