Good Friday was already good because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, but it turned into so much more! [Girl sees handsome dude walk into the church with a nice smile and beard. Boy sees pretty girl with a big ol’ smile on her face.] We hit it off talking, but after a couple weeks, we decided it’d be better to stay friends rather than to pursue a relationship with one another. We still hung out in big groups and also alone. We were always up front with one another and talked openly about life and what we were looking for. Neither of us ever needed to sugar coat anything. Fast forward 4 months of friendship, the walls were being broken down. I started to see who Patrick really was at heart, and realized I had made a mistake. I began thinking about the Patrick (often) and the possibility of something more.... so one day I finally asked Patrick to reach out if he wanted to give “us” another shot! Two weeks later he reached out and mentioned he would go with me to the mountains (the day before my birthday) so I wouldn’t have to go alone. That day changed everything. We held hands for the first time during a long walk. My heart was skipping! Then later that afternoon, sitting on the lower lawn of Hume Lake, while dangling our feet in the water, Patrick told me that he wanted to kiss me! After the giggles subsided, he leaned in. It was magic! Nothing either of us had felt before. Things progressed quickly after that kiss because each of us knew/know what we wanted/needed in a future spouse. We are so excited to start this journey together! We are not perfect, but we are perfect for one another. We are not naive to think everything is love and rainbows. We are ready for the joys of marriage, but also to stand by one another, no matter what and fight the good fight. We want to to honor God in our marriage.

Backstory: We had already been talking about marriage, which is why we started the Merge class for seriously dating or engaged couples, at my church. Also, side note, he had already ordered an engagement ring for your girl! The night before the proposal, during our Merge class, they told us that part of our homework was for the guy to plan a special date that would surprise and encourage the girl! On the way home that night we were talking about the homework. Patrick was a little annoyed because he had just planned a creative date the weekend before (He took us to a homeless shelter and we served breakfast). He said he’s not creative and didn’t feel like creating a new one! Lol So I was a little bummed about that. Well, the next night was Wednesday, which is when I am with my group of girls during youth group. He came up to the church and asked to borrow my keys. He told me to come outside when I was done because he wanted to go for a ride and we needed to take my truck. I hopped in the truck and he gave me a bag of keto snacks and a sugarfree Rockstar in case I was hungry. LOL I popped open that Rockstar because.... it’s a Rockstar!! 😉 We started driving and finally pulled into the Millerton Lake area and he told me to put on the blindfold that was at the bottom of the snack bag. Once we got to the destination, he hopped out but told me to stay put. After a few minutes, he walked me to “the spot” and positioned me just right. He lifted my blindfold off and we were standing on this turn out in the mountains. The stars were bright, the moon was shining perfectly across the water, our song (Prayed for You by Matt Stell) was playing in the background, and the Millerton Dam was all lit up. I looked down and we were standing in the middle of a circle of luminaries. So sweet!! He got down on his knee and pulled out a strawberry ring pop and asked me to marry him!! After hugging and kissing he was like, “wait... you said yes, right?!?!” Lol!! Yes!! 🙄