There's a lot of debate over how long Matt & Stacy have been together. Well, we're going to put that to rest right here and now!

Matt met Stacy in February of 2004 when he came home from work to find her in his kitchen. (She was friends with his roommate.) A few nights later, Matt was in his room getting ready to go out with some friends, and when he came downstairs, he found a group of people he didn't know too well who had gathered to watch "Survivor" and make brownies. Stacy was one of them. On his way out the door, he overheard the group talking about the fact that they had no eggs for the brownies. As he was driving to meet his friends, he couldn't stop thinking about the very attractive girl he'd left behind in his home. So, he called his friends and cancelled, abruptly turned his car around, stopped by his parent's house to get eggs and headed back to make some brownies and hang out with Stacy! The rest, as they say, is history. (But, you know... more complicated.)

Over the years, Matt and Stacy learned a lot. They may have broken up a few times and fallen into a (too) comfortable routine for a while. Yet, somehow, they never gave up on each other. (Even when putting up with a lot of crap from a lot of people!) They experienced life together and learned about each other and themselves. They grew up together. At times, Stacy was ready to take the next step, but Matt wasn't. At times, Matt was ready, but Stacy wasn't. (At times, they both weren't!) And then, they were.

After years of working together, serving together, traveling together and so much more, they were ready. Nobody expected the prologue of the story to be longer than some of the chapters that would come... but they've never been ones to do things in a conventional manner and neither of them have any regrets. They're positive they're exactly where they’re supposed to be.

Which brings us to...

In November of 2015, Matt made the decision to pop the question. Knowing that after 11 years, Stacy deserved a truly unique proposal, he worked hard to come up with something epic, yet personal. He spent weeks planning behind her back. He even tricked her into sharing her thoughts on engagement rings so that he could design the perfect ring for her. After weeks of planning (and telling many, many lies!), on December 20th, the day finally came. 

Matt had told Stacy that he wanted to start a new Christmas tradition that would be just theirs. Every year, on the Sunday before Christmas, they would go to Roger's Gardens in Newport Beach to walk around and take pictures. Then, they'd head home where Matt would cook a meal and they would open their Christmas presents together. Stacy loved the idea and (somehow) didn't even think it was weird when Matt was videoing the whole thing on his phone as they went. Little did she know, they'd never make it back for that dinner. (Which sounds a lot more ominous than it was meant to.)

The video below captures what happened that night.

On April 3, 2016, right before their wedding began, Matt & Stacy showed this video to their friends and family and revealed a little secret they (and about 30 others!) had been keeping.

After many years of waiting, Matt & Stacy finally had their big day on April 3rd, 2016. It was perfectly them! There were "Friends" references, Rogue was there, everyone played BINGO, Jeff Bachman was a Groomsman and officiated the best ceremony ever, the food was amazing, Debbie roasted Matt with her toast no one will soon forget, Alex Pavone was a Groomsman and took the best wedding photos ever and, most importantly, the happy couple celebrated surrounded by all their favorite people. 

Before the ceremony began, Matt and Stacy had some "pre-show" videos prepared to entertain their friends and family before the "main event" began. The first video featured a welcome from the Bride and Groom and also introduced everyone to the members of the wedding party! 

 This one featured Jeff Bachman (Groomsman/Officiant) quizzing Matt and Stacy separately on their relationship. (Directly after this video, the "Chapter Two" video was played revealing the Las Vegas wedding!)

You can also check out the events of the day in photos here! 

It's been almost a full year since the wedding, so Matt & Stacy thought it was time to give an update with a look back at their first year of marriage. They think you'll find it informative!

Nine months flew by and THE TWINS ARE HERE!!! Want to know their names??? Check out the video!

The twins are about to turn one and we’ve had a crazy year full of surprises! Making another video just made sense. Who knows? You might be surprised too!

New twins… new names! Get them here!

Three years, one house, and a pandemic later… we felt like we were overdue for a FinallyBarnes update!

For the final installment of our #FinallyBarnes series, we’ve got the last member of our family to introduce you to. He’s amazing and we can’t wait for you to meet him!

Thank you for coming on this crazy journey with us! While the #FinallyBarnes journey to building our family is over, there will be much more to come from this pack of craziness! Follow us over at @thatbarnesfam on Instagram for all the insanity!