T: We returned to California floating on a cloud of love, and things took an unfortunate and unexpected turn. My lungs crackled as I tried to take deep breaths, and my body started swelling. After multiple negative covid tests, blood tests showed a serious situation, which we learned was cardio myopathy (heart failure) caused by viral pneumonia. I was alone in a hospital bed with only a cell phone to keep me connected to my children, my family, and my darling love, Jessie. It was a scary and emotional experience for me and everyone close to me. I am happy to report that with a well crafted Rx regimen, strict diet, and a defibrillator vest as backup, my heart has recovered completely, and has never been more full of love. The support and uplifting sentiments from my close friends and family made a massive impact on my confidence toward recovery and I thank each and every one of you with the utmost sincerity.

J: I had never truly considered the mortality of anyone my own age. Tom told me I didn’t “have to go through this if it was too much” and I was immediately struck with how certain I was that I wanted to be the person who stood by his side in every moment. And all of a sudden, the timeline we had once created for introducing one another to our kids changed. I was Tom’s hospital contact. I was his forever. So we decided it was time to introduce the kids.

It all happened kind of organically. Tom mentioned he was dating someone, Stella was immediately interested in knowing more, Miles sang a musical number, we met and then hung out as many days in a row as possible. We hiked, we swam, the kids donned costumes and deep dove into their imaginations, they begged to see each other everyday and we didn’t mind.

T: We decided to take trip to Kauai! My kids had never been and I had still never met her parents. I was excited to meet them, introduce my kids, spend some time with everyone, and of course, I had other plans up my sleeve…

J: Tom planned a family photoshoot at my parents’ house… during which he got down on one knee and asked me to be his partner, love, best friend and soulmate forever. (As if there was any question!) I was in a bliss bubble. We spent the remainder of our trip helping manage the psychological shifts of our children and celebrating our new official status as almost married people. I have never been more in love and spending time melting into my soulmate’s eyes in a Kauai sunset was something I could never be more grateful for. We had an incredible trip and came back like two love birds ready to nest. We had been splitting time between Thousand Oaks and Ojai for almost a year and the distance was weighing on us. Sleepovers were happening regularly with Miles sleeping in Tom’s guest bed in Ojai and Stella & Charlie sleeping on the pull out couches in Thousand Oaks. We were starting to feel a little burnt out on that chaos. SO since we waste NO time, we started house shopping. (That felt safer than wedding planning during covid, anyway. But we’ll start that soon!) After a few months of light house shopping, we came across the piece of land where the Murphy/Rotter clan should forge our lives together. And with the help of our ANGELIC realtor, we somehow managed to sell my first home, buy our first home together and become the Brady Bunch.

T: That’s right. I found the stone that was made for Jessie’s hand right after we booked our flights to Kauai, booked a photographer for ‘family photos’, and exercised every muscle of restraint in my body to wait until we were there together to ask Jessica the most important question of my life. Although she didn’t technically say “yes”, I was satisfied with an “OF COURSE!” We had our entire guest list done by the time we landed back in LA, and started the next chapter of our adventure together. We’ve been in our new family home for a little over a month now, and we have already hosted Thanksgiving, a Hanukkah party, and will be hosting Christmas soon! Jess and I still look at each other in awe, elated to all be under the same roof, collaborating to create a cozy and inspiring space for us and our kiddos. It is the perfect place for us to love big, laugh together, make beautiful sounds, snuggle hard, and create long lasting memories.

T&J: Thank you for taking the time to let us catch you up on this year’s happenings, and more importantly, thank you for being a part of our lives!

We wish you a wonderful holiday season, and a Happy New Year!