I had just moved back to Sacramento after a few years away. Me moving home was just a pit stop on my way to eventually living long-term in Southeast Asia, or so I thought. Trying to settle in and make money I hurriedly found a job with my best friend Devyn at a donut shop. While the job was a low-point for me, I look back and see God’s provision and faithfulness. Little did I know it was here I had met the one who would cherish and hold my heart. It was through the shared kitchen of the donut shop and Michaels restaurant in which our two worlds collided. I had my eye on Michael for some time and recall trying to feed him donuts and ice-cream to no avail. Finally, one day Michael asked if I wanted to join him for ice-cream, and well I’m not really one to turn down ice-cream. Through our first few dates I knew this guy was just my cup of tea. He was kind, honest, giving, and oh so patient with me. From day one to present, Michael has always honored my independence and my convictions (even if he himself couldn’t grasp them). While dating Michael was a walk in the park, it came with it’s hurdles. My greatest desire was for Michael to know true love itself, the one Who laid down His life for me, for him, for you. To this day I am numb to the core over Gods goodness and His faithfulness. He was deeply acquainted with my prayers, and despite me was on a relentless pursuit for Michael, as He is with YOU and I. I cherish every moment with Michael, he brings peace to my chaos in a very tangible way. I look forward to our lifelong journey and again “even when I can’t see it He’s working.”

A few months after moving to Sacramento and into my first kitchen there, I was tipped by my sous chef: this girl Mckenzie is really cool, and she's real pretty when she's "dolled up" outside of work. I'd only seen her behind the counter at the donut shop, and I had a policy to not go after girls from my work. But he insisted that I give it a shot. So I did, and accepted an invite a few days later to grab drinks with some work friends - Mckenzie of course being one of them. We hit it off that night on the balcony at Bottle and Barlow. She WAS really cool, and she WAS cute when she got dolled up. There was a spark that night, which my friends and I buzzedly bantered about on the drive home. A few days later, I needed to act on that spark. After my AM shift at the restaurant, I ran into Mckenzie and asked if she wanted to join me on an excursion to Gunther's Ice Cream. I was going to grab a few pints and bring them back to the PM line crew for low-boy snacks. She obliged, and we took our first car ride (not date!) together. We grabbed a scoop each and exchanged all our freshest gossip from the restaurant, then rode back under the afternoon sun, still silently getting a feel for each other. A week or so later, I decided to invite her on our first date. It would be a humble outing, a test of sorts, first to dinner at an unassuming noodle house in South Sac, then the Asian supermarket next door to grab exotic candies to bring to the movies to end the night. Dinner and the accompanying conversation were so good that we stayed past closing AND all the show times we wanted to get to. So we sat and learned about each other, and we learned that we both loved to travel and wished to someday live internationally. But she actually had a plan: she was moving to Vietnam in 6 months. An expiration date was already pre-destined. Despite her plans, I persisted, and we continued seeing each other more and more. And by the grace of God, the unexpected happened, and we fell in love.