From believing to beholding

We met December 8, 2023 at the restaurant where I was working. He was my last customer of the evening. We made small chit chat while he had dinner. Through that series of conversations I learned he loves Christmas and he likes to dress up like Santa. I told him I love Christmas too and that would be fun to see him as Santa. Well..the next day he showed up on his motorcycle in his Santa suit. He had me at "Ho Ho Ho".

Our first date was 12/30/2023 at the Strand Bistro. We met at 7:00 and left one another at 1:00 am. We had dinner, walked around downtown and then sat in the car to warm up (because I was sooo cold). It was a great meal and great conversation. We became "official" 6/1/2024.

In April 2025, we went to Anna Ruby Falls in north Georgia with the boys, Jaxon and Memphis. We hiked to the falls and with the water falls in the background, he got down on one knee and proposed. I had no idea he was going to do it then...although we had been having conversations of what marriage looked like for us including proposal locations, honeymoon destinations, wedding plans and what marriage REALLY looked like. I would always tell him, "What you think in your head and your Pinterest board is different from reality." He said, "I don't think you should be my girlfriend anymore"...then he knelt down and through his tears of joy said, "I think you should be my wife." I agreed so April 5, 2025 is a red letter day.

When discussing wedding dates in April, June and July were already getting full on the calendar (especially for me, as usual). I wanted something "catchy", something easy to remember...and August had none of that. I (we) settled on 9/5/25 at 5. It's 5 months from the date we were engaged and 5 is the number of grace! If you know me, you know I've never done anything normal so a Friday afternoon at 5:00 is where it landed. I love the "fives" in the mix and hopefully...he will never forget our anniversary.

I flipped the script on him. I told him, "You planned the proposal so I was planning the honeymoon and I wasn't telling ANYbody". He still doesn't know and just recently he said, "It's kind of thrilling." You know....travel IS my thing! So....two weeks before the wedding I gave him the surprise of a lifetime. We went to Costa Rica for an all-inclusive 6 day honeymoon with First Class airline tickets. I also got him signed up for Global Entry on our way out of the country. Our excursions during the week included a romantic dinner for 2, couples massage, ATV tour and a catamaran/snorkeling sunset cruise. One of our highlights was meeting new people at the resort as both of us are social butterflies.

It's been an amazing time since our wedding. We returned home to a house full of boys and both jobs. It's been an adjustment, especially for me coming into a all-boy household. Married Life is a roller coaster....fun, scary, thrilling yet exhilarating. It's almost hard to explain unless you have ridden one. Allen and I have lots of fun together. We have laughed. We have cried. We have gotten aggravated at one another but never for long. That's what marriage is, right?? He is perfect for me and I love being married. Although I love and miss the single life (sometimes immensely)...I would never go back. We are in it for life!