On December 24, 2003 Matthew and Andrea were planning to exchange Christmas stockings at Matt’s East Avenue apartment before going to the DeGroat’s to celebrate the holiday. As Andrea opened the door to the apartment she heard soft jazz music in the background and saw several candles lit around the living room. Matthew ushered her to sit down on the couch and insisted that she open her stocking last. Andrea handed him a “Spongebob Squarepants” stocking filled with typical stocking stuffer items (chocolates, chapstick, gum, etc.) Because he had other things on his mind, he quickly rummaged through it.

Matthew then directed Andrea to go on a scavenger hunt for her stocking and he would let her know if when she was “hot” or “cold”. She was a little confused and asked if she should be looking for a typical red Christmas stocking to which Matt replied, “Yes”.

After searching throughout the apartment, Andrea swung the kitchen door around to find that it was covered with photos of the two of them over the past year. Andrea absolutely loves photos, so she was really touched to see the door decorated in such a thoughtful way.

When Andrea recovered from that surprise, she noticed a red stocking hanging in the center of the door amongst the photos with a small white ribbon peeking out from the top. Matthew asked her to pull the ribbon out slowly. As she did, she found several tags attached with Hershey Kisses. The first tag read, “What you are to me...” The tags continued every few inches or so, with numerous attributes that Matthew has found in Andrea. She read them all, completely overwhelmed. “Kind, Funny, Beautiful, Considerate, Generous, Loving, Gorgeous, Sweet” etc.

Andrea reached the last tag on the ribbon that was attached with two Hershey Kisses, it read, “Wife?” She turned around to find Matthew on his knee. He confessed his love to her and asked for her hand in marriage as she collapsed on his shoulder in pure joy. She said, “Yes!” as he took out a beautiful emerald-cut diamond ring, designed especially for Andrea. To savor the moment, Matthew hugged her as they danced to one of their favorite love songs: “Still in Love with You” by Brian McKnight. The rest is history...