Petra & Mike

Petra, about Mike:

“He’s a kind, funny, smart Iron Worker with a passion for swordplay and weaponry.  That’s right, weapons.  Before meeting Mike, I thought bows and arrows were just for Legolas.  Now, I love to go out with Mike on sunny days and practice archery.  
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Mike is also a talented “Maker,” and I enjoy going to the Milwaukee Makerspace with him to work on cool stuff.  I’m even bringing some of what I’ve learned there back to my work at the Library. 
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He’s constantly challenging me, making my world richer with new experiences, and getting me to think in new ways.   I love it.  Plus, he doesn’t flinch at my crazy schemes even though he knows he’ll probably have to step in to help when I get in over my head.  I’m a lucky girl.” 
 

Mike, about Petra:  

“When I first met Petra, I couldn’t stop smiling.  I had to turn away so she wouldn’t think I was a creep.  She is so beautiful.  I love her laugh, her smile, and her hair.  I love her vision and her drive.  Most of all, I love her caring and her big heart.  She is always doing something to make the world a better place.  Whenever I get grumpy, as soon as I see her I always start smiling again. She has that way about her.    
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I never thought I would be a churchgoer, but now I like going to hear her sing with the choir.   I wasn’t much of a traveler before I met her, but now I’ve been to places I had never even heard of.  I never thought I’d want a family, but that all changed when I met her.  We’re an Iron Worker and a Librarian – an odd couple – but we work.  I can’t wait to marry her and spend my life having new adventures together.” 
 

The story of the ring:

Petra’s Godmother, her Aunt Debbie on her dad’s side, inherited a beautiful diamond ring from Petra’s Great Grandma Gladys.  Mike found out that Debbie always intended for the ring to pass on to Petra in time.  Unbeknownst to Petra, Mike took Debbie to dinner and asked if she’d be willing to part with the ring a little sooner than planned.
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Then, Mike asked his father, Ted, for a special favor.  Mike’s mother passed away when he was a young man, and he wanted Petra to have something of hers.  Ted generously gave Mike one of his wife’s diamond rings.
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From these two rings, Mike custom-designed the ring that Petra now wears on her left hand.  It’s a beautiful symbol of their individual heritage and their shared future.