Brian and I lived together the first day we met. I knew that would grab your attention, but it is also true.

When Brian and I met, I just annoyed him and I thought he was a mute. We met 4 summers ago in Indianapolis interning at Grace Community Church, not realizing that this would be the summer we would meet our future spouse.

It was the second day of our internship and we were on the intern retreat. Brian was a day late because he had to finish his final exams. He came to meet up with the rest of the interns at Jeff Unruh’s house. He did not know anyone and I saw him sitting by himself so I went over, sat down, and started asking him questions. And for those who know me, I love to talk. And for those who know Brian, he can be quiet until you get to know him. Frankly, I just annoyed him because I was asking so many questions and he looked like he would rather be licking the bottom of his shoe than talking to me.

Truthfully, we did not get to know each other until towards the end of the summer. We were in the same small group, which helped us learn more about each other. We both discovered that we share the love of sports (especially baseball), the outdoors, curly hair, and (of course) God. We began spending more time together: multiple trips to Ritters, tending to our fishpond, hanging out in Jim Jones’ house, and having long conversations. With a few weeks left in the summer, it became obvious that we had feelings for each other. We kept in touch after we separated and went back to school. We started dating April of 2005, shortly after Brian visited me in Florida. And the rest, as they say, is history.