We met online, as so often happens these days, and spent weeks getting to know each other over the phone, texting and talking every night, before we ever met in person. Our first date was dinner, our second date was hiking.

For the first two years of our relationship, we lived more than an hour apart from one another, so nightly phone calls carried us through between weekends spent together in person. We hiked, we kayaked, we camped, we went to concerts, we met each other's children and families. We were there for each other through unspeakable loss and immensely challenging times on the personal front. We cried together, laughed together, loved each other, and became "us" in heart and mind.

As Kristina works remotely and Jason runs a housing program for people in early recovery, it eventually made sense to combine our lives closer to Jason's hometown than where Kristina was living at the time. We bought a house and moved in together (along with Kristina's son, who is now in 4th grade) just north of Gloversville, in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains where we love to spend time together.

As we honor and acknowledge the joining of our lives, we invite family and friends to join us in celebration.