John always tells me that I am a storyteller between the two of us, so he is letting me be the one to share our story! John and I first met in 2020 at a Christmas party through our church. We were doing a white elephant gift exchange and John and I had thought of the same gift. We both brought a homemade "Covid survival kit." I thought it was funny that we both had the same idea. Great minds think alike right? We became friends and got to know each other more over the first several months. Our relationship began to progress as time went on and we started dating. John and I had a lot of interests in common: snowboarding, hiking, biking and traveling, among a lot of other things. We started going to church together and deepening our relationship through our shared faith. After about five months of dating, John started talking about how he was being drawn to move to Washington D.C. I definitely didn't want him to leave, but wanted him to follow where God was leading him. About a month later, it became evident that we were in different places in life and in our relationship with each other and we ended up breaking up. That was a hard season, but after some time and space, we managed to become friends again even after breaking up. A couple months later, I ended up in the hospital with Covid pneumonia. That was a very hard season for me. John was there for me during that time in a way that I didn't expect. He came to the hospital, prayed for me, called me, brought me meals and made sure that I was ok. I realized just how much he loved me and cared about me during that time. But our paths were still going different directions and we said our goodbyes as he left to move to Washington D.C. About a year later, John came to Denver for a mutual friend's wedding and we reconnected. But the timing was still not right and we still lived on opposite ends of the country. We again went our separate ways and started dating other people. Another year passed and my friend and I took a trip to D.C. for the cherry blossom festival. We reconnected with John while we were there. This time, something felt different. We stayed in touch after our trip and several months later, he decided to join my friend and I for an international trip to South Africa. We had so much fun and remembered how much we love traveling together. We started talking again and before long we were back together. Several months later, through a series of different events, John decided to leave D.C. and move back to New Mexico. We were long distance, but a short road trip away now. Not too long after that, I was able to find a travel nursing assignment in New Mexico and live nearby. About a year after getting back together, John and I went on a cruise to Alaska. On our first stop in Juneau, we did a hike on the "perseverance trail." It ended at a beautiful waterfall. We sat and enjoyed the waterfall and enjoyed the views with no one else in sight. It was there at the end of the perseverance trail that John got down on one knee and proposed, a very fitting spot for our journey together. On April 22nd, 2026, we eloped in Breckenridge, Colorado with an intimate ceremony with a few close friends and family. We are looking forward to continuing our celebrations with all of you at our reception in Denver on September 26th.