Chris & Sarah Chiaramonte
Chris Chiaramonte, real estate agent; Sarah Chiaramonte, stay-at-home mother
Homebase: Urbandale
How did your love story begin? Sarah: We met in early 2010 while attending a church small group. One night, there we discovered we had bought the same CD and needed to exchange the explicit lyrics version that I had bought with Chris’s “clean” version. I had four foster kids at the time and my 25-year-old self was trying hard to set a good example. We officially started dating in the fall of 2010.
Favorite thing about one another: Sarah: My favorite thing about Chris is his ability to truly see me. I feel so known by him and have always felt like I can be exactly as I am around him without any fear of judgment. I love that he is quick to say “I’m sorry,” “thank you” and “I forgive you.” He communicates well and always takes time to listen to me. I like how much he makes me laugh and love how his eyes light up when I laugh. And, I love listening to the giggles from my girls as he carries them up our stairs to bed each night. He is an incredible father.
Chris: Sarah really cares about the people around her, and that was something that drew me to her from the early years. It’s very evident at home with what she does for all of us and the way she loves us. Her innate sense of how to parent is something I strive for. Sometimes she can’t stop laughing about something and somehow it’s both annoying and also the best thing at the same time.
Favorite date night: Sarah: We have two little ones at home so any date we can get right now feels very special! I do enjoy a nice dinner with plenty of time to talk to each other.
Chris: We’ve had a lot of good dates over the years, but I love our dates these days because it’s great to talk to a person who isn’t asking me to look at the picture they just scribbled every five seconds (I do love our kids).
Favorite tradition you have as a couple: Sarah: There is this moment every morning when the kids have had their breakfast, and it’s just Chris and I at the kitchen table with our coffee. It’s sometimes just five short minutes to say hi to each other and talk about the day before the chaos comes back to the kitchen but I look forward to it every day.
Chris: Sarah said she thought one of my favorite traditions would be how she empties the gas tank in her van and leaves it for me to fill up every time. I would strongly disagree. But I do like how she listens and genuinely acts like she cares when I spew my fun facts or world news every morning over coffee while scrolling Twitter.
What does your happily ever after look like? Sarah: I hope we always drink our morning coffee and have dinner dates where we talk all night. I hope we continue to grow and strive to be better partners, better parents and better members of our community. I hope our home is always filled with joy and love and feels like a place people want to be. I want us to continue to prioritize caring for people outside the walls of our own home. I hope we continue to invest in the needs of our community, in whatever capacity we are able to do so.
Chris: I want to see our girls grow up strong and confident. To host them and their families as we get older and to be ever growing as people. I never want us to be the same as we were in any previous five-year period of time. I would love to travel eventually (Italy is high up there for us). I want to put my psychology minor to use at some point, but I don’t know what that looks like yet (I didn’t graduate college so it’s like a 5/7th’s minor). Sarah and I are similarly minded when it comes to wanting to do some good in the world, and if we manage to put some of that out as we grow old, it will be a good life.