how we met…

The date is January 15th, 2019 and if you’re reading this post, it’s because I just got engaged to the most wonderful, indescribable human being on this planet. I have no clue what day this will be, how long into the future it’ll happen, or how it will occur, but I know it will. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.

I first heard about Josh months before I moved to Utah. My brother and sister were in Pennsylvania and he brought him up, saying he’d love for my sister to date him. Jokingly, I cut in and said, “Well what if I want to be the one to date Josh?” and then never thought about it again. Fast forward to the very, very end of August. I had just driven out to Utah with my parents and they spent the weekend getting me settled in. My brother knew Josh because he had started working at MissionaryMall, where my brother was the manager. My family and I had happened to be stopping to pick something up at the store when Benji and Josh walked out together, done for the day.

Me being the dramatic human being that I am, gasped, and said “Holy shiz, he’s beautiful! That’s Josh?!?”. I couldn’t believe my sister hadn’t gone after that.

We talked here and there a little bit when we saw each other, but it wasn’t until October that we really started talking. The talking became constant, the feelings grew deeper, and suddenly I was head over heels for the guy that was supposed to be set up with my sister (lmao alexa play story of my life by one direction). I spent a while agonizing over my feelings for him until, finally, we went on a date to Olive Garden on November 20th. Then, another and another and another. And now, the rest was history.

how i knew…

I knew from the very beginning that Josh was too special to give up and that he was going to change my life. I had a feeling I knew how too, but I didn’t want to get too ahead of myself (not that that stopped me from thinking about it lol) . After Christmas break, though, I knew I was going to marry this man. He was everything I ever yearned, prayed, and begged for since I was a little girl.

Do you remember those lists they would have us write in Young Women’s? The ones where you would list all the traits and qualities you wanted in your future partner? Well, Josh checked off every single one of those things I ever wrote on my lists. Even down to the hair and eye color!

What you need to know about Josh is that he is the most selfless human on this planet. He puts everybody before himself; his family, his friends, and especially Heavenly Father.  His loved ones mean everything to him, and he makes it so abundantly clear. Anyone that Josh loves, feel his love. More than anything. It’s incredible.

He has this beautiful heart of gold that seriously blows my mind, even still.

One thing about him that really impacted me was the fact that he made me a priority from the very beginning. He was so stressed about school and other things going on in his life, I didn’t think that I would even be on his mind. Almost immediately, he made it clear as day that I was expected to be top priority in his life. That right there had me hooked forever, y’all.

Josh is genuinely the most christlike person I’ve ever met. The spirit is so strong and prevalent when he’s around, you can’t even deny it. He has these cute little notes pop up on his phone every day that challenge him to be better. Like, “How can I be more like Christ today?”. The first time I saw them pop up, my heart leapt in my chest at how cute it was. He makes me want to be stronger in my testimony, to be better for not only him, but my Heavenly Father as well.

Such an important thing to me concerning our relationship is that I find my peace in him. We both have gone through extremely stressful experiences since dating, and instead of it being a burden on our relationship, we’ve been able to completely lean into each other for support and comfort. I was so upset one day and he took me to my favorite food place to cheer me up. On the drive home, I realized that he had made me completely forget what I was previously so upset and distraught over. It was the best, most refreshing realization in the world to me to know that I could confide in him and feel better about everything in the end.

He also has the best sense of humor ever, and the cutest laugh. I give myself a high five every time I get a laugh out of him because I love it so dang much. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard with anyone in my whole life. He’s the goofiest, and I lucked out.

Not only is he goofy, but he is the most affectionate boy I’ve ever met. He loves to show me love in all forms, through service, gifts, but especially touch. He hugs me, cuddles me, surprise kisses me, and all sorts of mushy gushy stuff that most people complain about, but secretly love. I’m not ashamed to say that I absolutely love the constant affection and need to show me he loves me. Best feeling on the planet.

These are all just little things that helped me realize that he was the one for me, but the key to me really knowing was praying about it. I constantly got down on my knees for confirmation, for signs, for feelings of peace. They came immediately every time. I knew part of it was that it really was my decision. God wants us to be happy and to choose who we share that happiness with is important to him. It comforted me, though, to know that what I was feeling was right. I wasn’t convincing myself that he was the one. I knew it without any doubt or hesitation. It was a feeling I had never experienced before, and the best one thus far.

In simplicity though, I really just love him and that was more than enough for me.

how he asked…

So this is actually a pretty funny story. Josh and I had picked out my ring a while ago. It was such a fun experience and I wish we could do it over and over again because of how much fun it was. Once we picked my ring, it was officially the waiting game.

I was seriously so impatient about it because I was so excited.  We had decided before that we were definitely going to get engaged in April. Then we decided to wait for my family to get here (they arrive April 14th)…But as time went on, we both got more and more eager. We were so excited for this next chapter and we eventually planned on getting engaged before they came out and then celebrating when they got here.

After that, I was clueless. I was on Josh’s case about it constantly, begging him to do it (not that he didn’t tease me 24/7 though, which did not help). March was the longest month of my entire life. When April finally hit, I was even more eager and on his case.

When he finally had details figured out, I was clueless (and glad to be cause I wanted to be surprised). We were driving to the gym last Wednesday and he was excitedly talking about how he knew how, when, and where he was doing it. He had the people ready and everything. Then he said, “I’m just worried it might be busy on Sunday” and I froze, really wishing I hadn’t heard it cause I knew as soon as he realized that he had said that out loud that he was going to want to change the date of it. I said, “What did you say?” and his face just went white. I felt so bad and he was so angry at himself. And I was angry cause now I was gonna have to wait even longer. Even if it was only just a day longer lol.

He promised he would do it by Wednesday though so I tried to prepare myself. He told me that we were going to go on a double date with his friend and his fiancé at a pretty garden where he used to live. I was immediately suspicious, but tried not to think too much about it.

Monday rolls around and I get a call from work asking me to come in early and take the mid-shift, which was perfect because I was supposed to close that night and the garden closed at 6:30pm. I texted Josh so excited because it had worked out so well! Little did I know, he had called them and asked if they could somehow get me off early without making me suspicious. He did amazing cause I had absolutely no clue he had anything to do with that. I definitely had a feeling it was going to happen that night, but the rest I had no clue about.

I rushed home when I got off and quickly got ready while Josh waited for me. While he was waiting, I heard him say “Why is my mom calling?” and then louder said, “Hey dude, what’s up?”, pretending he was talking to his friend. It was hilarious, but I made sure not to mention it so he didn’t extend it again. Then we dashed out the door and drove to West Jordan. When we got to the garden, it was literally completely deserted. Like, not a single person was there which made it really awkward because we had no clue where to go and we weren’t actually meeting up with friends. Josh hadn’t actually been to the place (his mom scouted it and found the location, sending him instructions through text). He got confused and didn’t go the entire way down the trail that she wanted him to go down, but it didn’t matter. The proposal was absolutely perfect and all I really wanted was him anyway. His mom, sisters, and my cousin were all there in the shadows (which I had seen sneaking around when we were walking around all confused, but I pretended that I didn’t hehehe).

Afterwards, we went back to his house in South Jordan to celebrate with our families altogether, eating lots of dessert and supporting us through this amazing journey.

I was so happy and ecstatic to say yes to eternity with the most wonderful boy on this entire planet. Thank you, Joshie, for being the most amazing, loving, and wonderful boyfriend, now fiancé, and soon to be HUSBAND, I could have ever wished for! I couldn’t have been blessed with anybody better. I love you so much. Here’s to us, forever.