We start at the Fire House one night in Nov. she was there applying to be on the department and I had just walked in with all my friends.  I remember our eyes met once and I struggled to stop looking at her; about ten minutes passed and we got a fire call and raced out the door.  I remember wondering for days if I should call her look her up on Facebook, if she would even remember me, even notice me.  This went on for about a week and out of the blue she messaged me; we set up a date.  After that we continued to hang out and I had to tell her that I was leaving for a deployment with the military for 6months in March and that if she didn’t want to go any further I would understand; and she said that she did not care because her feelings were getting very strong towards me as were mine for her.  So on Dec. 11^th I took her to Henry Park the Tower of Fox Hill with a bracelet and asked her at dusk to be my girlfriend; and as you can assume she said yes and we continued by going out to eat.  We kept going on dates and our feelings for each other were growing into something neither one of us ever thought was going to happen…….       

The Lead up…… Both of us had never felt this way about another person before we had talked about the pros and cons to getting married so young and the deployment and everything else.  All that really mattered to us is that we loved each other and we knew why; and that we weren’t going to leave one another no matter how hard thing were going to get we were always going to stay by each other’s sides and get through the tough parts of life.  We talked about getting engaged before and after I got home form the deployment and which is better but never decided.  Then one day I decided while she was at work, I sat down with both her parents and asked them if I could marry their daughter and they were very happy and said yes!  She had told me what type of ring she would like so I began looking and picked one out; I also bought a promise ring to give her the same night to throw her off track.  One night while she was in fire school I went to La Notte an Italian restaurant and planned out the whole night where I was going to propose; everything was set.  On the night of the Feb. 17^th 2012, we went to Sears to get pictures taken before going to the restaurant.  Once at the restaurant there was a gazebo out front with lights on it; and I took her there, took her hand and gave her a promise ring.  With the promise ring I told her that I would promise that I would propose to her when I got back from my deployment and that I promise I would always be faithful.  We then went in and ate dinner and I had to get the real ring to the waiter so I pretended to go to the bathroom and gave it to him while Jamie was still clueless.  After dinner our song; The Way You Look Tonight from Michael Buble came on, which I set up before hand, and our waiter came over with an apple cut out into a bird and on its back was the ring and written on the dish was “Will You Marry Me?”.  I took the ring; got down on one knee; took her hand and asked her to marry me; and that I love her more than life itself, and that if she said yes that I would try and make her as happy as she has made me for the rest of my life.  She said Yes and cried and jumped up and hugged and kissed me and the other people in the restaurant were cheering and crying; it was perfect! They came out with a special desert to celebrate just to wrap up the best night in my life so far!!............     

The day we had be dreading had finally came on the fifteenth of April. Colby, his dad, and I all drove up to Westover to send him off, it hadn’t hit me that he was really leaving until it started getting closer to him getting on that bus. I couldn’t control my tears it was so hard to say goodbye to my best friend, we had only been together for a little while before then but it felt like he was taking a part of me with him. When we finally had to say goodbye it was the hardest thing I have even done… I was heartbroken. I drove with his dad back to town and we had a long talk about everything which helped me keep my mind off of everything, but as soon as I got home I broke down and sobbed. But luckily I didn’t have to wait too long until I got a call from him saying he was in New Jersey, and that he would be there for a few days if I wanted to visit. His grandparents offered to drive me down there to see him one last time (Thank you both again!) it was the perfect day I was so thankful to be able to see him again. Once he officially left and was on the plane it was about a day before I heard from him I was so scared! While he was there I talked to him almost every single day whether it was on oovoo or on the phone, we spent his time off talking for hours. It was definitely hard for both of us to be apart from each other but we were so lucky we got to talk to each other as much as we did because a lot of people aren’t as fortunate. I was so lonely without him but he never forgot an anniversary! Every 11^th of the month (our anniversary) he sent me a bouquet of flowers with a stuffed animal or chocolate with a note from him, and we wrote letters back and forth to each other every chance we got! It was a really good learning experience for each other and we grew as a couple, helping each other through this tough time. The date he was supposed to get home kept getting pushed back and it was so frustrating for both of us I was dying to see him! Finally he called me from Germany saying he would be home in a few days, and the next call I got he was state side and I was so relieved to have him back in the U.S. The day finally came to pick him up from the airport so me and his dad along with a lot of his family drove back up to Westover. I couldn’t contain my nerves I thought I was going to be sick! I waited anxiously by the bus as they were all coming off I couldn’t tell which one was him but as soon as I laid eyes on him I ran as fast as I could and jumped into his arms … it was the best feeling in the whole world! ........ 

I'm a laboratory technician at a biochemical lab in agawam. I am studying chemistry at Westfield State University. In my free time I like to paint, play piano, or hanging out with my friends. I also really love spending time with my pets, my 10 year old american shorthair cat Teeter who I adopted when he was a kitten. My 6 month old orange tabby Bentley who we found in a tailpipe and descided to keep. And of course my big baby 1 year old Brody who is just a joy! I spend most of my time studying and working, so when I get to spend a few hours with my future husband I'm a happy girl!

I’m a Firefighter of 5 years and I wouldn’t trade it for any other job on the planet, I am also in the Air Force Reserve.  In my free time I like to spend it with family and friends; Family and Friends mean everything to me, I like to think that they can come to me for anything. When am not with them I spend my time with my 1 year old German Shepard, Brody, who keeps me on my toes.  When I have the time I like to play my drum set; but nothing beats just relaxing on the couch watching T.V. with my future wife!