In August of 2016 I moved into my apartment at Kennesaw State University and I was super excited for a fresh start. My main focus was to get my degree ASAP and to run fast times in cross country (while making a few friends at the least). About two to three weeks into my time at KSU a guy from my high school messaged me on Instagram and told me I was cute. Drum roll... it was Preston Slemp. We messaged back and forth for a few days until he finally asked for my number. I kept him on read for at least 12 hours and then I finally decided to send him my number. He then proceeded to ask me on a date.

I was surprised when he picked me up on August 20th - didn’t picture him as a truck guy at all. Then he shocked me again and started playing 21 Savage music on the way to Andretti (I didn’t know who he was at the time, and I was thinking what have I gotten myself into). (P.S. now I love 21 Savage myself). We spent the night racing go carts, eating Krispy Kreme and visiting Walmart. The funniest thing too is I was wearing Chacos (or Jesus sandals as Preston calls them) and didn’t realize I needed socks, so I had to wear the helmet protectors on my feet (I’m pretty sure Preston still has the picture somewhere). We enjoyed our time together so much, that we agreed to go to church together the next day (we still go to Cross Point Church together to this day).

Preston officially asked me to be his girlfriend on September 10 of 2016. We were at a nice hotel in Atlanta at the time, staying for the Falcons and Bucs game the next day. The four of us (Preston, his sister, her boyfriend at the time, and I) were hanging out at the pool and that was when it happened. First he told me he loved me (it was kind of fast to already be saying that, but I felt the same way) and then he asked me to be his girlfriend. I will never forget that weekend and how much fun we all had.

For the next year and a half, we spent hours driving back-and-forth seeing each other in Augusta and in Kennesaw. We would alternate weekends driving back-and-forth. Most of the time I would cry Sunday night knowing I needed to leave and would end up staying instead and leaving bright and early Monday morning to get to my 8 AM class on time in Kennesaw, just so I could spend more time with him (I know I’m a big baby). I was extremely grateful that his parents always let me stay no matter what. They always welcomed me with open arms and treated me like family (and quickly became family). Random fun fact: I had a purple PT cruiser at the time named Barney with almost 300,000 miles on it. Preston was a handyman and kept Barney running long enough for me to make all of these trips to him.

Fast forward - in 2017, my best friend Alecia let me move in with her and her husband. Then a few months later they graciously allowed Preston to move in too so we would no longer have to do the distance thing. This was such a blessing, but also a challenge. We lived with them for a little over a year and then purchased our first house together in April 2018. Initially we weren’t planning on buying a house, but it was nearly impossible to find a great place to rent at the time.

When we moved into our house in April of 2018, it was disgusting, but still cute. The lady that lived here before us smoked in the house and everything was yellow. Between the two of us and Preston‘s parents, we got all the ceilings sanded down and fresh paint in every room. This certainly help the stench, but overtime we ended up replacing everything in the house. It has been so much fun, yet very frustrating renovating our house together. We’ve literally poured blood sweat and tears into our little house - it’s so special.

In April 2019, we expanded our little family. Preston had to drive all the way down to Savannah to pick up our sweet Zeus Apollo - and boy are we glad he did. The first six months with Zeus was scary because we found out he had heart worms, but all three of us got through it together and Zeus became heartworm free. Zeus is truly our baby and we couldn’t imagine life without him – it’s even kind of weird thinking we lived together without a dog for so long.

Fast forward to May 2020, we added another pupper to the family - Miss Maci May. COVID was in full swing at this time, I was working remote, and I had been wanting another dog. Preston nor Zeus were sure about her at first, but she grew on them quickly. It’s a little more challenging having two pups in bed with us, but we make do.

The end of 2020 was my absolute favorite. I will never forget my birthday weekend/our engagement weekend. My birthday was on Saturday, the 19th of December and Alabama won the SEC Championship that day. The next day, I was going up to North Georgia to go to a winery with my best friend Shelby to celebrate my birthday with her. I got dressed up and was super excited, not only because we were getting wine, but her mom Sheri was meeting us there. Little did I know, I was walking into the greatest moment of my life. The moment when I found Preston at the top of the mountain (where the wine was supposed to be, but I’m now glad it wasn’t) asking me to spend forever with him. It was the easiest decision I have ever made. I’m so thankful for Preston and all the trials we have gone through together. Our love has grown so strong over the past 5 years - I’m so excited to grow our bond for many years - forever and ever (on earth and in heaven) .

Now we are in the process of planning a wedding. Preston is so easy to work with, I basically just tell him when and where to be places and it’s super easy. He’s easy to please and I can’t wait to say I do at the altar. Love you boo ❤️

I slid into her DMs and said “hey girl, you’re cute ;)”. She fell for my charm and went out with me. The rest is history…. Just kidding we spent the next 5 years together with ups and downs. Neither of us are perfect, but she is truly the woman of my dreams and the best mom to our pups. We are looking forward to our journey in marriage though. Pretty soon she won’t be able to get rid of me 😜 (love you cute butt).