5 years ago today....

...I married the love of my life!  I married James Edward Starkey, my high school sweetheart, my best friend, my biggest fan, my beloved!

May 14th, 2005...we were both 20 years old and had been dating for 5 years!  Yes, you read that right!  We started dating when we were both 15 years old!  We met at church and he asked me out at church underneath the big tree!  We got married at the church we met at and had my dad marry us, which made it awesome because my dad was able to personalize our wedding so much for us!  Although, my dad bawled like a baby through most of it, it was SO cute!  Especially when I sang to Jim, you can see my dad in the video in the background just sobbing! :0) 

On my way home just now from a friends house, I started to thank God for Jim and our marriage and I couldn't even get any words out.  I was speechless because there are no words I could express to my Savior, my God for how thankful I am that He gave me Jim.  I know I have done nothing to deserve this kind of husband, love and marriage and I don't know why God decided to bless me with him and such an amazingly happy marriage but I know that I don't want to take it for granted, I want to cherish it and thank God every day for it!

People who know us always tease us or just share with us how they can tell we just have that "something special" and can see how deep in love we are with each other!  We may be an odd couple, a crazy couple but we are SO IN LOVE!   We act silly together, we are big kids together, Jim will come up to me in the kitchen and we'll start dancing even without any music on, we'll sing crazy together at the top of our lungs, we'll laugh and laugh at and with each other so hard that we can barely breathe and we seriously LOVE being together!  I am saying this with full confidence knowing and hearing it myself from Jim that he feels the same way!  The bond that we have and share is so amazing!   Jim is so faithful, so loyal, loves me so unconditionally, tells me everyday multiple times how much he loves me and how he thinks I am beautiful, he makes me feel so good and so loved.  He is so affectionate and loving towards me.  He is such an amazing helper around the house with cleaning/cooking.  He makes me laugh, he holds me when I cry, he is seriously my favorite person to be around with!  We LOVE just being together!  I could not ask for more!

I wrote a song with the help of Pastor Dave Blevins when we got married and Dave played the guitar while I sang it to Jim!  It kind of told a story from when he first asked me out to the day of our wedding!  Here are the words...

"I remember when you first asked me out,
underneath the tree outside our church.
You took my hand in yours, and looked into my eyes,
and that was when you spoke these words to me...


Will you be with me, and I said Yes.
From this day on, we'll be more than friends.
We made a great new start, not knowing where it would lead
but it started with these words, will you be with me.


I remember when you first said, I love you.
I just smiled and I said I love you too.
You made my life complete, when you got down on one knee
That was when you spoke these words to me...


Will you be with me and I said Yes.
Now we know there is no end to what God has blessed.
God has made us for each other and I know this much is true
that you will always love me and I'll always love you.


As I stand before you now, I make this promise.
As our lives become united into one.
I will give you all I have, and everything I'll ever be.
The Father's love will bind our hearts eternally."


Thank you God for these 5 years you have blessed Jim and I with and I pray that this is just the beginning and that we will have many more wonderful years together on this earth and I pray as the years go by that our love for each other and our love for You would grow stronger and that through the years You will be able to use us more and more for Your kingdom!  I pray that You would continue to bless our marriage, protect it and us and help us to continue to draw closer to You!

In His amazing grip,