The Beginning

Evan Ryan and Jacob Ryan Lipinski. Two names that have changed my world forever. But before I go into who exactly they are, let me tell you how I met them....

On November 17, 2010, I was in a hotel room in Phoenix, Arizona. It was my birthday and my Mom had taken me to Phoenix as a present and because she had to go for her job. I was bored and decided to get onto Zoosk.com. I had broken up with my fiancee that past July and had a few hopefuls try to win me over but with no success. I just needed someone to talk to. I found a couple guys, but after only a few minutes one realizes that you have to pay Zoosk for anything other than a wink. Then, I found Jake. I winked at him, and he winked at me, so I read his profile and I saw that he was a single father that had sole custody of his 3-year-old son. That was the hook, line, and sinker for me. Since we couldn't talk anymore unless we paid,  I decided that maybe it just wasn't meant to be and I just kept looking. After about an hour or two at the poolside (while my fellow North Plattians were freezing their tails off in a blizzard) I decided to call it quits and I didn't get back on until the next week when I went to Texas to see my family for Thanksgiving. Even though I kept looking for someone, I always ended up back on that profile of that single father. I decided that I would try Plentyoffish.com and thought that maybe there could be a crazy coincidence that he was on that site too. I looked and looked and finally, I found him!!

We talked all night long, and I know it sounds silly, but I knew that he was the one that night. I had never had that kind of conversation with a guy before and I knew in my heart that I had to make him mine, but at the same time, I knew he already was. On Thanksgiving day, I gave him my phone number and we texted all day, and everyday until I came home that Sunday. I invited him up to Sutherland to stay with me that night, even though it was completely crazy and could be considered reckless. When he got out of his car, he walked up to me, and I wrapped my arms around him. I knew then that I loved him and that we would be together forever. I know now that "love at first sight" happens, because it happened to me.  Little did I know, it would happen again.

I was nervous to meet his son, and I had complete justification in so. Evan was 3 years old and at that age, they can decide (and verbalize) who they don't like. When Jake opened his parent's front door and that bouncy little boy came up the stairs, I fell in love. His beautiful brown hair, deep brown eyes, and his father's smile had me hooked. Then, all my insecurities were wiped out when Evan had a long conversation with me, wanted me to see his toys, and gave me a hug. When Jake told me the story of Evan's birth-mother, my heart broke. Now that I think back, I know that that is the reason why I took to the "mother" role so quickly.

I moved from Sutherland to North Platte in February, 2011, and I knew on the day that I moved, that I wanted Jake and Evan to come live with me and be my new family. We decided to wait until we had been together a little longer and until Jake had been full time on the railroad for a while. Then, we finally decided that they would move in on September 30th, which makes me jump for joy!! Evan has recently started calling me "Mom" and we have asked him why and he says (in his own words), "Because you and Daddy a get married, and you be my Mom." I have explained that it is alright if he calls me Mom, but I will never ask him to or pressure him to keep doing it. I am not going to lie, it makes me more than elated that he wants to do it, however, I feel like there are going to be some problems in the future with his biological Mom. In all honesty, I have spent more time with Evan in the past 10 months than she has spent with him in his whole life. I love him as if he were my own, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life being his Mom and Jake's wife (someday).