We're getting married!

My friends, Katie Cobstill, Chelsea Whitney, and Sarah Wergin were our matchmakers! They are friends of mine and teach at Churchville with Kyle! While at Linda Schottmiller's wedding reception, they were chatting with Kyle, and decided they had a match for him, so we were set up on a blind date! Katie gave the “okay” to give Kyle my number, and he texted me shortly after:) We texted back and forth for a while, and his responses would sometimes take a few days in between, so I figured he was not interested, and I came sooo close to calling it off, but then he asked me on a date! Our first date was perfect! We met up at Churchville Park to take Olive for a walk. Kyle brought dog treats for Olive and Calla Lilies for me, but he jokingly switched them when giving them to me. We walked around, looked for turtles, and sat and chatted for a long while at a picnic table overlooking the creek. This is where Kyle proposed! Kyle and I had a great summer together, which included fun surprise dates where Kyle took me to places like Charlotte Pier to watch the sunset and the Clubhouse for mini golf. We also started to attend each other’s churches together. We had lots of funny times and moments together, including our first kiss at Lake Ontario where Kyle inadvertently elbowed me in the eyeball! We still laugh at this! Fall was full of special times! We went apple-picking, Kyle caused trouble at Urgent Care messing around with the rubber gloves, we went on a special date to Letchworth, we got to know each other’s families, and Kyle even volunteered us to do the Chicken Dance for a dinner at Hidden Meadows (embarassing for me, but he was in his glory with all of the senior citizens, haha!) Kyle and I enjoyed lots of fun winter activities together. We worked on puzzles, had movie nights, painted our own nutcracker (thanks, Aunt Heidi), Kyle loooved shopping with me (sarcasm, haha!), we played some heated games of foosball, I accompanied Kyle when he donated blood, and we cut down a Christmas tree! In December, we went on the Polar Express and got to see White Christmas at the Shea theater! We also went on a Christmas date in which my family tasked us with missions such as grabbing a Christmassy treat, seeing the trains at the Garden Factory, getting hot cocoa, and going for a Christmas walk! This spring, Kyle and I have gotten to read together, Kyle has taken me on dinner dates where I get to talk his ear off telling him about the books I am reading (even when they are disturbing, thanks for recommending The Troop, Ryan, haha!), has shown me around his classroom and school (the same one I attended!), and we have had nights in to cook together. Life with Kyle is a hilarious and wonderful adventure, and I can't wait to marry him! I’m so thankful that God brought us together, and we are both excited to see what He has planned for our future!

When I began my teaching career in Alaska, in each class, my students' first question for me was whether or not I had a "honey," which is what they called a significant other. I have many people in my life to thank, because if it wasn’t for them, Karensa (love, love bug, and honey) wouldn’t be in my life. Thanks to these friends, I now have Karensa as my honey forever! Last year, my colleague, Linda, got married and we celebrated her wedding back in June. At one point, I was venting about dates and how online dating was tough. Not even 3 seconds later, Sarah, Chelsea, and Katie were on it! Between pictures, texting, and a verbal “yes” for exchanging numbers, the traditional blind date was a success! If you ask Karensa, it wasn’t as successful and she would have liked it. I didn’t want to seem desperate, so I purposefully waited to respond over a few days at a time. If it wasn’t for her mom, Brenda, Karensa was going to call it off as she thought I was wasting her time and not interested. On the first date, we met at Churchville Park and walked Olive and sat at “our bench” for a few hours. I don’t like to admit this, but I got lost because a certain someone (Karensa) isn’t the best at directions and had to pin drop her location so I could find her. On the way there, I stopped for flowers, dog treats, and to make myself even later, I got stopped by a train. Then, after getting lost and ending up at the boat launch, a 1:00 arrival turned into a 1:45 arrival. If you know me, you know I am never late, and felt so bad! Also, if you know me, I have a sense of humor and gave the dog treats to Karensa and the flowers to Olive. Luckily, she laughed and quickly understood my humor. All Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring, I surprised Karensa with dates and random romantic gestures to show how much I love her! One of my favorite dates was the pier when she thought I was going to kiss her during sunset, but I chickened out and didn’t do it for another two months! On the way back to get ice cream, I didn’t know how to ask to hold her hand, so I went science-mode and asked to see her lifelines before grabbing it. Later on in the night, she did the move on me, but I didn’t pick up on it right away and tried showing her my lifelines in the dark. When I finally did have the courage to kiss her, I elbowed her in the eye, and we laughed so hard! I have so many other memories and favorites about Karensa, and I am lucky to have her in my life. Family, students, friends, and my colleagues know how much joy she brings me and how much joy I bring her. Karensa, I love you very much and can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you! Yours truly, Kyle