Carter and I have been together for over nine (9), yes you read that correctly, N I N E, years! I doubt either of us knew that we would be where we are today when we started texting back and forth in the summer of 2015.

When you meet at such a young age, "dating" mostly consists of texting and seeing each other in passing during the school days. Once Carter turned 16, he started taking me home after school and from there we saw each other more often. I loved watching him play baseball throughout the years, always insisting my parents and friends help get me there when I still wasn't of age to drive myself. Once I turned 16, I traveled to every game I could and we saw each other as often as possible. Throughout our time together in high school we went to one homecoming, two proms, multiple football games and countless baseball games and tournaments.

Carter graduated high school while I had one year left, but he couldn't get rid of me that easily! He started his freshman year at Columbus State University and I dual enrolled the entirety of my senior year. We took endless classes together and would study before and get dinner together after. Even after I graduated high school, things stayed the same with us trying to get our schedules to be aligned. We took english, math, history, and even a weather class together! During this time we both worked at Publix, the same store as a matter of fact. When we weren't in class together, we were working together and when weren't doing either of those things, you could find Carter asleep on the couch at my parents house while we hung out.

Back in 2020, Carter and his family began renovating an old family home for us to move into. A lot of blood, sweat and tears were poured into that house, and then a truck drove through the side of it! I can still remember Carter calling me that morning to break the news. We stood outside the house together and watched the wrecker pull the truck from inside our living room. We moved into our first apartment together in 2021 while the home was being finished. We soon started our own routine, just the two of us. I've always enjoyed baking, but once we lived together my love for cooking really blossomed. To this day we make a menu for the week and I look forward to making dinner for us each evening. The apartment was nice for the time we lived there, but in November we were finally able to move into the house after a year plus of renovations.

We have loved living in the house together; making memories and adding our special touch. Very shortly after moving in, we added Ruger our English Springer Spaniel. He has brought so much joy to our family and we could not imagine life without him. As a family we enjoy spending our time outside whether it be at my parents house, a walk around the park, swimming at Nanny and Granddaddy's pool or hanging out at the cabin on Lake Harding. Carter and I enjoy traveling together and exploring new places, some places we have been include Asheville, NC, Boston, MA, Chicago, IL, and most recently Hilton Head, SC.

I didn't get a chance to grow up near extended family since my dads time in the Army kept us away. When I first met Carter's family, I was overwhelmed by the number of people and number of get togethers constantly happening. On the contrary, Carter met everyone he needed to meet the first time he came over to my parents house. Over the years, I have been taught many different family trees, introduced to more relatives than imaginable and been welcomed into open arms and made to feel as if I have always been around.

We are so excited for this next chapter of our lives and cannot wait to celebrate with each and every one of you!