It all began when Joe and I met at Montana Wilderness School of the Bible in August of 2022. One might imagine that it was love at first sight, but it was quite the contrary. My first memory of Joe was when I was getting my morning cup of coffee at the coffee bar at MDUB (even though the coffee tasted like motor oil.) I looked to my left and had to look up quite a way to see the tall, blonde guy who was getting coffee next to me. I said a cheerful good morning and introduced myself like the bubbly extravert I am but all I got in response was a grunt. Maybe Joe just needed coffee, but I walked away from that interaction thinking, "Well, I guess we won't be friends." Joe's first memory of me was a day later when a group of students were hanging out in the ping pong room, exchanging music and getting to know one another. Joe wanted to show everyone a favorite song of his, and I was quick to say that his music was awful. And this was our first impressions of each other.

Despite our rough start, it wasn’t too long before we began to notice each other and spend a lot of time together. I definitely noticed him first. Maybe it was his amazing dance moves or his incredible hair, but whatever it was, it wasn't long until I was quite smitten by him. It didn't take too long for Joe to begin to feel the same way about me. Since neither of us had a vehicle and it was hard to get off campus for a secluded date (thanks to one of his groomsmen, Josh, for being kind enough to let us borrow his truck! It was very appreciated), we spent a lot of time getting to know one another on hikes, playing ping pong (where Joe was able to realize how competitive I am) and late-night games of go fish.

We graduated school in the Spring of 2023, and then began the dreaded long distance. It wasn't easy. We would facetime every night, without fail, for hours and take turns visiting each other every month. It was always the sweetest reunion, and we had such fun times.

After four months of long distance, Joe moved out from Michigan to the amazing state of NY where he had incredible opportunities to fish at unbelievable lakes and rivers, hunt some big bucks, and make a ton of friends. Just kidding. NY sucks. But he was with me so he was pretty ok. Both Joe and I were so happy for long distance to be over. It was amazing to be only a 20 minute drive from each other. We were able to see each other regularly and experience day to day life together while living near each other.

February 17th, Joe asked me to marry him. It was the easiest yes.

Joe and I couldn't be more excited to begin this next chapter of our lives together. We know it will come with challenges and hard times, but with Christ as the foundation, we are excited to face life together. I will be moving to Michigan in June to get settled and prepare for the wedding and my oncoming nursing school education at KVCC in the fall. We couldn't be more excited to start our happily ever after 07/12/2024