Photos

This is the first photo taken of Kaitlin and I, the day after we'd met. We were already fast friends and enjoyed spending as much time as possible together!

After Operation Onesimus ended Kaitlin and I just had Bible readings over Skype to keep in touch. I was eager to see her again, and attended the 2014 Cleveland Music Weekend at her home church.

Our next visit was in January of 2015, right after the 2014 Williamsburg Conference. It was during this visit that we first discussed our feelings for each other.

The evening before this photo was taken, I asked Kaitlin on our first date - to see Kingsman: The Secret Service in theaters on March 7, 2015!

Tied in with our first date to the movies was a visit to my favorite sushi restaurant - Sarah Street Bar & Grill! Nights at the sushi bar have become very special to Kaitlin and I over the years.

A visit to Cleveland's Wade Park Lagoon, in May of 2015. My hair is starting to grow out!

Kaitlin's first time in to New York City, June 2015. I fondly recall sharing my favorite parts of the city with her, as she had shared Cleveland with me a few weeks prior.

Summer at the Camp, 2015.

By fall of 2015, I had successfully commandeered one of Kaitlin's shirts!

One of our many "goodbye" pictures. Parting was the hardest part of long distance. We tried to make it a point to always take a picture together before we drove 400+ miles away from each other.

On one of Kaitlin's visits to Pennsylvania in early 2016, I took her on a hike through the woods I'd grown up exploring. We had a wonderful, romantic time!

Our first trip down to visit Kaitlin's family after they moved to Texas included an adventure on a clutchless ATV.

You know it's love when Kaitlin was willing to stick with me despite my scraggly, unkempt beard!

June 2016 - Kaitlin was with me for my graduation from high school.

July 2016 - Kaitlin and I joined her dad and brothers for a day trip up to Niagara Falls for a bit of hiking.

Another visit to Cleveland in the fall of 2016. Back at the Wade Park Lagoon!

As a part of my 18th birthday celebrations, Kaitlin and I attended a Halloween party. Kaitlin won the costume contest with her "Seven of Nine" outfit.

Another visit down to Houston, for Thanksgiving 2016 with Kaitlin's family.

On our way up to the Vermont Winter Youth Weekend in early 2017, we stopped at the iconic "Ted's Fish Fry" in Troy, NY.

It was in early 2017 that Kaitlin moved to Saddlebrook, NJ, and our long-distance relationship become a short-distance (15 minutes!) one! Here, we work on our scrapbook in her apartment.

Kaitlin joined my family on a trip to Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia to celebrate my mom's birthday, May 2017.

After I spent 3 weeks on the road with her brother, Kaitlin was eager to have me back from Alaska. We went for a date at Sweet Creme's Cafe in Stroudsburg to catch up! (June 2017)

Cave exploration while on a hike in the Columbia River Gorge, WA. Can you tell who is who? (August 2017)

After the Meal-a-Day Build Week (August 2017), Kaitlin and I stayed a few extra days with my family to visit with friends and do some hiking. Here we are with Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach, OR.

September 7, 2017 - we went to go see the sequel to Kingsman in order to celebrate 2.5 years together!

Kaitlin's grandparents threw me a surprise 19th birthday party during a visit to Ohio in October 2017.

Kaitlin and I were put in charge of finding my family's Christmas tree for the 2017 holiday seasons. There was no better place than the good ol' Tree Lot in Cedar Grove, NJ!

More scrapbooking together in Kaitlin's Saddlebrook apartment!

Celebrating Christmas 2017 at my mom's house! The Christmas tree we chose decorated up nicely!

To celebrate our 3 year anniversary, we went for a snowy hike around the Levee Loop in Stroudsburg. This walk is very special to Kaitlin and I - consider checking it out while in town for the wedding!

The snow kept falling, and by the time we made it back to my dad's it was almost a foot deep!

Kaitlin and I stopped by one of my dad's job sites to say hi and check out the lampposts he was installing.

Hiking in northern NJ, June 2018.

I know Kaitlin is perfect for me, because she put up with cooking over a gas burner, arriving at campsites after 1 AM, and missing out on showers for 10 days on our roadtrip to Houston! (June 2018)

Our "cactus selfie" while hiking near Austin, Texas. This was a part of our summer roadtrip to visit Kaitlin's family in Houston. (June 2018)

Kaitlin poses on the Texas-Arkansas state line on our way home from Houston. Texarkana was an interesting place!

I jokingly "proposed" to Kaitlin with this clover ring. She didn't accept (yet!), but she did keep the clover in her car for the next 3 months. :P (July 2018)

I found this "road rose" hanging out in a parking lot. Despite it being a bit silly, Kaitlin still loved the spontaneous rose. (Jersey Shore, July 2018)

For Kaitlin's 25th birthday, we went on an adventure to the Lackawanna Coal Mine in Scranton, PA.

Kaitlin's 25th birthday festivities also included a hike at Mt. Tammany in the Delaware Water Gap. (August 2018)

Before she went to college, Kaitlin had a photo shoot on a friend's farm. While in Ohio, we went back to this same farm to recreate her old photos, and snap a few new ones together! (September 2018)

A dinner date in my first apartment in Glassboro, NJ. (September 2018)

In 2018, we once again joined Kaitlin's family for Thanksgiving in Texas. While there, we went on a walk and found an alligator! Several of them, actually.

It's always a nice break from the chilly November weather of New Jersey when we visit the Ross parents in Texas. We got to go to the beach after Thanksgiving!

Kaitlin and I ended 2018 at the Williamsburg Conference. This included a date night out to Colonial Williamsburg. (December 2018)

In early 2019, Kaitlin moved to Riegelsville, PA for work. She was so close to the PA/NJ border that we were able to walk from state to state!

Movie night! Kaitlin always puts up with my silly shenanigans, including my suggestion to stop at the neighboring Audi dealer while we killed time before our show. (February 2019)

In March, 2019 we went in to Philadelphia for the International Flower Show for our four year anniversary. The different types of plants were fascinating!

In anticipation of Kaitlin's second niece, Kiah, being born, we spent my spring break in Washington. While there we did some hiking. Here, Kaitlin braids back my hair before the hike. (March 2019)

Half way to the summit! (March 2019)

Just shy of the actual summit of Saddle Mountain in Washington. The snow was mid-thigh by the time we got to the top! (March 2019)

In April of 2019, I cut about a foot off my hair and several inches off my beard. I was glad to look less like a member of ZZ Top.

Right after school let out in May, we hit the road on our summer road trip! One of our first stops was to visit Oregon Trail monuments such as Chimney Rock in Nebraska. (May 2019)

A hike at Red Rocks, Colorado! Florence and the Machine was warming up for a show that night at the amphitheater, so our hike had intermittent musical accompaniment.

Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah was absolutely beautiful! Our hike began with fog and snow, and ended in brilliant sunshine. (May 2019)

Zion National Park in Utah was equally as beautiful as Bryce, and an unexpected stop! Kaitlin interviewed for a job while on the hike - and got it!

We're pictured here at the lowest point in North America - Death Valley. The park was absolutely amazing and will always hold a special place in our hearts. (May 2019)

In June we moved to Cleveland for Kaitlin's summer position at the Cleveland Clinic and my research position at Case Western Reserve University. We attended a friend's wedding and had a grand time!

In July, 2019 I drove out to Great Lakes Bible School in Manchester, IN to ask Kaitlin's dad for her hand in marriage. He gave me his blessing, and everything was set for the proposal!

Kaitlin doesn't know it yet - but she's about to get proposed to! I asked her while on a hike on the "Bridle" Trail in Chardon, OH. (August 16, 2019)

Right before our turnaround point in the hike, I popped the question. Kaitlin was so excited and once the shock wore off, quickly said yes! (August 16, 2019)

After our hike we cleaned up and headed out for a celebratory dinner at Alley Cat in downtown Cleveland. (August 16, 2019)

After dinner we took a walk by Lake Erie and called our friends and family together to tell them the exciting news. (August 16, 2019)

Our engagement photo shoot took place a few days after our engagement, on the shores of Lake Erie.

Mentor Headlands Beach, where we took our photos, is a favorite of Kaitlin's from her childhood and holds fun memories for me from adventures during my summer living in Cleveland.