Happy Anniversary

Today we celebrate our 5th Wedding Anniversary!

We met May 2003  when the sun and the moon aligned to bring us together. There was an activity to go have a bonfire at Utah lake to watch a lunar eclipse. I was drawn to Jim's enthusiasm and excitement over lighting wood palates on fire, and Jim was flattered that my roommate & I jumped in his car to hitch a ride (then wrote flirty things & BYU pick up lines on the insides of his windows with dry erase markers we found in the back seat). Love was budding in the air; I was going to the lake to try "to get to know" another guy there, and Jim was trying to figure out if the date he had had the night before was going to go anywhere. Little did we know two strangers would capture each other's attention and end up instantly hitting things off, like the stories you read about in fairy tales. 
After a summer of fun courtship, and each of us meeting each other's families, I was really starting to struggle with two roads that were about to diverge. I had always wanted to and planned on serving a mission for our church. I met Jim the year before I was eligible to go. I was feeling that if I continued our relationship, I would miss out on the experience I had been waiting to have. However, if I continued my plan on going on a mission, I knew I would lose this amazing friend I had grown so close to. I received some very clear and needed direction at the Relief Society Conference October 2003 from our Prophet & President of the Church, Gordon B. Hinckley. He was addressing all the women in our church, but specifically gave this counsel to young single women in my situation at the time:

"You are hoping to catch that perfect man. I have yet to see one who is perfect. Aim high, but do not aim so high that you totally miss the target. What really matters is that he will love you, that he will respect you, that he will honor you, that he will be absolutely true to you, that he will give you freedom of expression and let you fly in the development of your own talents. He is not going to be perfect, but if he is kind and thoughtful, if he knows how to work and earn a living, if he is honest and full of faith, the chances are that you will not go wrong, that you will be immensely happy."

This message really struck a cord with me, and I knew I had found the perfect man for me. I told Jim what I was feeling the next day and within a week, he proposed. 

In our 5 years together as husband and wife, here are a few of the highlights we have experienced: lived in 3 states (3 apartments, 2 houses), graduated with our bachelors degrees (finance & exercise science), bought 2 cars, had a boy, expecting a girl any day, held 8 jobs, camped 100 times (give or take), loved & lost family members, replaced 2 wedding rings,

 traveled to 3 countries, hiked many mountains, skied, ran, biked, laughed, and loved...

Happy Anniversary Jim! This is just the beginning...

I don't get many things right the first time

In fact, I am told that a lot

Now I know all the wrong turns, the stumbles and falls

Brought me here

 And where was I before the day

That I first saw your lovely face?

Now I see it everyday

And I know

 That I am

I am

I am

The luckiest

 What if I'd been born fifty years before you

In a house on a street where you lived?

Maybe I'd be outside as you passed on your bike

Would I know?

 And in a white sea of eyes

I see one pair that I recognize

And I know

 That I am

I am

I am

The luckiest

 I love you more than I have ever found a way to say to you

Next door there's an old man who lived to his nineties

And one day passed away in his sleep

And his wife; she stayed for a couple of days

And passed away

 I'm sorry, I know that's a strange way to tell you that I know we belong

That I know

 That I am

I am

I am

The luckiest