Our Story begins in the kids area at Zeal Church in 2019 while I (Josh) was serving on the safety team and Alexa was serving on the family check-in team. I thought Alexa was beautiful and me being who I am I decided to make a joke. I said, “so, did you get those jeans at a discount since there are so many holes in them?” Alexa may have chuckled a little.. but I could not tell if it was funny or if she was just being kind to help me feel good. Well, that is where she messed up.. after that moment I was determined to take her on a date. Weeks went by and Alexa and I became friends. Fast forward to Christmas of 2019, Alexa helped coordinate the kids dance and performed in the Zeal Kids Christmas production and I unfortunately could not be there to see it, so I slid into her DM’s and asked her to send it to me if it was recorded. Yes, I did want to see the dance, but I also wanted to see if she would text me, so I left her my number. I got the recording but unfortunately that was it. My plan may not have worked but persistence is key! In March 2020 when COVID hit I went from being able to see her every week to having to find reasons to talk to her. They say good relationships are built on strong friendships and Alexa and I were friends throughout the year the world shut down. By mid-summer we started having small covid compliant small groups on Sundays at her house with other members from the church. I would stay after to help clean up because I wanted to spend as much time with her as I possibly could. (Alexa thought I was just being nice but I had a plan!) Once the world started to open up again, Alexa and I ended up on the same kickball team and got even closer. In my mind that is where she started to fall for me… because, you know, my insane athletic ability! Forward to Thanksgiving where Alexa and I both had our family Thanksgivings cancelled due to covid and we both were invited to spend the day at the Porritts. After spending my favorite holiday together with two great wingmen, I decided to ask Alexa on a date. Unfortunately, the timing was still not quite right so Alexa ultimately said no. Part of me was upset but hey we would still be friends! Alexa and I remained friends and I started to send her weekly motivation Monday text messages asking how I could pray for her and wishing her a great week. This went on for a while and we also both started leading small groups on the same night at the church. I was back to being able to see her on a regular weekly basis and things were going well. In May, Alexa, the Zeal Groups Director at the time, was set to plan the Freedom Conference our church and as some of you know, it can very be stressful. I did my best to help her during the conference to help mitigate her stress as much as possible. I coordinated with our friends to give her a present at the end of the conference from all of us so that way she knew that everyone was thankful for all her hard work. Little did I know but.. ladies and gentlemen, I had done it! Alexa would later tell me that driving away from the conference her feelings for me changed. A few weeks later Alexa's roommate at the time convinced me to ask her on another date. Shortly after that Alexa asked me to go car shopping with her and that became our first unofficial date! That weekend I was lucky enough accompany Alexa as she fulfilled one of her goals, to buy a Porsche. I was blown away by the way she handled herself, negotiated, and didn't settle. On that day I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her because she held her own and was not afraid to speak up about things but also how she valued my opinion. I asked her at lunch on an official first date (again) and this time she said yes! Now here we are, and I am beyond blessed to have the opportunity to marry the literal best human for me. This is only the beginning of our story. Watch out world, there is a power couple stepping out on the scene and we are all gas, no brakes.