So you think you know the story of how we fell in love, but Mackenzie tasked me with writing out our story, so I am here smoking my cigar and ready to set the record straight. So grab a drink and a comfy seat, this is going to be take awhile.

So our story begins online, two hopeless romantics looking for love in all the wrong places… HINGE! One night I was sitting in the driveway smoking a cigar, and who would have thought that a dead animal, her monster elk harvest, would have been what drove me to shoot my shot! Little did I know I was embarking on a journey that would be the craziest adventure of a lifetime, and I would pop the big question only 5 months later.

After two weeks of texting and finally finding a time for our schedules to align, we went on our first date. I thought love at first sight was a cliche till I saw her. By the time I finished inhaling my burger and half of hers, I knew there was something special about her. By the end of our first date, I knew that I had to cancel the other dates I had lined up for the week. I knew this could go somewhere, it just took her a little longer to figure it out.

Our first week of dating involved burgers, pizza and movies, and driving around looking at Christmas lights and drinking hot cocoa. We ended the week by closing down our favorite dancehall together, Hurricane Harrys, with some of our favorite people.

The following weeks consisted of Santa’s Wonderland, meeting each others friends, taking Mackenzie on her first duck hunt, and many more Christmas lights dates. I knew she was serious about me when I convinced her to wake up at 2 am to go on her first duck hunt. After that morning, I knew I had met my hunting partner for life.

We spent our first Christmas together separately with our families and then raced back to Bryan so she could cook me my favorite meal for Christmas dinner, fried elk back-strap with homemade mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans.

Our first roadtrip was to Longview to visit my Grandma and go duck hunting on our family farm. We spent the first evening watching the sunset while sitting for an evening deer hunt. That night when I went to tell her goodnight and tuck her into bed, she looked up at me and told me she loved me, she beat me to it. I had planned on telling her the following morning while hunting.

After that weekend we filled our coming months with going on dates, sharing hobbies, BBQing, hanging with family, and getting plugged into our church and community group. After sometime our love grew, our friends were eager to find out what was next for us, and we were ready to start forever together.

We quickly realized that the other person was who we have been missing and praying for our whole lives. I am the calm, logical counter balance to Mackenzie’s spontaneous, care free demeanor. She is the most gentle, kind hearted, serving partner that I could have prayed for. We knew that the love we have, was meant for a lifetime.

After realizing that I did not want to waste anymore time not as her husband, I asked her father out to lunch. Don’t worry, I survived the 3 hour interview with her father. I walked away blessing in hand, and a future ally to help me with her and all of her crazy, along with a spiritual mentor.

I quickly formulated a plan on how to pop the big question. I came up with a plan and Chloe (Mack’s sister) helped me come up with a way to execute my vision. Chloe set up romantic and dreamy picnic for us. After making Mackenzie walk too far in heels, we arrived at the picnic site. I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me, and she graciously agreed to be my bride. We enjoyed a picnic and laughed and talked about how good God has been to us and how it was all so worth it. We spent the remainder of the evening with our family and closest friends celebrating our exciting day!

This message was read and approved by Mackenzie