We can't wait to celebrate with you!

Shakella and I met and started talking on a dating app (Plenty of Fish) in December 2016. I remember being really excited talking with her and for the opportunity to meet her in person. Before our first in person date, we had a long skype date. Our actual first date was on January 2, 2017, at Dave and Busters in the Franklin Mills mall. I had that nervous butterfly feeling blended with excitement. When I saw her in person for the first time, she looked beautiful! I remember she was wearing a blue, white, and red floral shirt. We played pool and arcade games. I don’t remember specifics, but like our personalities, I remember being shy reserved at first and her being outgoing and sarcastic. After pool and arcade games then we went bowling. We bowled two games, and I won both. What I know as normal now, Shakella was talking shit even though she lost. From bowling we had dinner and drinks in the bar area of the restaurant. By then, I started to feel more comfortable and open up more. I could tell the vibe was good and we were enjoying each other’s company. After dinner I walked Shakella back to her car. We talked for a little bit inside her car. Before I left, I asked if I could kiss her. She agreed and we kissed. The next part I’ll never forget. After the kiss, she said, “I’m going to want some tongue” LOL. We kissed again and then I got out of her car, and we both headed home. I remember it being a great first date. We continued to talk and spend a lot of time together in following days, weeks, and months. I asked her to be my girlfriend on January 29, 2017. Within the couple months of dating we did a lot of cool, fun stuff together (Escape room in Philly, went on a hot air balloon in Lancaster, PA, and went on a long weekend trip to Clearwater Beach, FL for Shakella’s birthday to name a few).

Like many dates, we always took turns planning an activity to do together. He may not have known or realized, but I always tried to plan something more adventurous, or try to outdo the last planned date. I wanted to show him I was able to plan a more exciting adventure for our third date. So I planned a hot air balloon ride! It was extremely fun and allowed him to see how random my dates were. By the end of the month and after many dates, he planned a date a restaurant. called The Grand Lux. He said he wanted to sit down and ask me questions he wrote out to try and get to know me a little better. It was probably our most memorable date because even though we had gone on many dates prior to this, he had a sense of nervousness about this date. He was fixated on the paper that had all the questions on it to ask me. And even got upset when he dropped the paper outside, which was later found in the parking lot. After he breathed a sigh of relief, he was able to ask me these "important questions" over dinner. There was 29 questions in total, the last question was "Will you be my girlfriend?". And i'm honestly not sure if he cared about the other answers to the questions because he only smiled from ear to ear after asking me to be his girlfriend. It was a cute way to confirm our relationship status and enter into the next chapter of our life together. A memory that has always been ingrained in my mind for a long time.

I decided to propose at home because I wanted it to be special, be in an environment that I could control, and wanted our kids to be a part of it. Although I proposed at our home a lot went into this. First, I got the ring in early October 2024. Shakella provided specific details about the ring she wanted over the years, so it was easy to pick out. Then, I ordered all the supplies for the proposal. After the proposal, I learned that Shakella saw some of the supplies on my Amazon account, so she had an idea it was in the works but didn’t know when. Next, I had to pick a date for the proposal. Shakella and my mom had planned to go to New York City to see the Radio City Rockettes on November 30, 2024. This is the date I chose which allowed enough time to set everything up at home for when Shakella returned home. I’m thankful to both of our immediate families’ support leading up to the proposal (Mom, dad, Gabi, Nate, Mrs. Newman, Crystal, and Noah, thank you). I asked Shakella’s mom, Wynona for her blessing in advance of the proposal. Mrs. Newman, I appreciate your support and blessing. Mom, thank you for all your help with the proposal. Shakella and my mom left for NYC around 8:00am on Saturday, 11/30. As soon as they left, I got to work. The kids were with me for the day. At the time, Lailah was 5 and Jaylen was 3 (Shakella was pregnant with Mia so she wasn’t born yet). The kids and I ran errands in the morning to pick up some additional supplies. Once we got home, I started setting everything up. It took hours to complete. Everything was ready around 6:00pm. The next step was to wait for Shakella to get home. I wasn’t nervous until this point. The day up until this point flew by, but the next 2+ hours until Shakella got home felt like forever. Getting Lailah and Jaylen to not touch any of the decorations was impossible but we got through it. The time had finally come. I got a text from my mom that Shakella and her would be home shortly. Everything was ready to go. I put Milo (our dog) on the back deck to avoid any issues. I turned off all the lights (except for Christmas tree lights and other lights I put up specifically for the proposal). I closed the barn doors to the entrance of the room where the proposal would occur. The kids were in position with their sign. My phone was recording ready to capture the big moment. My heart was racing, and I was pacing back and forth. I felt more nervous than at any point in my life. At 8:15pm I saw Shakella’s car pull in the driveway. I heard her getting out of the car, but she didn’t come through the front door. She heard Milo barking on the back deck, so she got him out the backyard and came into the front door where I have set up a sign for her to open the barn doors leading to the proposal area. She initially thought the kids and I had gone to bed, and I left Milo outside! When she open the barn doors, she looked confused, not realizing what was happening initially and still thinking. She saw the kids and I, then realized what was happening and just beamed a smile. She walked down the red carpet I had set up, I took her hands, got down on one knee with the ring and asked her if she would marry me. She said, “Is this real? Let me see the ring first.” I opened the ring box and showed her the ring. She smiled and said, “Yes”. We kissed, hugged, and embraced. Our kids and my mom then joined in. We celebrated the moment and took pictures. We had a charcuterie board and champagne (sparking juice for Shakella and the kids) that I had prepared ahead of time (first time in my life I did this by myself lol). It was a great day and moment. Something I’ll remember vividly forever. Shakella, I love you always and forever and cannot wait for this next chapter of our lives together as a couple and family.