The summer of 2015 was an exciting time for the both of us. Alissa had recently moved to Waco from Chicago in to pursue her next steps with Jesus at Antioch Community Church's Discipleship Day school. She was moving forward with her career in nursing and making completely new relationships. TJ was just moved into his new home and also about to start the Discipleship Night school and was almost always focused on either work or his new relationships at the school. Once a week, his house would host a dinner aptly dubbed "Communion" wherein friends could gather and share a meal and enjoy life together. Alissa was over sporadically and TJ would return from work in the late evening. It was there that they met, briefly. One night, as they discussed with others about the idea of men asking out women on dates, TJ exclaimed that women should not ask out men on dates. In an effort to disprove this idea, Alissa promptly asked him out! This was to be the first time she challenged his ideas with her boldness and although this did not end with an actual date. The seed of interest had been planted. It would be months before he worked up the courage to actually ask her out. However, this did not stop him from getting to know her and taking opportunities like group outings and long drives to six flags to get to spend time with her and friends. On June 3, 2016 before he finally asked her out to dinner. She agreed to have dinner with him at the food trucks downtown and coffee at a local coffee shop nearby where they had perfect weather which included a rainbow and a beautiful sunset. Not a bad first date! Even though there was chemistry it took them until the 22nd of November that year to agree they would take their relationship to the next level. TJ was persistent in his pursuit of her heart and eventually won her over. By February 2017 he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, and although she did not know it, he started making plans to propose...

The proposal took her completely by surprise. check out the link here: https://youtu.be/bliVa2bSSJ0