Our forever started with a dial-up connection. In October 1999, my family got the internet, and on day two, I (ladychick1999) met derek_guy15 on Yahoo! Chat. I was 14 in Arkansas; he was 15 in Illinois. It was an instant connection. Six months later, life took a wild turn when my family relocated an hour from Derek. We spent every weekend of high school together, tackled college, waited tables as a team, and got married. What started as a dial-up connection turned into a lifetime of love.

One favorite memory is when we mastered Sunday dinner the hard way. As broke college kids, we were driving home from church when Derek asked what was for dinner. I suggested cereal. He sweetly let me know his mom always cooked a full Sunday meal. Bold move! We survived the laugh, agreed cereal wasn’t dinner, and started a weekly tradition. Ever since, we've team up to make amazing Sunday dinners, from my signature pot roast stroganoff to his incredible Sunday Sauce over pasta.

We would split $20,000 between saving, serving, and creating memories. We would tuck half into savings for a rainy day. With the other half, we’d involve our four precious children (ages 6–13) in giving back, letting them help choose a local cause to support with a donation and our volunteer time. After saving and serving, we’d fund a family vacation to step away from the daily hustle, teaching our children the invaluable worth of rest, presence, and intentional time together.