Holy Family, pray for us

Rebecca moved to Redmond in 2021 and has split her time between the St. Thomas (Redmond) and St. Francis (Bend) parishes ever since, getting pretty involved in the young adult group. Geoff moved to Redmond in September 2023 on a Friday, and lo and behold two days later he sat in the same pew as Rebecca at St. Thomas. It's a small Catholic world, so the Deacon & his wife in Redmond are also the parents of one of Geoff's college roommates. After mass Geoff went to say hello, and after learning that he had relocated to Redmond they brought him over to Rebecca to get signed up with the local young adult group! A couple social activities later and they went on their first date... lunch in Prineville? a walk with Pippa in Dry Canyon? pumpkin carving on Halloween? dinner in Redmond? Things are all loosey goosey when you don't know if it's a date or not. Is he opening the door because he likes her, or is he just really nice? Is she inviting him on a walk with Pippa because she's interested, or does she just really like walking her dog? Geoff asked Rebecca to be his girlfriend in December and they exchanged 'I love you's in January. They enjoyed lots of travel together, met each others families and friends, and Geoff got down on one knee November 9th where he asked Rebecca to marry him. You're all caught up! They are so excited to start this new journey together, and can't wait to celebrate with those who mean the most to them.

We had tickets to a concert in Portland on the 8th, so we stayed the night with family and made plans to visit The Grotto (a beautiful Marian Shrine in Northern Portland) before driving down to Eugene to spend the rest of the weekend with Geoff's family. The schedule was tight because there was a lunch we wanted to get to that started at 12:30, so we only had an hour or so to visit the Grotto, not nearly enough time to do the upper gardens. We brought candles that we lit and placed at the shrine, knelt down to say private prayers, and when we both were finished Geoff pulled out the box from his pocket and got down on one knee! He spoke about how grateful he is for our life together, how much he loves Rebecca, and asked her if she would do him the honor of marrying him. Of course Rebecca said yes! There were tears, several moments reveling in joy, and a bit more time in prayer where we asked for guidance and peace as we start this new stage of life together. The rest of the day, and weekend really, was spent calling and texting all of our loved ones to share the good news. Two days later we were meeting with our Priest!