Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 4th anniversary. I thought that today would be a good time for me to write how Clay and I met. I haven't written this on paper. I know I am horrible! This should be in a journal somewhere. Oh well! I am mainly writing this for myself because then I can say that it is written down.
First I have to write a little about the previous years before we met because it connects to the story in a small way. When I was a junior in high school I was living in Idaho. My dad got a job in Dallas, Texas and so as a family we decided that we needed to move. We picked up and moved pretty fast. Actually it was a matter of a few weeks. Anyway, the whole time I was here I wanted to go back. I liked it, but felt that I didn't have very many friends. I was one of the few members of the church which had never happened to me up until this point. So I decided that I was going to go back to Rexburg to BYU-Idaho for college. I went for a year (actually a summer semester and a fall semester.) When I came home i was planning to back to school in Idaho. I had really been praying about what I should do and I felt that it was not right for me to return to school in Idaho. So I stayed here. It was hard finding friends again because most of the LDS friends that I had made were away to school at BYU or BYU-I. My mom suggested that I try going to institute. This was the BEST advice any mom can give to their young adult child. I really loved institute. It is a great program that the church has put in place! Clay and I met at institute. Clay is a convert and I met him at the first institute that he went to after he was baptized. I remember that our institute teacher had asked Clay to stand up and bear his testimony. Imagine a man who has just recently joined the church bearing his testimony. It was so strong. I remember being very touched by the testimony that he had gained. Although I was touched by his testimony I was also dating somebody else at the time so I didn't really think anything of it. A few weeks later he introduced himself to me. I was having a bad night (going through a breakup) and he came and said "Hi, my name is Clay." He intrigued me. I guess I still remembered the testimony that he gave and began talking to him. (Just an FYI our dance at our wedding was You Had Me From Hello by Kenny Chesney.) It seemed perfect for how we really met. We dated and soon became engaged. These past four years have had there ups and downs. While I love being married it was a hard adjustment for both of us. I would never tell anyone that marriage is just bliss. It has its blissful moments, but it also has its other not so blissful moments.
We have been through a lot. But I have gained a deeper meaning of love and appreciation through these 4 years. I look forward to many more years and know that it will only get better!!!