...there were two elementary-aged kids. Running around on the playground at Line Creek Elementary, getting to know their friends through ridiculous recess games were Taryn and Chris. Around 5th grade, Chris realized that he had a crush on Taryn. The feelings were not mutual at this time. It didn’t bother him much at the time. He had time to win her over.

After becoming close friends in our freshman year of high school, there was a spark. Both of us tried to deny it but it didn't quite work. Eventually, we both found ourselves single at the same time. Everything was fine, albeit a little confusing as we acted as a couple despite not dating. It wasn't uncommon to see us holding hands, giving each other hugs, and generally being around each other all the time. It didn't make sense but it was mostly working. Until Chris messed it up. Right before Thanksgiving break, Chris, on a whim, decided to kiss me. He then proceeded to ignore any type of communication following that kiss (I know, what a smooth operator. But hey, it worked out for him!). Shortly after break ended, the weird routine we had been in was no longer working and we decided to make it official. We started dating on December 13th, 2013.

Shortly after graduating high school, we began to prepare for our "make-it-or-break-it" time period: the mission. Christopher spent two years (from September of 2016 to August of 2018) as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He dedicated all his time to serving the Lord, His sheep, and fulfilling the needs of those around him. He served as a Spanish speaking missionary in the New Mexico, Albuquerque Mission. During these two years, he was only allowed to call home twice a year (Mothers Day and Christmas) for about an hour. He could email once a week but only for two hours. It was hard on both of us as "we were on a break!" I was supposed to date, and I did try to, but I didn't have much success. We wrote letters back and forth and stayed in touch as much as we could. Despite the limited contact, we made it through the mission, coming out stronger than ever.

After two years apart, Chris surprised me one day by coming down to Springfield. If you want to know how we reacted, it's a video on Facebook. It was very weird to start again but we picked back up right where we left off. That first night ended with a brief goodnight kiss and the rest became history. He was back. We were back. We were happier than before and we knew that we wanted to start planning a life together. We figured out how to get him to school down by me so we could spend more time together. We split the fall semester in commutes; he drove three hours to me or I drive three hours to him. We spent as much time together while we could. Things became serious pretty quickly and then I was just waiting for him to finally propose.

I had a lot of ways that I had thought the proposal would go. Of course, it was not my job to be in control of this one (despite my best efforts). I’ll be the first to admit I’m surprised he waited as long as he did because that poor boy was pestered pretty frequently, and not just by me. He still managed to catch me by surprise though. My parents, Chris, and I all went to see the show Shen Yun in Raleigh, NC. He was visiting my parents with me for a week. Right after the show, we got out to the lobby. He pulled me aside and got down on one knee. I didnt hesitate to say yes. :)

Now we plan for an eternity. We can't wait to have all of you there with us to celebrate! Planning this wedding has been amazing, stressful, wonderful, terrifying, full of love and surprises, and made us so appreciative of all the amazing memories we have made so far. We look forward to building more together over the course of our lives. Thank you for taking an interest in us, for spending time with us, and wanting to know more. We can't wait to see you all there! You'll be #WaitingOnWinkie with us! :)