Where It All Began

So Jake and I met over 6 years ago when we were still in high school. We went to the same church and after my family had been attending for about a year or so, Jake, very shyly, called our house and invited my brother Kristian and I to come to the praise band practice with them. They had heard that my brother played the drums really well, and it was just convenient that he couldn't drive yet and I had a decent voice. HaHa! Needless to say they wanted us both to be a part of the band, and our friendship began. We went on a mission trip that summer of 2004. We really started to like each other then, but Jake was unfortunately dating someone at the time so I had to be careful how much I let him know that I liked him. Long story short, he broke up with his girlfriend one week after we got home from the trip. We were officially boyfriend and girlfriend on August 31st, 2004! We dated for the rest of our senior year and through college until February 8th, 2008 when I broke Jake's heart and told him that I needed a break from the relationship. I totally took him by surprise and crushed him when I told him, but in an odd way, he understood. I let him know that I felt like the Lord was calling me to take some time to focus on Him. Through the next 3 months, I realized how much I loved him and how much I appreciated his love for me. After 3 long months, I told Jake I loved him and didn't want to spend any more of my life without him in it. We agreed to take it slow and make sure we were doing the right thing, but needless to say, that didn't last long. We were officially dating again on June 7th, 2008! And who knew that 6 months later we would be engaged to be married!!