Good news! We are getting married!

After years of going on dates here and there, dipping our toes in the online dating pool, and deciding that we may just be single for life, AJ and I were fatefully set up by my cousin's husband, James. It was a cold winter night, so we decided to meet at Five Watt for a cup of decaf. I ordered a latte and AJ ordered an espresso shot. I remember thinking maybe he didn't want to be there for very long, because it was only going to take a matter of minutes for him to finish an espresso shot. But before we knew it the barista was telling us they needed to lock the place up. The barista also commented that we were "killing it", so it must have been pretty obvious that we were on a first date, haha. Here we are a year-ish later, still killing it! We both left that night thinking we just might have come across something special.

Fast forward through navigating the beginning of a relationship through my parents move to Texas, a worldwide pandemic, racial unrest, and a divisive election year. No wonder our friendship and companionship grew so quickly. There were lots of things to discuss and we found that no matter how difficult the conversations were, we enjoyed listening to each other's perspectives, thoughts, and questions. We saw each other's character through the way we handled disagreements and differing personality traits, but also through shared values, our faith, and experiences. It didn't take us long to decide we wanted to wade through all of life's joys and trials together, enjoying and sharpening one another. On November 7, AJ took me on a trip down memory lane. He took me back to Five Watt to have a morning coffee, made a picnic, and led me hiking to one of our favorite spots down by the river. I was pretty sure he would propose, but THEN HE DIDN'T! We hiked back up to the car and drove to another spot for a little more urban hiking (AKA walking), and then headed back to his apartment. I had been so sure that we were getting engaged that I was fighting a little bit of disappointment, but then I gave him a big hug in the elevator and his heart was RACING. We walked in the door of his apartment and the smell of barbacoa taco meat (the first meal he made me) hit me and I immediately started tearing up. I knew this was it. I walked around the corner and there were 2 dozen roses, a Wild Hockey picture from one of our first dates, and AJ down on one knee. It was perfect.