How we met...

We spotted each other at a group outing at a restaurant, and were both curious about each other. But neither of us had the courage to approach the other, and we ended up connecting over social media right after.

Total blip...

Neither of us were looking for anything "serious" or "long term" so in a lot of ways our relationship did feel like a sort of blip. We were just exploring and enjoying our lives! Fast forward a bunch of years (8 actually) and oops, here we are talking about getting hitched and making babies.

Our anniversary...

Neither of us remember the exact date we started "seeing each other" (because it wasn't supposed to be a serious thing) but a year or two into things, we decided to set our own date to represent our anniversary. We picked June 7th. This was the date Paul realized he loved Bri in return, over an evening of shuffling her around from the ER to the pharmacy and Waffle House.

The proposal...

Bri, Paul, Chas, and Reverie were enjoying a weekend vacation in Knoxville to celebrate Bri's birthday. They spent lots of time exploring the farmer's market, the flea market, and Reverie even enjoyed learning how to care for and ride a horse.

Paul took Bri out for a fancy dinner the night before her birthday, and then to the Tennessee Theater to see her favorite music artist. It was a magical performance, and afterward, when most of the crowd had thinned out, they walked around to get a better view of the beautiful venue.

After looking around, Bri asked Paul if he was ready to go, and he said "Not quite yet." Out comes a tiny metal container. "Bri.... Brianne" he said (yes, Bri grimaced at her full name.) He opened the container. Inside, it said "Will you marry me?" And stuck under the lid of the container with a magnet was an engagement ring. Bri said yes. They hugged. They kissed. There were definitely lots (and lots) of happy tears.

When they went back to their AirBnB, Chas met them with decorations and wine to congratulate them and celebrate together! The best part of the story though is how they couldn't find a wine bottle opener, and resorted to opening the bottle by using a vegetable peeler to push the cork into the bottle. Skipping the celebratory drink together was not optional!

Our beautiful family...

Anyone reading this should be aware already that this family doesn't walk the "traditional" relationship path. Bri, Paul, and Chas have all found that, for one reason or another, monogamy doesn't suit them.

Part of this celebration is the joining of families. It's not just about Bri and Paul tying knots. It's about Bri and Paul and Chasity and Reverie coming closer together as a family, committed to working through the hard times just as much as the blissful ones. We love our beautiful family. In many ways, we've been through a lot. And in other ways, we're just getting started.