We met online, like any well-adjusted person who doesn't have the time/desire to look for people in bars, that’s just not my thing. I had a full-time job, lived in San Antonio, with no family or close friends nearby. I kept asking myself, how in the world would I ever meet anyone?!? After a few days of contemplating the idea of joining an online dating site….I figured I would give it a shot. I knew as long as I was cautious and smart, I might just find someone!  One Saturday afternoon I was bored, and decided to actually put some effort into searching for someone on the site! I had come across Nathan’s profile and was just totally blown away!

One of my co-workers stopped by for dinner and a movie that evening and I just had to show her his pictures and profile! After she looked at it and read his story she looked at me and I very confidently said “I am going to marry him, you watch!” We both sat there laughing at my ridiculous remark and she said “you have got to email him if you want marry him.” I looked his gorgeous face in those pictures and told my friend “there is no way this man is going to be interested in me; he is totally out of his league. Look at him, he is 33, single, never been married, no kids, and lives in Austin.” I got up to swap out laundry and put the folded clothes away and I walked back into the room and there sat my friend….emailing Nathan! The rest of the night I was checking my email and juggling a million different emotions! As you can imagine, I was nervous, excited, scared, and had a bad case of the “what if’s!” That next morning my phone goes off, I immediately grabbed it and….it was him! He had messaged me and much to my surprise, he was actually interested! We messaged back and forth the entire day Sunday!

After weeks of talking on the phone and texting, we were dying to meet in person; we met for the first time for diner in San Marcos. As you can imagine we were both nervous but excited at the same time. From the moment I laid eyes on him in person, I was more confident about the statement I had made to my friend! I just knew it, I could feel it! Dinner was absolutely amazing and he was such a gentleman! I couldn’t stop looking at him and thinking to myself; “how in the hell did I get this lucky!” After dinner and hours of talking we said our goodbyes and parted ways. I knew the true test would be; if he called or sent me a text that night or the next day. Well he did and the story goes on! 

                After months of the long distance dating and only being able to see each other every other weekend I knew something had to change. So I started contemplating the idea of moving closer to him. I mean, it would really be beneficial to me even if it didn’t work out between him and me. My family is in the Dallas area so I would be closer to them and it wouldn’t be that far for me to still meet Avery’s father so she could see him. After weeks of prayer, job searching and money saving; things finally fell into place! I was offered a job with a great company, I found a house that was only on the market for 6 hours prior to me snatching it up, and my parents offered to help with the move! The lord truly has his hand in this relationship, I could really tell! So Avery and I moved to Hutto on New Year’s Eve 2011. Avery and Nate immediately were attached at the hip! She really has him wrapped around her finger! I am so much in love and my heart is beyond happy! I look forward to seeing what life has in store for us! 

                Tiffany and I met online, not something I was typically fond of, but being in my early thirty’s I had run the gambit of different ways of meeting new people none of which ever exactly panned out quite right so I figured what was the harm in giving the online thing a shot.

                I was living in Austin at the time and had just finished the police academy a few months prior to meeting Tiffany.  After much contemplation I decided to join an online site.  Being new to this I really didn’t reach out to meet any people and no one seemed to have the same interests I did.  One morning I woke up and had a message to my profile on this site.  The date skips my memory but it had to be a weekend as I was off work and had just woke up, lying in bed.  I read the message and remember it took me so long to figure out what to send back, so I took some time and looked at Tiffany’s pictures and read her profile.  She seemed to have much of the same life growing up as I did and appeared to share some of the same interests.  It seemed we were both on the same level for a lack of better terms.  After sending her a message back it wasn’t long that I received one in return and not long after that we ended up exchanging phone numbers.

                That day was rainy in Austin, Texas.  I remember this because I really didn’t leave the apartment that day and we texted back and forth and talked on the phone almost the entire day; I had never had a conversation with someone go so smooth!!!  After weeks of talking back and forth with each other we decided to meet in person.  

                Tiffany was living in San Antonio during this time and we decided a good half way point to meet would be San Marcos.  We “officially” met at Outback Steakhouse in October 2011 in San Marcos right off IH-35.  That had to be the longest and most nervous drive I had ever done.  A thousand thoughts were going through my mind…what if she doesn’t like me…what if we can’t carry a conversation in person and so on.  Surprisingly we arrived at almost the same time.  I got out of my truck as she pulled up and she got out of her car also; she immediately told me she had to send an email real quick and asked if I could hold on a second.  My first thought was the stalling had already begun ha-ha, but that didn’t end up being the case at all.  We went inside and sat at a booth and had an awesome first dinner together.  We sat, ate and talked and the conversation flowed so smooth and comfortably; in short it was amazing!!!!

                After dinner we were both in agreement that we definitely had to meet again.  Over the next couple months we did our share of weekend trips one way or the other to see each other.  The distance thing never affected the relationship we had started but it definitely wasn’t ideal and we both agreed on that.  By this time I was already in the application process for Pflugerville Police Department and was close to family again after 10 years of prior military service living everywhere BUT close to family.  Tiffany’s family lives in Dallas and she mentioned wanting to be closer to them.  Even though she had a great job in San Antonio she began her searching for job opportunities in the Austin area.  After much searching she was put in contact with the head of an excellent company not in Austin, but PFLUGERVILLE!!!!  It seemed that the Lord had his hands in this relationship we had started and things were definitely going in the right direction!!!  Tiffany was offered a position at the company in Pflugerville and she took it.

                We bounced ideas around as to how we were going to find her a place to live and things seemed so expensive everywhere we looked.  We decided my apartment would not be adequate for her, her daughter Avery and I as it would be too small.  After searching high and low she came across a home in Hutto, Texas.  The home had only been listed for a short time and it was in a nice area and the neighbors seemed clean and neat as well so we pounced on it.  By the grace of God and tremendous help from her family we were able to move her here over New Year’s Eve 2011.  

                A short few months later my brother remained in my apartment until the lease was up and I moved in with Tiffany and Avery at the home in Hutto, Texas.  They always say the true test is if you are able to live under the same roof with the person you are in a relationship with.  Well we have both passed that test and it has fell in place almost effortlessly.  Our story from here has yet to be written but we are both so excited to see what it has in store for us!!!