We met at Covenant College in 2016

I specifically remember walking up to Michelann in the library when she was working behind the desk and asking her how much trouble I would get in if I slept in the library over night. She awkwardly laughed and said it would not be a good idea. Later that night I definitely hid in the men's bathroom while she locked up and spent the night in the library.

He was always up to something. Every time I saw him he had a big mischievous smile and was typically walking fast somewhere.

Caving with Emily Goff and Zach McKillop. Michelann's first time caving and Paul's first and only time getting lost in a cave.

The first time we dated it was fall of sophomore year. We probably got Mojo's or something.

The first time we dated, we dated 3 months before Michelann broke Pauls heart with a "Hey bud, what are you up to? Can we talk?" text.

Some would say that Michelann gave Paul the cold shoulder for 5 years. Others would argue that they grew separately. Paul would visit Caleb in the chapel department where he worked with Michelann and they would make small talk. Paul then moved on and dated other girls.

Took a job at Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in youth ministry in Birmingham.

Paul started working for a family friend's construction company in Chattanooga immediately after graduating, at the height of the pandemic.

We ran into each other at Caleb and Honey McNaughton's wedding shower in Birmingham two years after graduating college. We were not expecting to see each other there. Paul was shocked at the amount of questions michelann was asking him. Michelann was excited to catch up as friends as it had been a while.

a few months later, Paul reached out to michelann after his previous relationship ended, asking Michelann for clarification on why she broke his heart in college. She gave him a worthless answer and they proceeded to keep talking as "intentional friends."

The intentional friendship lasted for a few months until Michelann told him that she was not interested. Paul told her to call him if she ever "woke up and thought that Paul Stern is the coolest guy [she] had ever met."

Yes

Michelann was thinking through relationships and dating and through a series of events was reminded of Paul. She had a gut feeling that she was still interested in him. After thinking things through for about a month, she decided to reach out to him to let him know how she felt. He got this call on a hunting trip where he was alone in the woods for a week and happened to be reading 'the meaning of marriage' by Tim Keller. Paul called michelann back after thinking about it for a week to let her know he wanted to start this relationship.

Paul came to visit Michelann in Birmingham in December of 2022. They dated for almost a year until Paul proposed over Thanksgiving in 2023. In that time in-between, michelann said goodbye to community in Birmingham to move back to Chattanooga where she could continue her counseling degree in a location that she would be long-term.