We met on the site in late July 2008.  I had just renewed my membership to give it one more chance after being frustrated with the online dating experience. He sent me a message, requesting to chat, but I didn’t reply immediately. He didn’t have a picture posted and I asked him to post a photo first. We chatted online for a week or so, and then he invited me to meet him at a public park to take a walk, so that we could meet in person. I wasn’t comfortable with that plan so we kept chatting until he asked me out on a real date.

When Anthony came to pick me up, my first thought was that we were just going to be friends. He was so nervous he was sweating like crazy, and he smokes. We went bowling, got ice cream and then went to a comedy club. He was very polite and opened doors for me, but I wasn’t sure that this was going to work. I decided to keep my options open, but told him that I had been going out with another guy for a little while, so we could just be friends. The other guy didn’t work out (obviously) and Anthony and I just kept hanging out, watching movies and chatting online. One night he came over to watch a movie and my neck and shoulders were so tense, I couldn’t stand it. I asked if he would mind massaging my shoulders just to loosen them up a bit. The next thing I knew, something inside me changed. He was so tender and caring, and I felt like I was melting. We kept seeing each other until one night he finally kissed me. After about a month and a half, I fell in love. We texted constantly and the four short miles that separated us now seemed to be a world away. We were both divorced with kids, so we wanted to move very slowly to make sure that this was going to be something long-term, before we introduced everyone.

By Christmas we were inseparable, and decided to have pictures done with both of our families. We dated for almost three years before officially getting engaged. We both attended different churches so we decided two years ago to leave our respective churches and find one together for us and the kids. We have been at that same church for the last two years, and they have awesome ministry opportunities for all ages. I have been greeting on Sunday mornings and Anthony helps with the Ladies Oil Change ministry. I think us attending church together and worshipping together has really drawn us closer together, and definitely closer to the Lord.

We are so blessed and had known for a very long time that we want to share a life together with the kids. We went to the jewelry store to pick up the ring he picked out for me, so that we could get it sized. I didn’t think he would get down on one knee but as soon as the lady gave him the ring to put on my finger, he got down on one knee. I started crying and the ladies behind the counter were crying, and then they made us do it again so they could use my phone to take a picture!! Everyone was so excited for us! We finally decided late last year to get married in May. He was living in Virginia and I was lived in Tennessee. We decided to live in my house, since it was larger than his house. He promised his kids that they could finish out the school year at the schools they were currently attending.

We were checking wedding and honeymoon packages and everything was so expensive. We really wanted to go to Hawaii, but the kids were not happy since we were planning for it just to be the two of us. Then one day, he emailed me this absolutely gorgeous picture of a beautiful beach and I asked where it was, and he found out it was St Thomas, USVI. We started researching it and decided that’s where we wanted to go to get married. I found a great wedding coordinator and reserved our room with the Marriott Frenchmen Reef and Morning Star resort.

It felt surreal that after almost three and a half years, we were finally getting married. I was walking down the beach towards him and kept thinking to myself, “Is this really happening?” I would never have imagined that I would meet the love of my life online and marry him in such a beautiful place! The man I thought I would never share anything more than friendship with is now my husband. He gets me like no one else, and I can tell what he is going to say before he says it. God has blessed us over and over, and we have seen each other through custody battles, issues with our exes and kids, troubles and layoffs at work, and we just continue to go stronger.  I knew that God had great things in store for me and I am so grateful that I didn’t give up on ChristianMingle because I would have missed out on an amazing man and an amazing life!