Early in the spring of 2017, our theatre class was putting on Hello, Dolly! I was super shy at the time and didn't talk to anyone. A few people approached me offering a hello. One I remember specifically. This 14 year old girl with hair that came down to her hip. I thought that was really, really long hair. During "Before the Parade Passes By" I stood next to her for some portion of it. Ladies and gents, keep this woman in mind. Fast forward to our Fall show of 2018 where my lovely fellow thespian and I, grace each others presence again. (then her hair only came down to her waist) I found myself really admiring her. I liked her attitude, I liked her smile, and I liked her hair. To my delight, We wound up opposite each other during that show. Time passes once again to the summer of 2019. (hair length now to mid back) By now we were good friends and I continued to have a really big crush on her. On the night of July 4th, she texted me asking if I had liked anyone. I decided that was as good a time as any to spill to her. Here we are three years later and her hair resides just below her shoulder as of May 2022. Who know's what wonders might occur if she cuts it any shorter. I adore Lauren with so much inside me. We've grown from teenagers into (very) young adults. She's helped me climb out of my shell. Anyone who knows her, knows how truly generous, complimentary, and unique she is. I can't wait to see where the Lord leads us in our marriage. FUN FACTS ABOUT ME AND US We both work at Trader Joe's and are loving it! I love I Love Lucy, and The Dick Van Dyke Show. Our first date to the movies was Frozen II... I am actually indeed Spider-Man (please don't tell anyone)

July 4th 2019 My crush that I had been crushing on for just about a year now confessed he liked me, of all people! How did the quiet Matthew come out of his shell to confess to me his feelings well.. Go back 2 years to spring of 2017. I was at rehearsal for theatre, when I saw this cute, sweet, talented guy on stage singing and dancing. Might I add he had the dark brown hair I had dreamed of, and these piercing icy blue eyes, that later as I really started to like him, I found it quite the struggle to look him in the eyes!? I had never met him, but I was impressed by his acting ability. What surprised me more, was how shy he was off stage. Me being me, I said hi to him and he smiled shyly and said hi. Fast forward a year to the summer of 2018, yet in another rehearsal for a show, I said hi, how are you and he asked me back! He wasn’t much of a talker you see being shy and all which only made my curiosity and interest grow wanting to get to know him better. That same year, now 2 months later, in the fall, I find myself paired opposite the talented, sweet, cute Matthew as each other’s love interests. Wow, this is going to be fun! I was excited to have a chance to not only be opposite him because of his talent, but also was hopeful to get to know him better! It was also nerve racking as well since I liked him! I tried my best to hide my feelings but my interest was growing by the day. I had never looked forward to rehearsal so much! It’s quite funny looking back to the show we were in and the characters we played, as I quite feel it very slightly, resembled who we were than. Summer of 2019, auditions role around for a short 2 week theater intensive and Matthew encourages me to audition. I do and we yet again get paired opposite each other. Need I mention I am still crushing hard on this handsome guy!? If I hadn’t auditioned we might not be here. We finish up the intensive in June and by this time its summer break for our theatre class, but we have a big ole group chat to stay connected. Well somehow the conversation turns to marriage and people’s thought’s/opinions on the subject. Well I was one who shared my opinions, like I wasn’t looking to date and I was waiting for the Lord’s timing even if that meant when I was in my mid to late 20’s. Well who jumps on to the chat, but Matthew himself being very much involved with the conversation and asking many of the questions himself. I private message him, being the bold person I am, and ask him why he is asking so many questions on the topic of marriage and if he liked someone. *cue the dramatic music* as my heart is now on the chopping block, ready to be smashed to smithereens, I wait and wonder if, and what he might reply with. Little did I expect him to have feelings for someone, or if he did, to confess it to me, of all people. July 4th, 2019 7:52 pm I see three simple words that stand out to me, “I like you.” My heart and smile exploded! My dark haired beauty, piercing blue eye guy liked me! Can I just say WEEEEEEEEEE!?!!! From there our relationship slowed started to grow and blossom. I have loved being apart of and seeing Matthew change and develop into who he is today. I can’t wait to see where the Lord leads us together and how He will grow us closer to Him and each other. I can’t wait for Matthew to pursue his ever growing love and interest for film and his continuing passion for theatre. Some things you may not know about me or us! I proceeded to tell Matthew in our conversation following us confessing our feelings, that I wanted to wait like 5 years before we started officially dating…and here we are 3 years later and getting married, yeah that didn’t happen or go according to plan. Lol My family and I have sponsored 21 kids over the last 13 years and we pray for them every night. I can raddle all of them off in under a minute! Yup! All 21. One of Matthew and I’s favorite things to do is watching and discussing movies while eating ice cream most of the time.