Save the Date - January 18, 2025

We met on a dating site in early March. Shortly thereafter we both agreed we wanted to meet in person as we both felt it was difficult to really get to know another person through phone calls and texts. We agreed to meet March 8, 2024, at Firebirds restaurant in Huntersville, NC. That evening proved to be cold, wet, and dreary. As such, both Bob and Sarah were independently reconsidering meeting. Not only was the weather bad but Bob was truly not interested in starting a long-distance relationship. Sarah lived just over an hour from Bob in South Carolina. For Sarah, she was concerned that Bob would just be another guy that posted dishonest things on his website. When Sarah told her neighbor she was thinking of cancelling he told her “Oh, just go! As a worst-case scenario at least, you’ll get a free dinner.” Well God had other plans… it seemed He had plans for us! Outside of Sarah being a few minutes late (excusable by the bad weather and she did call), the night was simply magical. Time flew by and before we knew it we were closing the restaurant 5+ hours later. We talked about many things, the most important of which was our faith. We both know Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, but we learned something additional that night that made Bob feel God was playing a role in our meeting. It turned out Bob had been listening to a pastor, Gary Hamrick, via streaming. It was the church that Sarah attended when living in Virginia and she was still streaming Wed/Sun services. This practice of streaming his sermons still plays a big role in our lives. In addition to our faith, we learned about our amazing children and families\ and that we have both endured many surgeries. At last count Bob has had 9 and Sarah has had 18. That must make Sarah twice as good as Bob. We also learned we both have a love for adventure, traveling, meeting people, cooking and eating foods, and experiencing other cultures. We both left that first night feeling very blessed and grateful for the opportunity to have met. In fact, Bob wrote that night in notes on his phone that he “had met the woman he would spend the rest of his life with.” Good thing he did not share that with Sarah as she would have run and never looked back. On the very next date Bob gave Sarah a beautiful diamond cross necklace as a belated Birthday present stating he “wanted it as a reminder to always keep Christ first in our relationship.” People are not perfect but thankfully we have a loving God that forgives us of our sins. Both of us were looking at this as a clean start and have been doing our best to be right with God! In the ensuing months we have lived our lives filled with joy and laughter. We have had the opportunity to share many experiences and memories. Some of the most memorable have been rolling down a grass hill (no liquor involved), dinners, swimming and boating on the lake, entertaining friends and family, playing card games, traveling to places including the NC Coast, Cape Cod, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, and California. California was the special trip as we spent time with Bob’s family, but most importantly it is the place where we got engaged on July 24, 2024. It was amongst the beautiful sequoia trees in the Sierra Nevada’s. So why get engaged amongst the trees? In many ways God made trees and marriages similar. A marriage, like a tree, needs to be well-rooted with a strong foundation (Christ) fed with water (The Word/Bible) and must always be growing. We pray God continues to be our foundation, that we grow in the word, and use the gifts He has blessed us with as we enter this next chapter in our lives! With our big day coming, we look forward to seeing you all there, sharing our special moment, and having you all witness our vows and commitment to one another. And if you want a good laugh… be certain to ask us about our second date when we see you at the wedding! Thanks & God Bless you All Bob & Sarah