In September 2018, I was planning an event in California. At the same time, Josh was in Texas, packing for that very event.

Little did we know, those three days would be the beginning of our forever.

It all began over dinner the first night. As Josh was standing in line for the In-n-Out truck, he began talking to fellow attendees. General things at first, Where are you from? How long have you been in youth ministry? Are you married?

Josh mentioned that the right woman “hadn’t found him yet.” They asked how old he was and immediately followed up with, "Have you met Allison?"

He said he'd been hoping to find time to talk to me during the event. So one of them quickly sent me a text, “Yo. There’s a guy out here who thinks you’re hot as sin.”

The guys brought him inside, introduced us, and then stood about ten feet away to watch as we had our first (incredibly clumsy) conversation.

I had to cut it short to keep the event moving: there were food trucks to be paid and evening sessions to get started. I told him we'd talk again later.

The next two days were filled with brief interactions—making up excuses to talk to each other and accidentally meeting eyes from across the room… all culminating in an unexpected moment at Del Taco when I ran my fingers through his beard. (I was honestly just as surprised as he was!)

On the last night of the conference, we each looked around the party, hoping to steal a few minutes together before he flew back to Texas. I even made sure to position myself right by the buses to make it that much easier for Josh to find me and ask for my number.

He didn’t.

Instead, he gave me a quick hug, said goodbye, and drove off.

As the team cleaned up that night, my mind was spinning. I was sure he kinda liked me... why wouldn't he ask for my number?

The next morning, back in the office, I tried to be as casual as possible as I asked my team if I could just send him my phone number using the group text we'd set-up for the event.

Meanwhile, Josh was telling his friend about “This girl he’d met that the conference.” (And had to admit his cowardice when his friend asked if he’d gotten her number.)

At that moment, his phone buzzed.

A text: “I hope this isn’t an abuse of power… but if you ever want to talk without 199 other youth workers watching, here’s my number.”

He sent her a text immediately. (Well, immediately after he and his friend finished screaming and cheering…)

This began a series of texts… which became long phone calls… which became hours of FaceTiming. We talked every day for a month before deciding it was time to see one another. We needed to be face-to-face to see if this was really worth our time.

I flew out to Texas and, by the end of the weekend, we both knew.

Josh came out to California to meet all of my friends--and attend my work Christmas party--in early December. On his next visit, we went to look at engagement rings.

Then, on a beautiful day in early March, Josh brought me to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles and asked me to marry him in front of the dinosaur display and his best friend dressed in an inflatable T-Rex costume.

Neither of us can remember exactly what he said other than reciting a line from my favorite book, THE HISTORY OF LOVE: "Once there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering."

I, of course, said yes.

His mom and brother were watching from upstairs, so they took us to coffee to celebrate... and call my parents to tell them the good news! We headed home from LA and straight to a house filled with my friends and coworkers all ready to celebrate us.