I met Justin in June of 2017. I was interviewing for a position at his company. Usually I'm really good with attention to detail, but for whatever reason, that day I was positive it was an in-person interview when it was really supposed to be a phone interview. As I sat there waiting for him, talking to one of his co-workers, I see this guy stroll in wearing cargo shorts, flip-flops and a Kid-N-Play haircut! He looked at me a little confused and said, "Are you my 9am interview? I thought we were meeting on the phone?!" It's so funny the way God works. Our first meeting stemmed from miscommunication and ended up with our two worlds colliding. I never imagined that at that very moment, I was meeting my future husband! I ended up getting the job, and that's where our friendship began. To say the Lord knew what He was doing would be a major understatement. ❤️
I would always get to work super early and It wasn't long before Justin started coming in early too! He would pop his head in my office to say good morning with the biggest smile on his face. We shared the same sense of humor and laughed constantly together! We had so much in common - I remember thinking "he's the male version of me!". Our friendship began to take on a new form and we started to realize that what we had was something very special.
After a couple months, I finally asked Katie on a first date. She loves sports, and I love sports. Let's gooooo! I thought it would be fun to go to a park and play frisbee. I was really impressed by how athletic she was! When we were done, we walked around the park and sat on a bench by the lake as we held hands. I was so happy to just be sitting next to her.
Katie and I had spent a lot of time talking about our families before our first date. She opened up to me about the painful loss of her brother. The park where we were at wasn't too far from the cemetery where he was buried, and she ended up taking me there. It meant the world to me that she would take me to such a meaningful place and allow herself to be completely vulnerable with me. She told me how much she wished Jimmy and I could have met, cause she knew that he would have loved me. I think experiencing that moment together deepened our spiritual connection.
I had a good plan cooked up. Find the perfect ring. Make sure our families and a few close friends were in on the plan. And ask the woman of my dreams to marry me. I spent months reviewing different rings online and looking at stores to observe different cuts and bands. I finally found the one I knew she would love. It was time to pull the trigger! After several days of working with the company, I ordered the ring and had it shipped to my parents house. It arrived on Thursday, April 2nd and I rushed to pick it up from them! As soon as I had it, I wanted to propose! I couldn’t wait any longer! Well, it turns out, I had to. The circumstances weren’t quite right that evening. It had been long day for both of us. I tried suggesting we go to the park, but that didn't go over well, so I backed off that idea. The next day, Friday April 3rd, was a beautiful, warm afternoon. We were both working from home, and I said "Hey babe, let's have lunch at the park."
We arrived with our picnic basket. Little did Katie know, I had secretly placed the ring in my pocket, and grabbed a couple roses from her birthday bouquet that was sitting on the kitchen table. We threw a blanket down, and while she was taking the food out, I strategically positioned myself with my back turned to her so she wouldn't see as I took the ring out of my pocket. I quietly placed the ring in one of the roses, then turned around and handed it to her. I wish I had video to capture the look on her face when she realized that I handed her much more than a beautiful flower. All I remember after that was both of us bursting into tears of joy as she said yes!
Thursday, April 2nd, 2020, was a long, busy day at work. Even though we were tired, we decided to get our grocery shopping done that evening. After we left the store, Justin asked if I wanted to go to the park. No I didn't want to go to the park! I was exhausted! I kinda thought it was weird that he would even ask, but I was too tired to think much of it. I told him I just wanted to go home and relax and he didn't press it. I know now that he wanted to propose that evening!
The next day we were working from home and he suggested we go on a picnic. It was a beautiful day outside so I said "Sure!". We got to the park, spread out our blanket and I knelt down to set up the plates / food. Justin was kneeling as well, but his back was to me. I asked him what he was doing and all of the sudden he turned around and handed me a rose. I immediately saw the sparkling diamond in the center. I think I froze for a minute and my mouth dropped...I was in complete shock and couldn't even formulate words at first. Tears started rolling down my cheeks. I was still kneeling at that point and I remember Justin saying "Stand up!" and that's when he asked me to marry him. I think we were both crying at that point and of course my answer was "YES!".