Addie and I believe God works in unexpected ways, one of the most unexpected being the class: Indoor Cardio Cross Training. After showing up on the first day, it was clear that it would be a great time with my friends. However, with some flirting and a developing crush, the motivation not to skip class doubled. During this time my lacrosse coach invited my team to a church service. There was a promised free meal while sharing about how The Local Church was forming small groups - although I was bought in at the mention of lunch. With the event already on my calendar I acted surprised when Addie invited me to the same service. Yet I agreed to see her there nonetheless. Although many members of my team attended the lunch, I found myself sitting next to her. A conversation developed into making plans to attend a worship event that evening, along with an exchange of contact info. The worship night went well...considering I got to meet her entire family including her grandparents on the first night we spent any time together outside of class. Of course, I held my composure and fought down the nerves of meeting such a welcoming family, which has been one of the best decisions of my life. Through school, walks, and coffee dates, Addie has displayed true partnership. School has presented its fair share of challenges, but she's always been in my corner and supportive to no end. She's even braved the cold to support me at lacrosse games. She continues to fill me with joy and encourages my growth in faith, while allowing me to do the same for her. Today, as I consider the rest of my life and all the challenges I cannot foresee, there's no one else I'd want alongside me as my wife, except her. I love you, Addilyn Grace.

Hello! Brandon and I started dating in the summer of 2023, and as he was getting closer to wrapping up his undergrad classes, the discussion of marriage started to become more common. As we were finishing up our sophomore and junior year of school we felt the Lord's peace about getting married the summer of 2025 and starting the next chapter together! So, being a little too "in the know", I knew the proposal would be coming sometime before school started in the fall. We were both so excited to share with everyone, as we were keeping it a surprise. But....the ring got delayed! Fast forward to the week of the proposal - I could tell something was up when Brandon asked me maybe six times if I was planning on coming to his parents' for the weekend and if I cancelled my plans so I could join them. Now, something that I love about Brandon is his "go with the flow" personality. He's always up for anything and likes to see how the day goes - unlike me, who can be a bit of a type-A planner ;) So when he said he was going to "plan some things for us to do" and had the exact beach picked out for the sunset that was just days away, I could tell this might be the weekend he asked the big question. He could notice that I was catching on, so he told me the ring got delayed again. Since I knew it was delayed the first time, I did kind of believe him! However, I was still pretty hopeful that he was still going to propose. Later in the day on Saturday, July 20, we went to the beach, had dinner, and did our regular summer day in Muskegon. So, I started to feel like maybe nothing was going to happen. After dinner, we drove to a family friend of Brandon's and went to their beach on Lake Michigan. It was a perfect summer evening and he proposed on their boardwalk down by the beach. Afterwards, we got to be with both our families as they surprised us, and we ended the evening celebrating together!