Let the Adventure Begin!

Danielle's Version : John reached out to me via Facebook about selling his home. I set up a meeting with him, Cathy, and I at Starbucks. I was really nervous - as I always am when I meet a new potential client. Thankfully I have Cathy to do the talking. 🤣 When we left Cathy and I talked about what a great guy John seemed to be. Really has a presence that puts you at ease and makes you trust him and like him immediately.

Cathy had recently brought to my attention 'I think John is in love with you'. I thought she was being silly, but looking back at his Facebook posts and thinking back to some of the things he said I realized...well...maybe. I saw him post that he had just driven all the way to Ohio and back in one day just to pick something up for a friend. I had been watching him on Facebook and loved his spontaneity and sense of adventure. So I messaged him and I'm not sure what came over me, but I asked 'When are we going to hangout?'. Well apparently he wasn't going to let that opportunity pass bc he said how about now. I was worried since he had just driven to Ohio & back and I knew he had gotten no sleep...but I finally agreed. I dragged myself out of the pool, took a quick shower, and was out the door to meet him. I don't remember a thing about that first date. I was so nervous. My back was slick with sweat, my hand where clammy and shaking, my knees were weak - I could barely make it out of my car. Obviously, I didn't date a lot. Even though this was really more of a casual, friends things - I knew I wanted more. Conversation came easily and the time flew by,, but I left thinking I had blew it. Who wants someone that socially awkward. 🤦‍♀️ Thankfully John didn't see it that way and was as eager to see me again as I was to see him.

John and I agreed we didn't want to bring the girls into it until we KNEW. Well, apparently that didn't take long because looking back I met Syd before the end of November. But I KNEW then and we took it slow. We met at a pizza place in Simpsonville. I was so nervous and could tell she was too. But we clicked right away. We spent the whole time laughing...often at Dad's expense. .... But the real story with Syd happened a few months later. It was the first time we hung out at John's house and we were supposed to be getting the house in List Ready Condition for the photographers coming the next day. Instead we spent the whole time goofing off, making TikToks, and having a whole lot of fun. That was the day I realized you could fall in love with someone's kid too. Sydney's smile brightens every day. Her kind heart makes everything ok. She's so much fun - funny, silly, full of pranks, and always ready to go do something fun. She's a teenager and she actually wants to spend time with us and her sister - who knew teenagers like that even existed. I can't wait to call her my Step-Daughter, because I've loved her like my own since that day.

We waited a lot longer before introducing Eden. The pressure was ON! I was head over heels in love with her dad and knew I had to make a good impression. So I rode EVERY crazy, spinning ride she wanted to go on. I was so scared I was going to throw up everywhere and ruin everything. She thought it was hilarious. With her it was instant as well, we clicked right from the start. I loved how she'd look up at me giggling. Watching her grow this past year has been amazing. She's so full of energy and always ready to go have FUN! She's so kind and thoughtful and tries so hard to always be 'good'. She's so brave - even though she may clam up at first, she can talk herself into just about anything if you don't pressure her! I love watching her little mind work. Getting to be her Step-mom is going to be a blast...it will be a rollercoaster of my life time for sure!

For our 2nd date, John planned to take me to Clemson's Botanical Gardens. Real Estate got in the way and Cathy and I were waiting on a client in Westminster. I kept pushing back our date to later in the day until it became apparent there was no way I was going to be able to get Cathy home in time for me to get back for our date. I texted John to cancel. Instead of the guilt trip I expected, he was great about it and instead asked if he could take Cathy & I to lunch while we waited on our client. Cathy was a good sport and let me drag her along to our 2nd date! I knew then - with how understand and kind he was and the way he didn't use guilt to get what he wanted - that he was worth letting my guard down for. A few days later, we made it to the Clemson Botanical Gardens for our 3rd date. We walked and talked for hours (even though I hadn't brought any water! 😱). It was late fall, so there wasn't much blooming, but we had fun anyways. We walked along the trails, explored the buildings, played with the rain water, I chased a goose trying to get that perfect picture, and we rolled down a hill together. I didn't ever want that day to end. On August 6th, John took me back to Clemson Botanical Gardens and that hill. On our way to the hill, I had to stop to see the goose again, take pictures of the turtles and butterflies, & selfie with the creepy old lady 'statue'. I found a beautiful red feather and told John how we always know Jennifer is near when we see a feather. This was a special feather so I took it with me thinking of my sister. We got to the hill by the weeping willow and rolled down together. This time John was the one that took forever to get up. I kept running off and he would call me back. The last time I turned around to find him on one knee. I fell to my knees to meet him and ofcourse I said 'Yes'. Thanks Blake for waiting in the bushes getting eaten by mosquitoes for 2 hours 🤦‍♀️ while I stopped to look at everything, so that you could capture this special moment!