We got ourselves hitched!

We met on Hinge, at a time when Chris' "audio prompt" on his profile was a droning 3-minute-long verbal critique of all the nonsensical unstated rules and expectations of the online dating sphere. Esther interpreted this critique as a global indictment of the process generally--she had never heard such thoughtful and articulate insults so calmly delivered through a forum where 95+ percent of the receiving audience would feel personally attacked. Esther was hooked. One ("screening") phone date quickly turned into a bar date. Chris and Esther "played it cool" for the next two weeks by pretending they had jobs nobody cared about them showing up for until 11AM-- meeting at a Starbucks every morning they could after their respective school/daycare drop-offs for hours-long conversations neither ever wanted to come to an end. One life-lesson of a theme permeated their early conversations: one can do no wrong in life by following one's kids. It should have been no surprise that when Ada first met Charlotte and Sammy, Charlotte got to quick work making Ada feel like the sister her and Sammy always wanted / needed. Less than 2 minutes into their relationship, while walking upstairs to Charlotte's room, Charlotte asked Ada, "want to sleep in my bed tonight?" Ada quickly said, "yeah, sure sure!" (Charlotte and Ada have opted to sleep in the same room since; welcoming Sammy into the fold as soon as he was big enough to start hurling himself out of his crib.) That first kid sleepover involved minimal sleep. Chris and Esther awoke around 3:30AM to Charlotte blasting Ratt at max volume out of her Alexa; Ada and Charlotte yelling, jumping on their bed so hard that the frame busted; all while hurling their books, dolls, and maracas about like they had been possessed by the living spirits of Slash and Duff. Chris shed tears of joy. Completely committed to take their relationship at a pace that was best for their kids, soon after the kids so easily blended and began cornering Chris while Esther was away to interrogate him as to "when he was going to marry Esther," Chris begged the question: "what happens if the kids move faster than we do?" The answer seemed simple, consistent with a life theme that had already bonded them; and a confirmation that God is indeed good. After spending a summer as "stay at home" parents with Sammy and Charlotte and Ada, Chris and Esther closed on a home in a dream neighborhood by their favorite city park (complete with its own zoo, water park, and prime lemonade-standing real estate). While in between renovating that home to make the kitchen usable, moving out of Esther's condo, living out of hotels, starting new jobs, and helping Esther's siblings with a move across the country, Chris' mom's physical strength was waning and her time here was clearly coming to a close. The intersection of so much family support, joy from the kids while blending families, imminent and unfathomable grief, and thoughts of the pre-tax benefits naturally led Chris and Esther to spend 72-ish hours planning a little wedding in Como Park, where they would be surrounded by just their kids and siblings. Their August 5, 2025 park wedding was like the fulfillment of a dream designed by their best yet not-yet-totally-tapped selves; the continuation of a life grounded separately because of the tangible representations of love that Charlotte, Ada, and Sammy brought into this world; the start to an Empire of Love that only those three could facilitate; and the anticipation of hopes not even yet discovered.