Hi! This is Maria and since it was my idea to do a website, I get to tell the story!

If you just want the cliff notes, here you go.

July 27, 2014 - Chris and I met for the first time and it was love at first site

October 12, 2014 - Second encounter and sparks were still there

May 25, 2015 - I made the first move

May 27, 2015 - Chris responds to my first move

May 29, 2016 - First Date

September 18, 2017 - Chris Proposed

September 15, 2018 - I get to marry my best friend!

Chris has been coaching my son Zack for 5 years in select baseball for a team called the Hornets and Haubner is their home field. The team use to be called "Haubner Hornets" and overtime the Haubner fell off.

Anyway, I will never forget the day I fell in love with Chris. Zack was trying out for the Hornets and after tryouts Chris gathered all the parents in a circle right at the entrance as you come into the ball park. My heart skipped a beat, a couple beats, butterflies filled my stomach and those gorgeous blue eyes made me weak. After a few minutes, I closed my mouth and shook the feeling telling myself that surely this man was married. He had two wonderful boys, great group of friends, head coach of an elite baseball team, yeah, he was married so I never told anyone about those feelings.

Later that night Chris called to offer Zack a spot on the team except Zack was visiting his grandma so I got to talk to Chris; a conversation i didn't want to end.

The next time I saw Chris was at the first baseball meeting at an upstairs room belonging to St. John's. By this time, I had learned Chris was actually divorced but had a girl friend and I too had a boyfriend. One I didn't want but he wouldn't go away (that's a story for another time.) Those feelings for Chris were still there and those butterflies had multiplied in my stomach because this time we were in a small room and i was much closer to him! THANKFULLY there was a TV that was mounted on the wall behind him that was on so when I got staring with my mouth opened, I would quickly glance at the TV and act like I was in love with the team that was playing vs him.

A couple months later baseball started and Chris organized a cookout for the team and their families at one of the player's house. I came with my boyfriend and Chris came alone. Ironically, my boyfriend started talking to Chris' ex wife and i was left peeling the label off my beer bottled and petting the dog because I didn't know anyone or have anyone to talk to. When Chris came in, he must have noticed I was the only one not having a good time, because he came over and started talking to me. We instantly clicked!! We were laughing and joking and had so much fun together that others noticed the connection, including my boyfriend who was not happy but for the first time in several months, I was experiencing some happiness, so I could have cared less, I didn't want the night to end.

For the record, just so you don't think I am a horrible person, I did try to break up with my boyfriend, several times, he just wouldn't leave or believe me when i said i didn't love him. If anyone reading this is single, do not let someone move into your house unless you are going to marry them because its very hard to get them out and legally there is not a lot you can do. I tell this story with full authenticity since its because of the things I've been through that have made me who I am today and what brought Chris and I together and I honor and respect that.

Okay, back to the good story.

May 24, 2015 is when everything the game changed.

Earlier that day I had burnt my had bad enough to have to go to urgent care and get bandaged up and on pain medicine. We had a baseball game that night, my mom drove so I had a couple beers. Maybe it was the pain meds, maybe the beer, whatever it was, I decided to take a leap and after Chris nicely played catcher in front of me to warm his pitcher up, I sent a text to him and said "I think you are hot". The game ended.....no response.....went home.....no response.....the next morning......no response.....the next evening.....no response.....the next night i get a text that says "thanks". (insert mortified face palm emoji here) I quickly replied I was sorry for the text and blamed it on the beer and pain medicine.

A couple days later we were suppose to have practice and it got rained out and Chris sent a text to everyone letting them know and asked us to reply back that we received the text which I did, which lead to more texts, which lead to an entire evening of texting back and forth, both of us giving up sleep to text one another.

We continued to talk every day and Chris quickly became my best friend. The only problem was I was still in a relationship, a bad relationship that I was hiding the truth from my friends, family and even a therapist but not Chris; Chris was the only person that I was able to open up to at that time. Eventually I became strong enough to break up with my ex and do whatever I needed to, to get him out of my life. Friends quickly came to my aid to help and after 6-8 very hard weeks my ex was gone and Chris and I were inseparable. My love for Chris grew every second of every day and just when I didn't think I could love him any more an new part of my heart would open up and be filled with love.

Skipping forward a year plus, Chris and I went on our first vacation to Myrtle Beach, we had talked about marriage and felt that a proposal was coming some time between then and Christmas because of something he said. The second night we were there, we had some beach time, dinner, drinks and late that night decided to end our day with a walk on the beach. As we come down from the restaurant and go through the gates to get to the beach, I see rose petals forming a trail to the beach. My heart dropped to my stomach! Was this it?!?!..........Nope! LOL it was for someone else. Ha ha

The next 1-2 days we continue to enjoy our vacation and just getting to spend 100% of our time with each other without interruptions. Then one night after dinner we go for a walk on the boardwalk by the ocean and all the sudden Chris falls back behind me, I turn around and see him shaking and then goes down on one knee and starts talking but I have never seen him shake like that and was worried to the point that I don't even remember what he said! Chris has always been a man of control and showed leadership, not nervousness like he was then! He slipped a ring on my finger, I began crying and of course said yes.

As Chris gets up he starts laughing and mentions the name "Tom" who is his best man. I give him a strange look and ask why he is thinking about Tom at this moment. He then shares with me that the ring he bought for me was not in yet and what he had placed on my had was a fake ring. Anger flushed through me and I asked if this was a joke proposal and he assured me it wasn't and told me the entire story, but yes, he did propose with a fake ring which I wore for several weeks until my real ring came in which I am in love with and could not envision a more perfect ring.

This now brings up to why we are here today, a day where I get to marry my best friend who I can't wait spend the rest of my life with. I am so blessed that God gave me him, some people go their whole life without experiencing the love Chris and I have and a love that I didn't think existed until I met him.

This is not the end of our story but merely the beginning. Thank you for taking the time to read our story and I hope to celebrate with you on September 15, 2018!!

Love - Maria & Chris