This is the short and very concise version, to get the full story would take days to write, but here we go..

Lori and Matthew grew up going to Mimosa Lane Baptist Church, yet somehow they never met. They would spend years running the same circle but never actually meeting one another. One day Matthew's family packed up and moved far away, it seemed as if all hope was lost. The next few years they did their own thing, like sports, music, and the occasional hangout with friends. It wasn't until the summer before Matthew's senior year and Lori's junior year that they would meet in person. Lori was still attending MLBC and was a part of the youth choir that went on a trip every summer, but this time one of the stops was through Matthew's small town of Borger. On his own accord, Matthew decided there was nothing better to do and decided to tag along on our trip to New Mexico.

The first meeting was anything but normal. They were at Wendy's after the choir had sang at Matthews church where Lori would bump into Matthew, scream, and hide uncomfortably. Matthew then proceeded to ask if Lori was okay, but soon began to understand it was a part of her charm. It was on those long van rides, days of basketball, and other various activities that Lori and Matthew began a new friendship. During an afternoon snack one day, Lori decided she wanted to hang out some more and invited Matthew to MLBC's youth camp, and they began to plan how it would all work out with him living in Borger and her in Mesquite, 7 hours apart. When the trip was winding down, Matthew's parents picked him up at a McDonald's and drove away, all without saying bye. Lori thought their friendship would end there until he called a couple days later to explain he would be coming to Mesquite for 3 weekends in July to go to camp!...

During those three weeks, Matthew and Lori helped with sports camp, VBS, and frequented the Denny's. They built a friendship during this time, spending every available second together, but they were just friends. (wink wink) Camp finally rolled around, and by this time Lori was convinced something was going on between them, yet it all came crashing down when he said he liked another girl. With a heavy heart, Lori and Matthew went back to Mesquite, this time farther apart. Matt went back home to Borger and Lori went back to life without her best friend. They stopped texting, calling, and Facetiming, the whole nine-yards! Not even a week later Matthew decided to call Lori and apologize for how things went down, and asked if they could still be friends. Lori agreed, thinking it's better to have him as a friend than to not have him at all in her life and they began the regular calls and Facetimes once again.

This went on for a week or so until Lori got a call from Matthew that would change her life forever. Matthew was so excited, yelling "YOU'LL NEVER GUESS WHAT! I HAVE SUCH EXCITING NEWS!" over and over. After he calmed down a bit, he explained that him and his family were going to be moving back to Mesquite, TX, for his senior year! They celebrated and began counting down the days.

When Matt came into town, the two rekindled their friendship. They went to church together, to Walmart, to football games, and to their most favorite park where they would have long talks about nothing in particular. They could spend days together and never get bored.

School came around, but that did not stop their friendship. As soon as Matt's school let out he would head over to Lori's school to pick her up and have fun. All this time they claimed they were just friends, seeing they were dating other people. They continued to grow closer to not only one another, but God as well. This could have been left at just this, but thankfully much more happened.

One weekend Lori found out that the guy she was dating was not what God had planned, and after talking to Matthew, they realized that maybe their friendship was meant to be something more. They decided to give themselves a chance to see if after a month if their feelings were still their to enter a relationship.

During that month they would hang out as much as possible, do devotionals together at their park, and laugh until their stomaches and faces hurt. They would later call this time the grey area because some moments are unclear if they were dating or not. They would go to the movies, take long car rides, play golf, and go on their first real official date to the State Fair of Texas.

Two days after their first date, after Wednesday night church, they went to their park for their weekly devotional, but this time it was different. It was the last lesson for that devotional, and when it was over Matthew asked Lori a very important question. "Will you be my girlfriend?" Overjoyed, the two did not yet realize that they had just found the person they would spend the rest of their lives with.

Fast forward three years later, after many highs and lows, Matthew decided to take the next step, and began brainstorming the perfect proposal. He talked with Lori's friends and family, telling them the plan he worked so hard on. On the Sunday before Christmas, he knew it was time. They went to church, and then had lunch at Norma's Cafe. When they got back in the car, Matthew handed Lori a piece a paper that contained the first clue to a scavenger hunt, claiming it was her Christmas present, to all the important places in their relationships. They went to Lori's house, Matthew's old house, the fair grounds, and his high school. The last stop on the hunt had come, and Matthew took Lori back to that same park they fell in love. There on the ground was a giant box, and inside was a book that said Miss to Mrs.She turned around to question it and Matthew was on one knee. And that's when Matthew asked Lori to marry him.

The End.

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