We're Getting Married!

Seven years ago, our story started in the most high school way possible... Snapchat. We had always known of each other, but we never really knew each other … until one day I decided to be bold and ask our mutual friend, Eric, for Sam’s Snapchat. That one little add turned into late-night conversations, inside jokes, and realizing there was something different about him. Looking back now, I truly believe that little moment of courage was God gently nudging our story into motion. From there, it was high school magic!!! Homecoming dances. Prom pictures. Friday night football games. After-school dates. Growing up side by side, from 15 years old, to now 22 and 23. We learned to love each other during the awkward, beautiful years — when we were still figuring out who we were individually, while somehow already building who we would become together. We faced challenges. And through every season, God remained the center. Shaping us, stretching us, and teaching us what commitment really means. Over the years, those high school crush feelings turned into something steady and strong. We graduated. We grew up. We then went to school together in Columbia, Missouri, with Sam at Mizzou, and myself at Columbia College. Today, Sam serves our community as a police officer with the Jacksonville Police Department, protecting and leading with the same loyalty and heart I fell in love with at 15. And I’m finishing my nursing degree, preparing to begin my career as an Obstetrics Nurse at Jacksonville Memorial Hospital, stepping into a role where I get to care for families at the very beginning of their stories. It feels poetic, in a way. He protects life. I help welcome it. What started with a freshman-year Snapchat request has grown into seven years of memories, milestones, and choosing each other through every season. We grew up together... and now, we get to step into marriage hand in hand, trusting Him with the rest of our story. And this is only the beginning!