This story starts back in 2018 with two awkward 14-year olds enjoying their summer before high school. It was the weekend of the LeSueur County Fair where we first met through Kaitlyn (Maddie's friend/Brendan's cousin) and other mutual friends. We found ourselves together throughout the whole weekend, where Brendan developed a bit of a crush! After spending each day together and hanging out late into the night with our friends (and Brendan wooing me with a malt from the 4H stand), we exchanged numbers and realized that there were some feelings! Less than a week later, I found myself at my first ever hockey game, lol! Then, on September 7th, 2018 Brendan asked me to be his girlfriend. Clearly these freshman kids knew what they wanted, and fast, too! :) From the first week of freshman year of high school, Brendan and Maddie shared countless fond memories and honestly grew up together! Shout out to our moms who so patiently drove us from Lonsdale to LeCenter all the time during the first year of our relationship!! We went to every school dance together, cheered each other on at sporting events, had many awesome trips up to Brendan's cabin in Bowstring, made it through COVID-19 quarantining, spent MANY hours fishing at the Cordova dam, went to 2 proms together, were crowned Homecoming King & Queen!, toured & chose our dream colleges, and walked across the graduation stage together. From freshman orientation to tossing our caps in the air - we got to walk through every minute hand and hand. For that we are SO grateful! After a summer of grad parties, country concerts, an amazing trip to Alaska, and soaking in every minute together, it was time for us to head off to college. That august / september, there were some big emotions and a LOT of adjusting to the change of being long distance. Brendan at Bemidji state and Maddie in the twin cities at the University of St. Thomas, we had never been a 4 hour drive apart before. Being apart was not easy but we did get the hang of it after a while & learned how to be intentional with our time. There were many sweet surprises, the most special weekends, and the opportunity to form two whole "worlds" of good friends. We cannot talk about college without talking about the thing that transformed our lives: the powerful love of Jesus Christ! Pretty quick into freshman year, Maddie was invited to a Bible study that ended up totally changing her life and giving her a new love for the Lord. Similarly, Brendan really deepened his faith in Jesus his freshman year and was truly changed by God, especially through finding his amazing community early into his sophomore year. Our college experience was marked by mentorship, finding great local churches, fellowship among other young adult Christians, leadership opportunities, both of us getting baptized in 2024, and ultimately surrendering every fiber of our being to living for Jesus. There is no doubt in our minds that God had a good plan to completely captivate our hearts at our colleges. So, even though long distance was not always easy and seamless, it exposed us to Jesus and deepened our relationship in the most meaningful way- and that is FOREVER worth it! Other highlights of our years in college include enjoying beautiful Bemidji through fishing, hiking, and skiing, growing to know and love one another's roommates and friends, enjoying our summers together, and falling more and more in love with each other! On March 14th, 2025, Brendan got down on one knee while on a walk through his parents hunting land. It was the most tender, beautiful thing and OBVIOUS YES!!! Followed by a surprise engagement party with our parents and close friends. We feel so immensely loved and celebrated by the people around us and could not be more thankful! We feel so lucky to get to marry our high school sweetheart:) We praise God for our love story and can't wait to continue loving each other for a lifetime!