Love, In Kristi's Words

In the summer of 2009, my father told me about a man in Canada who was single.

Canada!? "No thank you", I proceeded to tell him, "not something I want to dive into."

Several months later, my father encouraged me to join ReformedSingles.com. I love my Dad and so I took his advice and joined. I looked through several profiles, but nothing really caught my eye.

I did see a particular bald guy with the username "Paedoguy". But I saw that he was from Canada and didn't proceed to read his profile, being that he was so far away. Then, one day I decided to read it. As I read his profile I couldn't stop smiling and my interest grew. I called my dad and discussed Paedoguy's profile and as the conversation continued my Dad lovingly informed me that this was the same man he had told me about in the summertime. Again, my Dad encouraged me to e-mail him and see what the Lord would do with it. I wrote him a brief e-mail about myself, my present situation and YES I have seven children.

Eight days had passed and he had not written me back. I really wasn't worried or even disappointed. My thoughts were he probably was busy or not interested. Then I was supposed to leave for my parents' home in Virginia right after church. I had just given my children to their father for Christmas Vacation and I really didn't want to hang around town.

But God sent a large snowstorm to eastern Tennessee and Tri-State area where my parents live. I was advised not to travel until Monday morning. I was spending the night with my brother Marcus and his family. They were going to a Jamie Soles concert at our new church in Nashville. I really didn't want to go, since he sang childrens' songs and I didn't have my children.

But Marcus insisted that I go, so I went. We all sat together. Marcus informed me that the Soles were from Canada. I leaned over and jokingly said "I wonder if they know Tim?" YA!!!! God plans are so perfect.

When the concert was over we all stood in the foyer and fellowshipped. I was watching my niece and nephew when Valerie Soles came over and started talking to me. I asked her where they were from and she told me Canada.

Then I asked, "What part?"

She said "Alberta."

OH, I said with a question in my voice... "Grande Prairie?"

She said "Yes."

I then asked "Do you know Tim Gallant?"

She then said "Oh yes, he is my husband's best friend."

I was really cold that night, but as the conversation continued I was no longer freezing. Nerves are a very powerful thing!

I talked with Valerie and Jamie for a little while. I told them I had written Tim an e-mail on Reformed Singles but that he hadn't written back. Well, early next morning Jamie called Tim and let him know about my e-mail. I did leave that morning for Virginia, and when I arrived I checked to see if he had written. Indeed he had :)

Tim and I continued to write e-mails 3 or 4 times a week. And in January he began to call me once a week.

In April 2010, Tim came to Tennessee for a visit and for my birthday :) On our way home to Hartsville we stopped at Chili's for dinner. His plane didn't arrive until 8:30. That is quite late for me and even later to be eating dinner. Our time at Chili's was really fun. Tim is a very funny man. "Funny man" might be too ordinary of a description. He was hilarious and I enjoyed every minute.

The first couple of days he and I and the children spent time together, just getting to know each other. Tim and I didn't really have any alone time until Saturday. I was planning on taking him to a State Park but it rained all day, so we just stayed at my brother's home and talked. For Tim to talk to me and look me in the eye when talking was pure enjoyment. I knew that was the way a man and a woman were to speak to each other, but I had never experienced it. Tim said he will make up for what the Locust ate :) That was a great day!!!!!!!

The next day was Sunday and we all went to church. Tim preached and it was very, very, very, very good :) MMMMhMMMM :) I throughly enjoyed having a man sitting with us at church. And I so loved hearing Tim sing.

Later that night Marc, Jamie (his wife), Tim and I watched a movie. Tim and I were sitting on the couch and a few minutes later, we found ourselves holding hands, and I knew that the relationship had gone to the next step :)

On Monday, I had to take Tim to the airport :(

BUUUT before he left we looked through some of my scrapbooks. As time passed he sat closer and closer to me. I had fallen into his arms and into his heart. OH, that's what love is supposed to feel like!!!! We both knew we were home with each other. That, as new as our Love was, it was LOVE! Every inch of my heart was his. Such joy I was experiencing.

I soon took him to the airport.

But you know what? As he left for Grande Prairie, he took something with him that he didn't bring. My heart, Our Love!

Love, in Tim's Words

From childhood, it was my goal to be a husband and father. Obviously, it didn't happen in my youth, and a few years ago, I tried my hand at meeting ladies online.

But it was a frustrating process, and I ended up being quite on again, off again about it. I became increasingly sure that, while this method has worked well for others, it probably could not work for me.

Nonetheless, when I heard from friends about a new site called reformedsingles.com in mid-2009, I thought I'd give it a try.

After a few months, though, I was "off again" and hadn't been on the site in a few weeks.

Then, one morning just before Christmas, my friend Jamie Soles awakened me with a telephone call from Nashville. The previous night, following a concert, he met a young woman there who had tracked me down on reformedsingles.com. Given the fact that she was a mother of seven, he added: "I know the Lord would have to do a lot for this to work out, but I really think you ought to give this lady an opportunity." Given his conversations both with her and her brother, he indicated that he thought very highly of her.

I promptly signed onto reformedsingles.com while we were still on the phone, and sure enough, Kristi had written me. When I looked at her profile, I recognized it immediately. Some weeks before, I had seen it and was very drawn to her. But truth be told, I had felt a bit overwhelmed with the thought of those seven children. I have always loved children, but that seemed quite a challenge to start with.

But due to Jamie's prompting and something small working in my own heart, I felt like I shouldn't slam the door. I tried to respond in a cautious way, but Kristi and I began to email, and soon were talking on the phone for an hour or two every week.

Those months were not romantic ones. I never thought of us as "a couple," did not yet see our relationship as a "courtship," and did not rule out meeting someone else. Yet our conversations were bonding us together, and looking back it was a blessing to be able to get to know one another apart from the added dynamic of infatuation. And because Kristi is a stay-at-home Mom, we talked a lot about her life and therefore her children. I had always known that if I was going to love her, it would be for who she was, and that meant loving the children as well.

After a little while talking over the phone, I decided that a visit for a few days around Kristi's birthday in April was in order. Even as that day approached, I did not find myself in jitters and twitterpated.

And yet, all the groundwork had been laid for something far greater than I had anticipated. One concern I had had was whether Kristi could deal with my zaniness once she met me in person, but after I discovered that her brother Marc (whose family I stayed with while down there) was a regular Jim Carrey, I felt pretty reassured on that score. Indeed, very quickly I felt at home, whether I was with Kristi and the children, or with Marc and his family, or with Kristi's parents, who also came down for her birthday.

It took a couple days for me to recognize that I just needed to be myself; that in terms of personality, Kristi and I fit together wonderfully.

On my last night in Tennessee, as we watched a movie, we suddenly found ourselves holding hands. There had been no drama in the development of our relationship, even though on the surface it perhaps looked like it happened fast. The truth is that we had talked closely about everything big and everything mundane for several months, and a few days of feeling home with one another was sufficient to nurture genuine warmth.

That last night, I wrestled a bit. I had few expectations on the trip down, and had assumed that I would spend time down there, she would spend time up in Grande Prairie, and after that we would evaluate whether the relationship would develop further. But now I admitted to myself that we were well beyond that. I had found home, and I had found love, and I was ready to give myself to this woman and these children.

And so, the next morning when Kristi and I went to her place for her to prepare a final lunch, I said it plainly. It wasn't the gallant romantic approach I may have dreamed up, and there was no ring to place on her finger. (She got the ring when I went down on one knee in an A&W on her first visit to Grande Prairie.)

But I told her that when I was with her and her children, I felt like I was home, home with my family, and made it clear that this was what I wanted for our future. She eagerly responded in kind, and without fanfare we were engaged.

The warmth of our love has only grown in power since. Yes, I'll say it: I am far more attracted to Kristi now than the day we got engaged. And as we have continued to see our relationship deepen, I have been amazed by how well suited we are to one another. If I could have interviewed a thousand women, I could not have chosen better.

Reminder once again, that Someone Else is in control, Someone who is not only all-wise, but has demonstrated yet again that He loves me very much.