Song of Solomon 3:4

Anyone who has tried online dating knows that trying to find “the one” is like finding a needle in a haystack. But by the grace of God, that is exactly what happened. HE SAYS... It was my Mom's birthday (November 7th) and I received a message on the Match.com app from Kathy. How was I to know that a few hours later we'd talk on the phone and a few days later meet for the first time. It was a whirlwind but each contact with her left me wanting more. A couple of more dates and then a (mostly failed) pause and then it was December 2nd which we now refer to as "Our Friday" which is the official start date of what has become an amazing partnership. It took less than a month to go from strangers to being with the love of my life. SHE SAYS... Mark’s profile was very thoughtfully written with some very handsome pictures to go with it. I thought to myself, “If half of what he wrote is true he’d be a good catch.” So I wrote him on Match and told him I loved his summary! We chatted for a few days, shared similar stories and had our first date six days later. There were definitely sparks! So we scheduled another date, and another one. I was definitely falling for him but afraid to commit. This was all so new to me and I was afraid to rush into a relationship. But a relationship was exactly what Mark wanted. And he told me, “I understand that you’re not ready and that's ok, but I won’t be part of a crowd!” It was the sexiest thing he could have said to me! He knew his worth, knew what he wanted and wouldn’t settle for less! I still wasn’t sure I was ready so we agreed to go our separate ways and see where our different paths took us. I couldn’t stop thinking about him and that I would be crazy to let him get away. We didn’t do a very good job of staying away from each other... we talked almost every other day. After 11 days of “moving on”, we made a big decision... one that I am grateful for every single day!

❤️ After soul searching and many conversations, we said let's do this and jumped in with both feet! We canceled all other commitments, closed down our dating apps and made it official... and never looked back! Our hearts are so full and we are so blessed!

HE SAYS... I'd originally thought to propose sometime in 2021 but decided life is too short and moved my plans up a year. When you have someone like Kathy, why wait right? After a ton of research I found THE ring locally and made the purchase. Fellas--a quick public service announcement--having the ring for about a month hidden away in the house you share with your soon to be fiancé is STRESSFUL...I don't recommend it--ha. So with the ring in hand, how exactly should a guy propose in the middle of a pandemic? Kathy has always had a love for the beach and being near the water and we'd already made some good memories at Sunset Beach in Cape May so I thought a beach proposal could be great. I wanted to make sure the moment was captured and lucked into a great photographer who agreed to capture the proposal "paparazzi style" -- he actually filled in after the first photographer I had lined up went MIA a few days before the proposal date (that's another whole story...) and suggested a beach one up from Sunset with fewer people but with a great jetty and the view I'd wanted. Last hurdle--I knew Kathy would kill me if we have all these photos taken and she wasn't let's call it "photo-ready" so I told her we were going to a nice restaurant with outdoor seating so she should be put together as we weren't just going to be on the beach. All of the preparation in place, I was definitely nervous but it all came together and she said YES!! Eventually---as she will tell you. SHE SAYS... We were taking a stroll along the beach at sunset when Mark dropped to one knee and proposed! Yes, it was just as romantic as it sounds! I was so excited that I immediately started to cry and hugged him. A few moments later, Mark said I never answered him. I quickly said, "YES" and he let out a loud "WOOOO"! People were clapping and cheering for us. Mark knows how important pictures are to me so he had hired a photographer to document this amazing chapter of our lives. It was just perfect!

For so many reasons! Finding true love at this stage of our lives is nothing short of a miracle! The love, peace, joy, laughter, endless hours of sharing, acceptance, kindness... is unlike anything we’ve ever experienced! We are eternally grateful to be able to live the rest our lives this way. Thank you for sharing in our journey and our happiness! We are so grateful for all of you!