Stefanie and I actually met in 5th grade at willow creek school. We had always remained friends over the years, but we traveled in different circles of friends. We would cross paths from time to time, but the timing was never right. Fast forward to Facebook times and Stefanie would stalk all of my post....lol

One day, I received a FB message from a mutual friend Sammie asking to do a junior high reunion with her and Stefanie since Stefanie was too shy to ask me out herself. I'm always willing to go out so I jumped at the opportunity to reconnect with some friends of my past. I, of course, dragged my best friend Jorie out with us as well as we all knew one another. We had a great time that night.

From that day forward, Stefanie and I would start our friendship all over again. We hung out together everyday. We would watch sports which we both love. Thank God she's a Cubs fan. Over the next few months, I kept stef in the friends zone for quite some time, but our feelings were growing for one another. We finally took the step and moved forward in our relationship. Our love grew deeper for one another and we knew this was different than any other relationship we both had in the past. We both were finally knowing what it was to be loved by another and respected by each other. ❤️

On January 7, 2023, Stefanie finally asked me to marry her. She knew I never would. I make her do all the important things in our relationship first...lol I was completely shocked and surprised. Of course, I said yes, and here we are today. We are so excited for this day to finally be here!!