Dustin and I both grew up playing soccer. It was something we were both passionate about for 10+ years, and what eventually led us to each other. During my Sophomore year of high school though, I decided I was ready for a change. I signed up for a recreational soccer league, hoping it would be different and fun, except I decided to sign up for the boys recreational soccer league. Yes- I know what you're thinking, "how did a girl get on an all boys team?", or simply "why??". I'm sure everyone thought I was crazy at the time, but the coach had seen me play for years and was more than happy to let me join the team. Now looking back on it, if I had changed a single thing, I may not have met Dustin.

We became good friends for the next few months after playing on the same team and one day when we were leaving practice my mom said to the both of us "Kristina, get Dustin's phone number so y'all can carpool to and from practice." For those of you who don't know, Dustin and I live less than a mile from each other in Madison (I still don't know how we didn't meet sooner). I never really thought anything of it at the time, so I said sure and things just went from there. Mom says that she had a plan of setting us up the whole time (not really surprised, she adores Dustin and has since day 1).

From this point on, we would text and talk almost every day until the point came where Dustin asked me to be his girlfriend. It was November 22, 2011 (almost 7 years ago- it still is so crazy to me how long its been), and from that day we haven't looked back. As many of you know, dating at 15 years old means we were best friends for a long time but we also grew up together (literally). I think that the foundation of friendship is really what makes Dustin and I strong as a couple; we know that in the end we truly are best friends first and everything else builds upon that. Growing up together also means that we have been through it all, the ups, downs, high school graduation, figuring out who we are as adults, long distance, college graduation, and so much more.

I don't think there was ever one single moment when I realized Dustin was the one for me. But one of my favorite things about him is that he can make me laugh like no one else. He's goofy and has always made me feel so comfortable to where I can be 100% myself in front of him. But after years of growth, love, and LOTS of laughter, I decided that he was my person for life and there was nothing that could change that.

Dustin and I have the most amazing support system when it comes to our families and friends. We really could not thank everyone who reads this enough for their constant love and support. Y'all mean the world to us!

From the time Kristina and I met at 15, I was always bold when I would write her notes. "We'll be together forever" and "I can't wait till we are married" were frequent phrases for me. I had no idea what sort of weight those words held at the time but I always told her how much I enjoyed being with her and it just felt natural to say things like that. Little did I know that it would become a reality.

We played sports. We worked simple jobs. We graduated high school. We started college. We spent months at a time apart. We graduated college. We started full-time employment. And so many other little things in between.

None of it ever phased us though. I would say that we knew the time was right when we really got to spend time together in college. We always talked about the potential of getting married but never fully pursued the idea until we looked back at the past and realized we've gone through years of ups and downs yet things were still great.

We started to tell each other we didn't want anyone or anything different so we committed to becoming closer as a couple and over time things just fell into place. We wanted to be engaged coming out of college and married soon after. So we made it happen!

I thought through many ideas of how I wanted to do it. I wanted it to be special. I wanted it to be semi-private. I wanted it to be in a place we would remember. I wanted it to be unexpected!

Kristina has always loved the Christmas season. With this in mind and our current stage in life, I knew there was no better time to drop the "big question" than on the best day of the year - Christmas.

I have always been out of town for most holidays since we don't have any immediate family in town, and Kristina and I had never spent a Christmas together. So, keeping true to that, I was out of town yet again for the holidays. I told Kristina I would try to be back in town as soon as I could after Christmas Day. Instead, I made the arrangements with her parents to set up a little plan to actually surprise her on Christmas Day.

I originally wanted it to be a moment shared by just her and I, but I could not think of a way to do it where we would also have pictures of the occasion. So I got her family to take her to the biggest Christmas tree in town (literally) and tell her that they were there for family photos. And that's when I made my grand entrance! I popped the question and her family was there to capture a video and pictures of how it all went down.

I showed up as unexpectedly as I could and got down on a knee to ask one of the most important questions of my life.

Engaged - December 25, 2017.