We met during the pandemic, right in the thick of that wild Texas winter freeze. We were both just riding out our Match.com subscriptions, about ready to give up on love altogether. It was a strange, hard time for everyone—and somehow, in the middle of all that chaos, we found each other. Our first date was at IKEA, which pretty much says everything. We weren’t trying to impress anyone—we just wanted something that felt natural. When the kids met, they sat down and played Pokémon cards like they'd known each other forever. No weird energy, no awkward moments—just instant ease. That kind of summed up how it felt for all of us. Our family is a mix of three amazing kids, one very loved dog named Sherlock, and two cats who absolutely run the house. We call ourselves The Gatos, and yes—we meow at each other to get attention. What started as a joke is now just… our thing. We love cooking together (spaghetti is basically a tradition), hitting the road for little adventures, and most nights you’ll find us either watching movies or TV reruns piled up on the couch. We’re The Office people—“that’s what she said” jokes fly around so much, it’s basically our second language. We’ve both been through a lot in life, but what we have now is steady, real, and rooted in showing up. We back each other. We laugh, even when it’s hard. And we keep choosing this life together. We feel lucky every day—for this home we’ve made, for this family, and for the love we’ve grown. Thanks for being part of our next chapter.