‘I literally fell in love with him all over again’

“We’re a combined family. He has seven kids from his previous marriage and I have two. I also have custody of my two grandkids, so together we have 11. Eight of them live at home.

“After being off almost a whole year, we’re both blessed to be working now. I mean, we’re still struggling. Because of 2020, I think lots of people are going to be struggling for a while. We’re slowly creeping back up to the surface. Right now, we’re trying to hang on to our home.

“Like everyone else, we had some issues during the winter storm. We were without power for two days. So we lit a bonfire in our firepit, and the neighbors came over. We sat outside around the fire and talked. We lit candles. The kids played hide and seek in the dark. Our fireplace has gas, so that really helped. We turned it on, and all the kids slept in the living room to stay warm.

“We were without water for five days. So we were going to our neighbor’s house to shower, and we were using her pool to flush the toilets. She lives by herself, and she didn’t know how to light her fireplace. So we did that for her, and we helped flush her toilets and stuff. We were going back and forth a lot, helping each other. Our neighborhood is pretty great that way.

“My husband, Michael, isn’t a plumber, but he’s pretty handy. I always pick at him because it seems like he hoards stuff in the garage. But it actually came in handy this time. He was able to help out several people in our community with their plumbing issues, including a neighbor who’s a veteran. Seeing him come home from work at 6 p.m., suiting up and helping people without his hand out asking for something in return, I literally fell in love with him all over again.”

— Shannon Moore

Shannon and Michael got married on Nov. 16, 2019. They have yet to take their honeymoon cruise, which has been canceled three times due to the pandemic.