Greg & Elizabeth met in 2013 when she came to the foster care office where he worked for a job interview with the corporate team. He noticed her nervously pacing around a ping pong table that was in the lobby, & as they made eye contact, he asked if she was looking for competition. She seemed startled & laughed, but then politely & professionally told him that she was there for a serious interview. He replied by telling her that playing ping pong wouldn’t hurt her chances, & may end up helping by calming her nerves. They played a fun game before she went to meet the team, & later that week, he found out she had become his colleague. Greg & Elizabeth formed a tremendous friendship that years later blossomed into so much more. Both noticed & appreciated the passion & drive for helping children, families, & the less fortunate, as well as a shared tireless work ethic, which helped them form a significant common ground & lasting bond. Greg and Elizabeth grew closer in their shared mission to help others. Then, covid happened. The world changed for everyone, as we all lived through, & during a time of tremendous uncertainty, Greg & Elizabeth found their friendship grow even closer. Despite the chaos, difficulty, quarantines, & small social bubbles, he invited her to join with a select few others for makeshift social events, cookouts, & even baseball card collecting. She invited the same small group to her home for ball, pizza & normalcy in the back yard with her three boys, Jacob, Joe, & Jack, pizza nights. While the pandemic was horrific for so many, it had a profound way of making both realize who & what are most important. As the quarantining & pandemic trappings began to gradually ease, both Greg & Elizabeth grappled with the simultaneous happiness that life was returning toward normalcy & the bittersweet feelings of missing the happy, fun, and positive times had when the world seemed like it stopped spinning just for them. Elizabeth was likely the first to truly realize that they had become inseparable, followed by her boys, who joked privately among themselves that they had become like quarantine Jim & Pam from The Office. Those smart boys were onto something! Greg struggled to ever imagine positive relationship news for himself no matter how many signs & indicators were present. Eventually, it dawned on him that he had found the woman & family he had always wanted, and that amazingly, it appeared that she also wanted to move beyond merely best friends & toward partners. In retrospect the love story was years in the making. Greg and Elizabeth set on a journey together to date, bond, travel, learn, & grow together. Slowly but surely, adventure by adventure, they became truly inseparable, in love, & together a true family. Additionally, their career paths also blossomed as they grew together, with Elizabeth becoming a CEO & Greg continuing to pursue larger child wellbeing & sports endeavors, both assisting, supporting, & rooting one another on every step of the way. Together, they have enjoyed everything from trips to London, Chicago, Miami, the Bay Area, & everywhere in between, to simple visits to book sales, local events, & even just relaxing evenings making dinner & watching movies. From ball games & sports card shops to libraries & conservatories, Greg & Elizabeth built a life of happiness, joy, & love. December, Greg asked Elizabeth to be his wife & to officially cement this lifelong bond in Elizabeth’s very favorite place, the HMA Plant Conservatory. Fortunately for him, she said yes! Every day is a new opportunity to create another positive memory for these two, their family, friends, & countless other loved ones. Greg & Elizabeth are incredibly thankful for one another, the boys, the circumstances that brought them together, & for the opportunity to continue to grow together for many years to come. They are beyond excited to begin this next chapter as husband and wife!