Curtis and Katie found each other by the grace of an online dating app’s algorithm in April 2022. Their first date was on a rainy night inside an Irish pub in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia on May 6, 2022. As they dodged raindrops that night, they knew something special may have just begun. The summer of 2022 was filled with activities that ranged from altogether ordinary (watching Sunday baseball on the couch followed by grocery shopping) to the extraordinary (it was at sunset on a Dewey Beach pier on August 27, 2022 that Curtis told Katie that he loved her – she thankfully reciprocated). Their love continued to blossom and grow into 2023. Curtis became a dog dad. Katie learned to tolerate St. Louis sports. They shared trips to St. Louis, North Carolina and more. It was in the summer of 2023 that Curtis decided he wanted to marry Katie. After looking at rings together, Curtis bought the very ring Katie had just designed – and somehow was able to do it without Katie noticing. On September 2, 2023 on the bank of the Potomac River in Old Town Alexandria, Curtis surprised Katie by getting down on one knee and asking her to marry him. She said yes. They celebrated by going back to the same Irish pub where they first met. But little did they know that within two months, their world would be turned upside down. In mid-November, doctors discovered a sizable tumor in Katie’s stomach and small intestine. Not only was the cancer diagnosis shocking and emotionally painful, it came with difficult physical symptoms and necessitated major abdominal surgery. Just days before Christmas, Katie underwent a three hour operation to remove the tumor. While spending Christmas in a hospital was not ideal, they received the best Christmas present possible: The news that by the grace of God and the skill of a surgeon the tumor was completely removed without significant complications and that Katie was cancer-free. Through it all, their love for each other only grew deeper. They love each other now more than ever. And so they entered 2024 with a new lease on life and a renewed devotion to one another to life itself. Their motto has become: ‘Always and forever, no matter what.’