Luke and I were introduced by our close friends, Josh and Missa Laursen, in December 2020. Both of us were in a season of our lives full of

unknowns and opportunities, so we were somewhat stubborn about being “set up” on a blind date. Despite our best efforts, the Laursen’s were onto something. We soon discovered that the “awkward boy in camouflage” and the “crazy horse lady” had more in common than we originally thought.

Cooking meals together and spending time outside became most of our dates. I spent days on the ice with Luke, learning how to icefish with him. Luke spent evenings with me on horseback rides and trying all the new recipes I wanted to test out. Valentine’s Day of 2021, Luke asked to make things official.

In February of 2021, our future best buddy was born. On April 11, we got to take “Timber” home. She’s a female Chocolate Labrador, and our world has revolved around her ever since. This new pet parent thing brought us even closer. We were blessed with a very eager to please, and easy-to-train dog. One of our favorite things to do together is work with Timber on new tricks and hunting drills, and take her to the lake to swim. Anyone that knows us, probably also knows how much Luke, I, and our families adore this dog.

Throughout the first year together, we celebrated, traveled, spent time with friends and family, laughed and danced more than any year before and only grew closer in our love in that time.

In the summer of 2022, we rented some beautiful land (also our soon-to-be wedding venue) on upper Turtle Lake. We moved our horses, mules, and donkeys to the property in July. Watching them enjoy the pastures and getting to spend more time riding was an incredible blessing. We also worked together in our food truck at farmer’s markets and events that summer. Adding those two responsibilities to our already full work schedules brought some new challenges. In this season of our lives, we learned so much more about one another. We got to spend even more time cooking and working together. Also learning to prioritize our relationship, even when there’s some chaos along the way.

During this time, Luke introduced me to his community and I got the chance to fall in love with our crazy little town. Cumberland started to feel like a home away from home for me.

Luke and I started slowly looking for a house early in 2023. We had been certain for a while that we were a “forever” thing, but that idea became a reality on April 14th of 2023. With the help of Missa, he had devised a plan to completely surprise me, and Luke popped the question at the horse farm on a beautiful Friday morning. Exactly one week later, we got the keys to

our first home.

The month of April was certainly full of big moments for us. Yet, starting

the wedding planning, remodeling our home, caring for our herd of animals,

running a food truck and both still working, did not exactly make the

following months pass by slowly. This time in our lives was an absolute

whirlwind of emotions. Our inside joke to get us through was, “If you can

refinish all the hardwood floors in your entire home together, and you still

like the other person, you can get through about anything.” We moved into

our home in June of 2023.

Since being Fiancé’s, we have learned so much. How to be a good

roommate, gardener, decorator, housekeeper, how to cook for two, how to

do lots of paperwork, budgeting, more dog parenting, what battles to pick or

to drop, and most of all how to truly be there for one another. Our love

seems to grow, shapeshift, and strengthen with each passing day.

We absolutely cannot wait to celebrate our love, our life, and our future with

all of you. We ask for your prayers, support, and advice coming into this

new and exciting season of our lives.