Creed and I met on a dating app. (And thank goodness for those—how else would we find each other while we both worked full-time and parented?)

We met for lunch after messaging for couple of days on the app. I remember returning to my desk at work after lunch and thinking, “Hmm, this is… interesting. It feels different. I think I am going to date this person.” I was impressed by Creed’s goodness, by the way he had been refined by life’s challenges (and by his good looks, of course!).

We’ve had some form of communication every day since our first date. It was slow at first, as we both continued to date other people simultaneously. However, a few months in, I traveled to New Orleans and New York for work and Brussels and Amsterdam for vacation. I found myself thinking of Creed while we were apart, wishing he were there with me, and sending him an embarrassing number of Marco Polo messages to show him ALL THE THINGS.

I came back from my travels ready to be exclusive, and one (agonizing yet faith-promoting) month later, we became official.

Things moved rather quickly after that. Creed met my kids (I had already spent time with his), came to part of my family reunion, we spent a weekend away together, and our kids regularly played together. When my kids traveled East to spend half of summer with their dad and grandparents, I started spending even more time at Creed’s house. I came to love his children (they are incredible!). I had never envisioned mothering seven children, but I told Creed that if this worked out, doing so would be the happiest surprise of my life.

By the end of summer we decided to marry, and we became engaged after my kids returned to Utah.

We have each experienced God leading us toward each other, and forward together. We know that second marriages and blending families entail all sorts of complexity, but we are joyful and excited for all the work and all the love ahead. There’s no one I’d rather have by my side—Creed is an incredibly supportive partner, and we know that as we partner together and with the Lord, our potential is limitless.

Questions for Creed:

What was your first impression of Shannon?

On the app: she’s beautiful, seems fun-loving, focused.

Once we started talking: I was excited because she was inquisitive with a great ability for conversation and an ability to go deep and ask the meaningful and hard questions (and answer them!). She seemed really substantive, well spoken. It felt like we connected intellectually and spiritually really quickly.

First date: beautiful, bright, sophisticated, I remember feeling a little uncertain about whether that would be a good fit because I don’t think of myself as very sophisticated. And it led to the question, is she super sophisticated and serious all the time?

When did you know you loved Shannon?

There are a lot of steps, it happens little by little. There were certain aspects of loving who she is that were pretty immediate, and that led into falling in love with her. On our second date, when we shared our stories of divorce and widowhood, I started to realize I could really love this woman, because I saw how she was moving through life with faith. It’s one thing to be able to say it well or move through the day-to-day, and it’s another thing when life becomes really hard, and I got to see where she turned.

Top dates?

Shannon’s birthday - lanterns First date is always notable Second date was interesting because we were talking through a lot of really deep things The archery date was fun to see Shannon be a good sport and be excited to learn something new

S&C

Wedding Reception