Our story began at a local park in Birmingham, Alabama. It was my sister Maria’s birthday, and my family had gathered to throw a frisbee and let the dogs run around. When we arrived, I noticed Tilly, fresh off a run, and worked up the courage to introduce myself and ask for her number. By the end of my Christmas break, we had already been on two dates, and as I headed back to Texas for training, I was so impressed I was already looking up flights to return for the long MLK weekend just two weeks later. That trip marked the start of us officially dating and beginning a season of back-and-forth travel between Texas and Birmingham, where I was finishing up pilot training and she was starting her new job as a NICU nurse at Children’s Hospital of Alabama. In April, Tilly and my entire family joined me for drop night in Texas as I found out I’d be heading to Eglin Air Force Base near Destin, Florida, for follow-on training, a true blessing, especially considering how far away that assignment could have been. By October, I made the move to the Emerald Coast, and just about one year later, over Christmas break, I asked Tilly the big question at the very same place our story began: Heardmont Park. I finish training in June, and we’re so excited to begin this next chapter together. After we get married, we’ll be moving to Misawa, Japan and can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store for us there! - John Paul