Annika and I officially met during my sophomore year of college. From that point on, we discovered that we were basically the same person. We shared a mutual need for a roommate for my Junior year, and Annika's condition was that I had to be okay with her getting a cat. We lived together for 3 years and raised her cat, Maple. We've been on many adventures from hiking, line dancing, visiting each other's homes, and surviving our first years of teaching. Annika insisted on our first date pictures and waited up for many late night debriefs. She notably introduced me to Pride and Prejudice. Throughout our friendship, we have had so many conversations that have helped me to grow so much as a Christian! She has been an incredible support throughout so many crazy years of major life changes.

I first met Luke in September of 1999 (i.e. the day of my birth). He's been one heck of an older brother. There's countless memories of wrestling, inside jokes, picking on each other, teasing our sister, and many more. He's been my best golf buddy throughout the years. From coaching me, to winning tournaments with me, to our yearly golf outing to TPC Deere Run... we've played a lot of golf together. The thing that stands out about him is his generosity. He's more than willing to pick up a bar tab, or meal, or golf outing. Though we may not always see eye to eye, I'm glad we will always remain close.

I met Anna my freshman year of college. She lived a little bit down the hallway with Mia and was one of my first friends in college. We bonded over our love for ice cream and animals. Anna is more adventurous that me and has led me to try lots of cool things. It was her idea to join rowing which became a place for us and Mia to grow and stay close for so long. We shared an apartment for two separate years, and Anna never fails to keep a home entertaining. Between cooking fails, random outbursts of laughter, ice age quotes, and dance parties, she helped shape a lot of my character through college. She played an important role in leading me to Christ because she was so open and unashamed about her faith!

I met Jacob through First Baptist Church of Tampa. Though I call him Jake (think I'm the only one that does). We've had some quite good times together. Many golfing outings, rollercoaster rides, volleyball spikes, and strikes bowled. It was his personal bowling ball that created one of Anne's favorite memories of me (I tried bowling left handed and the ball went into another lane not before hitting the median which left a good gash in the ball). The Nicholson family has been very gracious to me in hosting me before I moved to Knoxville and helping throw a surprise party for when I proposed to Anne.

I met Kara when I began attending First Baptist Church of Tampa. She is one of the most welcoming and loving people that I've ever met. Our relationship helped me to grow so much more mature in my faith. Kara is not afraid to call you out of sin and to share her wisdom which has been such an incredible blessing. She led the girl's Bible Study that gave me so much community. After a while, we started working together to lead it and shared many cherished saturday mornings at The Lab drinking coffee, catching up, and planning Bible Study. Kara has been my spiritual role model for a while now, and it's been such a joy to go through life with her!

I met Curtis through First Baptist Church of Tampa. Curtis and I have very similar personalities. He's more of a reserved guy like me but don't be fooled, he's quite the comedian. Curtis is a great brother in Christ that I've enjoyed spending time with in men's groups, FBC's young adult ministry, and our own group hangouts. I am fortunate to be a groomsmen in his wedding and to have him be in mine will be a great memory we both can share. We're also so alike that we picked the same suits for our respective groomsmen just by chance.

Dannielle and I met through our Bible Study, and have been dear friends since then. She is without a doubt the most helpful person I've ever met. She loves the people in her life so well and is a blessing to be friends with. We got to grow in our faith together through great conversations in Bible study. Dannielle knew Nick before I did and helped us get to know each other over the spring of 2024. She took us both on a beach trip where we got to bond over music which led to me accidentally stalking Nick's Spotify a few times. Her wedding was the first one that Nick and I got to go to together, so I'm very excited for her to come to ours! Dannielle is also incredibly wise and good at problem solving and she's given me lots of good advice over the years. Dannielle really helped me make the transition from college to young adult life, and she's been such a good role model for me!

I met Lane through First Baptist Church of Tampa. Lane has been a great brother in Christ to me. When I first started attending FBC, I got to know him and his wife, Dannielle. We've have had great memories together whether beach trips, volleyball matches, men's group, or just hanging out. Lane and Dannielle's relationship has been a great one for Anne & I to witness and were able to attend their wedding as each other's dates. It's always a great time being with the charismatic Lane (& of course Danielle too). Lane is the type of guy that can be friends with anyone and if you're in need of a laugh, he's your guy.

Jill is my little from KKPsi! We spent many late nights together surviving college, band, and KKPsi. Jill is so much fun to be around, and she radiates joy! It was such a blessing to be friends with her throughout college because she was always there for me no matter what crazy thing happened. Later in college, we got to be on the executive board together which brought more responsibilities and more memories! I'm so grateful for her friendship and all the time that we were able to spend together in Tampa!

I met Ryan through First Baptist Church of Tampa. Ryan is one of the most outgoing, unique personalities I've ever met. He's a fast talker just like me. This posed a learning curve for both of us when we were cast as shepherds in FBC's night of worship of Christmas 2024 (it is on YouTube for those interested). We both had to learn to slow down when speaking so the folks could understand us. I admire Ryan greatly for his desire to learn more about Christ and the Bible. He always did a great job leading the FBC young adults group through guided prayer. He also can come up with pretty unique ideas that always makes him a great hang (make sure to ask him about his human kibble idea).

I met Mia my freshman year of college. She lived in a suite with Anna, and they stopped by my room to say hello. Since then, we've bonded over sweet treats and the outdoors. We made regular trips to the campus Dairy Queen. We decided to live together sophomore year, and we made so many wonderful memories. Mia helped me grow in my faith by coming to church with me and helping me get connected in a good christian community. She is always ready for silliness and does an excellent King Julian impression. Mia, Anna, and I did rowing together, so we shared many moments at practice and working out together. She is one of the toughest people I know and helped me to grow into the person that I am today!

Aiden is another great brother in Christ that I met through First Baptist Church of Tampa. I got to know him as I was dating Anne as he was dating (now married to) Annika, her best friend / roommate. He's been a great friend to Anne as all three of them went to University of Tampa. We've had lots of fun times whether in church, at the beach, the Dallas Bull, or just hanging out at the girls' apartment playing with Maple (their cat). Aiden is a hilarious guy that always has the best timing with jokes. Getting to be around him & Annika will always be highlights of my time in Tampa. I'm grateful to not only have Aiden as a groomsman as my friend, but as a friend of Anne's as well.