Bryan and Beth Maiden

Craig and Loren Wright

Bruce and Nancy Lawrence

Tom and Becky Mason

Jeanie and Jim Patterson

Tom and Becky Mason

On a Friday night in November, 1974, I accompanied the Cave Spring High School Varsity cheerleaders to the final football game of the season in Lexington, Virginia.

When you are a single teacher it seems you are the perfect choice for the extra-curricular assignment of advisor to Varsity cheerleaders.

I welcomed the extra assignment because I had always loved attending sporting events and I believed the support and enthusiasm of teachers was important.

It was my second year of teaching and I believed all of my efforts would change the world. I wasn't planning on the change that was about to come my way.

As I sat in the bleachers making sure coats, gloves, purses, and cheerleading gear were safe and secure, I surveyed the crowd that had traveled from Roanoke to Lexington for the final game of the year.

At the top of the bleachers one of my Government students was seated with a group of girlfriends. Her foot was carefully propped up and protected. She had been absent from class for several days because of surgery on her foot, and I realized that in spite of the surgery she just couldn't miss the last football game of her Senior year.

During halftime I climbed to the top of the bleachers to see how she was doing and when she might be able to return to school. She introduced me to her older brother. He had been given the task of driving his sister and her friends to the football game. Their parents had to travel out of town so they asked him to provide the transportation since it was such an important game.

I returned to my seat and shortly after the start of the second half he came down to my area of the bleachers. Later he would say he thought my long hair was really pretty and that he was impressed with how easy it was for me to communicate with my students.

Later I would talk about how polite he was and how great it was to meet someone new and feel like the conversation was so easy.

He returned to the top of the bleachers and the end of the game came quickly. After making sure the cheerleaders had all of their possessions in hand, I began making my way to the school Pep bus.

My new acquaintance and I were leaving the stadium in opposite directions. I turned around to see if I could tell which way he was going. When I turned to look, he was doing exactly the same thing... looking back at me. We have always thought of that exchange as "love at first sight."

I knew I had met someone very special. He says he knew he had just met the girl he would marry. Seven months later the Cave Spring High School Class of 1975 graduated, "Miss Pierce" and Tommy Mason were married, and the little sister who introduced her brother to her Government teacher... earned an "A" in Government. For the record, her parents made her call me "Miss Pierce" until the day of her graduation!

Nancy and Bruce Lawrence

I'm Nancy Lawrence, the luckiest woman alive. At age 61 I am fortunate enough to be married to the man of my dreams.

On February 13 we will celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary. If we had 100 anniversaries, it wouldn't be enough.

Bruce and I met while attending group meetings about our problems in our prior marriages and how they weren't working.

We weren't supposed to talk outside of the group though the entire bunch of us gathered outside on the steps after each meeting to chat.

We didn't know each other's last name for a year and a half before we finally went for a cup of coffee.

The funniest part of our story is we got kicked out of the group!! What stories we could have told them. The rest is history.

My two grown children adore Bruce and he has a grown daughter of his own. He almost died from heart problems a couple of times and a stroke in 2004 has left him on oxygen 24/7 and a walker and cane, but I made him promise not to leave me and he has kept that promise. I would give him my own breath if I could.

We never knew each other before that group but we discovered our paths crossed many times throughout our lives through places we went and people we knew.

It took that one place, that one moment in time where God intervened and must have said "Now."

He is my heart and soul mate. We haven't actually gotten it from "The Man" Himself, but we call ourselves God's Poster Couple for Love.

I can't imagine what my life would be without my Bruce.

Jeanie and Jim Patterson

"He was my cream and I was his coffee and when you poured us together, it was something."

-- Josephine Baker

How could I possibly describe the most wonderful event that has ever happened in my life? It came about so quickly, that magical moment when I met my Prince! Yes, they do exist! He waltzed into my life, rescued me, loved me, respected me and nourished me and I will never be the same! For a long time I couldn't believe something so incredible could happen, but "Yes, Virginia," there is such a thing as a "REAL LIVE" prince! His name is Jim Patterson.

We had mutual friends and our girls had been on the same softball teams when they were very young. Years later, when we were both single, our paths crossed again. We met at a local coffee shop and shared our first of many cups of coffee together. We talked about our past failed relationships. We talked about our heartfelt desire to find true love and then it happened. We fell madly in love. We were inseparable from that moment on.

Between us we had seven children, so of course we were apprehensive about blending our families. You hear horror stories about this very thing. But another amazing thing happened ... we also fell in love with each other's children.

One year later we married and joined together our two families. Now we are sharing the excitement and joy of raising our five boys and two girls. Our children are wonderful, loving, smart kids. Jim and I feel we are truly blessed by God! We thank Him for this union every day.

Together Jim and I wanted to create something that would pull our blended family even closer, so "The Daily Grind" 419 was born and is our new addition. We offer coffee, sandwiches, desserts and an intimate setting where hopefully others will meet their Prince or Princess. I know it can happen, because it happened to us.

Craig and Loren Wright

I lived in Florida and worked in a photo lab with my good friend Bob. We were just friends, never romantically involved. Bob and I did a lot of fun stuff, went to Space Camp, Space Shuttle launches, skydiving, taking silly pictures.

Bob had a brother in Cleveland, Ohio, Craig, who he would send pictures to of us doing all of these crazy things. Craig wondered who this girl was, not one of Bob's typical friends. I knew of Craig but thought he was married.

One weekend Bob and I went up to Cleveland to meet Craig and go white water rafting on the Gauley River in West Virginia. We got off the plane and I thought, what a handsome guy, too bad he is married! We got to Craig's apartment and I discovered that Craig was single and that their older brother was the married one. Craig and I felt an attraction right away.

We went rafting and then to Cedar Point and flirted all weekend. One evening we went to the movie "When Harry Met Sally," turns out that was our "first date." By the end of the weekend we were madly in love and talked about getting married! I had to fly back to Florida, but we wrote to each other every day until I was able to move up to Cleveland. We got married nine months later in Florida, June 23, 1990. We have been married almost 18 years and have a beautiful 10-year-old son, Aidan. I know we will be together forever.

Bryan and Beth Maiden

For everyone looking for the truly romantic, love at first sight for Valentine's Day, there is no need to read any further.

Our story begins in just the opposite manner -- but has a truly great ending!

My husband, Bryan Maiden, and I met while out with friends in June 2002.

I had recently moved to Roanoke from Martinsville so needless to say I had heard my share of racing, redneck, hole-in-the-wall town comments and jokes.

My dear, darling husband was no different.

Always the comedian of the group, I know he thought he was being cute when he asked what kind of pickup truck I drove upon learning I was from Martinsville.

At the time, I was driving the sports car of my dreams and when I replied what I did drive, he was completely dumbfounded. To this day, that is the only time I have ever experienced that much silence from him.

As we later discovered, we lived in the same condo/townhouse complex and over the next five months, we would pass each other in the complex but I was determined to not waste my time talking to this egotistical person.

Well, call it a weak moment or better yet, a great twist of fate, we saw each other again in November 2002.

I guess I was feeling quite forgiving that night and decided to give him one more chance -- knowing if any more pickup truck jokes were uttered, I was finished!

Well, he must have been on his best behavior or truly realized how silly his comment of five months ago had been.

We started dating then and became engaged in March of 2005 and married in August of 2005 in an absolutely beautiful outdoor wedding.

I am so thankful that I let go of my stubbornness that night because he is truly the love of my life.

There is never a dull day as the humor is certainly still there, front and center. But I wouldn't have him any other way.

We are the perfect example of why you should give everyone at least one more chance.

To this day, I think he still remembers what that shoe leather tastes like and we both chuckle every time we tell the story!

We have an amazing life together and I find it difficult to express the deep love I feel for him.