The Watkinez Story

Last Friday,  Patrick and I official announced online that we were married.  The surprising part of it?  We’ve actually been married for seven months already!

It’s funny how much Facebook is a part of these types of announcements, but it has become the norm.  Social media is a big part of everyone’s lives, whether we’d like to admit it or not.  Engagements, baby announcements, milestones, birthdays are posted on Facebook, Twitter, etc.  For many, like myself, this is how people can stay connected, even with the 40+ hour jobs. 

We had decided to keep the union secret for so long, mainly because Patrick and I still worked together.  Now that Patrick is off to bigger and better things with his new career path, we felt comfortable to let everyone know.  Not only are we married, but Patrick has adopted my son, Brody!  We are now the Watkins family!

Okay, so that’s a lot to take in, right?  Trust us, we know.  So in a nutshell, this is the timeline of what our little family has gone through during the past three years.  It is in terms of Brody's birthdays, because after all, everything is for him.

It didn’t take long for Brody to adore Patrick.  Patrick became a father figure within the first year of us dating.  

On Thanksgiving 2013, Patrick proposed to me when we were visiting Patrick family in Seascape, CA.  On December 31, 2013, we were married in Norwalk, CA.  Good thing, we chose New Years’ Eve – Patrick will never forget our anniversary! Here we are with my wonderful parents. 

We opted out of an actual wedding, and put the money into Patrick legally adopting Brody.  The adoption process took five months, but thankfully we have one of the best lawyers in the field.  Here are the boys, outside of the courtroom, waiting for our final day in front of the judge.  In May 2013, Brody officially became a Watkins.  (If you are thinking of adoption, feel free to email me with any questions about our story).

So there you have it!  The Watkinez family secret is out!  We want to thank all of our friends who were so completely understanding of our need to be discreet.  We also owe a HUGE thanks to our family and our select few friends who knew the situation and kept their mouths wonderfully shut the whole seven months!  We know how hard that is.  I mean, that’s like Game of Thrones fan status right there (pardon the geekdom).  We love you all!