Just eloped, Andy and Daena!
It all started when New Zealand college student Andy Moore began interning on this blog – could it be only 2 short years ago?!
Andy, in turn, was instrumental in getting Bryan Kemper and I (and hubby Rich) over to NZ to speak this past January – could it be only 6 short months ago?!
I became quite fond of Andy while in NZ and suggested he connect with our daughter, Daena.
Connect they did, and the two hit it off as famously as possible on Facebook chat and Skype, so much so that Andy got a holiday Visa to visit the US and meet Daena in April (pictured at that time, left) – could it be only 3 short months ago?!
Andy and Daena found they were peas in a pod, having compatible personalities, interests, values, and, most importantly, a shared faith in God. So they got engaged – while on an airplane flying from Dallas to Chicago for the 4th of July weekend – could it be only 2 short weeks ago?
Then, as the day drew nearer for Andy to leave on July 16, because his holiday Visa was expiring, the two found that between all the US and NZ paperwork it would be a minimum of 8 months before Andy could return, and also very expensive. It was at that point – last week! – Andy and Daena decided they didn’t want to wait to begin their life together.
And so the two eloped on Friday, July 15, coincidentally the very day my own parents eloped 57 years ago!
Because he’s now married, Andy does not have to leave the US Daena.
Andy and Daena plan to have a ceremony for their families and friends, which her brother Tim, a youth pastor, will officiate, probably in Chicago in November.
We are all so very happy for Andy and Daena. We think the world of Andy.
And it turns out I’m a pretty good pro-life matchmaker!

Beautiful!! Congratulations!!
Congratulations to the two of you. A pro-life match made in Heaven.
Congratulations! What a beautiful story, praying for them and all that is to come from their marriage!
* LOVE * :)
Congratulations to the beautiful bride and groom!!! What a wonderful love story!
Oh..wow…what a story! They look SO happy together!
CONGRATULATIONS Andy and Daena! May you have MANY happy years together!
Sorry for so many exclamation points. I’m caught off-guard by the news, but I’m so excited for them! :D
Thanks, all! And Pamela, I used way many more exclamation points in this post than I ever have!
How cute are they?! Blessings to them
Just shows the cream rises to the top — and meets up with the other cream. (some dairyland talk)
well thanks for sharing. that is so much better than my safety concerns. May they be blessed with many children.
Congratulations!
Congratulations to Daena and Andy! Will Andy become a Texan now?
congrats!
Wow! Congratulations Andy & Daena! May God richly bless you!
I love it when young pro-lifers get married!! Congrats, you two! May the Lord bless your marriage and use you for His kingdom. :)
This will be a great story to tell their children and grandchildren! I hope that “Court Clerk” wedding photo is framed somewhere in their home.
By the way, my parents eloped. My grandfather snapped a candid photo of them hugging just as they left the Justice of the Peace. It’s a very beautiful, sincere photo.
Congratulations and much happiness to this lovely pair!
Congratulations! What a fun story for the grandkids :)
Congratulations Daena and Andy! July 15 is my anniversary, too! :)
congratulations!! May the Lord richly bless both of you and your families.
Congratulations, what a lovely story. May their love bring them joy.
Congratulations! They’re a lovely couple!
Congratulations! Wishing them a lifetime of love and happiness! Blessings to them and all your family, Jill!
yahoo! [redneck for haleleujah!]
Blessings, mazal tov, yo te bendiga y Dios te bendiga.
So cute!
Real happy for these two awesome people :D
Ha! Good luck, you two.
congratulations! Much love and graces from our Lord for their marriage. Equally yoked, young and in love! lovely! Many blessings, now and forever!
Congratulations.. happy news :)
I love the thumbs up! Congrats Beautiful Newlyweds!
Congrats to your daughter and Andy!!! They sure will be a great pro-life couple!!!
God’s blessings and congratulations to the happy couple!!! May they have many happy years and beautiful babies! It’s grand to be pro-life!!!
Jill,
I guess this would make you…a Yente? In the best possible way, I mean. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Hj76p38f8
I can’t access that youtube video. In case no one else can, it was the “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” scene from the film “Fiddler On the Roof”. The character “Yentl” that is mentioned (the Matchmaker) was played by Bea Arthur.
Mazel tov! (As my Scandinavian forebears would no doubt say. :) )
Thanks for sharing this wonderfull love story. We are very happy for Daena and Andy. Congratulations to them. God bless them forever.