Lance and I met at Birmingham-Southern College in 2019 through our overlapping friend groups, which meant we were always in the same place at the same time. After ringing in 2021 together at Lance’s family farm, laughing nonstop, I came to a very rational conclusion: life is better when Lance is around!

Soon after, we started dating and made the most of my last semester at BSC. Five months later, I graduated and moved to Huntsville, and our relationship officially kicked off long distance... and a serious commitment to the interstate system!

Long distance lasted four years, and apparently we decided to cover most of the Southeast during that time. Lance’s final football season at BSC. Living and working in North Carolina. Law school at Ole Miss. Clerkships in Birmingham, Marietta, and Hickory. Holidays and summers back home in North Carolina. I was living in Huntsville and somehow always knew which interstate I needed that weekend. We spent a lot of Fridays driving and a lot of Sundays counting down to the next time we'd see each other. There were a lot of miles, a lot of prayers, and most of all a lot of love shared.

In July 2025, Lance took the bar exam (and passed, praise the Lord!!!), and I moved to Birmingham. A month later, he moved, too. For the first time in four years, there was no Sunday night goodbye (finally!). In December, he proposed back at Birmingham-Southern, right where it all started!

We can see the Lord’s faithfulness and goodness woven through every part of our story. We are so thankful and cannot wait to begin this next chapter as the Cooks, surrounded by the people who have walked this journey with us!