Where to begin has been hard to answer. If I started at the beginning, then it would be near 2000 when we met as kids in youth group at Fredericksburg Baptist Church (and how awesome it has been to fall in love with a childhood friend!) BUT..I'm here to tell you that I truly first met Jessica Wood on April 8th, 2017 when I attended a Chamber Chorale of Fredericksburg concert that happened to be at our church and Jessica also happened to be singing in. Anyways, April 8th, 2017 is a very special day to me because, in reality, I truly had just met the girl of my dreams, the love of my life. To be quite honest, I didn't recognize her at first and did a double take! Yeah, that's right. This wasn't the Jessica I remembered in youth group as the young, shy, little girl who hardly ever spoke. If you know her today, she's all the opposite! Needless to say that once it had clicked in my head, I knew that something special was to become. We immediately had a connection as she invited me out after the concert with her and some friends so we could catch up and talk. That night we stayed up hours upon end talking nonsense wishing and hoping the other would say something to keep the conversation from ending. That night was something special. And the week after was no different! Every day spent hanging out and talking on the phone (if you know me at all, you know I'm not a fan of talking on the phone). Since then, we haven't gone more than a few days without speaking to each other... and just like that we knew there was no one better in life than one another. The rest is history (yes, indulge in the cheesy). Let's be realistic here, though, it took some time for us to actually "fall in love," but if you made it this far in the story (and onto this website, duh), then you could tell that's where I was heading... I'm so incredibly happy that I fell in love with Jessica, and I know that the life we plan to live together will be better than anything I could have imagined.

Kyle proposed in a way that truly could not be more perfectly tailored to our story. On the anniversary of our first date, there happened to be a chorus concert at our church involving three of our closest friend and their choirs (shout-out to Chris Ryder, Bonita Keene, and Joe Eveler!) Since we reconnected at a choir concert at our church in the first place, we felt that attending that concert would be a serendipitous and wonderful way to spend our anniversary! Kyle took me to our first date's restaurant before the concert (Orofino!) and I was all set to have a wonderful evening celebrating our love and listening to some beautiful choral music! Little did I know, Kyle had planned this evening meticulously with all of our family and friends and I was in for a BIG surprise when we arrived at the concert! While we were walking up to the church, Kyle was saying the sweetest things to me about how we got to where we were and how much he loved me and such but all I could think about was "WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE" as Kyle had intentionally slowed the dinner so that we arrived right on time for his plan. He was holding me tight trying to slow me down while I was trying to race up to the concert! Anywho...we had finally come around the corner and were walking up to the big red doors of our beautiful church which were already closed as the concert was starting (or so I thought that was the reason) when Kyle grabbed my hands and (attempted) to turn me toward him. When I was still trying to rush in he had to grab me by the shoulders and say "THIS IS HAPPENING" so I would figure it out! I then FINALLY got the full picture of what was happening and SQUEALED and froze. He then got down on one knee and pulled the ring box from his pocket. I squealed again and Kyle then asked me to marry him. When I excitedly and immediately said YES, the doors opened and our family was waiting there to celebrate with us! It was a perfect moment filled with love, music, and family.