How We Met
I first heard about Zach from his sister when we were at college together. I remember seeing a picture of him and I thought he was so cute! I mean, just look at his smile! We officially met in October 2013 at an event where Zach was nominated for starting his business, The Carnival Guy. I was impressed. Zach said all he remembers about meeting me is that I was super quiet. Glad I made such an impression!
Fast forward to the summer of 2016. I came across Zach’s Facebook page, “Haney for Kansas” where I learned that he was running for State Senate. Again, I was impressed! I started following his page and thought it was so cool that this young guy was so passionate about representing and serving his district. I honestly didn’t even know what district I lived in, but I wanted him to win! Then one day, out of the blue, I get a Facebook message from Zach. I was so surprised! What would Zach Haney want to talk to me for? He says that I was always the first person to like his posts, so he wanted to see if this supporter would want to “help with his campaign” at all ;) We messaged back and forth for a few days before he asked me to meet him for coffee so we could talk more. I was nervous and excited. I kept thinking, who is this guy? He started his own business, does public speaking, wrote a book, and wins awards! Is he for real? I nervously walked in to Juli’s Coffee Shop downtown, on Saturday morning August 27th, 2016 at 10 AM, unsure of how this would go. When I got there, he was already talking with some people (I soon learned that he runs in to people he knows pretty much everywhere). I ordered my coffee with soy milk as usual. “You drink soy milk?” he asked. “Ya! You should try it!”, I said, and to my surprise he did! Again, I was impressed! (It’s the little things :)) I had so much fun talking with him and he was such a gentleman. We laughed and got to know each other, and I tried not to be too awkward. I wasn’t sure if we would ever meet again. But later that day he asked me for my number, then asked me to go on a date the following weekend. I was so happy!
Since the day I met Zach, he has continued to impress me and never ceases to amaze me with how loving he is. He has never stopped pursuing me, he loves my family, he is generous, thoughtful, hard-working, always strives to be his best, and he has deepened his relationship with God which encourages me to do the same.
how they asked
Zach had been teasing me for weeks about when he would propose. He would “accidentally” drop something, then get down on one knee to pick it up. So I had a feeling the proposal would be coming soon. He asked me early on in the week if we could go on a date Friday night Dec 1st. I, of course, had the thought that maybe he would propose this night, but at the same time it seemed too good to be true, so I didn’t actually think it would actually happen. That night we went out to eat, then tried to go see a Christmas light show, but we didn’t have enough money with us. So he asked if I would want to go the next night. I said yes! Since it was a last minute idea, I didn’t think the proposal would happen that night. So the next day, December 2nd, he was singing at our church services and I met him at the last service. We decided to go out to eat then go see the light show. He took me to my favorite restaurant, then before getting back in the car, he gave me some beautiful carnations. I love flowers! Then we drove around and looked at some beautiful Christmas lights, which we had done the year before, and Christmas is my FAVORITE, so I was very happy. Right before I left for church my mom suggested we come over to watch a Christmas movie later, so we decided to do that. I did notice he was driving really slowly and checking his phone. Once we got to my parents driveway (which is pretty long), he pulled out his phone and told me he had something for me to watch. He had made the sweetest video of pictures of us, but the real surprise was that he had recorded himself singing “Marry Me” by Train! You have to hear it to believe how amazing his voice is :) This is when I realized what was happening. I remember when we were dating, this song came on the radio and he told me he would sing it for me some day; and he kept that promise! So I watched the video as we drove down our driveway.
As soon as the video ended, the car stopped, I looked up, and saw the most beautiful site! The driveway was lined with candles, and our gazebo was covered in the most beautiful lights! Not to mention, it was a full moon and no wind that night. It was absolutely breathtaking :) He got out and opened my door for me. We walked hand in hand between the candlelight, under the moon, and up on to the gazebo. This gazebo is special to me because it is where I first realized I loved Zach and he loved me. We were sitting out there one cool spring night with my head resting on his shoulder. We weren’t talking, just enjoying each other’s company, when he spoke under his breath, “Thank You, Jesus, for Anna.” That’s when I knew. So, this spot is very special to us. His mom had chosen a beautiful cross to put on the gazebo, which I loved, and he had hung mason jars with candles in them that were from his sister’s wedding. It was all very thoughtful and romantic. We sat down, and he put a blanket around me. Then he told me how much he loved me, how he wanted me to be the mother of his children, and that he wanted to spend every moment with me. Then he got down on one knee, and I could hardly wait to say, “Yes!”.
