Well, we were both interested in each other, but we weren't sure that we had a future together, that this was God's plan in our lives. Noel was living up in Pennsylvania working for the Pennsylvania Pastor's Network, an organization that encouraged churches to do voter registration drives and distribute voter guides. Jonathan was working in Virginia as a regional political director on the George Allen reelection campaign. The three hour drive was supposed to be enough to keep us apart. We decided to take some time apart from each other while we worked on our campaigns, and then, if we were still interested in each other after November, we would pursue a relationship together. But that didn't quite happen.

Somehow, we managed to see each other every week or so.  Jonathan would invite Noel to come down to Virginia to help out on a parade or fair on busy campaign weekends, (she is a sucker for events!)  Noel then had Jonathan come up a couple times to meet the family she was living with in Pennsylvania.  Sometimes we would even meet in Baltimore after work, because that was halfway between us.

As the campaigns progressed, so did our friendship and relationship. We realized that we just couldn't live without the other. So the first weekend in September, we both called our parents and told them the story. Our parents were somewhat suprised, but somehow they kind of knew where things were headed. They gave us their blessing to continue courting, and pursue a relationship headed towards marriage.

We returned to California after our campaigns to spend the holidays with our respective families. For the three months we were in California, we spent time adjusting to having our families adjust to us being together. For the first time, both of our parents were seeing us with a significant other. We did a lot of thinking and soul searching, making sure that this really was God's plan for us.

Jonathan moved back to Washington D.C., searching for a job in Congress. In May, he was hired by the Department of Labor as a special assistan to the Chief of Staff. Because Noel's job is flexible, she works as a media specialist with a PR firm, she decided to move in to a house just five miles away from Jonathan. In June, after Jonathan had asked Mr. Zimmerman's permission to propose, Jonathan set up a plan for his proposal.