Neither of Chad nor Lori had spent much time dating or put much energy into how that could even work. Each of them waited on the Lord to direct as far as if a spouse relationship would occur. They each come from small established churches that they were both active in from childhood. Lori was involved in attending activities across the country with other singles from her church and made some amazing friends along the way and grew closer to the Lord. As time passed by, they invested time into careers, family and helping those around them wherever a need presented. As years have gone by, the thought of finding the "right" person started to fade away and they both were content in the path that the Lord provided for them. Let's start at the beginning... Lori always knew that she wanted to be a labor and delivery nurse since she was a kid. Lori grew up in Gresham, Oregon (East of Portland). During high school, Lori started to volunteer and work at the Mt. Hood Medical Center ( Located in Gresham). Lori has her BS in Nursing and is currently a charge nurse in the labor and delivery unit at the same hospital today. She has put in over 25 years in this field and absolutely loves it, and loves all her co-workers (such an amazing group of people). Chad grew up in Salem, Oregon. A little bit about Chad is that he is shy and does not like to be the center of attention. He played a lot of sports growing up and enjoys the outdoors. Chad wasn't sure what he wanted to do exactly. Chad attended Bluffton University in Ohio. He ended up majoring in business administration. After college, Chad returned to Oregon and started working with his father full time in a tractor dealership. Chad's father was the manager of the business. Over the years, Chad has had all kinds of jobs in the business. Working his way into farm equipment sales, then Sales Manager. Recently, Chad's father retired and Chad was hired to be the next manager. He enjoys working in a small business. Recent History... Lori bought her grandparents house in Gresham (which has been in the family for over 50 years...even her dad lived there) and with her families help made it her space. For about 5 years, her best friend Melis (the Maid of Honor) lived with her (those were such fun years and I learned my the veterinary world as well) after she relocated to the area. About 2-years ago, Melis married Lori's brother, Jason. Her best friend became her sister-in-law. For the first time in a long while, Lori lived on her own. Recently, she purchased a house in Vancouver, WA, to live closer to her family. For the past 7-years, Chad has lived in Salem in a house with his brother, Brett. Chad purchased his house from his Aunt & Uncle and it has been in the family also for over 50-years! Chad has volunteered serving as church treasurer for the past 15+ years and also serving as a board member at a local Christian school.

Both of us have established careers and didn't put much stock into dating at this point until... Chad was encouraged by his friend Jason and other close friends to consider dating or even (gasp!) online dating. With A LOT of peer-pressure, Chad skeptically signed up in August of 2021. It was hard for him to even know where to start, how it worked, what to even expect. He knew the direction he was looking for and could feel God pushing him in that direction, but felt like it was walking by faith alone. A lot of encouragement from friends helped him do it. Lori was very hesitant to even try online dating also. She had been content in her life but felt like something was still missing. Not wanting to have any regrets in life and what-if's, She considering going on line to explore with the Lord's guidance and cautiously put one toe in the water. She had a very rigid list of musts and wasn't willing to lower any of her standards just to date and continued in prayer for the Lord's guidance. Mid-October 2021... Very quickly after Lori signed up, she saw Chad's profile and sent him a message. A few days later (and no reply from Chad) she sent him another message, not realizing though that she had already messaged him. The website listed Chad as he popped up as a close match on the dating site. Lori was impressed with his love for the Lord and his desire to find a Godly wife along with love of travel. They started messaging for a couple days back and forth on the site. After some trust, that turned into emailing. The emails were not short either. Nor were they basic. Lori felt that if she were to invest time they should be on the same page in many areas of life and if they didn't agree on the fundamentals of life that it should not continue. Chad had wanted to meet someone that had the same goals too. Not just dating to date, but dating to find a real life partner and a Christian spouse. Both learned a lot about each other and realized just how many things they had in common (which is so incredible)! It was basic things too. Like the love of travel and talking about travel. Spending time talking about faith and spiritual lives and our belief in the Lord Jesus. Both grew up playing Dutch Blitz and Rook. Chad was shocked to find this out, it was the first non-Mennonite person he knew that had played the same games growing up! Their first phone call was 3 hours long! (Lori and Chad are not usually phone talkers) and then after talking they decided to meet up. Trying to decide where and which day worked the best for them to meet, they quickly decided to meet the very next day (Sunday afternoon) for dinner at a restaurant near Tualatin which was a mid-point between Vancouver and Salem. The date went so well that they closed down the restaurant and moved down the street to another restaurant for dessert. The first date lasted 5 hours! The conversation came so easy, Lori said it felt natural and like she had known Chad forever. Both agreed to meet up again! Chad and Lori went to the beach, ballgames, walking, and enjoying meals together. The times together was always special and very meaningful.

The first date was in early November. By Christmas, both had been introduced to each other's families. Lori and Chad enjoyed doing many different things together. With Lori living in Vancouver and Chad living in Salem, a LOT of time was spent on the phone, texting or on facetime. Each looked forward to talking and checking on the other one daily. Between them, they felt God pulling them closer together. They decided to get married early on. Still, they had wanted to continue dating, meeting up and spending time together since they live just over an hour apart. Also, for their friends and families, this was a significant change, both felt that time was needed to be spent with families and circle of friends. Their families and friends are an important part of life, and this new relationship was a change from the past. March 2022... Chad and Lori found a day in March to go ring shopping... Chad was in Portland for the NCAA basketball tournament. Between the games, they had time to spend together as Lori had a day off too. They found rings they wanted at a jewelry store and ordered them. When the ring came in, Chad and his friend Jason Sell (groomsman) were 'supposed' to be going to a baseball game. Instead, they drove to Vancouver to pickup the ring, unbeknown to Lori. The next day, Chad took Lori to a baseball game in Corvallis. She still had no idea that Chad had the ring in his possession, let alone that he was carrying it with him. Chad had made reservations in Newport (near the coast) by the bayfront and fishing piers at a Seafood restaurant after the game as a place to propose. However, the game didn't cooperate. It went toward extra innings. Chad was worried they would miss the reservation and tried to convince Lori to leave the game early (Chad never leaves ball games early, especially a tied game), so she knew something wasn't right (especially when she recognized the fact that he wasn't driving towards his house), but she didn't think he had the ring either. Upon arriving in Newport, Chad and Lori walked down the docks before going to the restaurant. Chad surprised Lori by pulling out the ring (and yes, getting on one knee) and proposing to her on the docks just after sunset. They shared a wonderful meal and dessert afterward. As they say, the rest is history.