I (Mari) was the first one to see Ben during a church youth trip to Disneyland in 2009. I was so infatuated by him I decided to befriend a friend of his. This mutual friend eventually set up a swimming date that allowed us to talk and get to know each other. After that day, we saw each other regularly. We would spend hours and hours talking and building a unique friendship. I would meet him under the stars at our favorite park  and talk endlessly. Every time I saw him I would hug him for the first 20 minutes and would release the weight of the world. We always talked about the comfort we would feel being around each other. We created such a strong bond during this time that for 9 years we never lost touch. We would see each other when we could and make the effort to stay up-to-date even when distance separated us. In late 2017, we started seeing each other regularly again, but this time it was different. The way we talked we knew that there was strange feeling that our friendship was beginning to blossom into a partnership. Soon after we started dating. He met Sophia after a year and for the first time, my family felt complete.