We are getting married!

Brennan and I still joke about how I don’t fully remember the first time we met. No, it’s not what you think. Based on everyone else’s memories, it was Christmas 2014. My Mom had learned that we had a mutual friend that attended JMU with me, so she used that connection to introduce us after the Christmas Eve church service. Unfortunately, the service was sandwiched between another event, which made us both an hour late to our family Christmas party. So, despite trying very hard to conjure up this very special moment for us in my mind over 3 years ago, I have to rely on Brennan’s memory alone…and, likely, a lifetime of teasing! But, my family didn’t let that stop them. They took a year off though. Maybe they perfected their plotting. Who knows? They tried again several times throughout spring and summer 2016, but God had other plans. We (FINALLY, to me) “met” the Sunday after Thanksgiving 2016 at a church service where I was playing flute. Our families had planned lunch after church that day, which I was told Brennan could not attend because he needed to start the long drive back to Pittsburgh, where he lived. You can imagine my surprise when I saw him walking through the back doors of the church! I don’t know how I played my flute that morning through the nerves, butterflies, and my sweating palms…. Our families enjoyed lunch together; however, we didn’t get much time to talk to each other at the table. We both have very chatty families. So, I decided to take a leap and message him that night when I returned to Harrisonburg, thanking him for staying. We have talked every day since! It’s rare in this day and age to have your parents play matchmaker, but I am so thankful ours knew us both well enough to be so persistent and have matched us perfectly! And, I think that’s the best memory of how we met. (And THANK YOU Aunt Janet for helping me tell the story!)

After we started dating, it was obvious to both of us that we had found “the one” in each other. However, Lindsey had one rule about us getting engaged. We had to date for at least a year before we could take that next step. We started dating on the eve of Christmas Eve (December 23rd) which we playfully call Christmas Adam. Since I had to wait at least a year, I knew exactly when I would propose because I didn’t want to wait any longer than necessary to ask Lindsey to marry me. December 23rd came and since it was our one year dating anniversary, I told Lindsey that I wanted to take her out on a date. So we got dressed up and went to a nice restaurant that Lindsey knew in the area. I am sure that I was a lousy conversationalist because I was so nervous about the proposal I had planned for that evening. After dinner, we drove around the city and looked at Christmas lights just like we did on our first date. As the evening went on, I mentioned to Lindsey that I needed to stop by my Dad’s church to pick something up for him. When we arrived at the church, which is where we met for the first time, I lead her to the front of the sanctuary where the Christmas tree was standing. Earlier that day I had stashed the ring behind the tree so that I could grab it and light the tree at the same time. As we stood there together illuminated by the light of the Christmas tree, I told Lindsey how much I love her and how important she is to me. As I bent down on one knee and asked her to marry me, I turned on the illuminated sign behind me that I built. The sign was made of Christmas lights and looked like a giant Lite-Brite. In big bright letters it said “WILL YOU MARRY ME?”. However, since Lindsey was so focused on me and my words, she didn’t even notice the giant sign behind my head until I pointed it out. She quickly said yes and pulled me in for a kiss.