we're getting married!

Our story begins in 1988, where Jackson and Libby's dads were roommates at Grove City College, Ray Batz gets the credit for setting up Lance and Cindy but that's a story you'll have to ask them to share. Our parents have been friends since college but Jackson grew up as a military kid all over the world and Libby lived in Grove City until through her college graduation, so our paths didn't cross for a long time. At the end of summer 2022, Libby was living in Erie, PA and Jackson was looking for a full time job when our parents (but mostly Cindy) decided to "set us up" during a family boat outing. Both of our interests were piqued but when Jackson got offered a job to work for the Stewarts, he decided that dating the boss's daughter might be biting off a little more than he could chew (spoiler alert: his mind eventually changed). Jackson ended up moving to PA and we started texting and seeing each other when Cindy could arrange it, but things fell off pretty soon (Jackson said "no" one too many times). A few months later, Libby was on her next rotation in South Carolina when she came up to PA for Easter where Jackson was invited to spend the holiday with the Stewarts. At this point Jackson realized that he may in fact be falling for this girl. He kept showing up to the family events to try and get some time with her but it seemed she had decided that he was a dead end (spoiler alert: her mind also changed!). The next time the two made contact was at another Stewart event in June where Jackson and Libby had an opportunity to have some one on one time playing cards and sparks started to fly. From this point, the two of us began to text more frequently and that then led to phone calls getting to as long as 4 hours in some cases. During their first FaceTime, Jackson had a phone that couldn't hold a charge and Libby could barely hold her laughter when he had to lay his phone down flat on a wireless charger and stand overtop just to keep the facetime conversation rolling! In August of 2023, we had our first date when Libby came to see me in Zelienople PA. Together we watched The Barbie Movie and had dinner at ShuBrew, we were both relieved that after a few months of talking virtually, our spark translated well from our phones to real life. The beginning of our relationship involved flying back and forth from Texas to see each other while Libby was on rotation there. This was difficult but it made our time together that much more special. In January 2024, Libby took a role in Frederick, Maryland reducing our distance from a three hour flight to a three hour drive. This is where our relationship truly blossomed. In Frederick, Jackson and Libby couldn't stay away and began to see each other near weekly building their love and a community through Christ. The two of us began to frequent FCF church where we made friends that would help us grow in our faith as individuals and as a couple. After a year of traveling back-and-forth between PA and MD, Jackson understood that in order to end the long distance from the woman he loved it was time to put a ring on it. And put a ring on it he did! It was a warm Saturday in March, Jackson had booked an early dinner at the Tasting Room in Frederick and was extremely nervous. He didn't know how Libby knew that by the end of the night they would be engaged. Trying to remain calm and cool, Jackson proceeded to order too much food and wine to try and distract Libby from the fact that he was in fact nervous. After eating far too much, the two of us drove to a covered bridge is Baker Park. This is where Jackson got down on one knee and asked Libby to spend the rest of her life with him (spoiler alert: she said yes!). Now we are preparing to embrace life together. Thank you for helping us celebrate our love! Libby & Jackson