From Aaron's perspective:

Emily and I met when we were both deployed in Poland. One day, my friend Eddie came to my office and told me that the new mail clerks had just arrived and one of them was super cute. We went down stairs and poked our heads in the post office room and that was the first time I saw Emily. Hair slicked back and in her PFC uniform. I knew I had to get to know her and had to talk to her. Thanks to Eddie for setting that up! The first time Emily and I hung out, we took a 4 Wheeler out and rode around for a while and then went back to base for a little BBQ where we talked about different things we like. We got to hang out for a few months before I went back to Germany but I made a few trips (12 hours 1 way) back to Poland to visit and we had a few dates. When Emily returned to America we continued to talk for those couple of years and she became my best friend. I was pursuing her those couple of years but she wasn't ready to settle down in a relationship with me. But that didn't stop me! I respected her wish's and stayed at arms length away so that I could be close to her still. After I returned to America, we were able to spend time together between going to church, snowboarding and helping her move into her new house. (I still think she only likes me for my truck) After a few months in America, I was deployed to Bulgaria and that's when Emily decided she wanted to pursue a relationship! We dated long distance from April to December, but we tried to make the most of the time we got with each other with Sunday morning dates and talking on the phone when we got the chance. I am happy to finally be in person with my best friend again and continue growing and building our relationship together!

From Emily’s perspective:

In a whirlwind of events, I was deployed to Poland. In the first week I was there, I met so many people and was excited about all the friends I was making. The first time I met Aaron, we were on a 4 wheeler ride with some friends. Afterwards, we stood at the campfire making small talk. We were making a lot of connections and had a lot of similar interests and I could tell he liked me, but at the time, I wasn’t quite interested in a relationship. We became great friends and were together with Eddie and George after work almost every evening. Poland was a fun time of getting to know each other, watching movies and exploring northern Poland. Aaron went back to Germany after a few months, but he’d come back to Poland to visit me periodically. After I moved back to the US, we kept in touch and Aaron remained one of my best friends. For about 2 years, we talked long distance, but I still wasn’t ready to date him.

Then, he got stationed at Fort Carson and we were able to hang out in person again. I had just moved into my new house and he was so helpful with all of my house projects, and was someone who was always there for me through the good and the bad. We had about 4 months together before Aaron deployed to Bulgaria. Soon after he left, I realized that I didn’t want to keep being “just friends”. And after asking my dad, Aaron called me from Bulgaria and asked me to be his girlfriend. I ecstatically said yes, and we dated long distance most of the time. We would have Sunday dates during my morning and his evening where we would talk, ask deep questions, watch shows, and read books together. It was not an easy time, but was fun to get to know each other on a deeper level and was so exciting to be dating my best friend. Finally he came home, and with the encouragement of some friends, finally proposed! I excitedly said, "YES!"