Hello, friends!

This post was so fun to make! Sully came over and we sat on the couch, ate jellybeans, and took turns typing out our answers. Well, we collaborated on some until Sully wrote something weird and I was like WAIT WHAT I DO NOT APPROVE TAKE MY INITIAL OFF. :’D Ohhh, Sully. *shakes head*

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy reading our answers to your questions as much as we enjoyed answering them! Also it snowed six inches recently and I got a bunch of pretty pictures to include here. So yeah, I’m excited for this post! Let’s get started!

What is your favorite quality about each other?

A: His thoughtfulness! Thoughtful as in deep-thinking, intelligent, and articulate, but also thoughtful as in sweet and kind. Sully has such an adorable heart. He’s really empathetic and caring, LOVES kids, will sacrifice his own comfort or time to be there for a friend, and treats me like a princess even when I don’t deserve it.

S: My favorite thing about Allison… how to choose? There’s so many options! But one thing in particular that has stood out to me is her passion for people in general and me in particular. It’s a wonderful thing to be known and respected for who you really are by someone else, and nobody I have met extends that grace like Allison.

How did Sully become your editor?

S: I’ve edited manuscripts for local publishers for a few years now. When Allison needed Seeing Beyond edited, I was happy for the opportunity to assist with her little masterpieces. I don’t get to edit things I actually enjoy reading very often, so it was a huge privilege for me.

How many siblings does Sully have?

S: I have five! I have three older and two younger. Our family’s order is girl, boy, boy, boy, boy, and girl.

What is your favorite thing to do together?

S: Cuddle! Okay, and other things… we both enjoy long drives and deep conversations.

What are some of Sully’s hobbies?

S: I used to really enjoy reading historical texts, listening to classic Christian contemporary music, and playing plot-driven video games. Now I basically spend all of my time texting/being with Allison, though~

What are some things you do and don’t have in common?

A: We both enjoy reading or writing good stories, we’re both really dedicated to our churches and our faith, we both care deeply about people, and we both like playing piano together. Sometimes I play for Sully, sometimes I give him a “piano lesson,” and sometimes he impresses me by playing songs by ear. We’re also both artists in some sense of the word and share a love for beauty and nature.

S: As for how we’re different… we’re both Christians, but we have different opinions on theology and worship. Allison comes from a traditional Reformed background while I don’t care much for denominations and doctrines. It’s a difference we’re both comfortable with, but it has been the source of many faith-building conversations between the two of us!

What food/drink/meal etc. do you both love?

S & A: Soft pretzels, jello, Oma’s (Sully’s grandma’s) chicken and dumplings, and ice cream! A lot of our dates have included trips to a local Bruster’s.

What was a favorite date you all had together?

A: Our second date is really special to both of us. We went on a double date with my parents to a local restaurant and then walked up and down the cute little Main Street/downtown area. Then we sat in Sully’s car and talked for a long time. Another favorite date was more of a day trip, when we went to the beach in September! Click here to read the post about it.

What originally attracted you to each other?

A: Well… we originally weren’t, haha. I didn’t really know him before he “proposed” to me the first time. But once we started texting, I was immediately impressed and delighted with his intelligence and excellent writing skills. Deep conversations are one of my favorite things ever, and Sully is excellent at those. So yeah, I guess I just loved talking to him!

S: I wasn’t originally planning on “falling for” Allison. I was hoping to keep calm and rational about this whole relationship until I was certain I could make the right decision. The thing that made me throw rationality out the window was Allison’s vulnerability. I was expecting her to keep her emotional distance from me, so when she began sharing parts of her life with me that I hadn’t even begun trying to uncover yet… well, that threw me off balance, and I’ve been happily off-balance ever since!

What is the hardest thing you’ve been through together?

A: Maybe the day my uncle had to have unexpected quadruple-bypass heart surgery. It was our date night and there was nothing I could help with by staying home, so I went to see Sully anyway. Poor Sully had to deal with a very sad and scared Allison that day, but he handled it perfectly. He’s a pro at listening sympathetically and gently and then cheering me up and making me laugh instead of cry. (And praise God, the surgery went well and my uncle is completely recovered!)

Where do you see yourselves in 10 years?

S: I hate this question… why can’t we just be young and in love forever? But I suppose I hope that in ten years, Allison and I would have a few kids and maybe a few cows as well.

A: Yeah, for some reason Sully does hate this question. I’m more of a planner than he is, heh. My answer is pretty much the same as his, although I’m not entirely sure about the cows… Ooh, I also hope we’re able to own a house sometime before our kids grow up, but I’m not sure if that will be in ten years or not. God knows, and that’s good enough for us!

What is your favorite gift you’ve received from each other?

S: My favorite gift from Allison is a stuffed cow I named Sebastian. All the gold and jewels in the world could never equal the power of that one plush bovine… I will be grateful forever.

A: Sully is muttering about how my gift was so much more thoughtful than his but SULLY WHAT ON EARTH YOU GAVE ME A DIAMOND RING STOP APOLOGIZING. Ahem. Anyway, yes, my favorite gift from Sully was definitely the ring. Partly because it’s so gorgeous, but mostly because it means I get to marry him. 🙂

What are your love languages?

S & A: Quality time and words of affirmation for both of us, but we both agreed early on that any of the love languages make us feel loved if they’re done sincerely. So… everything!

What are/were your dating/engagement boundaries?

S & A: We don’t have many strict boundaries, but our rule of thumb has been that we should only do in private what we’re comfortable doing in public. Rather than having a list of boxes to check or rules to follow, that principle helps us focus on the heart behind the boundaries – an attitude of respect, openness, and accountability that we’ll hopefully carry over into our marriage as well.

Any advice for Christian young people that are about to be in a relationship?

S: I think it’s important to have your priorities in mind before you start the relationship. I’m not talking about a full-on checklist or anything like that, but it helps to have a few guiding principles that keep you from entering relationships that won’t be good for you. In my case, I had three: The woman I married couldn’t be short-tempered, couldn’t be materialistic, and had to want to start a family. Everything else was completely optional, but I knew that a girl who didn’t meet those three standards would be a girl I wouldn’t be able to please in the long run. When I met Allison, the fact that I had my priorities straight helped the relationship progress very smoothly. It was easy to see that her personality wasn’t at odds with the convictions I had, and that meant I could pursue her without guilt or reluctance.

A: Instead of looking for a perfect person who doesn’t exist anyway, look for someone who isn’t afraid to grow and change and become a better version of themselves. Look for someone who accepts loving correction, treats young and old with respect, and loves and pursues God in an active way. Involve other people in the relationship and be open to the opinions and perspectives of your parents or trusted friends on the person in question. Going it alone isn’t healthy in the short run or the long run.

How did you know he/she was the one?

A: It was more a gradual confirmation than a “moment of truth.” But I remember one time after praying about it and talking to my friend Chessie for a while, I realized all the people I was closest to would be thrilled if I started dating Sully. I especially valued Chessie’s opinion since she knows us both pretty well. Not that their opinions were the foundation of my decision, but God did use the advice and input of others to answer my prayers for wisdom to make the decision.

S: I never really had the mentality that I was looking for “the one,” if that makes any sense. Going into the dating part of our relationship, I still wasn’t sure whether or not it was a mistake – I just knew that if it was a mistake, it was the kind of mistake I was supposed to make. I knew that God had led me to where I was and that if I was wrong and wound up heartbroken, that was still an experience God would use to form me. I was just taking steps forward in accord with what I felt God was telling me, and those steps eventually led me to the point where the only possible option was marrying this woman whom I loved and so clearly loved me. Maybe most couples look for a reason to be together forever, but in our case, it was less that there was a particular reason we should and more that there was no reason why not.

Was he nervous about talking to your dad?

S: Allison’s dad is one of the gentlest, most accepting men I have ever met. He’s not at all like your stereotypical shotgun-carrying overbearing homeschool father. There was absolutley no reason to be afraid of anything he might say or do. So it goes without saying that I WAS TERRIFIED BEYOND BELIEF AND ONLY BARELY ACQUIRED THE COURAGE TO ASK HIS PERMISSION!

Where will you live after you get married? Are you going to move to the city and if yes, what’s your ideal home out of the farm?

A: The short answer is – we don’t know yet. We’re hoping to rent a small house or apartment somewhere in between where my family lives and where his family lives, which is coincidentally about where Sully lives now. I love the country, the town is fine too, but I’d much prefer not to live in a big city. We’ll see what doors God opens!

Was he on the lookout for a future wife when you two met?

S: Despite what my “modest proposal” might suggest, I was really just hoping to make a friend when I first approached Allison. I can’t deny that a potential future together was something I was willing to consider, but I really just wanted to get to know her before thinking about any of that.

Has Sully ever gotten stranded on a roof at work and had to have a co-worker come and rescue him?

S: No, of course not; I have no idea what you’re talking about.

(A: Translation: Sully’s co-worker asked this question, and Sully’s answer is… a lie. Heh. Sully works for a window-cleaning company and uses ladders a lot, which once made for quite the adventure.)

What is the part of wedding planning you are struggling most with/are least looking forward to?

A: So far the clothing has been the trickiest to figure out. It took a long time to find the right bridesmaids dresses and coordinating bowties/suit options for the guys, and it was also hard to pick a wedding dress. But we’re on the right track now!

What’s your favorite part of wedding planning?

A: I love that my friends and family are so happy to plan it with me! For example, it’s been really fun talking about wedding bouquets with Mom in the evening or going to a wedding dress shop with my bridesmaids. I’m already having so much fun being around the people who are going to be at my wedding that it makes me look forward to the actual wedding day even more!

Are you going to keep blogging after you get married?

A: Yes, I plan to! The post schedule may change and I’ll probably take a hiatus while we get settled into our new life, but I love blogging and want to keep sharing my photos and thoughts with you guys. 🙂

What are your MBTIs?

A: Sully is the type who hates personality types, heh. Partly because he’s kinda all of them. Especially with the thinking/feeling aspect; we’re both pretty balanced there. But I think I’m an INFJ and Sully’s an ENFP or something like that.

Do you two have the same taste in music/books/movies, or not?

S: Kinda? We both love a lot of the same books, movies, and music, but our tastes are oriented differently. I have a very broad taste, and a tolerance for a lot of fringe media and weird styles that most people don’t know much about. Meanwhile, Allison is more deep than wide, being much more well-read in traditional categories and less knowledgeable outside of them. However, our tastes still overlap a lot, allowing us to enjoy many of the same things.

What’s something random about yourself that the other probably doesn’t know?

A: Sully knows a lot of random things about me. Um, when I was little, I used to wonder if someone would make a movie about my life or write a book about me when I grew up, so I’d sometimes do things as if I were acting in a movie or plan out things in my head to that effect. Haha!

S: Wait, really? I USED TO DO THAT TOO! I still do, sometimes. Uhhh… a lot of my untold random facts have to do with my checkered past as a contributor to various underground internet communities. There’s one forum where I wrote romantic poetry to be used by one fictional character when flirting with another. I am not telling you where to find it though…

Do you have wedding theme/color scheme ideas yet?

A: PURPLE! Purple has always been my favorite color, so that’s the main color of the wedding, supplemented by navy blue, a bit of pink, and some white and green for the bouquets and such. Galaxy colors. 🙂 I’m excited about using coordinating shades of purple for the bridesmaids dresses and those same colors for the groomsmen’s bowties as well.

How did you manage to save/load all those texts on your phones so you could find the first ones?

A: Ha! There are definitely a lot of texts to sort through, but my phone keeps them all stored for me. I use the search bar a lot. I can usually remember a unique keyword from whatever message I’m trying to find (like “salutations!” for the first text he ever sent me).

Do you know if you’re going to have a honeymoon and where you’d want to go?

A: We’re going to a beach or two in Florida! That should be fun since we’re both beach people, plus May is a nice time to go.

Did Sully know you have a blog? If not, how did he react when you told him?

S: I knew Allison had a blog. However, I didn’t really read it much at first and it took me a while to realize that… wow, she has a lot of followers! I didn’t even know there were 12,000 people on the internet who still read blogs! After confirming that they weren’t all Russian bots, however, it started to make a bit more sense to me. I’m continually impressed that despite internet fame that would have ruined a good many homegrown farm girls, Allison doesn’t even remotely give off the impression of someone who has let their following outpace their humility. Rest assured that the Allison you see on the blog is the real Allison – and I’ve yet to uncover a fake one.

Who’s funnier?

A:  Sully. Definitely. Don’t let his dignified writing style fool you – he’s quite the goofball in real life and makes me and everyone else laugh a lot. As my brother says, “He never fails to amuse.” 😛 It’s difficult to describe his particular brand of humor, though. It involves not caring all that much what people think of him (except me, of course).

Whose temper is worse?

S: This is a tough question to answer because something that we both have in common is that… we’re rather even-tempered. I’m not someone who easily loses his cool, and it was important to me in choosing a partner that I found someone who was similar. Allison and I have never raised our voices towards each other or anything like that. I know courtship and marriage are two different ballparks, and maybe we’ll find ourselves becoming a bit more… emotive in the future, but for now, I don’t think we have the amount of information necessary to answer this question properly. We’ll get back to you on this one once we’ve been married for a decade or so~

Welp, that’s it for now, guys! Thanks for all those amazing questions. I hope you enjoyed the long post and getting to know Sully and I a bit better. He’ll appear on the blog again, don’t worry. 🙂

What question/answer was your favorite?

Thanks so much for reading, my friends, and have a lovely day!

***Allison***