We don't exactly remember the very first time we were introduced, but we know it was at Christy & Travis Janssen's house during one of their many get togethers. They had people over pretty often to hang out, listen to music and get to know other people in the Austin Peay community. The Janssen's living room is where we spent much of our time together as just friends, more than friends, and is actually where Ryan proposed a few years later.

If you know much about the story of "us" then you know how our relationship has been filled to the brim with grace, forgiveness, reconciliation, and a whole lot of patience. Looking back, it's so obvious to see how God's hand has been on both of us through every twist, turn, and occasional misstep. Despite every curve ball thrown our way we've been able to trust each other more and more. We wake up every day with the game plan of choosing joy and choosing each other no matter what, and we are excited to be able to live that out in our marriage for the rest of our lives.

As noted above, the Janssen family has been a big part of our relationship the past few years, so Ryan had the idea of tricking me into thinking we were going to pick up their daughter, Avery, to take her to a special dinner. We pull up to their house and walk to the front door to find a small canvas with "Thank God for Crazy Love" written on it. I had pushed the thought of him proposing anytime soon to the back of my mind, so once I saw the canvas I still had no idea what was about to happen. We walk through the front door into a pathway of rose petals, candles, and pictures of us while our song "Crazy Love" was playing over a speaker. Now I have an idea of what is about to happen so I start to cry. We walk through the beautiful pathway into the living room where Ryan tells me he loves me and wants to continue spending our lives together forever. He then gets down on one knee and asks me to marry him. I think I said yes five or six times just to make sure he knew my answer. One of the best parts of all of this is that he had a photographer taking pictures and there was an iPad set up videoing the whole thing! I now have the most beautiful ring on my finger, I get to marry the love of my life, and we get to spend the rest of our lives pursuing God together. We are so undeserving but so thankful. August 8th can't come soon enough!