Who knew axe throwing could be so romantic? I certainly didn't. When I first met Lanford, I had just sworn off ever dating military men. I told all my friends that I would not dip my toe into those waters again. By Tuesday of the following week, I had learned that a cute guy can make all of your previous well thought out decisions go right out the window. And thank God for that.

The first time I truly talked to Lanford he had been away for a month in California for training. When he told me that he would be leaving for a month I was so skeptical. I figured I was about to be blown off and we would barely talk and then I would never hear from him again. But surprisingly, during those weeks we started texting occasionally until one night I was sitting at my desk and we decided we would call each other for the first time.

I was so nervous. What if he had a pipsqueak voice? What if he thought my jokes were dumb? What if he was super boring and I asked about what his favorite color was for no reason? All those what if butterflies had been wreaking havoc in my chest as I hyped myself up for a phone call.

One of the first things he told me about during that 5 hour phone call was how he and his brother had once stopped on the side of the road while traveling home to help someone in a major accident. I remember being so impressed at his kindness in wanting to help others. Eventually, we moved on to talking about our favorite things to learn about in history, to Lanford's jungle training in Hawaii. By the end of the night I had only begun to understand the true intelligence, kindness, generosity, and sheer stubbornness that God blessed Lanford with.

On our first date, he took me axe throwing. And my favorite part of the whole night, wasn't winning every round of axe throwing, but was when Lanford at one point put his arm around me and cue those butterflies. Those darn things have never left me since. I got butterflies the first time we said 'I love you' (he said it first). I got butterflies when I went to his house for the first time. I got butterflies when he asked me to move in with him. And I'm pretty sure all of the butterflies and my stomach left my body when he got down on one knee and proposed.

If you had asked me 5 years ago how my life would go, I would never have told you I would meet a man from West Virginia who loves to ride side by sides through giant puddles of dirt, drives like a man possessed while racing trucks with his Dad, adopts wild puppies in Africa, and buys more guns than is reasonable for a single person. But here I am and I have never lived wilder, happier, freer, and more myself than I could ever have dreamt. Lanford is a love I did not know I needed and a love I cannot live without. He has shown me that love is dancing in the middle of the living room, is giving back massages every night before bed, is doing the dishes that I never want to do, and choosing us every day.

Axe throwing were the two best times of my life. The day I met Lanford and the day I he became my forever and always.

-Sydney

I fell in love with her because she's hot

-Lanford