Theresa and I met at a volleyball league for Catholic young adults. She walked up to me and invited me into her group because I looked lonely, which I was. After a few weeks of playing softball and volleyball as well as attending young adult group, I finally started to feel more drawn to her. One Monday after softball, one of our friends from softball asked if people wanted to go to the Cubs game because his dad had tickets near home plate. We both were the first ones to speak up and so we ended up going with him and his dad. We spent a couple hours that day alone together because we carpooled to the game and we also got to wrigley a little early to walk around. A week or so later we started dating, we quickly learned that we are very similar and enjoy the same activities. Fast forward to a few months later, I proposed to her in front of a nativity scene after going on a hike in the afternoon. I chose to propose to her there becasue St. Joseph and Mary have always been a big part of our story and now they will definitely be part of our story forever. God gave us so many signs that it was the right time for us... I am so thankful to have found someone who makes me as happy as Theresa does.

I first met James while playing volleyball in a young adult league, and I immediately approached him because he was wearing a Franciscan University t-shirt- which happened to be my alma mater. As the extrovert, I was very bubbly and probably overbearing, but I felt very drawn to James and wanted to make sure that he had friends and a community. We started seeing each other more at volleyball and young adult group events at Our Lady of Mercy. Eventually, I invited James to play in a summer softball league with me. During that summer, I saw how much James cared about me. He was so attuned to my needs, whether emotional, physical, or spiritual. We became dear friends and really cared about each other. Before you knew it, we were texting every day and I started falling for James. However, I was so nervous because I was a bit older and I feared that a romantic relationship wouldn't work, or would ruin what we had. At the end of July we ended up spending a whole day together going to Wrigley with last minute tickets from a friend. I felt so incredibly safe and protected, and as we rode back to the remote parking lot in the shuttle bus, I leaned my head against his chest. Butterflies exploded in both of us. That weekend, James walked me to my car after softball and asked me out on a date. I was still struggling with believing that a relationship was possible with the age gap, and so I was caught off guard but so grateful for the courage he showed in asking. I agreed, and we started going out that week. After encouragement and prayer with a dear friend, we spent time in Adoration and James asked me to be his girlfriend. It was incredible to date such a gentle, kind, protective, and Christ-centered man. Yes, long-distance was harder than I anticipated, but it forced us to have more and more deep conversations. The more I got to know James, the more I was blown away by how well he fit into my life, and me into his. James has made me a more patient, gentle, and joyful person. He makes me want to seek Jesus even more. And as the weeks went on, we both naturally and easily came to the realization that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together and that it seemed to be the Lord's will as well. I flew out to Franciscan University to visit James in mid October. During that visit, James invited me to join him Saturday evening at the grotto on campus. It was dark, and a fall chill was in the air, and the paths between the adoration chapel and grotto were lit with dim lights. It felt like such a holy and peaceful place. After spending time in prayer at the Marian grotto, James and I walked over to the Nativity Creche. He got on one knee and asked me to marry him. I responded "yes" without hesitation and immediately burst into happy tears. Once I stopped weeping, we walked hand in hand to the main chapel on campus where praise & worship was just beginning. What a joy to spend the next hour praising Jesus together in complete freedom for the incredible gift of our relationship. “You will know your vocation by the joy that it brings you"- Servant of God Dorothy Day