Welcome to our love story.Welcome to our love story.

Every love story begins somewhere… and ours started with a simple message on Plenty of Fish... one that felt different from the rest. No pickup lines. No expectations. Just kindness, sincerity, and a man who genuinely wanted to know who I was. For weeks, we talked about everything - life, dreams, mistakes, hopes. There was something gentle in the way he showed up even before we met, something steady and safe. When we finally decided to meet in person, it wasn’t glamorous... it was simple, sweet, real. Ice cream was the plan. But life, as always, had a small twist... my gas light turned on. Without hesitation, he told me to meet him at the gas station so he could put gas in my truck. And in that tiny, ordinary moment… he showed the kind of man he was. Thoughtful. Generous. Protective. The kind of love that doesn’t wait to be asked.. it just shows up. We shared ice cream, laughed like we'd known each other forever, and somehow ended up playing mini golf (a little detail I later learned, was part of a bet with his roommate to see if he could talk me into it. 🙃) We made a playful deal: if he won, he’d earn a second date. He won. And in a way, we both did! Though we didn’t know it yet. We sat in the parking lot for hours afterward, talking about life and where we’d come from. It wasn’t perfect or polished. We were two people with pasts, with scars, with stories that could’ve scared each other away. But instead, they drew us closer. There was honesty. There was comfort. There was a spark that felt like recognition… like home. In those early months, he became my best friend. The one I called first. The one I trusted. The one I laughed with until midnight and prayed with when life felt heavy. When I finally introduced him to my daughter (only four at the time, spending so much time in the hospital) he didn’t flinch. He didn’t run. He walked right into our world with love, patience, and gentleness. He played, he visited, he cared. And she adored him. And little by little, the world around us saw it too. My parents saw the way she lit up when she talked about him… the way he loved her without hesitation. And the day he sat at their table, alone, for hours just talking with them, he wasn’t just someone I was dating anymore. He became part of our family. We’ve had highs and lows, as real love always does. We’ve fought, forgiven, learned, grown. We’ve held each other through storms, celebrated each other’s victories, and chosen one another, again and again. And through it all, our love has only deepened. Not the fragile kind that depends on perfect days but the kind built through faith, friendship, and a love that is steady and unshakeable. Three years in, he surprised me with a Valentine’s date. Kid-free, planned completely by him. Dinner at Olive Garden. Mini golf again, of course. And at the third hole, I turned around to find him on one knee, asking me to marry him. Shocked, laughing, overwhelmed, I made him stand back up before I even got the “yes” out. Then I heard a voice behind us… “Well.. Did she say yes?” I turned and saw my dad, along with our whole family, all there to witness the moment our forever truly began. Now, nearly a decade later, we stand here still choosing each other, still laughing, still growing, still loving deeper than we ever thought we could. On our ten-year anniversary, we will finally say “I do” - not to start our forever, but to honor the beautiful forever we’ve already been building. This is our love story - not perfect, but real. Not rushed, but steady. Not just romance, but friendship… faith… family… and a love that has walked through fire and come out stronger every time. And the best part? Our story is still just beginning. 💜