On a Tuesday night in May, I was scrolling on the dating app Hinge and one sentence caught my eye. In response to the prompt, "Together we could..." Ryan had written: "Together we could have a life-giving, God-centered relationship that involves spontaneous slow dancing, bookstore adventures, and the occasional pillow fort." YES. With exactly zero seconds of thought, I liked this prompt and a couple minutes later we started chatting. (And haven't stopped since!) A couple days later we had our first date--a bookstore adventure at Barnes and Noble followed by a taco dinner. (True confessions? Even during the first date I thought that Ryan could be "the one." A couple days later and Ryan felt the same.) Since then there has been lots of spontaneous slow dancing, bookstore adventures, and so many other amazing moments that have been so life-giving. (Still waiting on the pillow fort, but all in good time.) And most importantly: every day we learn more and more what it means to lay down everything for the Lord--both individually and together. Learning how to keep Him at the center of everything as we imperfectly, humbly, and genuinely learn what it means to selflessly love Him and each other more each and every day. When I liked that initial prompt, I thought, "If this guy can actually deliver on all of these, then this could really be something..." He actually delivered. And it really is something.

I used to think I would never find the girl of my dreams. And guess what? I haven't....instead I found someone even better....I found the woman of my prayers :) On a cold, windy and completely dreary Friday at the end of May 2021, I met someone who would drastically change my life in the absolute best way possible. In fact, she still continues to change it in the absolute best way possible! Our first date consisted of a walk n talk around the Brookfield Square Barnes N Noble....and what a walk n talk it was! A woman who actually possessed impeccable social skills, had a wonderful smile, great fashion sense, beautifully curly hair and was actually interested in little ole me??? AMAZING!!!! Our walk n talk quickly transitioned into a face to face dinner at Uncle Julio's which was where I began to fall in love with Melanie Breunig. Her stories and anecdotes from her time as an RA and RD at Olivet captured my heart in a way I never had felt before. And you want to know something incredible? She still captures my heart today. Many of our dates have included long, deep conversations about everything from God's plan of salvation to hilarious adventure stories. We've loved hard and we've loved well throughout these precious months. No woman has ever made me feel the way Melanie has. She has no rival, no equal. She is God's mercy personified in a woman and she is the best Ezra (helper) a man could ever ask for! I love her with a fierce love that is strong yet soft, obvious yet subtle, overwhelming yet comfortable. I cannot believe I will have the God-given honor of making her my wife. She has the greatest sense of humor and the biggest heart of anyone I have ever met. She sharpens me. She softens me. She makes me feel like a real man. With olive green eyes that make my breath catch in my chest and a voice that sends shivers down my spine - who can attest?....She is mine and I am hers. Here's to forever, my darling love! PS...thank you for saying YES!!!!!