Our Story

Our story may not be anything grand, but it's a beautiful story because it's ours.

At the end of 2019, I experienced a dark trial that took me to my knees in tears and in pleading. I know, that because I turned to my Heavenly Father, I was able to overcome that trial and I know that out of darkness, He made light.

In one of those pleadings with my Father in Heaven, about a month after this difficult trial, I cried with an open and a broken heart. I let Him know that I couldn't do this life alone anymore. I didn't just want to find my husband anymore, I needed to. But I also shared with my Heavenly Father that I knew this process was impossible without His help. 

Our First Picture Together
(June 2017 - Pawhuska, OK)

A few weeks later, in December, I began talking to an old friend who had just returned from his mission. We met in Oklahoma while he was working and I was on my mission. Our time knowing each other was brief, but we exchanged emails so my companion and I could hear about his next adventure as he moved to Utah. Obviously, that journey eventually led him to serve a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

One of Our FaceTime Calls

So, now he was home. We began talking. For me, it was just as friends. I liked getting to know him better and hearing about his mission. After texting almost daily for a while, we started FaceTiming each other too. After about a month of talking, I remember one specific FaceTime call where I looked at him and suddenly I felt something I hadn't ever felt before. It was the feeling of butterflies in my tummy, but also a very distinct calm. Fortunately, he felt that too! I'm pretty convinced he had that feeling long before I did, but that he just didn't share that with me. Haha! 

Fast forward another month. Troy moves to Utah from Pennsylvania. I was really excited and nervous for him to get here! He moved out here for a job (and later he told me for some girl (me)... haha). The day he got here, he stopped at my house and ate dinner with my roommate and I AND went to institute with me. What a trooper! Six days of travel and that's what he did with his first few hours in Utah.

That same week, he drove back down to St. George from Cedar City to study Come Follow Me with me and my family. He stayed for a while afterward and we watched The Emperor's New Groove. Being with him was a different feeling than I had felt before; it was a peaceful, "whole" feeling and I enjoyed that. It brought me comfort. I quickly realized that Troy could be an answer to my prayer said months before.

Our First Official Date
February 2020 - Zion National Park

On February 14, 2020 just a few days later, we went on our first official date. I drove to Cedar to pick him up, and then we took a long scenic drive on HWY 14 and through Zion and back to St. George. Then, we went to pick up Panda Express and went back to my place and watched Kronk's New Groove (I like these movies okay... haha)!

To be honest, from that day forward, we have been pretty inseparable. We have spent almost every weekend together and have been lucky to do so. Because of his job, where he works by himself in the middle of nowhere, and with me working at home, we have that luxury of spending our weekends together with minimal COVID-19 risk. 

On February 22, 2020, after a long day of talking and getting to know the deepest parts of one another's hearts, we added labels to our relationship. On that day, I told Troy I would be his girlfriend, but only if we could continue to walk through our difficult things together, and allow the Savior's healing power to mend our broken hearts and help us grow together. That has been one of the harder things for us to do as a couple, but we are making it, day by day. 

It wasn't long after that, that we both started to receive promptings and feelings about marriage. For me, it was SCARY AS HECK. It was fast, and soon, but the promptings were undeniable. I knew that Heavenly Father was perfectly okay with Troy and I making that decision. We talked about it and it became very real! The more excited I got, the more nervous I got! 

On March 21, 2020, without telling anyone, we went to a few pawn shops and found my ring. Then we went to a jewelry store and ended up finding his! Thanks to COVID-19, we still don't have his, but fingers crossed that the store opens up soon so we can pick it up! Haha! 

Engagement Announcement Picture
March 29, 2020 - St. George, Utah

One week later, on March 28, 2020, we celebrated my birthday COVID-19 style. Troy painted my nails which was so sweet of him! Then we got a call saying my ring was back from being sized so we went to pick it up, went for a nice drive, and then sat at a park for a while. We took pictures there too! We had originally planned to spend my birthday up north and to also talk to my dad about our plans, but... traveling wasn't safe anymore. So we called my dad instead. He was supportive of our plan, though he wished he could have had the chance to get to know Troy better; that time will come. 

That night, we had Texas Roadhouse takeout and then we drove up to a spot above St. George where we could see over the city and mainly the temple. We talked for a while and Troy told me how grateful he is for me and told me he wants me to be in his life forever - and then he asked me to marry him! I again experienced that "whole" feeling and of course said, "yes!" 

We surprised our families by telling them all the next day. We spent almost our entire day making calls to tell our families! Most of them were really surprised but they all seemed supportive and excited!

Family Zoom Call
April 12, 2020 - Easter Sunday

Because Troy's family is all out east, we were able to do a family Zoom call so I could get to know them! That was a lot of fun! I'm SO excited to meet all of them in person. They seem like such a fun, loving, talented family. I'm grateful that soon enough, I will get to be a part of that! 

Troy and I have picked June 6, 2020 as our date for our civil marriage. We are hopeful that later this year, or whenever travel is safe, we will be able to be sealed in the Payson, Utah temple with his family and mine together. We are also excited to coordinate smaller friend and family events to involve those we love in celebrating our marriage. We are excited to begin our life together and excited for the future! Though we know challenges will come, we know we can make it with the Lord on our side.

Troy has already seen me through so many emotions and I've never felt him back away, if anything, he's been there for me more. He's been through the loss of my Grandpa with me, he's met my family, he's seen me break down for personal reasons and over the losses that my friend's have faced in their lives (because I feel emotion of those I love, deeply). He's seen a small portion of laugh attacks that make me almost pee my pants, he's seen me be goofy and weird and also quiet and calm. He's seen me get overly passionate and also angry. And he has seen how stubborn I can be! Through all of this, he's stood with me. 

I've never been able to open up to anyone 100%, but with Troy, that was so easy. He knows everything, from the darkness to the lightest light, about me. His love has always been compassionate, understanding, pure, and strong. He never judges me (at least not out loud) and reminds me CONSTANTLY that I have a Savior who has not and will not ever give up on me. 

Troy balances me out. He loves God and his Savior before he loves me and that is ALL I have EVER wanted. Him doing so, allows him to love me in ways that might otherwise be difficult. 

So yeah, it's been a quick process and we are still coming to know one another and learning how to be a couple, but it's working and it's good. They always say, "when you know, you know" and that has been VERY true (and also scary) for us! 

Starting our lives together in the middle of COVID-19 is a whole new experience, but we are taking things a day at a time. Sometimes my stress level goes through the roof, but he always seems to bring me back down. It's hard not to be able to have our families physically around, but we know it's the safest option for now. We have the eternities to celebrate the joys of this life and the next, together. 

April 19, 2020 - St. George, Utah