I have found the one whom my soul loves

So how does a Bay Area boy meet a Southern California girl who happens to live all the way in South Korea? Well, online dating of course! Yes, we thought it was pretty nuts too...but let us tell you, God really knew what he was doing when we wrote the beginning of our love story. After many months of frustration both of us nearly threw in the towel to the whole online dating thing. But randomly one day Kimberly had the urge to go online and take a look at the birthdays. It just so happened to be the 9th of July 2021, Philippe's birthday. After browsing quickly through the birthday list Philippe and his luscious locks caught her attention. So to his profile she went and after giving it a read she decided that he seemed pretty interesting and liked the way he had written out his profile. So she decided to send him a little message saying "Happy Birthday!" and of course a cute question so he could respond if he was interested. Well Philippe who hadn't been online for a while received an email saying that he had a message waiting for him so he decided to take a look...little did he know that it was a message from his future wife. Much to Kimberly's amazement he wrote back quickly and so their brief messages turned into long essays. This continued for weeks until they finally decided to move it over to texting, phone calls and later video chats. Daily messages and voice notes, were really the highlight of most days and Kimberly knew there was something special there. Kimberly decided that since her work was online she would make a trip home to see her family in SoCal, and to also take the opportunity to meet Philippe in person. Fast forward to mid-October and after a very long and restless flight we met in person during a 7 hour layover. Time flew by and we confirmed that it would be worth pursuing something with one another. But it wasn't until after we spent 7 days together and a short roadtrip that we both felt a deeper connection than words could fully express.

After months of waiting Kimberly was able to fly home to visit her family who she hadn't seen for nearly two years due to COVID. 10/22 she landed in SFO on a 7hr layover to meet Philippe in person. Philippe showed up to SFO with a bouquet of lilies which Kimberly had mentioned were one of her favorite flowers. We spent hours talking, eating, and exploring the city before rushing back to SFO. Kimberly decided that she’d fly back up in November for a roadtrip that Philippe had been planning to LA. Kimberly already knew that he was the one but once meeting in person everything was crystal clear, he was undoubtedly the one. 11/10 rolled around, and Kimberly was able to meet some of Philippe's family. The next morning, 11/11, after a very sweet breakfast in bed (prepared by Philippe) we began our roadtrip and first visited Carmel Mission in Carmel by the Sea where we prayed in person together for the first time. While on the beach Philippe asked her to be his girlfriend to which she said duh! We spent the next few days meeting friends and Kimberly's family. Philippe decided on his solo drive back home that he had to “put a ring on it.” The next time we met was 11/29 the day we got engaged. The following two days Philippe spent with her family before they returned home. We thought Philippe's trip in early December would be the last time we'd see each other until sometime in August but Kimberly managed to find a long overnight layover where she could meet her future Mother-in-law and spend a little more time with her fiancé. The last time we saw each other in person was 12/12/21.

While Kimberly was visiting San Francisco with family we planned a little day trip alone to Napa. Philippe suggested we dress up since it was a very "Instagramable" winery and that in the evening we’d have dinner to meet his friends. After a quick breakfast we were off to Napa. We had a lovely wine tasting at Castello di Amorosa and then decided to walk around the beautiful castle. While walking we saw a map that showed there was a little chapel nearby, so we decided to investigate. We walked over and while I was looking at the mural in the back he started walking towards the front of the church. I followed him and we both stopped to look at the altar and mural in the front. Philippe then started talking to me about our relationship and how he didn't want to wait for August (we had talked about him coming to visit me in Korea then and I had even joked with him about him proposing). Suddenly, before I could even process what was happening, he got on his knee and opened a little box. I couldn't believe what was happening and I started to shed some tears. I really didn't expect myself to cry but I wiped my tears away and of course quickly said yes! I then waited for him to put the ring on my finger and I was in shock. Suddenly after the ring was on my finger his friends started cheering. They had been in disguises taking pictures and recording the proposal the entire time. It was really funny to turn around to his friends and his God-daughter all cheering and laughing. It was a really, beautiful surprise. I truly didn't expect the proposal to happen so quickly but "when you know you know." Philippe really gave me such a wonderful surprise. After visiting a second winery we walked around and found a nice place to sit outdoors and pray a rosary together to give thanks to Mama Mary and God in bringing us together. I don think we would change a single thing from that day, it was perfect. We cannot wait to share our lives together in holy matrimony.

One beautiful thing that solidified that we were meant to be with one another was our mutual deep love for God. Our entire relationship has been Christ centered and has been the focus of what has brought us together. We have made it a big deal to pray with one another daily. Making time to pray together has helped us grow in our faith and has helped to keep our relationship Christ centered. There's been nothing greater than our mutual love for God, Jesus and Mama Mary. We truly are looking forward to the day we can call each other man and wife and receive the sacrament of matrimony. The feelings we have for one another can only grow with time and we are looking forward to all new challenges that we will face. As some of you may know, we have decided that Philippe will be moving to South Korea in August after our wedding to teach English for the next year and a half. We have many plans to go somewhere new after and are unsure if we will stay in Asia or move on to another continent. Whatever we decide we will decide together what is best for our future family. We ask that you please keep us in your prayers as we embark on this lifelong journey together.