We're Getting Married!

If someone had told us that we would meet at a youth group New Year's Eve party in 2019, and be saying I do almost 7 years later in 2026, we would have thought you were crazy! But there we were, playing a card game, and saw each other at the same time. Both of us felt that this moment was going to be important, but we couldn’t imagine just how important it would be. During that card game, I asked Sam to move closer so he could reach the cards and he did. We’ve been moving towards each other ever since. I was very curious about him and texted everyone I knew to find out more about him and if he was a nice guy. Every reply came back the same: absolutely. Everything in me was telling me to take a leap of faith for Sam. A couple of weeks later, we planned to meet at the high school soccer game. The bleachers were wet from the rain, and right as I whispered to my dad, “That’s the boy I like,” we heard a HUGE bang. Yep—Sam had fallen down the bleachers. And somehow, instead of embarrassing me, it made my dad look at him and say, “Yep, he’s the one.” (And boy was he right.) Not long after, with the encouragement of my friends, his friends, Paige, and even my mom, Sam built up the courage to ask me to be his girlfriend. That one little question turned into the greatest “yes” of my life… well, until the proposal. I was nervous to ask Riley to be my girlfriend but am so glad I did. It has been an amazing 6 years and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with her. I prayed to God for a kind, beautiful, caring, and funny woman and I’m so thankful that my prayer was answered with Riley. From the day Sam asked me to be his girlfriend to the day he asks me to be his wife, 2,524 days will have passed. We were high school sweethearts, then college sweethearts. It will have been 2,524 days of memories, inside jokes, road trips, late-night talks, study dates, cheering each other on, holding each other close, and choosing one another again and again. Now we finally get to celebrate the next chapter—one that starts with “I do” that will last a lifetime. We can’t wait to share this moment with you. The photo below is our very first picture at that New Year's Party!!!