An interview with Air Force veteran Dianna Hornes, third-time mom and our OB “Cover model” for this spring’s AroundAbout magazines. “I joined the Air Force after high school to get as far away from home as possible,” Dianna opens her story. “And they sent me from Phoenix to Las Vegas!” She laughs. “My friend and I joined at the same time. She wanted to be as close to home as possible – and they sent her to Guam! Go figure.” Dianna’s new baby Matthew is the first child of her second marriage to Dennis, a Woodstock policeman. As she already had two daughters from her first, we suspect that her journey from military through family life may not have been smooth. Q: So, first off, you’re married to a Woodstock policeman and fellow veteran, you have two little girls from your first marriage and now a newborn, Matthew. Would you mind just telling us a little bit about your story? I was born and raised in Phoenix, AZ. I am the oldest and have 4 sisters and 2 brothers. As I said, I joined the Air Force after high school to get as far away from home as possible… But the military experience was wonderful, in fact, one of the best experiences ever! I got to travel the world and see everything. I experienced life on a different level, and it made me more appreciative. From my first marriage I have Madison and Kayla … and now with Dennis I have little Matthew, as you know. Q: How did you meet Dennis? We are one of those Match.com success stories. It’s funny too, because I reached out to him first. After I divorced, I waited a year before I considered dating again. I had two daughters, Kayla and Madison, from my first marriage. At around a year, I created a Match.com profile. One day I was scrolling through all the profiles, specifically looking for matches who were interested in someone with kids. I came to Dennis’ profile, and his just happened to say “no”. But I was looking at pictures and I thought, “’He’s a good-looking dude, you know what, screw it. I’m just going to send the message.’” I’m very straightforward, and I believe you don’t need to sugar coat things or hide things from folks. So, I sent him a message saying, “Hey, you seem like a good-looking, nice guy. I have two daughters, I know you said you’re not interested in someone with kids, but if you change your mind, message me. If not, have a nice life.” And it took a couple of weeks, but he responded, and we went on our first date to Starbucks. Starbucks seemed like a safe bet in case things didn’t work out. Surprisingly, our first date was nine hours long. We met for coffee and stayed there for a few hours. Then we went to a restaurant, and we closed the restaurant down. After that, we drove home and continued to talk on the phone for like, 2 hours. We had a lot in common—he was in the Army, I was in the Air Force, and we connected and teased each other about which branch was better. The Air Force, of course! Q: What made you decide to marry Dennis? He makes me want to be a better person for me and for everybody else. I couldn’t believe people when they said they met their true love or that they were in love with their best friend. It just didn’t seem real to me. I suppose I was a bit jaded from my divorce. Then I met Dennis. He makes me laugh, he’s someone who appreciates me, loves me and makes me feel good, and I realized, this is how it’s supposed to feel. I’m very much in love with him. He’s my best friend. “I couldn’t believe people when they said they met their true love… It just didn’t seem real to me.” Q: Did you have any concerns about starting over or creating a blended family? Yes, I was very much against starting over and starting another family. My husband was also married before, but he didn’t have children with his ex. It took me dating him for 4 months before I introduced him to the girls. I didn’t want them to meet this random person, and I didn’t know how dating would be for me. When we first started dating, and the first few months after being married, I wasn’t sure if I wanted more children. He was okay with that. He loves them very much, and he is very much their parent. People find it hard to believe that they aren’t his biological girls. He’s a natural with them. Though, I could see how happy he was with being a father to the girls I knew he wanted to have a baby of his own. And that’s when I realized that when you love someone, their wants and needs become your wants and needs. I wrapped my head around that and am very much in love with him. I realized I wanted to have that connection with him forever, so that’s when we started trying to have a baby. I had a Mirena and decided, “it’s time we took this bad boy out.” When I told him that I was ready to start a family with him, the look on his face was just love and excitement and joy. And then when we were pregnant the first time it was, oh my gosh, it was the most amazing feeling in the world to have created a life with him. But the last two pregnancies (and miscarriages) were just horrible to go through. But they made us stronger as a couple, and we also appreciate every moment that we have with Matthew. I want my husband to experience every little moment with his son and have all the input he wants on what we do day-to-day.