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Today, I’m sharing the story of how Dom asked me to marry him thanks to @stephanieweinert and #fridayintroductionsourlovestory. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I never want to forget the details of this day. It was a day of God’s providence, and of answered prayers. Dom proposed to me right before the tabernacle, in my favorite church in the world — Seton Hall University’s Chapel of the Immaculate Conception. Dom didn’t know this, but this is the place I had prayed for our relationship every single day since my very first day on campus as a freshman. I knew Dom proposing to me in this exact spot was God’s way of showing me that this was His will, and that He was answering those prayers in a very tangible way. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ There were several other things that pointed to God’s providence on this day. The first was the priest’s homily at mass — where he compared the beautiful facets of a diamond to the community of believers in the Catholic Church. I don’t know about you, but this is the ONLY time we’d ever heard a homily about a diamond! Little did I know Dominic had a diamond hidden in his pocket. Also, it was the Feast of Sts Peter & Paul. This was my grandfather’s feast day (his name was Pedro) — and he was the only grandparent who didn’t get the opportunity to know Dom and I as a couple because he had passed away years earlier. Additionally, the weekend before I had attended mass at the Church of Sts Peter and Paul in San Fransisco while on a trip to California with my cousins — this just so happened to be the day Dom asked my dad for permission to marry me. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Looking back, it’s easy for me to see God had every detail worked out for us long ago. In remembering these little details, I’m reminded of God’s goodness and of His power. I’m reminded to trust in Him, and to remember that He answers our prayers in His time, and according to His will. If I could go back in time to my freshmen year of college, where I anxiously prayed for my high school relationship to survive college years and long distance, I would say trust. Trust in the power of prayer, and trust in God’s will, because His plan for you is better than anything you can imagine.

It wouldn’t be real life if our new to us vintage dresser to go with our antique mirror (TG for grandparents and their cool stuff 🙌🏼) wasn’t accompanied by a thermometer, baby Tylenol, and a box of tissues, right? And I guess it wouldn’t be my house without Mama Mary peeking in somewhere, always watching over us. ♥️

This little lady turned 8 months just after Valentine’s Day, and it’s just been the best 8 months ever. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Gianna Rose is as chubby and bald as ever, with two little teeth peeking through on the bottom. She loves to smile and is very chatty these days — making friends everywhere we go. She’s in a bit of a mama stage right now and I don’t mind it one bit (most of the time). 🥰 She hasn’t started crawling yet, but is workin’ hard on that pincer grasp (👌🏼) and loves feeding herself Cheerios and “big girl” food (aka whatever we’re eating). Bows don’t stay on her head very long anymore, and this one was ripped off about half a second after I snapped this photo.

“But as it is written: What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him, this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.” + 1 Corinthians 9-10

“Love is the most beautiful sentiment the Lord has put into the souls of men and women.” + St. Gianna Beretta Molla

“That’s sacrificial love.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ These are the words my mom’s friend spoke to her after hearing the story of Dom and I at our high school prom. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I’m telling you this as part two of @stephanieweinert’s February love story challenge. Join in on the fun! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It was spring of 2011, our senior year of high school. Dom and I had recently begun dating — he asked me to be his girlfriend at Gronsky’s Milk House. He decorated my car and asked me to the prom. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I was so excited. But, there was one thing holding me back from total bliss. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ After prom, everyone had plans to go down the shore for the weekend and what felt like my entire high school was staying in some sleazy motel in Seaside, NJ. Of course, my parents were not allowing me to go (s/o to my parents for *ruining* my life, rather *saving* my poor soul). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Anyways, Dom had grudgingly agreed to go with his friends because he assumed I’d be there — this was totally not his thing. To be honest, it wasn’t really mine either, but I was plagued by major FOMO and just wanted to do what everyone else was doing. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Dom paid for the whole weekend, made plans to leave from the dance, everything was all set, and then he found out I wasn’t allowed to go. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ After speaking to his dad about it (God bless my father in law) who gently reminded him “don’t you want to drive your date home at the end of the night?” Dom made the decision to forgo the beach weekend altogether. He lost his money, infuriated some friends. All so that he could drive me home. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ After prom, when everyone else was on their way down the shore, we got McDonalds. That weekend, while our friends were partying, he took me on a date to a drive in movie and we sat outside under the stars. I didn’t realize at the time how this was all the working of God’s grace, or that this would only be the first of many counter-cultural decisions we’d make. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ But, just as my mom’s friend said, I realized that I had found a boy who knew how to love sacrificially — and because of that, I knew I wanted to marry him. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #fridayintroductionsourlovestory

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