For the second time in a week, congratulations!
Michael Bates | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 2:55 am | #

*Sniff* I love a happy beginning.
Nora | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 3:58 am | #

This Easter season seems to be a time of great reaping for you. Thank you for sharing your joy with us.
Thomas C. | 04.07.05 - 4:20 am | #

Wow - that is so wonderful.

I know completely what you are saying. I too have had a romantic "past" that left me wondering what love was and even if I deserved it. Would I ever be able to heal and accept true love, the kind of love God intended for us?

I have discovered that not only is it possible for me to feel this love but as a result of his love I have been able to become something of the person I was pre-"past".

My most sincere congratulations! Enjoy!

Bec
Bec | 04.07.05 - 5:02 am | #

Dawn,

Thanks for sharing this with the world. People need to see what people committed to the Lord can truly find. Just one word of warning: As you grow closer, the cracks in our own personalities become even more apparent. Even things you didn't know were there. The joy, however, is that "love covers a multitude of sins." Get ready to experience even more grace.

From one married 16 years and it's getting better every day.
Steven | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 6:47 am | #

That's really fantastic, Dawn! Congratulations!

The joy you share is evident in your pictures together.

I thought I was just "reading in" too much, but I'm thrilled to learn otherwise!!

Best hopes for both of you!!!
P.R. | 04.07.05 - 7:19 am | #

Dawn, I agree with P.R. - there's something there in the pictures of you two together. Thanks for sharing so I can live vicariously through you ;-)

Again - when's the book coming out. You have a story to tell. Kind of a sensible/moral "sex and the city" for real women.
Cathy | 04.07.05 - 7:24 am | #

Yay! (I suspected from the pictures... it shows.) I'm happy for you two.
Jenne | 04.07.05 - 7:34 am | #

:) What a great story. Have muchly enjoyed your family's filling in for you, and visited Joel's site as well- he's a master of wit and words- I can only come up with one- WOW!!!
Faith | 04.07.05 - 8:35 am | #

Rejoicing with you! :)
Valerie (Kyriosity) | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 9:00 am | #

Oh my gosh, I can't stop crying. All my best wishes.
Emily | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 9:01 am | #

I, too, thought that I saw something in the pictures...I'm glad I was right. Congratulations! :-D
susan b. | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 9:15 am | #

Dawn,

What happy news! And so eloquently put. Thank you for sharing those moving insights of the heart.

It's amazing to see how a transforming love can make an already-quite-lovely person even more so.

All the best to you and Joel.
Suzanne | 04.07.05 - 9:40 am | #

I am very happy to hear this news.Congratulations to both of you.
Paul | 04.07.05 - 9:41 am | #

Mazel Tov! ;)
Phil | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 9:42 am | #

Thank you, St. Anthony.
MaureenM | 04.07.05 - 10:11 am | #

When I saw the "dawnjoel040205.jpg" picture you posted the other day, I thought "he loves her". (But you looked nervous). When I saw the "joeldawn040405.jpg" picture, I thought "she's beginning to believe it".
Joseph | 04.07.05 - 10:37 am | #

The smile on his face these days is irrepressible! (Kind of like yours in that second picture!)

It always bolsters my courage to see a good man find a good woman.
k_sra | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 10:58 am | #

See - there is some good in "Sex And the City." ;)
CL | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 11:01 am | #

Yeah, Dawn, you two crazy kids have a lot of people cheering you on. Joel has never made more sense to me than he does with you- I mean every crazy little detail of his personality belongs and is needed and wanted and fits. Craziness. I know it's complicated to put a relationship together, so no pressure as you guys hit the tough stuff at times. But I believe in the two of you together and if it helps, you've got my absolute support from now on.
honest + popular | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 11:09 am | #

Somebody already beat me to this...but I haven't seen a smile like that on you in...well for as long I've been reading you.
My prayers are with you two that God bless you as a couple
J Rob | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 11:14 am | #

What a thick head I have. I could probably read hundreds of pages into Pride and Prejudice and never realize there was anything between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy.
Ed Jordan | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 12:03 pm | #

Remember kids - you must resist the temptation to blog together unless and until you get married. And under no circumstances should your blogs move in together . . .

Seriously, though, your last Central Park picture was what's known as a "telegraphed punch". Congratulations and God's blessings to both of you.
DeeBee | 04.07.05 - 12:17 pm | #

Congrats, Dawn!!! You're one of a few single female bloggers I've been reading, and it seems like all of them are finding love here recently. It's a happy coincidence, and I'm happy for you! God bless you and Joel and your growing relationship... :D
songstress7 | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 12:23 pm | #

That's good hearing, Dawn. I'm very happy for youse guys! (And "Dawn and Joel Patrol" even sounds fit.)

TWO carriage rides. That was an omen! =D
Nightfly | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 1:15 pm | #

Congrats!

I believe that Love, the kind that leads to marriage, conjugal love, is a gift from God that enables us to see, as through a glass dimly, the beloved as God sees them - not masked, and not mired in their faults, but completely, wholly, including all they are meant to be and could be as well as what is and was. And once you see another person like this, you naturally try to love them as God loves them, or at least with a little bit of that Love.

So, from that perspective - you are not changing in response to some image that Joel has of you, but you are changing in response to the truth about you that Joel has from God - that you are meant to be (and are already) better, kinder, more generous, etc. than you believe you are.

Anyway, congrats and I hope it all works out for both of you - a holy, God-inspired love is the best thing in this life!

(and considering the Holy Father's contributions to our understanding of marriage and love and the theology of the body, falling in love this week is a very fitting tribute)
Kate | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 1:20 pm | #

Yep, I knew it when I saw those pictures yesterday. May God Bless you both.
Amanda Witt | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 1:21 pm | #

Hmm. I guess he really was a Petite Powerhouse P'-P'-bili.
(Honest, Dawn, it's hilarious with my Chico Marx impression)
Robert N.G. | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 1:53 pm | #

Last time I recall anyone walking on the water was in Matthew 14.

But you know, there's a lot to be said for walking on air. :)
CGHill | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 3:09 pm | #

Love is a choice and a choice worth making. You may not have to remember this now, but later you might. Congratulations on your choice.
John J. Simmins | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 3:10 pm | #

Congratulations, Dawn, I'm happy for you! :)
Hannah | 04.07.05 - 3:16 pm | #

Joyful! Joyful! Lord, we adore Thee, God of Glory, Lord of Love! Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee opening to the sun above!

I'm so happy for you Dawn, and will keep both you and Joel in prayer. May His Holy Will be done.

I heard once that not a single couple that Fr. Karol Wojtyla helped prepare for marriage has ever divorced. I can't testify that this is fact, but keep his Theology of the Body close!

May God continue to bless you!
Chris | 04.07.05 - 3:19 pm | #

Just a reminder to you folks to set up your friends. If you meet someone single who might like someone else you know who is single, mention them. Sometimes it takes a long time to find the right person, as Dawn shows. The kindest thing you can do is keep eyes peeled!!!!!!!!!!!
HL | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 3:40 pm | #

Keep the Lord Number One in your lives!
Jimmeh | 04.07.05 - 4:20 pm | #

glad it wasn't my one track mind that made me suspect that something romantic was going on in that picture.
Camila | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 4:56 pm | #

like so many other of your readers, i, too, thought i saw it in the pictures and suspected i might be conjuring-up something that wasn't there, only what i was hoping for you that it might be there

congrats from the corn and soy-bean fields of indiana

zippidie doo dah, zippidee yay;
my oh my what a beautiful day!
uncle jim | 04.07.05 - 4:58 pm | #

I just figured it out: It was going blonde that did it! Now where'd I put that peroxide bottle....
Violet (Kyriosity) | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 5:13 pm | #

Violet - pass the bottle when you're done. =D -NF
Nightfly | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 5:18 pm | #

Don't use it all up - I'm 39 and single. Need to go blond before all the grey takes over.
Cathy | 04.07.05 - 5:55 pm | #

You're a sweetie; no wonder he fell for you. Much happiness to you both.
Dan Paden | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 6:29 pm | #

Congrats!

Two are better than one, because they have good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Where a lone man may be overcome, two together can resist. A three-ply cord is not easily broken. Ecclesiastes
Mary | 04.07.05 - 6:29 pm | #

(Sorry...Valerie, not Violet...inside joke left over from a comment elsewhere.)
Valerie (Kyriosity) | Homepage | 04.07.05 - 7:25 pm | #

I can't improve on what has already been said here but I want to chime in to say that now I am very happy. I am also, selfishly, very glad I visited his blog, which I enjoyed immensely.
He has a dynamite smile! I, too, thought those pictures said more than words. But I thought they said "having a great time, wish you were here". :)
Colleen | 04.07.05 - 7:38 pm | #

Luckee!!
Napoleon Dynamite | 04.07.05 - 10:58 pm | #

In "Emma", Mr. Knightley describes her as "fautless in spite of all her faults."

This echoes Congreve's "The Way of The World": "I like her with all her faults; nay, I like her for all her faults. Her follies are so natural, or so artful, that they become her; and those affections which in another woman would be odious, serve to make her more agreeable."

Congratulations! God bless you both!
expat | 04.08.05 - 3:50 am | #

Knowing God's love for you awakens and refreshes you in regards to what constitutes True Love. We are not defined by a more succinct and transforming experience than this.

To know how God actually feels about you elicits joy and hope in the inner man. The Lord is good, oh so good! And His mercy endures forever...
GregB | Homepage | 04.08.05 - 10:11 am | #

Way to go, kiddo!
Eric | Homepage | 04.08.05 - 5:48 pm | #

Congratulations, and welcome. I look forward to a beautiful future and, I hope, friendship.
Lydia | 04.09.05 - 1:27 am | #

Thanks so much, Lydia, and everyone else too--really appreciate the good wishes.
Dawn Eden | Homepage | 04.09.05 - 2:29 am | #

Just read this today and now I'm smiling for you! :)

Nothing like a hearing about good romance to make for a happy Saturday!
Sarah | Homepage | 04.09.05 - 7:44 am | #

True love really is when the other loves the stuff in you that you can't love. Love is not like. Sometimes I can't stand my husband (or my kids for that matter). But I always love him (and them). I want what is best for them, I want them to enter the kingdom of heaven. This was a great thing to read just before heading off to speak on NFP to a marriage prep course!
alicia | Homepage | 04.09.05 - 8:48 am | #

So happy for you! I had a premonition when you mention that Joel was visiting, but WOW! anyway! All the best!
James P. Wood | 04.10.05 - 10:45 pm | #

Just a thought.......and a question.

You two still together?
jess | 06.29.05 - 9:17 pm | #