We're getting married!

Our parents are best friends, but we didn't meet until Aiden moved to Kenosha from Michigan. We used to play on the trampoline and run around the yard pretending to be Night Crawler. Once, we played house and raised our siblings as our "kids." I (Alex) remember thinking I'd like to marry him and have a for-real house. It's kind of cool that soon that dream is going to come true. We stayed friends through middle school and reconnected over our School of Worship year in 2021. I still thought he was amazing and felt like the little girl who wanted to keep playing house, and that feeling scared me. We grew in our friendship and our relationships with God over that year. I'll admit that I attempted to ignore him for the second half of the year. I didn't want to get distracted. I already was. It was a little hard to keep ignoring the feelings when he started to make a point to talk to me, to say something encouraging or deep, or to join the groups I was hanging out with. It got even harder when we both attended the University of Wisconsin-Parkside together and sat with our friends at lunch. When they weren't there, we hung out anyway. I always looked forward to those moments, and I looked for him in every hallway. It was outside on the trails where he told me he wanted to date me with the intention of getting married. It felt so surreal walking in to church that week and getting to tell all the bridesmaids (most of whom were sitting with us) that it FINALLY happened. Honestly, though, every moment since has felt pretty surreal. It's been the best and most beautiful season of my life. I still can't believe that we get to play house for the rest of our lives. We are beyond excited for what's to come, and we are so grateful for the amazing community, family, and friends we have that have counseled, encouraged, taught, and cared for us so well . We love you all. Thank you for being such a big part of our story!

We'd been dating for just over a year, and Aiden had decided to go out to a fancy restaurant for my birthday. It was a busy month with school for me and work for him, and we'd been looking forward to getting time together. I was suspicious that he might propose that night, but he showed no signs whatsoever of being nervous. That's probably not surprising to most of you because Aiden is quiet until he knows you, and he doesn't often show what he's feeling. I can usually tell what he's thinking or feeling before he tells me, but he was so calm that I spent the car ride telling myself he wasn't going to propose and trying not to be disappointed. Before we parked, he told me there was a little bit of a walk from the car. We parked close to a gazebo and headed toward what I thought was the restaurant. Before I knew what was happening, he pulled me toward the gazebo, and I saw Kate's (his sister's) head emerge from a bush. The gazebo was decorated with fairy lights, photos of us, and yellow flowers--all of which he knows I love. He told me he knew from the time we started dating that he wanted to marry me, and he asked me to marry him. I said I'd think about it. JUST KIDDING! Of course, I said yes. Ronda (his mom) was there too, so we all got to celebrate a little bit before Aiden and I went to dinner. When we were finishing our food, he told me a small group of friends and family were waiting at my house to surprise us with an engagement party. I walked in to a wall of women who are now my bridesmaids, and we all shouted the same high-pitched squeal in celebration. It was an amazing night.