It certainly took a long time for us to officially meet. It would have been a lot easier perhaps to start dating when we lived 15 minutes apart for 7 years. Or when she was coming over to my house to hang out with my sister or every time we passed at a dance recital or the Rankin on a Saturday morning. Or maybe even when we were at the same small college for 2 years. But that's not how it happened. We trust a bigger plan. One day I left for Athens, 5 years passed and a lot of life happened for both of us. I can’t explain it but suddenly I started thinking about that girl. The one I didn’t know much at all. Any one who knows Emma knows the extraordinary reputation she carries. And that was all I knew, but it was enough for me. I remember sending her that first text, right before a run on a rainy day. Our story was just beginning. When I see her I am reminded of how undeservedly lucky any of us are to know and love someone who is chasing the same values and ultimate goals in life that we are. It may have taken a long time, but it was worth every minute to get here, together.

I had always known who John Wesley was because I was good friends and danced ballet with his sister, Piper. I was often spending time with her and the Carlson family...but had never officially met John Wesley somehow!

After a decade of friendship with them, I randomly got a text from him asking to take me to lunch. I remember literally jumping up in excitement....and then my phone promptly dying! I was so worried. Haha! After we texted for a few weeks, he came to Columbus and we had our first date on April Fool's day 2023 at Iron Bank Coffee. I still remember seeing him for the first time at a table outside. Our first date was four hours long - we drank coffee, talked about books and life, went on a walk, and got caught in the rain by the river! My coworkers that week asked me how my first date had gone and when they heard how I talked about it, they said "you're going to marry him". It turns out that they were right!

The last 20 months have been filled with so much joy and peace. We have gone on so many adventures together and I have come to trust and deeply respect John Wesley's heart for Jesus and his tender care for me. I am SO lucky to get to be his wife and am thrilled to get to create a home together that hopefully points toward the place "where all the beauty came from, our country, the place we ought to have been born" (CS Lewis).