Thank you for being a part of this special time.

In January 2020, Katie moved to Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas, Mexico, which happens to be where Ivan lived. We didn't meet right away, though. About 6 months after Katie moved there, Ivan and a running club he led saw Katie running with another running group. Just from a distance, but recognized that she was a fast runner. Eventually about 2 months after that, Ivan reached out to Katie on Facebook to see if she would ever come and run with their group. Katie asked for a picture verification of his group (haha!) and finally said, "Sure, maybe" but given that she had already been running with another group, never really took him up on it. About a month after that, Ivan messaged Katie again and asked if he could come run with her running group. She accepted and gave him the location. Being Katie was terrible at checking the group messages in Whatsapp, we both showed up to the spot to find out that Katie's running group had cancelled the run that day! Funny enough, we went to run with Ivan's group and began to talk a bit. We were clicking great conversation and given that at that time, Katie could almost keep up running with Ivan... we wanted to see more of each other. After a few more times of running, Ivan asked Katie to go get paletas (ice-cream) after a run. We talked for hours after the ice-cream on the side of the street, learning so much about each other. Even though we lived about 15 minutes walk away in the same town, Ivan used to call Katie on the regular phone and we'd talk for 1-2 hours some days when we didn't see each other. It was really nice to get to know each other that way, no video, just voices. We got to learn about our values and character. He had a knack for understanding Katie's Spanish which wasn't too refined yet. Katie still remembers when she sang "Piano Man" in English and Ivan  recognized it instantly, and started to sing it in Spanish. We also wrote stories together - little fiction stories - which brought out our shared creativity. What began as running, turned into cribbage playing, walks, lots of elote, dancing, running club get-togethers, time at the beach with his family, and so much more!! After about 8 months in the same place, we began a long-distance relationship in 2021 when Katie decided to move back to Chicagoland. Calling every night and a few visits a year, we maintained and strengthened our relationship. We were blessed to travel together to Mexico City, Cancun, Katie's friend's wedding in Rwanda, Europe, and lastly a family trip to Nepal. It was incredible to see our relationship in all of these different places. Now, as Ivan is moving to the U.S., we are excited to grow here, not just as a dating couple but as a married one!  We are so happy for the support of all of you in our relationship and our lives. You are truly each special to us. Let's celebrate!