Josh moved to Branson in 2019. Our paths didn't organically cross much, but we knew of each other. Covid hit and made an organic connection even less likely. Josh admired from afar and eventually pulled the trigger and asked me on a date! I was impressed by his confidence; he would say he fooled me because he was actually so nervous. Josh came to the K-1 gym where I was working out to ask. I was riding a stationary bike, and we laugh now because I never stopped biking the whole time we talked! **Note the sweet touch of him having bikes at our engagement to bring it all full circle!** We are getting married exactly 1 year after I said "I'm in" to our first date! Full disclosure, I never dreamed the man I would marry would be in Branson, MO, the mecca of the elderly as I endearingly call it! I lived life here surrounded by married men as well as guys who were far younger than me. In my limited perspective, my time that could have happened had passed and the Branson ship had sailed. Little did I know my husband was in Branson for more than 20 months before our paths really crossed or he asked me on a date! The Lord is full of surprises and has the best sense of humor!

Josh did his research and asked my roommate and Maid of Honor, Beth Ann, for some insight. Smart man! Thoughtful, fun and engaging were 3 things that really stood out to me our first date, and I knew I would say yes if he asked me on a second! Josh brought a bag of the game Bananagrams (essentially Scrabble letters) with him to dictate each stop on our date (intentional). I would draw a letter, then we would decide where we would go based on that. Drink stop: O=Sonic for Ocean Water; we actually shared a small cherry, vanilla, ocean water, Dr. Pepper (my go to childhood order!) simply to be nostalgic! Activity: S=skeet shooting; we had an absolute blast at Ozark Shooters, and I immediately knew we would get along based on how he interacted with strangers! He hit more clays than me overall, but I hit the toughest shot of the day! :) Dinner: F=Florentina's; we shared a pizza and talked about a lot of stuff that mattered interwoven through a lot of laughs! He totally gave me the out to call it a night, but I knew I wanted more time! Dessert: C=ice cream; Blizzards from Dairy Queen and a walk at a Branson Lookout I'd never been to before! He took me home the long way around and I knew he was feelin' it! I've known my whole adult life that maturity and confidence were requirements in who I dated for it to ever work. I saw both of these in Josh during date one and hoped he'd ask me on another! He did and fulfilled my dream "first date" but had to wait for #2 for the season to kickoff--a baseball game! Perfect balance of entertainment and opportunity for conversation! Looking back, I think I knew I would marry Josh Mawhorr after date #2!

Josh & I hadn't talked about a specific timeline or details around engagement at all, & I am SO thankful for that! I was confident in him but didn't know his thought process. I'm grateful for how this set Josh up to lead our family for a lifetime. Sunday's typically our downshift day together. I'd hosted a K-West reunion all weekend, so he communicated he'd love to go on a date Sunday when everyone left. So normal for us! Christmas activities date: Gingerbread houses at the Chateau, hot cocoa by the Keeter Center tree, dinner then exchange gifts. His Keeter plan got a bit derailed, but he flexed & remained calm. He brought Bananagrams to play. Unbeknownst to me, he pulled 4 letters out on top of the urinal prior to us playing-hold that thought! I won, then he asked if I wanted to walk CofO's campus before it got dark/cold. We did this a few times prior, so nothing out of the norm. We went to a Taneycomo overlook, chatted for a bit, then he pivoted quickly as the sun was setting. He pulled the 4 Bananagrams tiles from his pocket & told me, "Linds, I wasn't able to make a word out of these earlier so I'm going to need to ask you a question. And you need to stand for me to do it." As he was saying this, he put the letters WYMM in my hand. I immediately knew this was the moment!! I stood & backed up from the cliff's edge, he got on his knee & asked me to marry him! My answer was an immediate YES, but later I changed it to "I'm in," what I said when he asked me on our first date & to be his girlfriend! I had no idea 2 of my dearest friends were hiding/documenting the whole thing! We had some really fun moments with our 2 friends including a portable speaker dance party & our bike moment, then we went back to my house where he shared the 4 reasons he knew he wanted me to be his wife-the same 4 he shared when asking me to be his girlfriend! I have no idea what he said to me on the cliff. I'm thankful he kept it minimal & shared later in a meaningful way with just us.