The Story Of Us + Engagement Photos

 This is probably going to be one of my longer posts, but hopefully the engagement pictures will break it up a bit.  If mushy stories aren't your thing then proceed with caution!I can still remember the first time I ever heard about Bryan;  I was 15 years old, and had only lived in North Idaho about 10 months.  My mom was telling my dad about a conversation she had had with a lady from the church we had been attending.  The woman had said something about her 21 year old son, who was staying with a sick uncle over on the coast near Seattle.  I didn't even hear what his name was, but for some reason my ears perked up and I made a mental note about this guy...... Fast foward a few years and I knew who Bryan was, but didn't know him personally because we were kind of in different age groups.  I was just barely 18 and he was 24 -  a "real adult". Other people who would bring him up in conversation, always in a positive manner and he had caught my attention because of it.  But still I had never met him.  All that changed on January 1st, 2015 at a large ice skating party that most of the church was at.  I was skating around the inside corner of the rink when I looked to my right and saw Bryan was skating on the outside of the same corner and he -  looking the other direction away from me was coming right towards me and.... (can you guess how this goes?) he crashed into me before I could call out to get his attention.And that folks is how we met. Very Hallmark movie-ish, and completely abruptly, our lives collided and the rest as they say is history.Well, maybe not quite.  Bryan says he was pretty much pursuing me from that moment we crashed into one another on, but my side of the story wasn't quite as straightforward.  Maybe because I was younger, I really don't know.  But I do know that God worked the timing of everything out just perfectly.Later that day after our "ice breaker" (har har)  I teased him about trying to kill me and we exchanged some small talk.  We immediately hit it off and over the course of the next few months we would talk at church + events.   My dad put it really well when he said "It seems like you and Bryan are kindred spirits".  It was so true.  I immediately knew there was something different about him, just from the way he would interact with me.  In March or April after we met Bryan told me that he may be going to Florida to study for his Masters.  My heart sank a little, because we had just started to get to know one other and I had a massive crush on him.  But at the same time, I felt relief too because I knew I wasn't ready for a relationship yet, and I didn't want him to make a move forward and then have to tell him "not right now".By June, other people had started to notice us talking and spending time with one another and had begun to say things to my family.  Which is when my dad decided maybe he and Bryan should have a conversation so he could find out where Bryan was at.  That conversation basically consisted of Bryan telling my dad that yes, he was interested in me and wanted to pursue a relationship, but then going back to college came up and he was kind of torn over the whole thing.  Dad encouraged him to go to school and get his MBA as planned, but told him to keep our relationship strictly friendship because a lot can change in 2 years.That summer we continued to get to know one another and spent quite a bit of time together doing things with our siblings.  The last time I saw him before he left that August, I told him to "stay in touch" (Eagerly hoping he would text me regularly but trying to appear cool while saying it.)Knowing that people often meet their spouse in college, I tried to keep a balanced mindset, or rather not get my hopes up, and told myself he would probably either meet someone while he was down there or change as a person (as people often do in college).   I was at a place of really liking him, but wanting whatever was best for him.   Plus, knowing I wasn't ready for a relationship, I thought that perhaps his two years away would be a good opportunity for us to get to know one another on just a friendship basis.  I told my friend Tori about the same time Bryan left for college, that while I didn't know for certain, I had a feeling that I would marry him; and I prayed that if we would make an effective team for God, that He would bring us together in marriage one day.  Looking back it seems kind of crazy that I prayed that, so early on in our  relationship.Keeping with his word that he would stay in touch with me, the very next weekend after he left, I was doing chores when I got a text from him saying he had made it safely.  He continued to text me every weekend for about 2 months.  And then the weekend texting turned into phone calls.  I mostly tried to let him initiate communication, but would occasionally initiate as well, just so he would know I was interested. : )  We would talk for hours, and never seemed to run out of things to say; we would laugh and joke but we could also talk about the serious things of life like faith and worldview.  When he came back on Christmas and Summer break, we would get together and do things in group settings.By about December of 2016 I knew I was ready to move into the next faze of life, and finally wanted a relationship with someone beyond friendship.  Bryan became one of my best friends.  But I had also continued to befriend and get to know other men as well.   By February of last year (2017)  I knew that Bryan was a really special guy.  His character, his heart for God, his personality.  In my mind, he seemed to far surpass every other guy I knew.   He was in his final semester of college and he would be coming home for good in just a few short months.  We had become great friends, which was exactly what I wanted before beginning a romantic relationship with someone.   I should have been ecstatic.  But was I?  Not exactly....... It's difficult to explain, and I feel really stupid admitting it, but I honestly wasn't sure if I was attracted to him (which seems crazy now).  Looking back, what it boiled down to was preconceived ideas.  Remember how Anne continued to resist Gilbert because she thought he wasn't her "ideal" but he really was the best person for her all along?  Yeah that was pretty much me.  And I was scared that he would make a move and I wouldn't reciprocate and I'd lose the friendship we had.In April 2017 I had an experience which I only know to describe like this:  it was as if God had covered my eyes with a veil during those two years while Bryan was in college, which He suddenly lifted and I saw Bryan as the most amazing + attractive person I knew.  He was one of my best friends, and the only person I could imagine living my life with.  At that point I knew I loved him, and that I wanted to marry him.  For the next 1 & 1/2 months I eagerly awaited him coming home in hopes that he would pursue me.  He got home 2 weeks before I left for a trip to Oklahoma for karate camp.  Nothing happened during that time.  At this point I pretty much thought about him non-stop and I knew something needed to change in our relationship.  I couldn't stay in this spot indefinitely and I worried he would delay making a move until he had figured out what he was doing post college and had found a job.The week after I arrived home from my trip, my parents and siblings went down to Boise for a 4 day event leaving Chris and I at home to manage things.  While they were gone, Bryan's family invited us over for dinner Friday night.  I went fully prepared to ask Bryan "What are you thinking?" if presented with the chance.  It felt like torture.  Turns out he was also in place of feeling tortured and the next morning was talking to his dad about what he should do with our relationship, because he didn't have a job yet and didn't know what direction God was taking him in.  We were texting that day about something when Bryan told me "You mean a lot to me Maria", which was something he had said before on a few occasions.  This time though, I decided to flat-out ask him, what he meant by that.  Which resulted in him giving a cop-out answer... at first.  He followed it up by asking if he could call me.During that phone call he told me he loved me and if it was all right with me, he wanted to talk to my dad about pursuing a relationship with me beyond friendship.  I told him yes, and the following day he came down for church to talk to my dad and got permission for us to date.  That was on June 24th.  By that time, I only had about 3 un-answered questions in my mind of things I needed to know where he stood on them, which pretty much all but got answered in the first couple weeks of dating.  By a month in, I was even more certain I wanted to marry him... something we both agreed on, but we knew that for both our family's sakes, we needed to wait a bit longer before they would be comfortable with us getting engaged.In November, he asked me if I would marry him, which we kept a secret from everyone except our parents because he didn't have a ring yet.  He wanted me to help pick it out which we did the weekend after Thanksgiving.  I was not expecting him to get the ring until this past March, but on February 24th he surprised me with a second (more public!) proposal at the ice rink where it all started over 3 years ago.  It was such a special day and being able to be surrounded by our families for it made it even more so. I've said it many times before, but God really does write the best love stories. He's got the best timing, and the best person for you already in mind.And that is our story so far; it's just the beginning really.  I'm looking forward to what God has in store for us as we move into the future and prepare for marriage and a life together!  If you made it all the way through this post, then I applaud you, I know it was a long story!