It's not talking of love, but living in love that is everything.

A download of an app, a profile created, and wishful thinking lead us to one another. We swiped right and began texting. Our texts lead us to the most unconventional first date where we checked off every box on "what not to do on a first date," which ended with a gift for my little niece and a peck on the cheek. We felt an instant connection because for the first time someone loved us for ourselves. The date turned into routine phone calls at 20:00 where we talked for hours about everything under the sun. Soon, he made the 3 and a half-hour drive down to my college every weekend. We worked on our schoolwork, watched movies, tried new restaurants, and grew closer and our love strengthened. By the time we are wed, we will have completed two masters, two moves, four years of service and counting, several deployment-scares, and a pandemic. Our life will always have challenges, but our love beats all odds. It's a blessing for us to say, we're marrying our best friend.

It happened after a gentle snowfall in the middle of November where a simple photo-opp turned into a proposal by the bend of a knee of Robert Lee. Rob's dad came up to visit us and witness Rob's assumption of command ceremony. The night of the proposal we were getting everything prepared to make dinner when the topic of the ceremony came up. I joked about slipping on my pretend ring to be Rob's fiance. Rob had an epiphany, he knew exactly what to do. So, he asked his Dad to follow him downstairs to start the grill where Rob announced his proposal idea. I was asked to come down in 10 minutes and to bring the meat and vegetables. As I walked down to the courtyard (where the grills are located), nothing seemed off from the ordinary. Rob suggested we take some photos, as we stood there smiling in front of the "Alta Union House" sign Rob turns to me and says, "there's no one else I would rather spend the rest of my life with. Jessica Leigh Cost will you marry me?" With tears in my eyes and the warmth in my heart, I said Yes. The rest, family & friends, is history.