We met in June of 2021, in the summer before starting graduate school in chemistry at TAMU. I was organizing various get-togethers for incoming 1st-year grad students, and Jake dragged Jacob along to one of these initial meetings. I don't really recall anything specific about that first meeting - I certainly didn't foresee that Jacob would be my future husband! We quickly gravitated toward the same friend group, and became good friends in grad school - we were in most of the same classes, enjoyed game nights and cocktail parties, and just went about life as normal. In our second year of grad school, my friend Daniel and I started a Bible study among chemistry grad students, and Jacob readily joined. I was inspired by his firm convictions and unflinching acceptance of both sin and God's grace. Another year passed, and I considered that Jacob might become more than just a good friend of mine. Indeed, one Saturday in February of 2023, Jacob confessed that he had feelings for me. ... And the rest, as they say, is history!

We got dressed up for the 10 am All Souls Day mass, then got lunch at Fusion Peru (where we had our first date). Jacob said he wanted to take me to Hush and Whisper (a favorite local distillery) when it opened at 2, so we had some time to kill. We came back to St. Mary’s to honor our faithful departed, then went to the prayer garden, where Jacob had stationed our friend Aurelio. Jacob asked Aurelio to take our picture, then we turned aside to pray. (Up to this point I suspected nothing.) Then Jacob started praying - and his heart was beating very fast, and Aurelio stayed there with his camera up - and I started to suspect that this might be the moment. Then Jacob asked me if I would share in his sorrows and joys, and whether I believed he would share in my sorrows and joys - and then he got down on one knee - and asked me to marry him!