I started going to St. Barnabas in early spring of 2021, and Luke introduced himself to me about a month later. We exchanged phone numbers in May and started hanging out together with groups of friends shortly after that. We soon realized we liked spending time together and would accidentally end up doing our own thing when hanging out with friends.

Luke and I were still just friends at this time. He texted me asking if I wanted to go out with a group of friends for sushi and I said yes. All of our friends were conveniently busy, so Luke asked if we could go. I said of course, and he said he would pick me up so the restaurant would be a surprise. (I knew it was a date at that point!) We went to Sushi AI, and he helped me navigate chop sticks and showed me the proper way to eat sushi. After dinner he asked me to be his girlfriend. Within a week we said "I love you" and knew we wanted to marry each other.

We spent our first Christmas together with our families and that night while unwrapping presents, Luke handed me a box. I opened the box to find a small heart inside which was beautifully carved out of wood from his family's farm. I opened the wooden heart and the engagement ring was inside! Luke got down on one knee and proposed. It is the best Christmas present I have ever received!