Our journey officially began on Friday, May 3rd, 2024, with a simple dinner at the Dairy Queen in Carrollton, Ohio.
What started as a first date quickly stretched into hours of conversation.
As we talked, it became clear that we weren’t just getting to know each other—we were seeing the answers
to the prayers we had both held for a partner.
We found ourselves deeply drawn to one another’s personalities and the lives we had built.
There was a natural harmony in how our worlds fit together: the career of a service technician and the heart of a homemaker.
By the time the evening finally ended, we both knew we had found something incredibly special.
That first dinner wasn't just a date; it was the answered prayer that started our life together.
Eva here, It wasn’t long before Nicholas traveled back to see me in early June 2024, and we set off for a beautiful afternoon in Walnut Creek.
Wandering through the shops in Amish Country, thrift shopping and just being in each other's presence,
the distance between us didn't seem to matter at all. There was a simple, quiet joy in just being together.
The very next day was a day I’ll never forget. I brought Nicholas as my date to see my dear friend Bethany marry the love of her life.
There was something so sweet about witnessing a wedding together so early on. Introducing him to my friends for the first time felt so
right—like he had always been meant to be there by my side. In those moments, surrounded by love and laughter,
I knew our own "forever" was just beginning.
I remember that before I saw her for the first time, I sat in my hotel room and prayed that everything would go okay. I got the text that she had just arrived at the hotel, and I started to walk outside. The first thing I ever told her was, "I bought you flowers, Eva." That day was the start of the rest of our lives together.
Our second time together was at a wedding—our wedding planner’s and our wedding photographer’s wedding! After that, I came up and spent an entire week with Eva for my 23rd birthday. It was that week we made our relationship official. We went mini-golfing at Yogi Bear’s and got ice cream afterwards, before getting hassled by building security.
In fall and autumn 2024, we went all around the state—Amish Country, Walnut Creek, and Berlin. We spent our first Christmas together. Eva was able to visit me in Virginia for the first time. The very next week I went back up to see Eva and I got really sick. My beloved came to my rescue and took care of me.
After a long three months of winter and snow, I came to see my Valentine in February 2025. On the way back home, I got stuck in Garrett County, Maryland, in a major snowstorm with eight inches of snow. I made it back safely the next day after making an emergency stop at the Garrett Inn. We spent the next day cooking meals together for work—the first time we ever cooked together on the phone.
Late March it was time for the annual Pinewood Derby competition at Eva’s church. I designed and entered an electric Pinewood Derby car that fell within standard competition rules. Needless to say, ABT staff did not appreciate my design and restricted my car from running with the power turned on. I still won second place legitimately despite the restrictions.
Later in June, Eva came to visit me again in Virginia. I took her to both Five Guys and Chick-fil-A for the first time ever. She surprised me with a surprise birthday dinner at Thien-An Pho with some of my closest friends, Lyudmila and Britney. That July, I took her on a special day out to the Hash and Smash and then to a waterfall in Pennsylvania. The very next day we got to see my pastor’s son, Micah, get married in Ohio. Ugly Cat urinated all over my wedding outfit, so I smelled of cat urine all day long and it was so embarrassing >.< —but to this day, that weekend is still one of my favorite memories with Eva.
Summer came and went and it was time for our best friend Britney’s wedding. Eva came back down to Virginia for her special day and we got to attend our third wedding together. The next day before Eva went back home, I took her to the brand-new Buc-ee’s in Mount Crawford during peak traffic hours for the once-in-a-lifetime experience.
With winter quickly approaching, I knew I only had a few more trips I could make to see Eva before the snow shut me down. The first week of December I traveled back up to make it to Eva’s church Christmas party. I made it once more the week before Christmas to give her one last special hug before Christmas and 2026. That was the last time I saw Eva until early March 2026 when I ...
Oh wow! Where do I begin with our engagement story? Well last fall I knew winter was coming and I wouldn't be able to see my boyfriend at all because of the snow (and I was sad of course) and we were talking about beginning our lives together and thinking about what kind of ring I would like to get someday maybe and the long three winter months passed by with the Lord's help and March came the first weekend in March (March 6th-8th) was going to be an amazing hot day in the 70s very unusual for up here in Ohio and a amazing day to remember for so many reasons there were tornado warning throughout the whole state but it never rained on us the whole time we were out, although a small tornado came through Carrollton while we were out and uprooted a few big trees and closed a major road in Carrollton. My boyfriend decided to came up to see me again after the long winter that weekend so very good to see him again in person after a long winter, on Saturday we went to a lake in a Park area in Carroll county and we walked along the lake shoreline and it was so pretty with the tall pine trees and pine cones on the ground everywhere they had benches everywhere at that Park and it was a very big lake and neat landscape all along the lake area oh the warm breezes in my face reminded me so much of when me and my boyfriend first met each other in May of 2024 and as I was looking at the lake and talking about it then he said to me, "you mean the world to me and you made my life so much better by coming into it and didn't think I would ever find anyone as caring as you" and I turned around and amazingly he was on his knee holding out a ring box with the very ring that I have always looked at and wanted as my engagement ring someday!! (Although I told him never to spend that much on a engagement ring like the one that I really liked I just said get something really less expensive it's good enough for me) and he said "Eva, will you marry me?" and of course I said YES!!! I couldn't believe it I just got engaged. It was such an amazing feeling inside my heart to know that one of the best days in my life has come and I could begin to plan out our wedding and get to spend the rest of my life with the precious young man I grew to love soo much, the kind, silly, very smart, sometimes goofy crazy young man, the love of my life my best friend. After we took a lot of pictures by the lake we went to Red Lobster for lunch. It was different special food, the first time I ate at Red Lobster, very sweet time together as newly engaged couple. From this day on, I pray that I will always be the best for Nicholas my soon to be husband as I continue to grow in my walk with Jesus my Savior every day, any blessings that I have in this life only comes from Jesus and I thank Him everyday.