August 15th 2020

September 2012 - I was hesitant to say yes when my best friend, Mady, asked me to take a job dressing up as hillbilly zombies and scaring people at "Hellside Farm" - ValleyScare. However, I will forever be thankful that I agreed to do so. This is where I met Nick. He was the 17 year old guy from Prior Lake working at the entrance of the maze (only the best hillbilly zombies worked there). Truly a country boy with a rebel soul, I couldn't help but have a crush on him. One thing led to another and then we found ourselves counting the minutes between weekends so that we could return to that goofy job to see each other. That next spring we reconnected and decided that we fit pretty well together. We made our relationship official on April 28th, 2013. Nick then asked me to my Junior Year Prom at Lakeville North High School. However, it was, quite frankly, a hot mess. I didn't feel well, my heels were blistering my feet, and my fake eyelashes were falling into my eyes. But Nick got me some Tums from the store when we were supposed to be on a party bus on the way to the dance... he carried my heels while I walked barefoot throughout the Crowne Plaza... and he never hesitated to call me beautiful regardless of the eyeliner/glue smudges that accompanied the ripping off of my fake eyelashes. Despite these series of unfortunate events, this was the night we fell in love. Throughout the months to come, we became closer and closer. School dances, sporting events, meeting the family, concerts, etc. filled our days together and in 2013 Nick graduated High School and began working as a mechanic. He taught me how to change my own oil in my car, how to ride a motorcycle, and how to get my hands a little dirty. I then graduated High School in 2014 and went on to Bethel University to become a nurse. These years were difficult spending so much time apart, but little did we know, the best was yet to come.

In 2016, Nick worked so incredibly hard and through multiple changes in occupation, he found his current job working as a Union Carpenter. He was able to purchase his own home in Lakeville at the young age of 22! With the help of family and friends, we were able to begin massive renovations to turn the house into a true home. I would come home from Bethel on the weekends whenever I could to spend time with Nick and plan the next project. I eventually moved in with him and we brought home our new best friend, Axel, in April of 2017. Axel has been the sunshine of our lives, even through the kennel messes, puppy training, and missing socks. I graduated from Bethel in the Spring of 2018, passed my NCLEX soon after, and became a Registered Nurse. My heart was with pediatric nursing and Nick was consistently supportive of me and encouraged me to follow my heart, regardless of how long I had been at my then current job at United Hospital. In January 2019 I was offered and accepted an amazing opportunity to work in the Cardiovascular ICU at University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital - I absolutely adore this job! Long story short - Nick and I have hit many milestones in these past 6 years and have fallen more and more in love despite the ups and downs. We are so blessed!

April 1st 2019 we ventured on our first tropical vacation to Cancun Mexico along with my dad and brother. After a looonnggg day of traveling, we arrived at our beautiful resort. Nick and I's room overlooked the pool and had an amazing view of the Caribbean Ocean. Shortly after, we got on our swimsuits and set up camp right by the pool. It was utter bliss being in the sunshine with my love and my dad and brother. We made the most of that first half-day we had in Cancun! The resort had so many gorgeous restaurants to choose from for dinner. We decided to get all dressed up for that evening's dinner and go to one of the fanciest options the resort had. I put on my island-vibe outfit as Nick was patiently waiting for me to finish up getting ready. I grabbed my mascara and was blinking it onto my eyelashes when Nick said "Hey come look at these ships!". Being a multi-tasker, I walked onto the balcony while putting on my mascara and observed the sun setting over the ocean and these huge ships lit up with twinkling lights sailing across the water. It was a breathtaking view that will be engraved in my memory forever I'm sure. I turned around to go back inside to finish getting ready and that's when I found Nick down on one knee and reaching out to me with the most beautiful ring in a tiny black box. He then asked me to marry him. I was absolutely shocked - he had told me weeks earlier that "he wouldn't propose in Mexico because he wouldn't want to risk losing the ring in his luggage". Of course I believed him! Through many "whats!" and "oh my goshs!" he asked me, "so is that a yes?" - it was definitely a yes and we are so excited to spend the rest of forever together. It's funny; we remember years ago talking for hours and hours about what the future would hold for us and what God has planned for us. We talked about what it would be like to be in love for the rest of our lives. And now we're here. We are so excited to celebrate!! Love & Blessings, Nick & Tera