In Summer 2022, Graham was on staff at a camp for Christ In Youth. Mayce attended that camp as a leader with the High School Ministry at her church. The two hardly interacted, but Mayce was impressed by Graham's heart for the Lord and for student ministry. Graham didn't know she existed. There wasn't much time for interaction that week as the both of them were busy serving/working. Bottom left is a picture Mayce took of one of her students being interviewed by Graham, and bottom right is a screenshot from a video where the 2 of them mere feet apart at the camp volleyball tournament.

The week of camp ended, and life seemed to move on. Mayce, however, could not stop thinking about "the Emcee from Move" and how she wished she could've gotten to know him more. With a boost of encouragement from her mentor, Mayce made the wild decision to reach out to Graham by DM just to see what would happen. After an agonizing 16 hours of no response and thinking it was all for nothing, Graham responded. Mayce would learn that Graham lived about 600 miles away in Topeka, Kansas... A far jump from her home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Despite that, they hit it off instantly and had so many things in common that they continued to talk and get to know each other daily. This began their long distance friendship!

For about 3 months, Mayce and Graham would FaceTime multiple nights per week - sometimes even until 5am. They would fall asleep talking about God, their dreams for the future, funny stories from their day, childhood memories and everything in-between. Conversation and camaraderie is the foundation that their relationship is built upon! In October, Graham began expressing interest in driving from Kansas to Tennessee to spend time with Mayce in person. It was important to both of them to see if this relationship was worth continuing to pursue.

During his winter break from school, Graham drove 10 hours to visit Mayce for the first time. Their initial meeting was filled with nerves but mainly excitement for these best friends to finally be together! He got to meet her family and closest friends, and they all finally got to meet the "boy from Kansas" who Mayce wouldn't stop talking about. 2 days into the trip, Graham said "I love you" to Mayce for the 1st time, which may seem quick to some... but Mayce knew in her heart that Graham was genuine, and that the Lord had been orchestrating their love story. Graham returned to Kansas promising to see Mayce again soon.... **It's important to note that Graham did not ask her to be his girlfriend on this 1st trip ;)

2 weeks later, Mayce was able to fly to Kansas to see Graham and meet his family. When she landed in KC, Graham picked her up, flowers in hand, wearing a nice sport coat, and drove her to the Train Station to look at Christmas lights. While they were there, Graham finally asked Mayce to be his girlfriend, giving her a necklace with his initial on it and a note expressing his love and excitement for exploring the possibility of marriage with her. She wondered why he waited to ask her, and he said he "knew he wanted to ask 2 weeks ago in Tennessee" but he "wanted to ask in a special way." Mayce would come to find out that Graham was wearing the sport coat that his Dad wore when he picked up Graham's mom from the airport the first time she visited him, and the train station is where his brother-in-law, Eric proposed to Graham's oldest sister, Mollyanne. (Yes, Graham's parents also met at church camp and lived in 2 different states)

Now that Mayce had the rights of being Graham's girlfriend, she got to cut his hair after not having a haircut for over a year. This was an exciting day!!

Graham and Mayce drove back to TN to spend the rest of Graham's winter break together. They had their "First Real Date" in Nashville eating tacos at the Redheaded Stranger, having cocktails in an igloo on the rooftop of the Bobby Hotel, and ending the night with tiramisu at Maggiano's Little Italy. (Remember the Bobby Hotel... It will be important later)

While the majority of their relationship has been spent apart, Mayce and Graham have been blessed to be able to visit each other often for weekends and quick trips for concerts and weddings. Graham even spent this summer living in TN so that the two of them could be together! One thing is for certain. When Mayce and Graham are together, they are going to have FUN! Through the challenges and frustration of long-distance, they have held on and their relationship has grown stronger every day.

"One of the times I flew to visit Graham, a stranger saw us reunite and took pictures and then ran up asking to send them to us. We got to see from an outside perspective the joy and excitement of coming back together after a period of being apart." -Mayce "Life with Mayce feels like a movie. I couldn't imagine life without her because nothing feels more natural than when we are together." -Graham This was the last time Mayce was in Kansas before Graham would surprise her in Tennessee with a proposal.

Remember the Bobby Hotel? Graham planned an elaborate surprise proposal for Mayce on the same rooftop patio where they had their "First Real Date." He had just been in town the previous weekend, so she had no idea that he would be back so soon, let alone on one knee. All of her closest friends and family, thankfully, were able to keep it a secret and pulled off an amazing surprise followed by a sweet celebration for Mayce and Graham.