Our story-By Eric

For me our story begins about a month before we actually even meet. It was a Sunday and it was at our church. I saw her come in with a group of people one girl and another man, I certainly noticed her and well... how beautiful she looked. However for some reason I didn't go up and introduce my self to her I guess it's because she was with a group of people. A week or so after that church service Ann a friend of mine told me about Whit and how she was going to the UofO as well and asked me if I noticed her. I almost yelled in excitement saying yes I noticed her!!! but instead replied calmly saying a simple yes. 

A few more weeks went by and I finally got the opportunity to actually meet her. It was another church service but a little different in that it was at UofO for life 101. It was after the service and we were all just walking around introducing our selfs. During this time I tried my hardest to position myself as to be the first person to introduce them selfs to her. However I believe I failed in being the first because I seem to remember one of the other women there being the first that night. But then it was my turn. I walked up to her trying to be as smooth as I could like most men do when they meet a beautiful woman for the first time but then I thought about how silly I must have looked so I decided to just be myself. 

We went through the regular greetings as all people do when they first meet but this meeting was special as I am sure most of you guessed. Now this is the part where I explain all these wonderful and beautiful things that I noticed about Whit when I meet her but I will spare you the huge list and instead I will just tell you that her eyes were one of the things that I really liked about her because not only were they beautiful but they reassured me that I could be myself. 

So then my next chance with Whit was her birthday. She invited me to come over to her house to for cake and what not. I went over to her house and her mom and dad and a few of her siblings were there for her birthday. So I got to meet all of them although I don’t think they even thought that I would be their future son in law. Anyways, once we were done eating cake and chatting we all stuffed our selfs on the sofa to watch Wallace and grommet the wearrabit. Now you see Whit is a very skittish person so the smallest things scare her and before we started watching the movie I was informed of this. So I really wanted to be able to sit next to her during the movie in hopes that if she got scared she would cling to me. However since Wallace and grommet is not much of a scary movie it didn’t really happen, but she did jump a few times during the movie. Yet she wasn’t scared enough to cling to me. 

So then my other chance came when we decided to car pool together out to church. As Whit explained earlier she wanted to ride her bike to church so I drove her car and I meet her at church. After church I kindly suggested that we go to lunch together, hopping and praying that she would say yes and to my surprise she did say yes. So I took her to a place with good food but no where too fancy so I wouldn’t freak her out. I payed for her lunch like any gentleman would and then we started talking about our life’s and interests. This is about the time when I became completely infatuated with Whit and wanted to know so much more about her. I opened my heart to her and shared my life to her in hopes that she would learn to maybe love me someday. To my surprise again she did start to love me. Granted it was in small amounts at that time but I could still tell that a love was growing in her. So then lunch turned into dinner and dinner turned into a movie. 

Now it was time that I would make my move in showing her that I really cared about her and that I really liked her. We sat down to watch our movie, Kung Fu Panda and we sat and watched and sat and watched a little more until I decided to be the man and inch my hand over to hers. I slowly unfolded my crossed arms to a relaxed position on my thighs then my left hand slowly but carefully eased into the valley formed by our legs. Then after a small little poke from my pinky to her leg, her hand came down onto mine. From there I pretty much forgot everything else because I was so excited that Whit would just hold my hand. 

From that one night where I finally got to hold her hand and express how I really feel about her our story just kept getting better and better. God gave me the opportunity to love someone with all the love I have, but he then also gave me someone who would give me the same love and respect back. I know that God has searched the entire Earth to find me the perfect bride that will give me a love that could never be matched. When I met Whit God made sure to throw me every sign he possibly could to show me that Whitney is the perfect bride he chose for me. 

The proposal

For about a week I knew that Eric was up to something. He was so sick on monday. I went to his house to see how he was doing. Once I got there he told me that he was selling his camera. I knew as soon as he told me that the only reason he was selling it was to buy me a ring. I was so amazed by this. He loves me so much but he always to find ways to show me that just blow me away. Throughout the next week he had would asking me questions like, "where would you want me to propose to you?"

He had been so excited because he was going to take me out on friday. Every time I saw him he would tell me that he could not wait to take me out. I was expecting him to propose on friday but that was not the case.

He called me Thursday afternoon to see what I was up to. I had about an hour to spare and so did he. There was a break in the weather so he asked if I wanted to go to Hindrics park. I had been wanting to go to see if all the flowers had fully bloomed so I didn't think anything of it. Once I got to the park we walked around for a while then we sat on a bench. 

He told me that when he was younger he would ask his mom how he would know if he found the person he was supposed to marry. His mom would tell him that he would just know. He said that this always made him mad. After telling me that story he said that his mom was right after all because when he met me he just knew. Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.

The Ring

Eric when it comes to jewelry knows his stuff. His mom Valerie worked in a jewelry store for around thirty years. He is a cut snob for sure. He was so nervous about weather or not he would pick out the right ring. I always told him that he knows jewelry better then I do. He would find a picture of a ring and every time I would love it. Sure enough when He proposed the ring he picked was so beautiful!

Our story-by Whitney

Eric and I first met through Life Bible Church out in Harrisburg Oregon. At the beginning of the school year Life Bible started a college ministry called Life 101 on the University of Oregon Campus. Eric and I immediately got involved. 

 When we met it was apparent that we had the same heart for the Lord and shared many of the same desires. Every service wether on campus or out at life bible, Eric was there. He didn't just stand by but rather was in the front leading. The fruit of his faith was all over his life weather in his heart for worship or in running media at life 101. His passion for the Lord really drew me in. I started noticing him but did not do anything about it. As we got to know each other we started talking about car pooling out to church. The drive is just under a half and hour for both of us because of living in Eugene.

Every spring break Life Bible takes a group to Mexico to build houses. Eric had gone the year before, we both had talked about going this year. The first meeting about the Mexico trip was on a sunday and in order to go I had to miss triathlon practice. I decided to ride my bike to church in order to get my training in and go to the meeting. I called Eric to see if he would drive my car out. This way I could put my bike on my car and get a ride home. He came by to get my car, we both went to the meeting and headed back to town. 

On the way back in he ask if I wanted to go to lunch. We had gone out in groups before so I said yes. We went to a local place that is a college favorite called dough co. We went and ordered but then he paid. At this point it dawned on me this wasn't just a friends thing.

We both started to realized that we had much more in common then we initially thought. When we met in my spirit I just knew that he was the one for me. The more and more we got to know each other this proved true time and time again. On that first date he looked me in the eye and in all seriousness said, "I love you."

It was all I could do not to laugh, honestly it really freaked me out. I never though something like this would happen to me but it did and it still amazing me every day. This has been something that only God could to.  After that first date Eric went and asked pastor Jess for his over sight in our relationship. It has been so good to have our pastors insight and supervision. Over time we grew so close and it did not take long to realize this was it. He was not joking when he told me that he loved me. I am amazed by the way he loves me every day. Everyday he loves me in a new way, everyday he finds a way to show that he cares, everyday no matter how I look or feel he says "Your so beautiful!"

God brought us together, blessed us and called it good. I feel so privileged to have a man like Eric in my life. He is a man of the Lord and I am blessed by him daily. My heart delights when I see him worship and do the things that God has been put in his heart. We are both so excited to see what God is going to do with us and how He will work through us!