Our story begins on July 4th, 2022. We were at a Fourth of July party with our young adult small group that we separately began attending earlier that year. Lucas tried to impress Grace in a game of backyard football, while Grace subtly asked about him from the sidelines. One week later we went out for ice cream on our first date, and a month after that, the relationship was official.

The first year was filled with dates to museums, zoos, and the tastiest restaurants northern Illinois has to offer. We explored Nashville, Turkey Run State Park, and the many woods of Wisconsin. We enjoyed time attending our friends’ weddings, celebrating the holidays, and driving to NIU on Sundays to bring Grace back to school.

The start of year two turned out to be one of the most eventful times of our lives. In August of 2023, Lucas had open-heart surgery, where Grace lovingly supported him from the first visits with the surgeon to the end of recovery. Afterwards, Lucas joined Grace at college as they supported each other through their educational pursuits. Then, on November 25th, 2023, we got engaged!

We have enjoyed our engaged life as we see each other almost every day. We play board games, read together, and we spend lots of time with our family and friends, including trips to meet each other’s extended family. We are working hard towards our professional goals – Art Education for Grace and Communications for Lucas. And then, after graduating together in May, we will become husband and wife on the day of our 3-year anniversary!

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