We're Getting Married!

Joe was my server at Outback Steakhouse when I was 9 months pregnant with Emersyn (yikes lol). I was having dinner with my best friend (and now one of my bridesmaids!) Christine. I made a comment to her about how he left an impression on me with his cuteness, humor, sarcasm, and wittiness (all things that I love in a partner or friend). I left that night and we both went on with our lives. I had my daughter and was focused on school, while he was focused on his son, Aiden, and working two jobs. About 6 months later, I found him on a dating website and immediately recognized him as the cute server from Outback. I reached out to him (I tried to play it cool like I didn't know him - he totally called me out lol) and we hung out that night at Patrick's Pub in Poway, CA. We shared our first kiss that night, but nothing really unfolded after that. We were still focused on our own lives. A beautiful friendship blossomed out of that night and over the next 4 years, he became one of my biggest supporters in life. He supported me through getting my associate's and bachelor's degree, multiple promotions at work, and the journey of being a single parent. We started officially dating in November 2018 and fast forward to today, he's continuously been my biggest supporter and motivator. Through grad school and getting my master's degree, stepping into my dream career, moving into our first home together, becoming a stepmom, and everything in between, he has been the best partner a girl could dream of. I am beyond grateful to have a partner who compliments me the way that Joe does and I am SO looking forward to the rest of our life together.

Joe came home from running errands and Emersyn and I were in our bed watching TV together. He walked in and asked Emersyn to stand up and got down on one knee. He asked her if he could be her stepdad and marry mommy. She said yes and he then asked me to get up. He pulled out a ring and asked if I would marry him. Without any hesitation, I said yes!