How We Met
Andrew and I met at church last Spring, but we hit it off when we started talking about The Office. Every Monday at the start of summer our church group met at Tulsa University’s sand volleyball courts to play matches well into the night. Eventually that led to playing with each other and against, but usually leaving at the same time so we could talk in the parking lot before driving our separate ways. Halfway through June, Andrew invited himself over to watch The Office, little did I know he also planned to ask me out on our first date.
Fast forward two weeks, and we were suddenly dating, Andrew made his intentions clear from the beginning, which I appreciated. Shortly after we started dating, five days to be exact, he left for a mission trip to Brazil for over a week, but the reality of him gone made me realize just how much I truly cared for him. Meeting each other’s families, traveling to each other’s Alma maters, and the occasional weekend trips filled with baseball games and church getaways grew us closer together. Our conversations can be silly, serious, or anything in between, our vibe and connection always seem so strong.
Our first big holiday, Thanksgiving, was approaching and he invited me to spend it with his family, which is when our friends, families, and co-workers knew this was truly a serious relationship, I mean you don’t just bring anybody to eat apple pie with your cousins! Of course, by this time we knew we were the one for the other. We had talked about how this dating relationship was us striving towards getting married one day and to always keep God at the center of our relationship. Having a strong focus on Christ each individually and from accountability partners we both have helped our relationship grow.
how they asked
We were going out to dinner for our seven month anniversary to a nice Italian restaurant, Mondo’s, but at the end of dinner, he convinced me we were going to TU to help one of his roommates. I was confused why we were going to be stringing lights on TU’s campus, in February, at 8 o’clock at night, when it was freezing.
I tried to explain to Andrew how I didn’t want to be stringing lights all over campus, he had been sick for the majority of the week. When we arrived at TU I made the comment of looking forward to summer to be able to play sand volleyball again, unable to see the courts at this time. Andrew parked the car, and as we were walking up I was finally putting it together that the lights were already set up along the fence and in the trees, and then I heard the music start to play, I looked over at Andrew and asked “is this for us?” and he replied, “yes it is” at that moment I just was so excited and started shaking from the overwhelming realization of the moment.
He took me by the hand and led me through the sand at the back of the courts. We walked down a candlelit path strewn with rose petals, at the end of the circled pathway were two bouquets, one of the red roses and one pink carnation; my sorority’s flower, and in the center was a single red rose in a glass bottle.
He bent down and handed me the bottle with the single red rose in it, then he got down on one knee and started his speech. His speech was so thoughtful, he had taken so much time to word every single part of our relationship, our last seven months together, and where we had come to this moment. A couple times he had to pause talking, and wipe his eyes from the tears, and overwhelming emotion. I could feel every emotion and word was truly meant that he was saying.
At the end of his speech he reached into his pocket and pulled out this gorgeous ring and asked me to marry him. I said YES!!! He got up and we kissed and as we were hugging I felt his arm leave my back, and all I could wonder was why he wasn’t embracing me tighter in that very moment, but then I hear the excitement, the shuffle through the sand behind me. I turned around a group of our friends from church were all there, they had been hiding in the bushes the entire time. They had set the whole thing up beforehand while we were eating dinner, placing each and every candle, struggling to keep them lit while the wind blew, and they were the ones who had written our names in the sand.
The same sand where we had truly gotten to know each other just the summer before. But these friends were there, shivering while they waited for us. We took a big group shot to celebrate Andrew and I’s engagement. I immediately then called my parents, who knew it was coming the whole day and had been waiting anxiously for my phone call that night!! The squeals of excitement and hugs felt all around were absolutely the greatest, but the comfort and joy of knowing I get to spend the rest of my life with Andrew was truly the greatest feeling of all.
To end the evening we headed over to Kilkenney’s, Andrew had barely eaten his dinner because of the nerves leading up to the proposal. I just kept staring back and forth from him to my ring, to all of our friends, back to him. He was the only thing I could focus on that evening. Needless to say, the evening was perfect, and more than I could have ever dreamed of!!
We are so excited to start our Forever on October 13, 2018!
