I love him with all of my heart. Luke lived a great career life and helped so many people including me, and if you don’t mind, I would like to share the story of how he saved me.

Just to start off, I would like to say that my name is Ava and I know that some of you know me but not all. But all you really need to know is that Luke and I were super close, and we will stay that way forever.

It was December 20, 2016 Luke and I had been dating for about three years, but we’d known each other for a long time. The time every couple dreads, the week before Christmas. The nerves that go through your mind about if the gift you got your partner is good enough. But don’t worry, we told each other that we would not get each other anything expensive. But we all know Luke, he always goes all out for everything. This wasn’t our first Christmas together, but I still wasn’t expecting what he got me.

He wanted to give me a gift before the actual day, and it was amazing: he got me a brand-new car. Just kidding, but it was just as good. Originally, I am from Canada, but we live together in Florida. So, for his gift to me, he got me a plane ticket for there and back, but the best part was that he was going with me. He was going to meet my parent and my siblings, and we were getting spend Christmas with my family. The only bad thing was that our plane left in four hours and that was definitely not enough time to pack for a full week trip. Even worse, we were going to Canada and we lived in Florida, and the temperatures in both places are completely different.

After he told me that I only had four hours to pack, I rushed to the bedroom to pack our clothes. Most of what I packed were things like jeans, leggings, long sleeve shirts, sweaters, and a couple of Luke’s sweatshirts, for me of course, and obviously the necessary underwear. But for shoes, I only packed a couple. I packed my running shoes, hiking boots, and some nice boots to take pictures in. And of course, Luke had me pack his bag for him and I just packed him the usual sweatshirts and sweatpants, some tee-shirts, and a couple nice shirts and pants for pictures. And for shoes, I packed his running shoes, hiking boots, and his nice shoes for pictures too.

After that, I moved to what I think is the easier part, which includes things like toiletries. I really only needed to pack for him because I had most of the things I use are also at the house in Canada. So, the only things I had to pack were Luke’s shampoo and bodywash, and both of our toothbrushes and toothpaste and my skincare stuff.

Four hours had past way faster that I thought it would, and before I knew it, we were off to the airport. Our flight was around ten hours, but it was late, so I planned to sleep the whole time. So, I did and before I knew it, we were in Canada.

We waited for what felt like forever to get our bags. At first, I thought they lost our bags, but we got them. After we got our bags, we went to find our ride and out of nowhere my little brother (who is not so little anymore) came running up to hug me. I’ll tell you I almost cried when I saw him. I looked around for my parents and they were nowhere. I asked him where they were, and he looked very confused and asked why. I then asked who was driving us home and he said he was. I couldn’t believe I had been gone for so long. The last time I saw my family in person, my brother was 18 years old and now he is 20. My little brother was 20 years old. I looked at Luke and I knew he could see how much I missed my brother.

My little brother drove us home, and it was super late, so no one was awake. Luke and I went up to my old room and went to bed. Our night was short because even though no one knew that we were going to be there, at about six in the morning my youngest sister came in and jumped right on top of me.

That morning I woke up to a giant breakfast. My mom and dad had made food- pancakes, waffles, bacon, and eggs along with some amazing drinks. It was the best breakfast I have ever had. I spent so long to just introduce Luke to my family, not thinking that he had already talked to them to plan all of this. But they just played along.

When I’m home, my favorite activity to do is to go hiking. So, that’s what we did. We went out to a new hiking trail that I have never been to before. The hike lasted around 4 hours to the end and back. But we did stop a couple times to take snack and water breaks and to take pictures. And if I do say so myself, our pictures were pretty great. After the hike, we went out to lunch and it was so fun. Luke has never been to Canada so everything I showed him, he would be so amazed.

When we got home from our hike and lunch date, I took a shower while Luke when and talked to my dad.

 
(Luke’s point of view)

I was talking to Ava’s dad, and I had a lot on my mind that I really needed to talk to him about. I said to him, “I have loved your daughter for a long time now, sir and I knew from the day I met her that I would want to be with her forever. And I know that it’s only been three years, but I feel like it’s the right time to ask you, can I marry your daughter?”. It took him a while to answer, but I told him that I didn’t need an answer at that time, but I did tell him that I wanted to propose around Christmas time since I knew that it was Ava’s favorite holiday. It took him about a day to give me a complete answer, but in the end, he pulled me over to the side and gave me his answer, and you know what? I almost burst into tears because he said yes. But I knew I couldn’t do that because then Ava would know that we were up to something.

Since I knew I was going to propose, I had already bought a ring and it was beautiful. I showed Ava’s mom and she started crying.
(back to Ava’s point of view)

I got out of the shower and I saw Luke and my dad talking but I couldn’t hear what they were talking about. I knew it was something important because my dad had that look on his face that he makes when he is thinking really hard about something.

It was the day before Christmas Eve and the night before it had snowed a beautiful bright white snow and the flakes were still coming down a bit. So, I decided that that was the day we were taking pictures. I told Luke and he had that look that every guy makes when you tell them that they had to do something that they don’t want to do. I told him that we would be taking pictures today but not now and he had less of the look, but I could tell it was still there. After a couple hours, Luke convinced me that we should take the pictures tomorrow and I said that that was fine. I thought since he did buy us tickets to come here, I should be able to choose when we took the picture. He also told me that since he knew that I would want to take pictures he hired a professional photographer to take our pictures and his appointment was for tomorrow.

It was Christmas Eve, and I was so excited. I got up early so that I could take a shower and get ready for our pictures. After I got out of my shower, I walked out to see Luke still asleep I told him to get up before I got in. So, I put on my bath robe and jumped right on top of him and that woke him up just fine. I told him that we had to start getting ready for our pictures and when I said that his face started to glow, but I don’t know why because yesterday he had no intension of taking pictures.

I start with my hair which I normally don’t do much with, but today I figured that I would curl it so that it looked nice. And for make-up, I just did a pretty natural look with a nice bold red lip. And once I finished up my look, Luke was out of the shower. And of course, with my look taking at least an hour and a half his look to like ten minutes. And then the outfits. My outfit was a beautiful black dress and my Ugg boots and a flannel on top and Luke’s was a good pair of khakis pants and a flannel that match mine. After that we left, we agreed of eating after the picture so that nothing got on our outfits on accident.

On our way there, I could tell that Luke was worried about something, but I didn’t know what. My mom and dad came with us because Luke of course went the extra step and booked my parents an appointment with the same photographer as us on the same day so that we could take pictures together. When we got to the photo shoot the area, we were in was beautiful. it’s like no one had ever been there. The snow looked like it had never been touched excepted for a dirt trail that was just as pretty.

I asked the photographer if we could take pictures in the snow and on the trail, and she said that it was fine to do whatever we wanted to do.
(Luke’s point of view)

This was so nerve-racking I wanted to ask the question to her on the path since I knew that she would want to see the knee in the picture. I said that I thought we should take pictures in the snow first, the let her parents take some pictures so that we could warm up a bit and then take the pictures on the path. She agreed so we went to the perfect spot in the snow, according to her, and took the pictures. After we went, we went back in the car to warm up. Her parents were so cute you could tell they really loved each other. I thought to myself that I hope one day Ava and I would look like that one day.

It was finally time, even though Ava didn’t know everyone there did her mom, dad, and the photographer. She had a great plan. She told Ava that there is a pose that she likes to do with all of her couple clients and Ava was up for it. She told Ava that she was going to be facing the opposite was of the camara and the I would be behind her holding her hand just like as if we were walking down the path. And that was when I would ask the question.
(Ava’s point of view)

The photographer had a pose that she did with most of her couple clients and asked if I would be okay with doing in and I was fine with it, so we did it. It was supposed to look like Luke and I were walking down the path without actually walking.

Then it happened out of nowhere. I feel a pull on my arm, and I turn around and I look down and see Luke on one knee. I can’t even explain to you how fast I started to cry. I look over and I see my parents but not only them, I see my little brother and sister and my closest friend from high school. I look back at Luke, and he is the type of person that rarely cries, and I could tell that he was emotional. He pulled a small box out from his pocket and opened. It up, it was the most stunning ring I had ever seen. He looked up at me and said with breaks in his voice, “Ava, you are the love of my life and I knew that I wanted to spent the rest of my life with you the moment I met you. I know that it’s only been three years since we started dating but I love you too much to wait any longer. So, will you make my dreams come true and marry me?”

I can’t tell you how quickly I said yes. He had just barely finished what he was saying before I jumped to hug him and said yes. After I put the ring on, I ran over to my parents to hug them, and then my siblings, and then for the longest hug I think I’ve ever given was my high school best friend. I hadn’t seen her in forever since she stayed in Canada and I moved to the states. I missed her so much.

The rest of the day flew by. And before I knew it, it was Christmas day. I love Christmas and everyone knows so everyone was prepared for me to come into their room and wake them up like I was a five-year-old. But they acted like they were fine with it. So, at seven in the morning I woke Luke up and to my surprise he was already awake. When I first woke up, I thought to myself, ‘Wow it’s Christmas day and I just got engaged a couple hours ago’. Wow could this trip get any better I thought it might, but it didn’t. Luke’s younger brother lives with us back in Florida and he called Luke and said that it was super important.

Before Luke and I started dating, he was in the army but after we started dating, he took a leave and didn’t have to go back but the news that his brother said scared both of us. Collin, Luke’s younger brother, said that Luke had gotten a letter from the army. Luke told Collin to open the letter and when he did Collin broke down into tears. But through his breaky voice he read…

Sargent Luke, we sadly lost one of our captains a couple weeks ago and have not yet found a replacement and I think you are that perfect man for the job. I know that you left the army to be with your girl and I know that it will be hard, to leave but Luke we really need a captain out here there are men dying left and right because they have no clue what they are doing. With this role it will also pay $80,000 plus per year. But don’t let the money control your decision for anything but especially this job since we both know that it is very dangerous. So, if you have any further questions or you want to take me up on the offer you can call me or send a letter back.

Your friend,

              Captain James

That news had me in what felt like a panic attack. I couldn’t believe this. I mean, I just got engaged and my fiancée was already going to leave me. I felt like Christmas had been ruined but I wasn’t going to let that happen because I bought what I believe is what’s going to be Luke’s favorite Christmas gift that he has ever gotten.

He asked for a hint before he opened itx, and I said that this gift was going to become expensive over the years but when I first got it in was only like one dollar. It was in small whit box with a black bow on top. I told him to open it slowly and to be very careful. And he did just that. But once he got it open his head fell into his hands like it weighed 100 pounds. He looked up and saw a small piece of plastic with a pink cap and I plus mark right in the middle. He jumped up with joy and took me with him. And before I knew it, we were outside, and he was screaming ‘I’M GOING TO BE A DAD’.
(Luke’s point of view)

It was the last presents of the morning, and Ava handed it to me. I was very confused since she had already given me so many gifts. I asked her for a hint on what it was just like I did for all the other gifts except for this one she knew exactly what she was going to say, on all of the other gifts it took her a second to think of a good hint. This gift was different she right away to say that it was only like one dollar, but it was going to get more and more expensive over the years. She also for some reason said that I should open that box slowly. Since I am so hilarious, I opened that box as slow as I could. And then I saw it. I didn’t know what it was at first but then I realized, at that moment I felt like I could jump ten feet in the air. I pulled it out of the box and there it was a positive pregnancy test. I grabbed Ava’s hand ran outside and yell at the top of my lungs, I’M GOING TO BE A DAD.
(Ava’s point of view)

When he said that, I had no choice but to burst into laughter. Luke’s reactions are always great, but this one was way better than all the other ones. The next thing he said was, ‘I need to take the offer for the spot in the army’. I was so confused I thought that telling him this now would make him want to stay. But then he told me…

Collin had needed money for college, and since he only had his mom still alive, he helped him pay his tuition. He told me that to get these tickets he was working extra shifts and took up another job, I felt so bad for making it seem like he was a bad person for trying to get him to stay. I asked him if we could talk about it when we got home since we were leaving that night.

We had two hours till we left, and I was sad but also excited to go home. The two hours flew by and before I knew it, we were on the plane to go back home. This plane was in the middle of the day and was not fun, there was a crying baby almost the whole time. This was the worst plane ride I had ever been on and I have been on a lot of planes. But at the end we made it.

When we got home, I ran straight upstairs because I didn’t want to talk about Luke leaving. But he ran up right after me and once we got to the room, I saw that he had the letter in his hand. I could feel my heart pounding. We were talking about it for about an hour and a half. But in the end, we both decided that he would go and take the job since we needed the money since we were going to have a baby.

Luke sent a text to captain James and he said that he will need to be there by the end of September 2017. Then we realized that that was when the baby was due. We were freaking out, because now Luke would be home for the birth of our baby.

                                                         ~~~~~

A couple months have passed and now it’s July 7th, 2017, and it’s the day of the gender reveal. This was the moment I have been waiting for my entire pregnancy. Everyone was dressed in whatever color they thought the gender of the baby was going to be except for Luke and I, we were in white. I thought that there was an even amount of pink and blue, but Luke was convinced that there was more pink, but I think that it was because he wanted a girl. I mean ever since we got together, he had always talked about a baby girl that he was going to have with me. It was so cute.

After two hours of waiting, everyone was ready. My sister was in charge of the supplies for the gender reveal. And so, she brought out a giant black balloon that we had to pop, and she knows that I hate the noise that a balloon popping makes. But I still did it and for nothing, there was white confetti in the balloon. Then she brought out some pigment poppers and told us that those are that real things. At that moment I got butterflies. That’s when it started, 10…9…8...7…6…5…4…3…2…1…, BOOM, they popped open and pink smoke was everywhere. I Looked over and I didn’t see Luke. He was on the ground with tears of joy in his eyes. I bent down to hug him, and he bounced right up and took off, we were in an open field, he just ran and ran screaming “I’M GOING TO HAVE A BABY GIRL”. But what he didn’t know was that at my last appointment they found something. So, when he got back I was holding another popper and he most likely thought that it was just another pink one since I told him that I was going to want to get a picture of us popping it so we got back in our positions. Then it started again, 10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…, BOOM, but this one wasn’t pink it was blue. It took Luke a second to figure it out but when he realized he was off again, only this time he was screaming “I’M GOING TO HAVE TWINS”. The rest of that day was fun I got to take so many cute pictures but really that’s about all that happened that day.

                                                                  ~~~~~

The day was September 20, 2017, and at 7:00 p.m. my water broke and all I could feel was a gush of water down my leg. Luckily for me I had already packed my hospital bag with everything I would need, and Luke was home with me. So when I told Luke that my water had broken he ran so fast to get that bag but when he got back he was confused on why I wasn’t moving, and I told him that I had to get ready. When I tell you that he was lost, I mean it. He had no clue what I meant by get ready, but I told him that I needed to do my hair and my make-up. We both kind of laughed, and he helped me to the bathroom.

It only took me 30 minutes to get ready but by the time we got to the hospital the contractions were super painful. When we got there, they told me that I needed to start pushing as soon as possible. So, we got to the delivery room and I started pushing.

It took five hours to get the first baby out, but at 11:58 p.m. our baby girl was born. Our baby boy definitely wanted out because I only had to push twice to get him out so at 12:03 a.m. he was born.

We soon realized that we didn’t have any names picked out for either of them. So, the twins were nameless for about a week. But then one night when I was asleep their names came to me. Our little boy’s name was going to be Ryder and our little girl was going to be Roxy. Luke fell in love with the names and was already coming up with nicknames like he always does.
(Luke’s point of view)

Ava woke me up at like four in the morning and told me that she knew the names for our twins. I got super excited and then she told me that our little man was going to be Ryder and our little lady was going to be Roxy. When I tell you, I jumped out of my bed when I heard those names, I mean it. That’s when I knew I wasn’t going to sleep for a while. I love making nicknames for people and after I heard our kids names I grabbed a notebook and started to make bullet points of what their nicknames should be.

I started with Ryder which I could only come up with a few, but they were:

o   Ry

o   Little man

o   Mister

o   And since he had no name for a while, I had been calling him guppy so that would probably stick around too.

But then I had to think about little Roxy:

o   Since she also had no name for a while I had been calling her my little ladybug so that is most likely going to stick around for a while.

o   Rox

o   Missy

o   Princess

I know it’s not a lot, but I had only just met them and they would get more as they grew up.
(Ava’s point of view)

It’s been two weeks now and we finally get to go home with the babies. I had asked my mom and dad if they could come to the states and live with the babies and I, since Luke was leaving soon, and they said sure. So, we bought two plane tickets for my parents and they flew down to Florida and before I knew it, they were knocking on the front door.

I know I shouldn’t be worried since he has been in the army since he was 19 and he is 24 years old now, so he’s been there for a while, so I know he’ll be safe. After about a week, Luke was leaving for work. The night before we were talking, and it was the first time I saw him actually cry.
(Luke’s point of view)

Today is the day. I’m leaving for work and I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. Last night Ava and I were talking, and it dawned on me that I might be gone for some of the twins first. That was devastating. And I think Ava could tell I was sad but I’m doing this for them. I’m doing this so that we can give them everything they need and so that we can all live together in a nice house and they can go to a good school. That’s why I’m doing this. I just needed to tell myself that and not be to sad that I’m leaving because Ava would realize and make me not go.
(Ava’s point of view)                                                

                                                                    ~~~~~

It’s been six months since Luke left, and we are doing pretty good and the twins are doing great. They can do so much now they can roll over completely, they are sitting up by themselves, and they are eating solid foods now. Ryder loves to eat strawberries and peaches but miss Roxy loves to eat bananas and avocados. The only problem is that Ryder doesn’t like the things that Roxy likes and vice versa.

In about three months, my parents will be going back home, and I will have to take care of the twins by myself. I honestly think I will be ok. I’ve gotten pretty good at taking care of the twins excepted when it comes to the grocery store. Normally my mom would just go out and get them for me but when she is gone, I’ll have to do it. Plus I’ll have the twins with me.

                                                                                      ~~~~~

Luke has now been back in the Army for 20 years which mean that he is 44 and I am 42. The twins are already 20 almost 21.

But enough about that, tomorrow is Luke’s retirement party and I’m so excited.

Today is the day! Luke is coming home, and we are surprising him with his party. I have been planning this party for months. I have also tried to write a little speech to say during it.

The speech isn’t a lot, but it is something I have been working on for a while. It just talks about how Luke and I spent our life together and how we have built our relationship.

Okay, It’s time! I’m about to say my speech and I’m very nervous.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly then started,

Just to start off, I would like to say that my name is Ava and I know that some of you know me but not all. But all you really need to know is that Luke and I were supper close and we will stay that way forever. I love him with all of my heart. Luke lived a great career life and helped so many people including me, and if you don’t mind, I would like to share the story of how he saved me…