We met through a close friend; she brought me (Kate) along with her to meet some guy (Jeff) who she had met a while back. I, initially, had no real interest in this other person other than he was a friend of my best friend. The plan was to meet Jeff at the Canal Fest in Tonawanda. It was just another hot, summer day and the air smelled like cotton candy and fried dough. Little did I know that years down the road, I would fall in love with this person and he'd become the real love of my life.

We had kept in touch over the next several years and he became a true friend, a guy I could always rely on, a person who was there for me during a rocky time in my life and helped me get through. He was by my side, and slowly, but surely, we started to get those butterflies. He was always making me smile. We would drive around and talk for hours, listen to music, go out to eat, spend time with our friends, and go on random adventures. I don't know what we would consider our "first date", but we knew we always wanted to be together.

It was Christmas Day. We had gone to Jeff's parent's house in the morning to exchange presents and we going to my parent's house to eat a little later in the day. The weather was perfect. It snowy and the sun was shining. We stopped at our house so I could grab a sweatshirt before going over to my parent's. As I came out of the room, I saw a letter with my name of it. I went into the living room where it was a little brighter and I read this handwritten letter. It was beautiful, and as I finished reading, Jeff said "Your ring is on the tree somewhere." There, at the top of our Christmas tree, was a purple jewelry box. I took it down and opened it and saw the most beautiful and perfect ring. He took the box from my hands and knelt down. He asked me to share his life with him and to be together forever. I said yes, and our hearts were full. That day quickly became my new "best Christmas ever."