Bethany: This is the first picture we have together. I had planned a spontaneous backpacking trip to West Virginia, and I received a message the night before the trip that Caleb was joining. I didn't know much about Caleb before this trip, so I was pretty surprised to see him take an entire carton of quick oats, a whole role of duct tape (for his shoes), and a one-pound bag of trail mix from his bag. I quickly learned about Caleb's character on this trip. Although he did not bring a sleeping bag and was very cold in the guys' tent, he never complained.

Caleb: I contacted Bethany about going to the Global Missions Health Conference to learn more about missions and also got to know Bethany a lot more during this trip.

Bethany: For spring break, Alayna and I wanted to go on a crazy adventure to Colorado. At this point, Caleb and I had spent a lot of time studying together or hanging out with our friends (and playing cornhole for 2 hours), but we hadn't talked about our relationship yet. On the drive to Colorado, Caleb drove 14.5 hours and we talked the entire time, making the drive fly by. We spent one of our Colorado days skiing at Copper Mountain. Caleb and I found ourselves on the ski lift alone to our green slope while Ethan and Alayna went down a black diamond. We talked about how much we had enjoyed spending time together and Caleb asked if I wanted to start dating. I said I thought we should take some time to pray about it and Caleb prayed for our relationship at the top of the mountain. Then we raced down the slope and he won (he must've hit like 100mph)

Caleb: After Bethany and I had time to pray and seek council from others we began 'dating' on March 18, 2023. Our first date was the following day when we dinked around in John Brian where we swung on vines and went to Cracker Barrel afterwards.

Bethany: Caleb and I traveled to Maine for my brother's wedding and decided we wanted to try a crazy challenge: The Pemi Loop. According to the Backpacker magazine, this is considered the 2nd hardest day hike in America, and we wanted to give it a try. You can really see each other "for better or for worse" over 30 miles of grueling elevation change, knee-deep snow, and temperature changes. After a long 13 hours and 20 minutes, we completed the loop and celebrated with Applebees, which didn't even taste very good because we were so tired.

Caleb: That summer I brought Bethany out to Stanley Idaho where we enjoyed the beautiful Sawtooth mountain range and she got to meet much of my family out west.

Bethany: Since there's nothing to do in Ohio, Caleb and I would sometimes go to Walmart for fun (one time we even got to witness a fight). This picture was taken after we bought some juice from Walmart and Caleb gave me his extra pancake after completing the Clifton Mill Pancake Challenge

Caleb: Bethany and I coordinated a camping trip to go cheer on the team at regionals in Indiana. It was a good time camping and watching the team race.

Bethany: In November of 2023, I adopted a shelter dog and named her Maple. When she first met Caleb, he couldn't even breathe in her direction without her growling at him, and I was worried I made a huge mistake of accidentally adopting a dog who was afraid of men. However, after some patience and lots of treats, she will now recognize Caleb from far away and gets very excited to see him. I'm not sure he's quite as excited to see her yet, but they'll be besties soon enough :)

Caleb: We were back out in the beautiful state of Maine for Christmas! We stayed with her parents and enjoyed a good time together skiing, running, and enjoying a nice cold plunge in the ocean.

Bethany: For Cedarville's spring break in 2024, we planned a group backpacking trip to the Linville Gorge wilderness in North Carolina. This trip tested everyone as it rained for the majority of the trip, but it was a great reminder of the importance of getting out of your comfort zone. The most memorable portion of this trip was swimming across a raging river and getting stuck on one side without our backpacks.

Caleb: Bethany was my number 1 fan during track. She made it to all the meets she could to watch me race even when it was far drives and long days. She always encouraged me in my running and was the first person I wanted to see after all my races.

Bethany: This picture is from a trip to Florida that Caleb and I went on with my family. I have a lot of fond memories from this trip. Caleb and I were able to take the time after a busy semester to talk more about our future, specifically marriage.

Caleb: The past 15 months spent with Bethany was more than enough for me to know that I wanted to marry her. God faithfully brought us together in his perfect timing. God was moving through every moment of our relationship as we sought him. We believe that God is the one who holds all things together and that we need him not only for the day to day, but for the eternal relationship we can have with him. Without him, we are dead in our sins, but because of Jesus Christ who died for our sins and was raised on the third day, we can have life if we repent and accept his forgiveness and choose to follow him.