Silas and I both had challenges in life before we met. But, had it not been for those challenges, we may have not met at all. Because of this, we are truly grateful. It all started with Grace. Grace Trinity Church in Uptown Minneapolis, that is. Grace is a place where our, and many others, new life journey began. We shared the same home group in AA, the fellowship that saved our lives. We casually knew each other for about a year and a half before the stars aligned and Silas asked me out on our first date. On our first date, we went to Uncommon Grounds, a coffee shop across the street from Grace.. How fitting. The second date was like a fairy tale. We met at the Minnehaha Dog Park with Tobi and Cooper, our matching black lab dogs and first babies. It was a cold November day and a winter wonderland down in the park. The park became our happy place from that day on.... In the beginning of our relationship, we both did things out of our comfort zones and authentic selves to impress each other. I convinced Silas to practice yoga with me TWICE. That was it for him. At the time, I was still a smoker trying to quit. But, that was a deal breaker for Silas. Dating him was great motivation to finally kick it once and for all. I’m so grateful. I acknowledge how much that means in my life. There is an old saying in AA that people in recovery tend to move in with each other after dating for 6 just months - we proved that saying to be true.. We've also been known to do things a little backwards. First house, then baby, then marriage. It's perfectly us. Since we’ve been married, our relationship has grown stronger. We continue to challenge each other. We grow as a family and individually to become our highest selves. We are very happy and excited for our future with our happy little guy who brings us so much joy.