After spending the day hanging out as we shot the cover for this issue, our Editor in Chief had a quick Q&A with our cover couple, Kevin J. Walker, a pediatric proton radiation therapist, and Denisse Ortiz-Walker, a plastic surgery nurse.
Photos by Mary Fehr
Beauty by Sydney-Williams King
“I SUSTAIN MYSELF WITH THE LOVE OF FAMILY"- MAYA ANGELOU
HOW LONG HAVE YOU TWO BEEN MARRIED? HOW DID Y’ALL MEET?
We have been married for 6 years. Our meeting was only due to [Kevin’s] persistence and determination. After begging a mutual friend numerous times to get me a shot with Denisse, she finally connected us. After our first meeting I knew she was the woman I had been praying for.
WHAT DO YOU DO TO KEEP YOUR MARRIAGE STRONG WITH SMALL KIDS?
The majority of our time is spent with our kids, so we make it a priority to keep date nights a regular occurrence so that we can have our adult time as well. We also have our kids on a set sleeping schedule during the week so that mommy and daddy have at least two or three hours to ourselves after the kids are asleep. Kids need lots of love and nurturing, and the same goes for a marriage.
DO YOU HAVE RHYTHMS AND/OR RITUALS WITH YOUR FAMILY?
Yes! We do have rituals. We do our annual beach trip for my sum-mer birthday baby; we put up the Christmas tree together; we lay together every night and read a book before bedtime.
WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT HAVING A FAMILY THAN YOU EXPECTED?
The thing about having a family that’s different than I expected was that now I have little people that look up to and learn from us. Our jobs as parents is to lead by example; we just want to raise happy, healthy, and well-adjusted kids.
WHAT DO YOU WISH SOMEONE WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU?
I wish that someone would have told me that everything is not going to be perfect in a marriage, that it’s OK to agree to disagree! But at the end of the day you guys area team and must love each other even though sometimes you feel like strangling them. :)
