February 20th, 2024—an unassuming Tuesday, but one I will never forget. After a long-stint of winter weather, this particular day showed itself to be a warmer one. I had a large window in my office at a pathology company in Arkansas—a feature that quickly became a favorite. I would pull away from my busy desk stacked with business proposals and project reports, for a brief moment to watch the birds. It was on this Tuesday, however, that my gaze was met with more than just wildlife—a wild-man! A beautiful, majestic, beast of a man takes a lunch break in front of my window. I watched him remove his shoes and find a sun-filled spot to plant his chair. With bare feet on the ground and silver ringlets flowing in the wind, I was struck—thinking, "I have to meet this man." Seeing a man so free was in stark contrast to the work environment I had come to know in the corporate world. I was very intrigued. He was wearing scrubs which meant he worked on the medical side of our building. I worked on the business side and these two divisions stayed separate.

After taking a video of him and sending it to my mother, jokingly saying, "I think this is my future husband," I gathered myself together to say hello.

I made my way outside to him and said, “You are a legend, my friend.”

A couple of weeks later, our company hosted a 5K event for Colon Cancer. I was assigned as the organizer and volunteer coordinator. To my surprise, Joel had signed up to volunteer for the most unpopular slot: 6:00am event set-up. To get volunteers to spend their free Saturday on a cold, rainy, winter morning is a big ask in itself. This guy was a greater legend than I thought! And not only did this man show up early for set-up, he served through the entirety of the event, led the 5K run, tore down, and even collected the leftover food to later donate to the homeless. “Who is this guy?!” (Of course, if you know Joel, you can see him now—squirming at any recognition for the incredible selflessness that is him. Just let me celebrate you, Baby ;)

Soon after, I found myself outside sitting next to Joel on every sunny day we had—toes out and all—discussing God, the universe, and everything in between.

*I’d like to note, I’m not much for hanging with the guys. I hadn’t been in a serious relationship in 8 years. So, there is much to say about the way this man made me feel safe, intrigued, and free to be.

We quickly began seeing each other outside of work—mostly finding places to hunker down and talk for hours. And then, on April 1st, though it was no joking matter, Joel asked me to be his girl. I was over the moon. But there was just one thing…I would be moving to Colorado by the end of the month. Farming had been a dream of mine and I had finally decided to take the big leap and was accepted into an apprenticeship program in the greater Aspen area. You see, February 20th wasn’t only a special day because I met Joel, but it was also the day that I received the call that I had been accepted into the farming program.

We knew what we had between us was too special to leave behind during this big transition in my life—6 months of long distance would be our future.

What a tough yet meaningful time this was. It became the perfect opportunity for us to build a substantial, emotional foundation of trust and understanding and learning of one another. Phone calls every night, visiting each other as often as we could…we made it work and had some of the best adventures when we were together—including one of my favorite adventures—saying “yes!” to becoming Joel’s wife.

In late October, during my last week on the farm in Colorado, which just so happened to be my birthday week, Joel came for a long visit. We stayed in a yurt at the top of Basalt Mountain, overlooking rolling hills, the rocky mountains, and 4 snow-capped 14ers. You’ll have to ask us about what an adventure this was when you see us next, but it was here, one crisp Colorado morning—sitting on a bench, warm tea in hand, a beautiful view in front, and a stream trickling at our feet—that the real adventure began.

“Yes!”

We are back in Arkansas and, admittedly, still in the honeymoon phase. Dreaming and planning for a life of stewardship and relationship with God, land, mind, body, soul, and each other.

Wow—how I am looking forward to sharing this life with Joel and our special day with you all on March 15th.

The day I met Mads is memory I hold close to my heart.

I was just on my lunch break at work, sitting on the edge of the patio with my bare feet in the grass, enjoying the sunshine. But that day was already quite unusual because I wasn’t my typical happy-go-lucky self. I was troubled in spirit, facing a dilemma at work. I wasn’t sure what to do about it, so I was praying quietly to God for guidance, asking for His help—whatever that may be. Suddenly, the patio door behind me swung open. I looked back to see a beautiful young lady coming toward me and speaking to me.

“You… are… a… legend!” she exclaimed.

Now, you may be confused, as was I. What had I done to deserve such praise? Well, as Mads explained, she was impressed that I would just take my shoes off at work and ground, seemingly unconcerned with what anyone else thought of me, including the owners, who would definitely have thought I was weird. In any case, what followed was an interesting but all too brief conversation between Mads and I about “grounding”…then she was gone, like a whirlwind—in and out of my life. I didn’t even catch her name. We worked in different departments…on opposite sides of the building…so I might actually never see her again.

My life was simply too complicated at the time for me to seriously consider pursuing anyone romantically, so I assumed that it was probably for the best. As far as I was concerned, God had answered my prayer—giving me just the confidence boost I needed to do the right thing at work, and that was that.

Little did I know, that day, God had set in motion an answer to my prayer far more life-changing and wonderful than I had imagined.

A couple weeks later, the rain brought me inside for lunch. Monica, a mutual friend of mine and Mads, saw me in the break room and asked if I had signed up to help Mads with the 5K she was organizing at our job. Well, I had never heard of Mads, nor did I typically volunteer for anything extra at work, but since Monica had asked me personally, I decided to help out.

I reached out to Mads through email to sign up, and when I saw her profile picture, I finally realized that’s her.

The day of the 5K gave us our first real opportunity to be around each other. Though I didn’t get to spend much time alone with Mads during the event, we were now friends—so from that day forward, I felt comfortable swinging by her office to say hi, or, more often than not, she would just come outside to join me on my lunch breaks and we would chat.

I had no idea whether she saw me as anything more than a friend, but as we got to know each other, talking with her became the highlight of my day—I just couldn’t get enough.

She had shared some of her passions and dreams with me, and it was inspiring stuff that really resonated with me. I asked if she wanted to meet up some time outside of work. She said yes. We agreed to meet at a local park. It was so nice—we talked for hours and I learned that she was planning on leaving our company in a month, meaning moving to Colorado for a farming apprenticeship, and although I was happy for her to be pursuing her dreams, the thought of her leaving definitely weighed on my heart.

At the time, I just kept thinking how blessed I felt to have met such a special person, and I just wanted to stay in her orbit somehow. I began inviting her out to eat at my favorite spots, and eventually, as we spent more time together, I knew I had to at least try to see our friendship out for the more that it was becoming. I asked, and, luckily, she said yes! We spent the following month in the bliss of our budding romance.

Of course, the end of the month came, meaning it was time for her to move to Colorado, and as much as I wanted her to stay, I didn’t want to impede her from realizing her dream. We agreed to keep dating long-distance.

What we had together just worked. From the very beginning, we just fit into each other’s lives so perfectly. Even though it wasn’t easy being that far apart, it really gave us the opportunity to grow in our relationship. Plus, the times that I was able to go visit her in Colorado were made all the more sweet by the months spent apart.

I knew Mads was my forever person. And so on October 26, 2024, in the midst of the beauty of the Colorado mountains, I asked the love of my life to marry me.

She blessed me eternally when she said yes.