the countdown until our forever is on!!

How did a California girl and a boy from Eugene, Oregon meet and fall in love? Well, here is our story... not your typical "love at first sight" story. We are both students at George Fox University in the small town of Newberg, Oregon. Towards the end of our freshman year of college, we had met through mutual friends maybe once or twice, but I didn't think anything of it. I was very focused on the start of my nursing education and not looking for a relationship at all. All the while, Lucas had messaged me on Instagram right before the start of summer, where I would go back home to CA and he would stay in OR. As I said before, I was not looking for a relationship at the time. He kept messaging me through social media and I would politely respond... a day or so later... hehe sorry babe! Eventually, he asked for my number and asked if I would be interested in going out with him when we got back to school. I told him I wasn't really looking for a relationship and thought we could maybe hang out with a group of our mutual friends. This did not stop my now fiancé. According to his side of the story, for a second time he asked if I would want to go on a date with him and I declined, yet again. As the saying goes, "third times the charm" was actually very true for the beginning of our love story. He continued to pursue me and asked me out for what was the third and "final time". He asked me to dinner, and I suggested ice cream. On October 17th, 2019, we went to Handel's ice cream for what we call our "unofficial first date" to get to know each other more. It was on this date I realized he was WAY different than I thought. He was super genuine, sweet, funny, and shared his love for Jesus and his family. Not to mention his cute smile and dimple melted my heart. We went on our "official first date" mini golfing a little while later. He officially asked me to be his girlfriend after flying down to CA to meet my family and ask for my dad's permission on December 19th, 2019. We have been together ever since! Now we are planning our wedding and the start of our forever together! I couldn't be more excited!! Throughout our whole relationship we have learned together that God's timing is ALWAYS better than anything we could plan or imagine for ourselves. We have prayed for who our future spouse would be, and now we get to pray for each other and with each other for the rest of our lives. We thank God for all the blessings this relationship has brought, and we are excited to share it with all of you!

Being a girl excited to get married to the love of my life, I had been waiting for an engagement! In the back of my mind I kept thinking, "Is this going to be the day?". Well, on March 6th, 2022, we started off our Sunday how we would any other normal week; we went to church together. Lucas told me that after church he wanted to take me out to lunch to celebrate the end of my senior capstone clinical rotation. As a part of his plan, after church he texted my sister Taylor to FaceTime me as a distraction (which worked very well). I just thought she was calling to catch up. So, I talked with her and her family during the car ride to "lunch". We ended up in a parking lot near the water in Lake Oswego. I got out of the car and asked where the restaurant was. His response was "it's over there by the water". There clearly was no restaurant in sight. I turned to him with excitement and disbelief and asked, "Is this really happening right now?". His big smile said it all. I immediately started crying. He had planned the most special and memorable day of my life. Along the pier over the water were pictures of all of our "firsts" together, along with candles and flowers. He was playing the sweetest song called Growing Old With You, which I now cry to every time I hear it. He had the most picturesque proposal spot at the end of the pier where he popped the question. I wish I could remember every word he said when he asked me to marry him, but I don't and neither does he. I do remember him saying my name though haha! AND my family and his family were all there to celebrate with us, and I had no idea!! Best surprise ever, I wish I could relive this day over and over again!! Hands down the BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!! (well, until we say "I do")