Connect How did your love story begin?

It started with a news story. A local Christmas tree farm has been sending 2 large trees to the state capitol for several years now. I had just moved to TX from OH for my new job fresh out of college. They were such a sweet family — the kind you can tell that genuinely care for their community and each other. We bonded quickly and dated for a year before getting engaged. Now I get to be part of their annual tradition of state capitol trees and creating holiday memories for hundreds of families.

What is your favorite memory you've shared as a couple?

Our favorite memory we’ve shared together is designing and building our forever home. We built on the farm as we hope to take over the farm someday with our kids. We built our home keeping in mind our future family and the dreams we have for them. We can’t wait to be the house that everyone is welcome in. We just moved in a couple months ago and it’s everything we hoped and prayed for! We are so blessed to have what we have, to set up a great life for our family.

What would you do with $20,000?

While we just took on the expense of building a house and will be paying that off for a bit, we would greatly benefit from a family vehicle. We both drive old, small cars that will need to be replaced in the next couple years. I deal with chronic illness, and we are praying to get a green light in a few months to start trying for our family. We would love to secure a new vehicle to fit us, our 2 sweet dogs and a couple of kids hopefully in the near future. $20K would cover most of that!