We got together in 2018 and we’re inseparable from the beginning. He fit seamlessly into my life with my daughter who was 7 at the time, and was immediately beloved by the rest of my family also! He shocked me with how invested he was ready to be, just spending time with me and my daughter, Summer doing what we do and then helping us come up with even better ideas! He could always light us up and make anything fun.
We graduated from the same high school a couple of years apart and I knew his younger sister peripherally. He randomly messaged me on instagram and we made a date pretty quickly… and I wasn’t actively seeking a relationship at all. I had been working really hard on myself and going to school, and his appearance in my life felt like a dream come true. It was just easy to integrate into eachother’s family.
We grew our family pretty quickly, like each year it was onto the next accomplishment starting with renovating our home (which he bought without telling me) and I happily rode over there every weekend with him for a year helping demo, and clean, and plan. It’s also just amazing to see him in action, all of the things he knows how to make and do and fix. And also for my kids to see such an important project from the ground up. I can’t believe all of the things we’ve achieved and built. It feels like a dream come true often, though there are days where we can forget that but we try to remain in gratitude! I live less than 10 minutes from my childhood home, as does he!! I absolutely love where we chose to build our lives even though that fact would have surprised a younger me.
He dm’d me on instagram and we made plans to get “fancy coffee,” which has always been very important!! We just talked about everything. I am introverted but I can be an open book, and he was just so interested and never wanted me to leave. We weren’t able to get out a whole lot by ourselves with me being a single parent… but he just wanted to spend time with us regardless of what we were doing and that felt so nice. We just started hanging out multiple times a week, whenever we could squeeze in time, from the first night we met. So our relationship progressed super quickly, but it just felt effortless. We’d just go hiking with his dog Vera, or take Summer to the roller rink, or watch movies at home. And concerts, markets, adventures on our own whenever we could. We’d pick the same thing on the menu pretty often which made us laugh. I was head over heels in a way I never knew could be possible, and he must have felt the same. Even being with my family during a difficult time just a couple of months after getting together.
He bought me a ring that he picked out all by himself and surprised me, quietly, on my birthday last year. We talked about getting married before, and I wasn’t in a rush. I never really planned on a wedding at all, and didn’t know how to picture myself doing so. And he already truly made so many of my dreams come true already!
But, he made a bold choice with the blue ring color, and I happened to have my nails painted an identical color. Just a lot of synchronicity from the very beginning!
I had been to Gatlinburg on family vacations 2x when I was younger and it was always my favorite. I love hiking, I appreciate being outside and active as much as I can because not everyone is able! We planned on a bigger wedding in November of this year but deciding to elope felt so perfect and also saved me a lot of stress and planning. Hoping to totally relax and be our best selves as a family unit during our 10 day stay. We are getting married the day before we planned to check out of our rental.
I am so excited for family pictures! I am so proud of my beautiful family and getting pictures always seems like an expense that’s not at the top of the list. So I can’t wait to have pictures of the best day ever. And just making it a day about us is meaningful to me. Because being a mom to 2 young boys and a teen is a challenge!! And I’ve had to really learn that self care and getting what I need matters too. Also, Ethan has always worked tirelessly, his work ethic and drive are just impressive to anyone who knows him. He balances work and fun pretty well being a goofball, but he deserves such a comfortable break from work as well.
I also never really wanted all of the attention on me, and would rather my kids be able to have their own fun during.
We like to camp, love thrifting and checking out little markets, working on our home- I say I want to have a fun camp on our land for our boys (and many boy cousins), I love watching him be a dad and just be the most fun amazing person to our little guys (they ride on his excavating equipment and watch dump trucks often!!), we daydream about future plans, I try cooking new recipes. Ethan is always proposing a daytrip to spend a Saturday out of the house! We also love going to church as a family and then getting breakfast most Sundays. We still try to go to concerts and love finding a new show to binge watch together.
