Jereme and I met back in 2022 at Choctaw Road Baptist Church where Jereme was working in the coffee shop and I came to visit the church after being told by my brother and best friend to see how amazing this church was. Quickly after meeting, we became friends and started a Snapchat streak. Little did we know, Jereme and I went to the same elementary school, grew up 5 minutes away from each other, and Jereme was even at my high school graduation without knowing me. We knew of each other before meeting because of our mutual friend, Bailey, yet had never met. Prior to us meeting, Jereme had a friend trying to set him up with “Bailey’s friend”. Since January of 2022 when we met, we had people telling us we should date. Multiple people. Literally almost everyone that knew both of us. We had feelings for each other on and off in those 2 years of being friends, (Mostly me liking him) but knew that the timing was not right. In May of 2023, I prayed for my future husband to come along after I graduated college in December. I didn’t care how long after, I just wanted to be single for those months and knew that was best for me academically and spiritually. Little did I know how much that prayer was heard until December, when less than a week after my graduation party (that Jereme was of course, present for) I got picked up for a date with my now, fiancé!

From the moment we started dating, Jereme and I both talked about how easy and natural it felt. It was like we were with our best friend. And the truth is, that’s exactly what it was. Not long after we started dating, Jereme and I began to talk about marriage, the future, and the reason we knew we were dating. We knew it wasn’t to break up, and that the Lord had put us together in His timing. 1 month into dating, we said the three words that made my heart beat so fast and so loud I thought it was going to come out of my chest. In one moment, we both looked at each other and realized that all the things we had done together, we wouldn’t want to do with anyone else. Whether it be eating dinner, playing pickleball, watching a movie, putting together a lego set, watching the sunset, reading God’s Word, or just driving in the car, it was better together. We both knew, that quote, “When you know, you know,” had never felt real to either of us until this moment.

3 months into dating, we went ring shopping while walking around the mall. The man picked up the first ring after I described what I wanted and that was the one. He tried to convince me of others, showing me what seemed like a million options, but I couldn’t get the picture out of my head that Jereme would ask me to marry him with that ring in my hand. In August of 2024, we got engaged when I thought I was on the way to Cattleman’s in OKC for a double date with Jereme and I’s mentors, Dan and Cass. Jereme was over at my house waiting for me to be ready when he got a phone call from Dan saying they were on the way and they would see us soon. When Jereme and I got into the car, and started heading down my driveway, Jereme got another phone call from Dan saying they had a flat tire, asking Jereme to come air it up with his air pump he always has in his car, and that we would pull into the church to wait for them. (Two sidetones here, first, this is one of the million reasons I love my Jereme Wayne, he is ALWAYS prepared. Second, I didn’t realize that Jereme was waiting on this call and we could not leave until EXACTLY the right time. The one time I was running early, Jereme was trying to get me to run right on time or even late.) Jereme headed to the church, and helped Dan “fix the tire” while I caught up with Cass and was oblivious to what was about to happen. After the tire (that was never flat) was “fixed”, Jereme and I got back in the car as Dan and Cass drove away, and I heard the words “wanna waste some time?” That’s when I knew. Jereme had flowers, candles, flower petals, and Scotty Mcreery’s “This is It” playing. He led me down the trail of flower petals and a photo timeline to a setup right where we met for the first time with the sign “Will You Marry Me?” And of course, after Jereme giving a speech, I said yes, neither of us remembering what on earth he said when he was down on one knee. All we knew was that we had received the gift God had given us to love and to cherish forever.