We have come such a long way since we first met towards the end of 2011. Our first date was to see Sherlock Holmes 2 at the theater in Marion during which we barely watched the movie, but talked and held hands. That night we met wearing practically the same outfit; green hoodie and ripped jeans. Little did we know, we would be having countless dates similar to this one, dinner and a movie, which is our favorite.

Our first house together was in Herrin where we would also purchase our first dog as a couple, Chief. We had spent 4-5 interesting years there where we threw house parties, fought like cats and dogs, laughed, cried, provided a place to stay for several friends and realized we could make it as a happy couple.

Throughout this love story, we had experienced several tragedies that had brought us so much closer together making us realize how strong we really were.

March 4th, 2016 around 4am: Our first gut-wrenching exposure to the death of a loved one as a couple. The loss of our best friend, our child, Chief left Matt in shock and me trying to determine if CPR on him would bring him back. We will always have his memory, share our experiences about him over and over, and keep his ashes and paw print close by. We held each other, called upon friends and family, and picked each other up just before falling again. I feel as if when two people experience such a thing together, it can bring them closer, or push them apart. For us, it made us realize how much we struggle with seeing one another so sad and unhappy and what we could do to just make things better again.

One of the decisions Matt made to help end my depression over our loss was to bring a German Shepherd puppy into our home again. Another creature to love and care for as well as to help fill the empty void the house had.

Little did I know, Dexter would continue to be my main source of happiness long after he arrived to the Herrin house.

September 2016: Matt announces to our families his acceptance to A. T. Still University in Mesa, Arizona. Which also brought many tears and anxiety to so many.

June 4th, 2017: Matt finally proposed in Arizona! This was the confirmation I needed to go all in. I begun to combine our insurance, bills, add him to financial accounts, and budget for many things including a wedding.

Winter 2017: I had come to terms of the possibility of not being able to transfer jobs to Arizona to be with Matt. A long distance relationship is another situation that can make or break a couple. Once again, through sadness we find ways to show how much we care for each other and how far we would go to make each other happy. We spent countless hours booking travel plans throughout the next couple years while I was working on my Master's degree and he was working on his second Master's degree. Thank goodness Dexter was with me to make me feel safe and to have a distraction from the unfavorable situation I was in.

March 29th, 2018: I never imagined we would have our wedding without the physical presence of Ron Brown. I felt so much pain knowing Matt would have to receive this news while he was alone in Arizona in the middle of class while I was with his family. Sometimes, there's just nothing anyone can do to take such sadness away.

February 2019: I am finally done with my nurse practitioner program! One of the rare things that kept a smile on my face was the thought of the future and getting to live with Matt once more. Now, that goal is finally within sight.

Registry ~ Honeymoon Fund