Jake and Elisabeth met in late July of 2021 at a bookstore of all places, but it was not as romantic as you might think. Instead of accidentally bumping into one another between shelves, they instead were hauling boxes and prepping for thousands of students to come marching through the Texas A&M Barnes & Noble doors to pick up their textbooks. Being stuffed in a back room with a stack of books to be scanned and processed gave them plenty of opportunity to get to know one another, and a friendship quickly began to blossom. When football season rolled around, and the store got busy, Jake and Elisabeth became known for having regular register competitions, and when the crowds died down, it turned out they were pretty good restocking partners too. One day, while restocking baseball caps on the wall, Elisabeth sheepishly walked up to Jake and told him, "I need your help," to which he replied, "Let me guess, you can't reach?" Jake agreed to help her put the cap back on the wall, and according to him, that was the day he knew there was something different about her.

Elisabeth will confess that it took her longer to realize she had a thing for Jake, and it wasn't until after Christmas break that she was willing to accept it. However, She will also admit that before Christmas break, she had already tried to stalk him on social media (which was unsuccessful) and regularly checked to see when their work schedules aligned. She even considered going into the bookstore on an off day to say goodbye before break. Even during Christmas break, her mother and sister remembered her talking about her "new friend" at work.

After returning from break, Jake and Elisabeth continued their regular work shenanigans, and one day, after getting off at the same time, they decided to get lunch together. It wasn't a date, but Elisabeth walked to class that day with a skip in her step. A little over a week later, Jake finally got the courage to ask her out for real.

On Christmas Eve, Jake had a special date planned for Elisabeth and him. They had plans to go see a movie and walk around Southlake. They were in agreement to return to a date spot from the previous year and had plans to make it a tradition. They would walk around the two-story Barnes & Noble, and when they were done, they would enjoy the Christmas lights set up around the square and take a photo in front of one of the fountains. As they walked around the lit fountain, Elisabeth perfectly set Jake up when she teasingly asked him if he knew how he was planning on proposing to her. They had picked out a ring, but she was not expecting him to pop the question for at least another month. Little did she know, the ring was already in his pocket and when he dropped on one knee, she was so shocked that Jake had to ask her three times before she said yes!

The rest of our story has yet to transpire and we cannot wait to begin our new lives together. Our hope and aim is to live lives that glorify Christ and encourage one another daily to follow Him.