Life breaks us, but love puts the pieces back together.

Interestingly enough, we met on eHarmony. I (Chris) was in the process of getting my life in order, staying busy with work and building a foundation, so I didn't have much time for a social life. I had used a number of online dating apps to try to meet women (think Tinder, Plenty of Fish, etc.), but was not satisfied with the results and was ready to give it up. Then it occurred to me that I should give eHarmony a try - I had avoided eHarmony up to then because it was expensive, though the site bragged a huge success rate rooted in the scientific method of matching people looking for love. It seems counter-intuitive when you think about it, because everybody "knows" love has nothing to do with science, but I decided to give it a shot. So I paid for a six month subscription, not realizing at the time that this one decision would change the rest of my life. Courtney, on the other hand, was at a place in her life where she had basically given up on love. She had survived a failed marriage, the birth of two boys, and the loss of her mother, and love just wasn't in the cards...or so she thought. But a friend of hers encouraged her to go on eHarmony, and she decided to try it out. She signed up for one month and never looked back. Both of us had been on the app for only a week or so when we met. She was living in Lincoln and I was living in Sacramento, but it just so happened that I was working at a jobsite in Lincoln (I was an HVAC Installer at the time) so we decided that our first date would be at a park next to the jobsite during my lunch hour. She made street tacos, and let me tell you her street tacos are bomb! I walked over to the park from the jobsite while she was setting the table, and we talked for half an hour before parting ways. The date went well, so we decided on a second...and a third...and more. And so it continues... Courtney and I have been together for three years now, and during that time we have had our ups and downs, but through it all we have grown closer and more deeply in love. Every challenge we've faced together we've overcome, and in doing so we've come to see ourselves as a bonded pair and our commitment to each other has grown stronger. We started out living in separate apartments, she in Lincoln with her boys and me in Sacramento, working during the week and spending the weekends together at one or the other apartment. From the beginning I've made it a priority to get to know her boys, Taven and Soren, to be a constant in their lives, set a positive example, and be someone they can come to, someone they can rely on, whenever the need arises. And they've accepted me. Today, we all live together in a house in the suburbs of Lincoln. While it is true that Courtney and I have lived very different lives, it is also true that we have many things in common, and most importantly we share a value system. More than that, our personalities compliment each other. In areas where my experience and knowledge are lacking she has ample amounts of both, and vice versa; and not only do we rely on each other, we learn from each other, we make each other better. On 16 August 2025, I proposed to Courtney at Odinshof in Brownsville, California, in front of all in attendance, and of course, she said "yes." The next step in our journey together is to seal the bond we've built with marriage. So to all our friends and family out there, I invite and welcome you to come celebrate with us as we take a leap into the future, with hopeful hearts and an unwavering commitment to each other and the incredible life we intend to build together...