Hannah: January 27th, 2012 is when this little love story began. It was unusually warm for a Minnesota January and I remember the cheerfulness of the sunshine. It was one of those days that makes you feel as though something good is about to happen. I had just walked home from work, to my place in Uptown Minneapolis, when I got a text from my friend Calvin that he was a few blocks away at the shops in Uptown. I responded that he should come over for a visit- I needed help shoveling my icy steps- and I bribed him with the promise of making some cookies. Calvin replied that he’d stop by, and that his new roommate was with him- was that okay? I said yes. When Andrew walked in, I was immediately intrigued- He was tall and handsome and quirky and he had the best laugh. Calvin and Andrew assessed the icy step situation and informed me that my plastic shovel wouldn’t do any good on the solid ice. We ended up just eating ice cream from my roommate Amy’s robot bowls, listening to music, and laughing as we all took turns trying on Andrew’s crocheted beard. I told the guys of my plans to put together a group to drive out to a big social justice conference in Portland, OR, and they both expressed interest in joining the crew. I was secretly pleased that I’d get to spend more time around Andrew.
 |
One of our first pictures together- on our way to Portland for the Justice Conference!
Andrew: When Calvin and I went up to Hannah’s door, he convinced me to let him wear my crocheted beard. Hannah opened the door, saw him, and starting giggling. I was like “Aw, dangit, I could have been the funny guy and been the one to make her laugh!”. I made Hannah listen to a bunch of music I liked... from her facial expressions I decided that she thought I was the weirdest person in the world.... but I WANTED her to think I was indie and cool and impress her with my knowledge of indie rockers. I thought she was beautiful and she had this creative and imaginative side... she had these awesome paintings that she had made hanging on the wall of her apartment. While we were over, Hannah told us about the Justice Conference in Portland and showed us some Justice Conference Videos. Calvin and I said we wanted to maybe tag along. Afterward I talked Calvin into going, because I wanted to get to know Hannah better. I decided I was going to pursue her from that very first day on. After the first day I really wanted to see Hannah again, and made excuses to do so- inviting myself to a worship night at Hannah’s apartment, inviting her and her roommates to a Superbowl party at mine, having planning meetings for our roadtrip. I was just blown away by Hannah’s Passion for justice and for making a difference in the world. Not a single person that I’ve ever met has had that kind of passion. It was very attractive to me. And I liked her eyes. I’ve loved her eyes from the very beginning. |
 |
| In Portland, buddying up as we explored the largest new and used bookstore in the USA! |
Hannah: Andrew offered to change the oil in my car before we drove it to Portland for the conference. He suggested that I drive to his parents’ house in Minneapolis (sneaky boy) because all the tools he needed for the oil change were there. I drove out to meet him at the appointed time, calling when I was less than 10 minutes away to give him a heads up. It turned out that Andrew was running late, and was quite a few minutes behind me. However, he assured me that I could just wait at his parent’s house until he arrived, as they knew that I was coming and were “really nice”. I was a little perturbed by having to knock on the door and introduce myself to the parents of this boy I kinda liked but barely knew... What would they think? Was this going to be awkward? What had he said about me? By the time Andrew got home I was sitting at the dining room table, chatting up his parents and petting his dog, as nonchalant as could be. I found out later that Andrew had told his parents that he wanted to date me the DAY AFTER WE MET for the first time.
 |
| We love to dance- in the kitchen, at the caves (swing dancing spot in St Paul), and in random public places... |
Andrew: So, in February, less than three weeks after we met, we left for our Portland road trip, along with 4 of our other friends. I was excited because from the very beginning of the trip we buddied up. Hannah had packed food for the trip like a homeschool mom and I thought it was the cutest thing in the world. The first time that I took a turn driving, Hannah wanted to sit next to me... And every time after that we tried to sit together. Our group was caravanning in two cars, and sometimes I would intentionally offer to drive the car that Hannah wasn’t riding in to see if she would come into my car. When we weren’t in the same car we were texting each other about random funny things, and hitting it off really well. I was constantly trying to make her laugh and smile!
 |
| Building forts together is a favorite pastime. |
Hannah: At the Justice Conference in Portland, Andrew got a huge dose of completely un-edited Hannah-ness and a good look at my passions and goals. I mean, the entire conference was about Justice. It’s kind of my thing, and I was in my element. Andrew stuck close to me, listening and learning and asking questions, trying to learn about ME as we learned about justice together. I learned a lot about Andrew, too- We had lots of time in the car together (over 60 hours of driving!), and I asked him question after question. I learned about his life story, his family, his faith, his heroes, and his goals. I was so impressed with his love for God and his love for people. We also got to have a lot of fun together! From eating an enormous jar of pickles to singing at the top of our lungs together to listening to each other’s favorite music. On the second to last day of the trip, Andrew was playing a song by Ben Shive for me called “She is the Sun”. The lyrics to the chorus say; “She is bright as the morning, fair as the evening wanes... there is warmth in her fingers, light on her lovely face.... Oh, she is the sun.” I was sitting in the passenger seat next to Andrew as, without looking at me, he said; “It's like this song is about you, Hannah!". I tucked my chin into the pillow I was hugging to hide my face and freaked out a little. I knew he liked me! For the rest of the trip I ended up smiling at him a lot in the rearview mirror.
 |
| Enjoying a summer picnic together. |
Andrew: We came back from Portland pretty much head over heels- however, not wanting to scare Hannah off by getting too intense to fast, and wanting to have time to cultivate our friendship, I started out by hanging out with her and her friends, attending justice group meetings with her, and every once in awhile, throwing in a “sneak date”- “Man, that meeting made me hungry- want to stop on the way back and get something to eat?” ; ). Our first “real” date was March 27th, an adventure at the Walker Art Center.
 |
| Adventuring in the woods. |
Hannah: Once we started dating in earnest, Andrew and I spent alot of time throughout the summer finding ways to spend time together. And to talk. And talk and talk. One night in May, we walked down to the lake by my apartment together, side by side, the moonlight and streetlights making dappled shadows on Andrew’s face when I looked up at him. Andrew was unusually quiet until he awkwardly spoke up with “I want to ask you a question”. “Sure, what is it?” I responded. Andrew laughed nervously; “Uh... I don’t know if I should ask you... or how you will respond...” Curiosity now piqued, I said; “just ask- you know you can ask me anything!” Andrew gave me this weird look and asked “Are you falling in love with me?”. I said I guessed that I was. We decided to take a week off from our relationship (no communication!) to pray and to seek God- we wanted to hear from him individually that his plan for us was to move toward marriage.
 |
| Winter 2013 |
Andrew: Our week of no communication was so HARD! We had become so used to being able to share life with each other daily! But it was so worth it- Both of us came away from that week of seeking God with a wonderful peace about taking our relationship to the next level and thinking about marriage. June, July, August and September were awesome months, as we both told each other “I Love You” for the first time, got to know each other’s families better, and continued spending lots of time together and going on lots of adventures. I asked Hannah’s dad if I could marry her on December, but waited until January to propose to surprise her at the perfect time.
