Sean and I met as teenagers in high school - 15 years ago. We bonded over mutual friends and pop-punk music. He was always so fun to be around and could aways make me laugh! A few years after graduation, he moved away from the area and we sort of lost touch for a while.
Around the year 2015, we re-connected through social media.
He moved back to town in 2018 and we began spending frequent time together. He really became my "go-to" person. During that stretch of time, we listened to each other and gave advice as both of us experienced trials and celebratory moments of all sorts. The financial hardships, anxiety and depression, moves, job changes, milestones.. We prayed for each other, vented to each other, shared stupid memes and shared music, went to the movies and to concerts.. We built an un-shakable bond. However, there was this place called "The Friend Zone" that we lived in.. I cant even tell you how many people would tell us "you two should be a couple!"...But that was just not a thought (in my mind, at least). It was too scary, and I wasn't willing to lose my best friend if, for some reason, it didn't work.
That being said, we supported each other as we each entered our own romantic relationships with other people. We celebrated each other's happiness and rooted for our success... but ultimately, the result would be that we would also be comforting each other as those other romantic relationships fell apart. We would help each other smile again after our hearts were broken.
There is so much truth to the phrase "everything happens for a reason".. God has a way of showing you exactly what you need in his own perfect timing. With Sean and I both having experienced personal loss, but also tremendous growth, there was a wall that just came down.. a shift that happened. Seeing Sean as "more than a friend" was not scary anymore. In fact, I very quickly realized that who I had needed was right in front of me all along. (cheesy? maybe.. but so very true.) I had always loved him. I had always counted on him. I had always admired him. He was the one to always make me laugh, protect me, listen to me... and I found myself not only loving him, but also falling IN love with him. (Luckily - he felt the same! - which everyone seemed to know but me. **shrug**)
The foundation we spent years building as best friends was exactly what we needed to enter into the next step. We each knew the other on such a deep level.. but more importantly - we knew ourselves. We knew what we brought to a relationship, but also what we wanted from one.. We knew the other could provide it, and we didn't look back! 💙
We "officially" became a couple in August of 2021 and were engaged in July of 2023.
It is also important to say that we choose to keep Jesus at the center of our love story. He is the author of it and we are so thankful for who he is and what he has done! We are thankful for our mutual love for God and desire to serve him better! We are working toward the same spiritual goal(s) and that is such a blessing!
Are we perfect? ... no.. of course not! and never will be.. But.. as Phoebe Buffay would say ..He's my Lobster!

Brittney and I met each other in high school during my senior year. I had started hanging out with a lot of her friends and I remember talking to them about having a crush on her. I even went as far as getting them to "see how she felt about me" (I was shy and awkward when it came to women). Long story short, she wasn't available at the time. Eventually we started talking and discovered some common interests - mostly music *queue Simple Plan* and she started inviting me to her church youth events.

I graduated, and even though we remained friends, I moved on with life. I'd see her every now and again when the friend group would gather, but otherwise we didn't talk much. That changed after I moved away and started to go through a rough time in my life. Sometime in 2015 she reached out to me on social media, just asking if I needed anyone to talk to. From that point on she became someone I trusted deeply. I remember coming to Van Wert for a week in 2018 for my birthday, and we made it a point to meet up (There's a video somewhere). I couldn't help but just feel those same old giddy feelings, only this time, she was much more than "a crush" to me. Shortly after, I ended up moving back to Van Wert - excited to start fresh and rebuild my life. We became really close in that time, becoming best friends. We were there for each other through tough relationships, hard days, and even shady internet technicians. It was obvious to me that I was falling for her, but I never had the guts to flat out ask her how she felt. Time went on, and my trust in her and my feelings for her, kept growing. I remember all the hard talks we had about relationships, finances, adulthood, and God - and how they all felt so easy with her. I knew in my heart that she was what I needed, but I was so convinced that we were never going to be more than friends that I told her "I need someone JUST LIKE you!" Boy was I surprised when she finally realized how she felt.

We had a lot of long conversations about it. About the fears of dating your best friend and potentially losing them if something happened. We went back and forth for awhile until one night, in the middle of a deep conversation.. she kissed me! The rest is history.

We've been through so much together, we know each others weaknesses, our biggest struggles, every detail we shared with each other, each individual brick we laid in our foundation has built us in to something truly only God could have set up, I'm truly blessed to have her in my life.

On September 14th I get to marry my High School crush, my best friend, my soul mate, my lobster, and I could not be more excited!

It was a Thursday night.
As part of our weekly routine, Sean and I always have a couple nights a week that we just don't see each other. These nights are reserved for friends, or just time we spend "doing our own thing". Thursdays are typically one of these nights. As a result, I had no plans or expectations to see him. On top of that, he had been working on a project with the "Ignite" event and I assumed he would be busy well into the afternoon and then want to go straight home and pass out.. I got off work at 5:00, like normal.. and decided I didn't want to make supper, so I went through Ragers drive thru.. I got home, walked in the door, and was greeted by flowers and candles everywhere.. and Sean standing there all cleaned up and looking handsome, just smiling at me.. The table was set and dinner (chicken stir fry) was on the stove. I immediately knew what was happening at that point, and I froze.. standing in the doorway.. clutching my Ragers bag..unable to speak, and in total shock. (Turns out, Sean had walked down from his place so that his car wouldn't be there.. truly making this whole thing super unexpected)
He walked towards me, took the bag out of my hands, lead me inside and proceeded to push "play" on his phone.. a song began to play through the blu tooth speaker. This song, titled "Love Like This" was specifically created by Sean.. it was written based on our story/his feelings. A totally unique song that is ours, alone (courtesy of Songfinch - a company that works with independent musicians to turn customers' memories into one of a kind custom songs). **I included a screen shot of the song lyrics, above**
I cried. Sean cried.
When the song was over, he got on one knee, said wonderful things and made wonderful promises, used my full name, and asked me to marry him. 💍
(And yes, he had gotten all of my parents' permission first! 😍🥰)