"Hi! Can I sit here?" I asked the brown haired boy sitting down at the table. He looked up at me and nodded.

Sam and I met at a bible conference.

I met Sam on the very first day of conference at the lunch table when I sat down next to him, because I love meeting new people and getting to know them. I thought 'I'm gonna make a friend!' After that initial meeting, I realized that Sam was a quiet sort of guy but that he loved talking to people but in his own way. I wasn't enchanted by Sam just yet! Sam on the other hand developed a lil' crush on me-ok, ok maybe not a lil ;) But he knew that he wanted to talk to me, again.

It's not easy to find me in one spot at conferences especially as big as LA conference. On the second day of conference, Sam and I had our second meeting. Sam invited me to go with him to the sing, and I accepted. Because I'm awkward when it comes to guys and know nothing of the male species, I grew nervous because at this point, I knew he was interested in me. I just didn't know what to do with a guy who was interested in me! I turned him down at the end of the night because I didn't know Sam at all.

Determined, Sam did not give up on me. A day later, he sent me a message via Messanger. We became friends and then started liking each other soon after that. A couple of weeks later when he asked me to be his girlfriend, I said yes :)

We began a long distance relationship and made it a priority to video chat with each other every night. I met his family, ALL his family (extended included!) at his cousins wedding. He met mine 2 months later. and we visited each other about every 2 months.

On October 11, near the edge of the cliffs in San Diego overlooking the ocean, Sam got down on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. I said "yes with all my heart, yes."

If you would like to read a more detailed version of how he asked: https://www.dixiepaola.com/201...

Love comes softly.