The Staley 7: 6 fabulous years ago today

Adam and I went in to see his CPA to get our taxes done. While we were at it we got married….. I bet that is not one you hear every day! Our CPA also happened to be a bishop, and a friend. He married us in a very special and very simple ceremony. It is a day I will never forget!

It is a special day that you get to marry your best friend, and I think there are a lot of people who miss out on that experience altogether.

We had wanted to get married for a while; we had gone back and forth over what to do, neither of us wanted a big or even medium size wedding. We had both had that experience in the past, and it ended painfully for both of us. We felt that the money we would spend would be a waste, and neither of us are the type of people who really need an audience to make things real. After a month or so of debating, do we just invite our kids and parents, but then we have to invite Adam's sister, and her kids, then we would have to invite my sister and her husband and kids. After that we would have to invite our closest friends, and then they would all want to bring a guest…. Do you see how this can get out of hand? It is not that I didn't want all of these people around, but we decided that this marriage was for us and us alone, and everyone else would understand.

We planned a fabulous trip to Vegas, just the 2 of us. We ordered rings that we loved, had our names and the date inscribed on them, and were good to go. Then Adam's parents decided that they wanted to go to Vegas to, and hey, why not go together, and they would pay for our trip if we drove in our car….. Hard to resist. But that threw a wrench into our secret wedding plan. We went to Vegas, but we did not get married, we had the date buffed out of our rings and took some time to regroup.

Then came the awesome idea of Adam….. Our CPA. He would be happy to marry us, and we asked our favorite of his office workers to be witnesses for us. We said vows from our heart, we were able to wear casual clothes, spend no money, and offend no one. Once we were married we picked up all of our kids and took them out to Denny's for dinner, during which we told them that "hey, guess what? We got married today" The kids were all very excited, maybe a little scared, but we quickly melded in to one of the most loving and successful blended families that I have ever seen. We all have a great level of love and respect for every other person in this family, and that is a huge blessing!!

Earlier this year Adam asked me if I would like to renew our vows and have a ceremony for friends and family. I thought long and hard. I knew that deep down Adam didn't care much; our love for each other has never faded, so we feel that our vows are still very strong. Adam thought as a girl I might really want the traditional wedding, and may feel jipped because we choose not to go that route. I came to the conclusion that if something isn't broke, why fix it.

6 years (and lots of tests) we love each other more than that day in 2003. We have had our rough spots, but we have done nothing but learn from them. Our love is strong, and I believe that will stay the case for the rest of our lives.

HERE"S TO YOU LOVE OF MY LIFE!!!! Together forever, Ayla and Jondalar!