Who actually thinks dating apps work? I sure didn't, but that was before I met Grant. Well sorta. We met on Bumble in December 2019. He was at Manchester University and I was at Anderson University. We texted, then snapchatted, then facetimed. Soon enough, he came home (Pendleton, Indiana) for Christmas break and decided to ask me on a date while I was still in Anderson for swimming. We met at the Anderson Olive Garden for our first date on December 13, 2019. We hung out again the next day to watch the Mandalorian together before I headed home to Lebanon. During Christmas break, we texted but decided that we weren't for each other (SPOILER ALERT: we were both wrong).

We hung out in January as friends and continued to text and FaceTime just as friends throughout the beginning of our semesters and quarantine. Then in May, Grant texted me and told me that when he came home from military training he wanted to try to have a real relationship with me. I said maybe at the time, not knowing the plans God had for us. On May 26th, 2020 Grant left for Fort Jackson, South Carolina for basic training. We texted and FaceTimed (as friends of course) until his phone was confiscated. On May 26th, 2020, I left for a month at Camp Lakewood where I would grow in my faith and have lots of soul searching conversations with two of my very best friends. I texted Grant on July 7th, 2020 asking to hangout when he got home. He texted me back July 19th and the rest is history. We spent August to December texting, FaceTiming, and calling any chance we got. I sent him Hallmark and Star Wars memes everyday for nearly the entire time he was at AIT until he finally came home in December.

On December 4th, Grant finally came home to Indiana. Of course that's also the day I tested positive for COVID-19 and was quarantined to my dorm room at AU. That didn't stop Grant though. On December 7th, he came to visit me through my window. He brought me Starbucks and a live round saying "this is so you will always remember me." Of course we spent the rest of my quarantine texting, FaceTiming, and Snapchatting. On December 17th, we went on our second first date to Giordano's and the Circle of Lights in downtown Indianapolis. It was worth the wait and we knew then that it was going to be the last first date either of us went on. On December 26th, Grant came to Lebanon to meet my family and ended the day with asking me to officially be his girlfriend. From then until May, we spent most of our weekends together at his college house in Muncie figuring out how to do the whole relationship thing in person. We fought and got on each other's nerves, but we mostly just enjoyed each other's presence and loved one another.

We both needed a vacation, so we decided to travel to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina together at the end of the semester. We went out to dinner for Grant's birthday and then headed to the boardwalk to take in all the city had to offer. We decided to take a trip on the SkyWheel to see the city from a bird's eye view. The wheel stopped at the top and that's when Grant got on one knee and popped the question.

After our wedding, we'll spend one year in Muncie while Grant finishes his senior year. I'll be teaching somewhere (still to be determined). From there, we'll either settle down somewhere in central Indiana or Grant will go active duty and we'll move to wherever he is stationed. Our hope is that you'll keep us in your prayers as you continue to celebrate our marriage.