July 4th, 2014 is when Cory & I first said hello. It was a beautiful day celebrating the holiday with family friends. Only a few "hi’s" occurred between Cory & I, until just before I was about to leave. Cory came up to talk to me at the end of the night. It was cute how nervous he was & so funny because he told me everything about his life, who he is, & future dreams right there in front of both of us. An hour later I found myself not wanting to leave our conversation but had to say goodbye. I realized in that moment Cory would be in my thoughts for a while. We emailed each other a handful of times, but nothing too serious because we lived far away & we're both on different journeys in our lives at that point. On January 30th, 2016 we saw each other again briefly at an event, which led to talking more & him calling me on the phone for the first time with such a shaking voice from nerves to set up a date. On February 28th, 2016 I sat across from Cory at McMenamins over humble salads & talked nonstop with him for almost 4 hours. In that moment I think we both realized that this was something unique, not sure where it would lead us, maybe just a really great friendship or maybe something so much more. Living 73 miles from one another we went on a date here & there when we could, taking full advantage to enjoy getting to know each other in so many different places up & down I5. On April 2nd, 2016 Cory for the first time professed his love for me & asked me to officially be his girlfriend over the city stars (for my romantic self I loved it) & of course I said yes with so much love behind it! That night we also had our first of many epic kisses! Since then we have grown so lovestruck with one another & I am so grateful that it is Cory I get to love & be loved by!

As the sun set on January 21st, 2018 Cory fell quiet, which is out of character. We spent the whole day exploring new escapes within Portland, hidden landscapes, indulged in delicious foods, & got to see the city from all angles. It was a day of soaking each other in & enjoying our Sunday together. When the sun started to disappear we were exploring around Pioneer Square, enjoying the city lights & architecture, then having dessert at Petunia’s Pies & Pastries. Cory got quieter & quieter. As the night was coming to a close Cory announced before leaving the dessert shop that he wanted to stop at one last place. We walked back to the car in the light rain, holding hands, watching the lights twinkle, & talking about silly things, all with me having no clue what was about to happen. Cory drove me to the spot where he first professed his love 631 days prior. It was completely dark & looked over the cityscape showing all the beautiful lights of Portland (the city stars!) He made sure he took me to the exact spot on the sidewalk where he told me he loved me for the first time & then in that moment he started to pour his heart out to me. Granted this was not an odd occurrence. I am marrying a romantic who says loving things on a frequent basis, so I didn’t think anything of it beyond how much I just enjoyed hearing him say all those things to me & just so enjoying the moment with him. Then he surprised me. It was cold so I was squeezing him tight to stay warm as he told me everything, then he stepped away from me & got down on one knee to ask me to marry him. For those few seconds the world slowed down & I will never forget the look on his face when he asked & how happy he was in that moment! Of course I said “Yes!, Yes!, Yes!,” as I pulled him close to me to kiss & hug! After a couple of minutes of enjoying the moment, he put a gorgeous ring on my finger & we continued to soak each other in before we went to tell all our loved ones! It was a perfect moment for us!

Please pray that God will teach us to love each other in the deepest way, walk alongside each other in best way down the path He created for us, pray for wisdom and discernment as we walk towards each other in Christ in each step of our intended forever love. - Cory

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