Our story began in December 2019 like so many others do these days…online. At the time, David was in California for work, but before we could meet up, he had to fly back to Michigan. We kept in touch here and there over the next year, just casually checking in. Fast forward to December 2020, David returned to California for work. This time, he reached out to let me know he was back in town and suggested we finally meet in person. That’s when our beautiful long-distance relationship took off. Despite the miles between Michigan and California, we made it work with visits back and forth. In February 2022, life took an amazing turn. I was pregnant, and it made sense for me to move to Michigan so we could be together full-time. In April, we welcomed our beautiful baby girl, and our little family couldn’t have felt more complete. On March 23, 2024, David had secretly planned to propose at the beach. He casually asked if we should take our daughter to play in the sand, which seemed like a nice idea before heading to the grocery store. What I didn’t know was that the beach visit had a much bigger purpose. When we got there, I stopped at the edge of the wooden pathway, thinking about how I didn’t want to get sand in my shoes before running errands. David, on the other hand, continued down to the beach with our daughter, sticking to his plan. After a little while, we headed back to the car, but our daughter had a meltdown. Since we were close to home, I suggested David drop us off and go to the store alone to pick up something quick for dinner. When he returned, I started cooking, and in the middle of it, our daughter decided we should all have a dance party in the kitchen. After a few minutes, she got tired and wandered off, leaving just David and me dancing and holding each other. That’s when he kept saying “I love you” over and over, and before I knew it, he was down on one knee. In our cozy kitchen, with dinner on the stove and our daughter nearby, he asked me to spend forever with him. Now, we have the rest of our lives to look forward to together!