We both knew of each other from when Aseret lived in Omaha and Anthony had the same friends as Aseret's sister. Fast forward a little over decade later, fate (aka social media) brought us back to each other's feeds. It's no surprise that both of us played hard to get at first. Aseret could never tell if Anthony's messages meant something more and he didn't know what to think of her witty replies. Aseret was living in downtown Kansas City at the time and Anthony lived in Omaha still. In April of 2022, Anthony found a subtle way to be able to talk to Aseret more by challenging her to see who could run more miles in one month by sending daily updates— loser had to travel to the winner's city. Smooth, I know. Little did Anthony know Aseret was training for a half marathon. The snapchats and Instagram messages eventually turned into video calls and texting, both already feeling like we could be each other's end game. After telling Anthony to give up on the challenge because "I'm not going back to Omaha," we quickly found a date he could go to Kansas City. After an absolute dream of a weekend of showing Anthony her life in KC as a city girl, meeting two of her best friends right off the bat his first night, getting to know each other even more in person, going to a Royals baseball game and not scaring him away after asking him "What's your five-year plan?" at our first breakfast together, we instantly knew we were both right — we were each other's end-game.

After that first weekend in Kansas City, Anthony went back to Omaha. A short few weeks later, he made the drive to Kansas City again and met Aseret's parents before asking her to be his girlfriend on May 21, 2022. The rest of the year consisted of becoming the ultimate travel and sports couple. We visited 10 states across the US and Mexico and attended several NFL, NBA, NHL, and college football games. We experienced so many incredible things as a couple that first year; from new places and seeing new things to having meaningful conversations and learning more about each other as we went on. We truly built a strong foundation. Of course, this year also consisted of many phone calls, FaceTimes and texts as we were still long-distance. Regardless, we always made sure we knew the next time we'd see each other before leaving.

After spending two weeks in Mexico visiting Aseret's family, we came back to the States and Aseret made the move to Omaha! Our drives were now less than 15 minutes to see each other, random date nights during the week were a thing and exploring the city together while Aseret started a new life here was our new favorite thing. Living in the same city taught us a lot. Some big life changes happened during this year that we could not have gone through without the other person physically there for the other. This year also brought more traveling of course and even more sports events! Aseret found her way back to coaching dance and Anthony supports her at every competition he can be at, locally or out of state. And of course, Aseret is Anthony's biggest cheerleader as well! Even if that means sitting with the old ladies at his Boccee Ball matches. We love going on long walks and talking about our day/week, hanging out at the Brewery downstairs of Aseret's apartment, going to the movies, spending time with friends and family, finding new restaurants in the city (preferably that serve steak) and you can almost always catch us making food on the grill. Oh and Anthony finally got Aseret to like golf!

When you know, you know. Cheesy, typical, but true. We've always seen eye-to-eye in what we want for our future, and at the beginning of the year, Anthony planned a whole day together in which Aseret's friends truly gas lit her into thinking he wasn't proposing — leaving her completely speechless and full of tears as Anthony got down on one knee at Lauritzen Gardens and asked to spend the rest of their lives together. It was such an emotional and beautiful day followed by a celebratory drink just the two of us before the world knew and later that night celebrated with our families! We can't wait for this next chapter in our lives and to continue to grow in marriage with God by our side.