It is my desire to be obedient to the Lord's calling in life, wherever He may lead. It has been a joy to be used by the Lord in singleness while teaching at Aurora Christian School and the International Christian School of Budapest. The Lord lead me to change careers, which brought me back to Minnesota after being away for 16 years. I have always desired to be married and be a mom. After a year of being on eharmony and going on a few dates, I was almost ready to give up and hope the Lord would bring me a husband another way. After my slow processing and lack of action to cancel, I woke up on October 1, 2024 and realized I guess it was renewed for another year. That is the day a Christian man named Andy "hearted" my profile. I read through his profile where he was bold in his love for the Lord, acknowledged his title of widower while opening the door to ask questions, expressed his commitment to raise his imaginative and musical son well and stated he would take any new relationship slow. We wrote back and forth for a month before he called me on October 31. We had our first date on November 15. On our second date, I expressed my desire for Andy to meet my Dad. When planning our third date, Andy asked if he could bring Josh to my niece's hockey game. I was shocked to hear he wanted me to meet Josh after he had made it very clear that it would be while before I would meet him. On December 15, Andy and I took a day trip to meet my parents. Ever since then, we have grown deeper in our love for the Lord and each other. Andy asked my Dad permission to marry me. Little did I know that I would have two proposals. #1. Andy took me to the airport lookout where we often go to talk while we watch planes take off and land. Airports feels like home. I have been at MSP numerous times and yet now, I'm really grateful to be on the ground next to Andy. The proposal at the airport lookout was real, but the ring was from "The Amazon". It even came with free shipping. Andy was sweet and wanted to propose before Father's Day, so I could show and tell my family when we gathered. #2. A few weeks later, we were visiting my parents again and he asked me to go for a walk. On a quiet, hot, muggy day at sunset on a gravel road, Andy kneeled and proposed again, but this time with the real ring! No complaints here about 2 proposals! If I'm being honest, Andy proposes almost every day. He is very intentional with his words and has a natural rhythm of gratitude. God's timing is perfect and I can see how He has had His hand in my life and Andy's. The Lord has brought us together in His perfect timing. Thank you Lord for helping me be patient and trust Him over the years. I'm ready to grow some roots with Andy and Josh, to have a house to call a home and live as a family. Thank you Andy for liking my profile and pursuing me ever since. Your love for Jesus was evident from the very start and continues to be the quality I love most about you.

I am so grateful to God for bringing Laura Lee into my life in His timing! In late summer 2024 I signed up on eHarmony and created my profile. Soon I came across Laura Lee's profile. She was so joyful and full of life in all her pictures. While reading about her it was clear the Lord is number one in her life and that she loves people and wants others to know Jesus. I admire that about her and also that she wants follow the Lord's calling for her life. Soon we connected and started sending messages. I was amazed at all the traveling she had done in her life and places she had been! The Lord has guided both our lives and now our life journeys were about to come together. After a few weeks of sending messages I found the courage to ask for her number so I could call her. I was happy when she gave me her number although it still took me a few days to get the guts to call her. It was Halloween night when I first reached out and called her. I had a few thoughts and questions prepared but I didn't know what to expect and I was anxious. It made me happy when I heard her voice! She sounded so confident and I could even sense her strong trust in the Lord just in the way she talked about her life. Our first conversation lasted about 30 minutes. Over the next month we would talk a few times a week on the phone, some conversations lasting 2 or 3 hours! And I am not one to have long phone conversations! But talking with Laura Lee seemed so natural and the time flew by. We would talk about our lives, families, church and doctrine, jobs, and traveling. On our calls we never had a shortage of things to talk about and I could tell she had a genuine interest in me. We were connecting in so many ways. After about a month I felt it was time to meet Laura Lee in person. We met on our first date November 15 at Panera and spent 3 hours talking. We left when the restaurant closed and I remember her telling me that I am easy to talk to. We met about 10 days later at another restaurant. By this time our conversations were getting deeper and I felt I was really getting to know her. She asked me if I wanted to meet her dad. This made me a little nervous and I had to think about it at first. But I wanted to meet her dad who she had told me so much about. About a week earlier Laura Lee had met my son at her niece's hockey game. So in December we drove up to her hometown and I met her parents and learned more about her dad's work in his woodshop and how she liked to work with him making wooden bowls. Over the next number of months I enjoyed getting to know Laura Lee more as we spent time talking, eating meals together and spending time at each of our homes, going to church, taking a day trip to Duluth, visiting her hometown and meeting her family, and going to Twins games and a Christian concert. She also enjoyed meeting my parents and family. We were growing in love with each other as time went on. As we continued spending time together we prayed God would lead our relationship and help us to know the right timing of the next step. The next step was marriage which we had already started talking about. In fact, we had started going through a book together on 101 questions to ask before getting married. On May 17 I talked to Laura Lee's dad and asked if I could have his blessing to marry his daughter. He said he would be honored to have me as his son-in-law. June 8 was the day I decided to propose. 8 is Laura Lee's favorite number. Her joke is "What did number 0 say to 8? Nice belt!" Where to propose was an easy choice. The lookout area at the MSP airport was a place we had gone to a few times to talk and watch planes. Since Laura Lee had been on many airplanes it was the perfect place to propose because planes represent journeys and our two life journeys are now coming together as one journey. With Christ at the center of our relationship we are looking forward to the plans He has for us!

There is a lot happening in this season of life. We are planning a wedding, selling a house and looking for a new one, searching for a new church to call our place of worship, and continuing to grow in love. This is a joyous season and yet it is a lot. We would appreciate your prayers as we all navigate the numerous life changes.