5 years!

Technically, Jeremy and I have been "together" for 10 years. We met at the young, young age of 17. I never imagined my husband being a guy I met in high school (we didn't go to the same hs though)....from the same town....who shared mutual friends with me. I had never been in a real, serious relationship. I thought I had, but I certainly had not....

I wasn't actively looking for Mr. Right, but he sure did come along at the perfect time. We met at a bowling alley and later had our first conversation/flirting session over ice cream at Sonic. The next night, we went on our first date. We've been inseperable ever since. I knew when I first met Jeremy that he wasn't like other guys. He was/is the ultimate gentleman, doesn't tell dirty jokes, thinks I'm the most beautiful woman in the world (Lord, bless him), holds strong to his morals and values, and does his best to be a positive role model in the lives of his students and his own children.

From the moment I met him, I knew he was the one. I know, that's so cliche to say, but it's true. And if I didn't "know" I was going to marry him, I at least knew he was the type of guy I hoped to end up with someday. Luckily, I didn't have to wonder too long if that guy would actually be him.

We made it through senior year, went to the same college (him because of a full tuition scholarship; me because it was close to home and had a great education program - and yes, we wanted to experience college together, too), got engaged at 20, and then got married on June 18, 2005 at the age of 22.

Fast forward to now - 5 years later.

We never, ever imagined that the past 5 years would hold so much for our marriage. We've had ups and downs, but definitely more ups than downs. We learned that marriage is not easy; it takes work; but when you work on it together, it can be everything you hoped it would be.
What I love most about us is that we are each other's #1 fan. I am extremely supportive of Jeremy and his ambitions, and the same goes for him and my goals and dreams. If you ask anyone how highly I think of Jeremy, they would tell you that I think he could fly if he tried hard enough. We also share the same central ambitions for us as a couple and as a family. Our first priority has always been to keep Christ first in our lives and in our household, and our hope is that that example will rub of on our kids as well.

When we decided we were ready to take on being parents, we knew it would be a huge step for us. It just felt right, though, and I'm so glad we went with our intuition. Ayden will forever be one of the brightest moments of our marriage. When we made the decision to become parents, we went into it after a lot of thought and prayer. Ayden was our gift that resulted from all of that thought and prayer, and what a blessing he was and has been. Through Ayden, God showed us the reward for obedience, faith, and prayer. He gave us a beautiful baby boy who made every single moment of our lives the happiest moments we could ever imagine. Through Ayden, we took a new step in our marriage - parenthood - and learned how amazingly wonderful it is to be parents. It's strange how quickly you change once you become a parent. It happens without you even realizing. Sure, you relied on each other before, but part of you still clung to the kid in you....the side of you that still needed to depend on your parents or another adult to help you make the tough decisions. When you become a parent (well, for us anyway) all that changes. It's bizzare. We had become the adults that Ayden looked to for guidance, love, and care. Our roles shifted, and we ran with it!

It's so neat to me to look back and see us at the different stages we've faced together. We've experienced selfish adolescence together (thank God we survived), the years of finding out who you really are while in college (that was harder than high school at times!), the newlywed phase, and now young parenthood. Out of all the stages, I have to say that our current one is my favorite so far. We are a great team. We may not agree all the time (we don't argue, we have "discussions"), but we always agree that the decisions we make should be made in the best interest of us, our family, and our relationship with God.

Jeremy is my best friend, and I really couldn't imagine facing all that has come our way with anyone other than him. Losing Ayden was a true test of our relationship, and we knew that. We knew from the moment we had to say goodbye that this could either tear us apart or bring us closer. We were determined that it would bring us closer together. We clung to each other, probably making our parents feel as if we didn't need them at all, but it was because we knew how important it was, and still is, that we lean on each other. And that hasn't always been easy, but it has been crucial for us to be able to journey through grief together and try to keep ourselves going.

I'm looking forward to the many other stages we will face together. One thing we do know is that we can face pretty much anything together and continue to keep love at the center. I pray that we never lose that. And we are looking forward, most of all, to our future in Heaven with our sweet Ayden, and we pray....Collen and our future children as well. We know we're assured that promise with Ayden; our task, now, is to raise Collen and his future sibling(s) to love and follow Christ as well.

Here are some pictures from our wedding day 5 years ago. Seems like forever ago....