Christina & Bill's Story

Hi! My name is Christina Dorrin, I have a great story I think you would like to hear and I would like to share with everyone.

Three years ago when my mother had passed away a group of my friends and myself went to a local carnival. We had went on all the rides we could over and over again. One of the girls I was with was a local firefighter. Her company was helping with the carnival and selling raffle tickets. We went over to where all the firefighter's were and there stood Bill. We started talking and became friends. At that time I could not see myself with Bill, at that time he was only 18 and I was 20. After a couple months of being very close friends and being inseparable we finally decided to take our friendship to the next level. We knew from that point on we would be together forever and always have each others heart!

On Christmas night of 2009, Bill asked me to marry him in front of a group of our friends, at the Philadelphia Art Museum's river front. It was one of the happiest times of my life. After that we only had a few short weeks before Bill would be leaving for Boot camp with the United States Marines. We both wanted a wedding that everyone would always remember, but with myself having a 4 year old son at the time, we knew we would have to do something that would be more practical and not that much money.

After Bill left for boot camp in February 2010, I found out a week later that we were expecting our first child together, and whatever plans we had for a wedding would have to be pushed back for a couple years later. Bill was very happy to find out he would have a daughter and had always accepted my son as his own from the very beginning. Through the course of 2010 it was a very hard year for the both of us. Bill was only able to come home for 14 days throughout that entire year. He knew that was what to expect with the services he had agreed to become a Marine. We would not change anything about our time apart, because it had only made our love grow stronger towards each other and we welcomed our beautiful baby girl into the world and our family was finally complete with our son and daughter and family of our own.  Bill's family had also grown a lot throughout time with all of the brothers and sisters he had welcomed into his life with the Marines!!

While trying to decide when and if we should get married because of the cost and what we could afford with having to be able to provide everything for our children, we came across Operation Happily Ever After, thanks to a friend who had also introduced us to each other.  It is great to see the gift of giving to our military men and women who do not get enough thanks for their service to our country.  For Bill and myself this would be a fairytale come true, if we are the lucky couple that would have the opportunity of this once in a lifetime dream. Thank you so much for giving us this chance!!!