This is my partner, Andrew Havens. 🩵

Andrew is 21. He is the dad of Hazel and James, the dad of our daughter Billie, and Willow’s stepdad. He is incredibly involved with all four kids, and watching him be a dad is one of the things I love most about him.

During the day, Andrew does landscaping, and at night he is taking classes to become an electrician. He works hard and is always trying to build something better for our family.

He is also a huge nerd. 😂 His favorite color is red, he loves Star Wars, and if you ask him anything about lightsabers, you better be prepared because somehow he knows everything.

But if there’s one thing that really won me over, it was watching him be a dad. That man would do anything for his kids. Before I ever knew what our life together would become, I saw the way he loved Hazel and James, and that meant a lot to me.

I met Andrew in August of 2023 when he started working at Dairy Queen with me. He had originally lived up around the Chillicothe area, but after his previous relationship ended, he moved down this way and started working with us.

We didn’t get together right away. We officially started dating on November 6, 2023, but once we did, things moved pretty quickly.

During the weeks when he didn’t have Hazel and James, he would basically stay with me, and before long, having him around just felt normal. Now it has been almost three years, and somehow we’ve built an entire life together.

We’re not married yet, and there are a few reasons for that. I have a pretty specific idea of the ring and dress I want, and financially, we just aren’t there yet. I also honestly don’t know exactly how I feel about marriage itself.

But that doesn’t mean we haven’t already promised each other forever. We wear rings now, and to us, they represent that commitment. We’ve already chosen each other and built a life together. Marriage would just make it legal on paper. 🩵

Our family has grown a lot since those first few months. Andrew is Hazel and James’ dad. He’s Billie’s dad. And he’s Willow’s stepdad.

Our family isn’t perfect. Blended families come with their own challenges, and we’ve had plenty of moments where we’ve had to figure things out as we go. But that’s our life. Four kids, two parents, a whole lot of schedules, chaos, laughter, work, school, and figuring it out as we go.

And somewhere in the middle of all of that is Andrew, probably talking about Star Wars. 🩵