We got married!

Love, unexpected.

I stumbled out of my room on a cold February morning in 2018 (thank God I was wearing pants!) to find my roommate Josh entertaining some guests in our kitchen in Portland, Oregon. Josh introduced them as “Katy & Hannah” (not distinguishing which was which mind you) and I offered to make coffee, to which they heartily accepted. After making some of the strangest coffee I’ve ever had (a story for another time) we made conversation for approximately 90 minutes before our guests departed to take Josh to work. After they left, I began to feel the tinge of guilt as I most certainly changed, if not totally invaded, the planned morning my dear roommate envisioned. I sent a quick text apologizing for bogarting their breakfast, and Josh replied it was okay and that one of our esteemed guests actually walked away “kind of interested" which I assumed had to do with the coffee. When Josh informed me that in fact, I was the object of interest, I insisted he must be mistaken as I was currently broke with no job and never shut up about the political ramifications of the Resurrection. He told me Katy had a Master’s degree in Theology and could handle herself, and began to try and convince me that I should in fact reach out to her for another (not-so-chance) encounter. After about an hour of self-deprecating jokes about how terrible I am I conceded that maybe I should try to spend a little more time with her and see where things go. After about a week of texting back and forth (oh the romance of modernity), in which I accidentally both made fun of her home state and alma mater, we met up for coffee at one of those gawdawful hipster coffee shops where I have made my living for the past decade or so.

Except I didn’t show up…

…at least not at time planned. The night before I, in my normal bedtime routine, plugged in my phone, set my alarm, and drifted off to sleep. My head pops off my pillow the next morning to sun shining and birds chirping and I immediately think “oh no”. I grab my phone, which is stone cold dead, and realize that though it is technically plugged in, the other end has come out of the wall. I scramble to get it charged and when it turns on I have multiple texts from my (surely very confused) date asking if everything is all right. So I dial her up and explain what happened, to which I receive a burst of laughter and a calming reassurance that it’s okay and in fact, objectively funny. I fall out of bed, putting on whatever clothes I land on, and jump out the door to catch my bus downtown. I arrive to find a beautiful woman sitting upstairs in the corner waiting for me patiently, and knew right then this was not going to be a normal first date.

And it certainly wasn’t…

After approximately 12 hours in which we traversed our city’s food carts, farmer’s markets, thrift stores, and a good dose of Youtube videos we ended the day not realizing how easy it was to spend time with one another, but happy we did.

And now, after more than two years of dates and dinners, coffee and cocktails, trips to meet each other’s families and long nights praying and discussing the news of the world I have made my pledge to love, honor, and protect Katy, come what may.

How I Met My Favorite Old Boy

It was mid-February of 2018. My best friend and roommate, Hannah, was getting ready to move to Alaska and I was heartbroken. Our good friend Josh invited us over for breakfast on a Saturday morning to spend time together before Hannah left. The three of us were hanging around in the kitchen when Jordan wandered in. I’ll never forget the first words out of his mouth: “Oh! I didn’t know there were people here! I’m going to make coffee, does anyone want coffee?”

As Jordan was making the coffee he was already apologizing for it, explaining that it was this weird wild-grown coffee from a global coffee secret Santa exchange he participated in. He went on to tell us that coffee needs to be cultivated, that wild coffee just isn’t as good. I thought: “Huh. Well that’s interesting.” At one point Hannah said: “Did you darn your socks!?” Jordan enthusiastically said yes and I was VERY impressed. As our conversation went along, it was clear that Jordan reads and thinks a LOT about all kinds of topics. He seemed to really care about his local church as well as the global Church. Jordan was easy to talk to and I could tell he thought I was funny. Towards the end of the conversation I thought: “Huh. I think I want to see him again.” I remember having a hard time leaving to take Josh to work, because I wanted to stay and talk to Jordan.

We dropped Josh off at work and during a quiet moment in the car Hannah said: “So I want to ask you something, but I’m not sure about it, so I’m going to just say it… Would you date a guy like Jordan?” I said: “Yes. Jordan seems great. He’s smart, well-read, easy to talk to, he loves his church, and he thinks I’m funny. Yes, I would for sure date a guy like Jordan.”

When we got home, I paced around in my room a bit, thinking: “I like Jordan. He seems great. How do I get to see him again? How do I make this happen?” In a moment of courage, I decided to text Josh.

“Jordan seems great.”

“Oh word?????? What seems great about him?”

“He seems kind, like he reads a lot, is funny, and loves his church.”

“Yes, he’s all of those things.”

“Is he seeing anybody?”

“I don’t know, I’ll see what’s up.”

(Little did I know Hannah texted Josh about five minutes before me to say: “Katy and Jordan need to date. How do we make this happen?” Everyone needs a friend like Hannah.)

A few hours later Josh texted me to say that Jordan wasn’t ready to date anyone. I said that was too bad because I thought he was great and would like to see him again. He told me not to worry, that he would work on it for me (Everyone needs a friend like Josh).

As the week went by I thought about Jordan less and less, probably to protect myself from disappointment. But on Friday Josh asked if it would it be okay to give Jordan my number. I said YES. The next day he texted me and we’ve talked every day since.

Our first date was so fun! Yes, he was an hour late. We were supposed to meet at 9, and when he wasn’t there by 9:20 I started to wonder if he got cold feet. I thought: “Am I being stood up? Jordan doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would do something like that, and I don’t think Josh would let him do that to me.” So my next thought is that he’s dead. “Of course. I’m in my thirties and I’ve finally met a nice guy and now he’s dead!” As my thoughts were spiraling out of control, Jordan called to tell me his phone died so the alarm didn’t go off, and did I still want to see him? I burst out laughing partly from relief that he wasn’t dead and partly because it was an objectively funny situation. He arrived around 10 and we had a lovely day together.

And now here we are. Over two years later with this beautiful and fun relationship. We’ve been through a few tough seasons; each one has brought us closer together, learning to trust and support each other, learning what exhausts the other and what brings them life. We’re so excited get married and build a home together. Thank you so much for your love, support, and excitement for us along the way. We’d love to have you over for coffee or cocktails soon.