When I moved to Yatesville at the beginning of 2025, I thought all it had to offer was a quiet, older community and a house I’d get to call home. Never did I imagine it would be the town where God placed me to meet my forever person. Many times, I found myself doing yard work and minding my own business, all the while unaware that there was a girl right down the road who had noticed me before I ever noticed her. My parents had spotted her before I did, too, since she would walk down by the house they were building. One evening, my mom called and told me to stop what I was doing, get in the truck, and come to the house because “that cute girl” they had been talking about was out walking. Without a second thought, I jumped in the truck and took off. I threw on my sunglasses, slowed down as I passed her, waved, and kept going. When I got to the dirt road, I quickly turned around just to get a second glance, thinking my luck would be that she lived out of town somewhere and was just visiting family for the day — or even worse, that she was married with a family already on the other side of town. From then on, she was known as “The Walking Girl,” and my family knew exactly who I meant. On May 6, 2025, Clint Watson, who was building a house next to my parents, called and asked if I could help him move a toolbox. I hopped on the dirt bike and rode over. Wearing a raggedy shirt, shorts, Xtratuf boots, and sporting some crazy hair, I noticed a girl up on the hill playing with Clint and Nicki’s dog. It wasn’t just any girl — it was “The Walking Girl.” And I was extremely underdressed to be meeting her, if it came to that. Clint introduced us, mentioning she was Nicki’s cousin, and that was it. No age, no relationship status — nothing. At the time, I had no idea that God was aligning every detail — even this brief introduction — to lead me to the woman I would one day love with my whole heart. The next day, my sister, Mallory did a little reconnaissance work for me at Lilly Jane. She asked Bri — a mutual friend of Mallory and Josie — if my name had come up in conversation while they were working together. When Mallory told me that Josie and Bri had talked about me, I knew it was my cue to reach out. Being the super confident guy I am, I messaged Josie on Instagram and asked if I could take her to grab coffee, dinner, or go for a walk sometime. On May 9, 2025, we went on our first date. From the moment she got in the truck, I felt a connection. Over buttered noodles, Bass Pro freeze-dried ice cream sandwiches, swinging at the Yatesville park, and parking at the Yatesville baseball fields to talk about our goals in life and what we were looking for in a relationship, I knew she was the one I was going to spend the rest of my life with! We are so grateful and beyond blessed to see how God’s plans fall into place — often contrary to what we want or think will happen — yet always better than we could have imagined! So now you know a little more about how I met the woman of my dreams — the woman I love with my whole heart. I can’t wait for many more years of walks to the park, freeze-dried ice cream sandwiches, long conversations about life, and a whole lot of buttered noodles! The Walking Girl and I are so excited and can’t wait to celebrate with y’all!