We're Getting Married!

Eric and I are one of those couples who found each other online! We were both hesitant to try the online dating thing at first, but it ended up being one of the best choices ever!

I spotted Eric's profile first and "smiled" at him, which let him know I was interested. As he read my profile he came across the section of "what I was looking for". In that section, I jokingly mentioned that if you looked like the Brawny paper towel guy then you'd have extra brownie points in my book. Brawny paper towel guy backstory: a few years ago, when I was very single, I was putting my groceries away one day and got to my large pack of paper towels. I decided that the Brawny paper towel man was pretty good looking, so I cut out his picture and hung it on my fridge. Once my roommate got home, I showed her my new man on the refrigerator. Ever since then that has been a joke between my roommate and me. Eric thought this was too funny and decided to point out that he had a beard and wore flannel in his first message to me. I obviously was intrigued! Our conversation continued and we eventually began to talk on the phone. We talked for about a month and then decided to meet each other to see if we had chemistry in real life.

When we began talking Eric was living in Tomah, Wisconsin and I was living in Columbia, Missouri. That distance meant that Eric drove eight hours to take me out on a date! We met at a cafe in Columbia for brunch and spent the rest of the day stopping at various spots around town. We ended the night by seeing a movie, where a couple who had been married for forty years asked us how long we had been married! ... We must have looked perfect for each other!

As Eric and I dated we knew we wanted to keep Christ in the center of our relationship. It was important to us to pray together often and grow in our relationships with Christ. A verse that always stood out to Eric and I was Ephesians 3:20 which says: Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us. Eric and I were talking with my mom one evening and we mentioned to her that this was our verse. A little while later my mom left the table and came back with her Bible. She opened up to a passage and had Eric read it. It was Ephesians 3:14-19 (the passage RIGHT BEFORE our verse)! She told Eric and I that she had been praying this passage as I grew up for my future husband!

I have been a dental assistant in Columbia for four years, two of which have been at my current office. Eric knew how much I love my office and how special my coworkers are to me. After much prayer for God's will to be done in our relationship, he decided to leave his job in Wisconsin and move to Missouri. Eric had many interviews at Spartan Light Metal Products in Mexico, Missouri and eventually got the job and was able to move here! The first weekend Eric was living in Columbia we decided to go to Rock Bridge State Park, which was one of the places we'd gone on our first date. As we got to the end of the trail I noticed there was a woman who looked like my mom from the back, but I did not think much of it because she was carrying a baby. I then looked next to her and saw my sister as well as Eric's parents who had driven down from Iowa! He had flown my sister and baby nephew in from Colorado to be there as he asked to spend the rest of our lives together! ... I, of course, said yes! ... He cried.