I do.

Five years ago today I walked down the aisle of the church I was raised in and spoke those two famous words. And I can confidently say today that I was completely scared. I was unsure. I had doubt.

The first year was tough, not only because I got pregnant three months into our marriage. Not just because we bought a house. Not because we hadn't lived together before getting married. I think it was tough because I had a picture of what being married meant or should mean. And I was wrong.

Five years later, I can't guarantee we'll be together for fifty years, let alone five more. And I'm comfortable saying that. There's no pressure to make our marriage into a 1950's TV show. It just doesn't work that way and quite frankly I don't want it to. I like that we argue. I like having my own life outside of 'Corey and Tina.' And I think that makes me a better wife.

Today marriage means that I'm allowing someone to share my life with me. That I want to be a part of their life. We may not share every detail of our day or our dreams or thoughts, and that's okay. What matters is that we have a deeper love for one another that is unlike how I feel about anyone else. We choose to love eachother above all else and we have made a decision to put eachother first when it's necessary (and sometimes when it's not). My marriage is my two kids and my step-daughter. They are pieces of this bond and they remind me of my vows every single day.

I believe that we all marry for different reasons. We choose the person we want to 'spend the rest of our life with' for different reasons. And our love for that person changes and evolves as we change and evolve. And I honestly believe that sometimes what tears a marriage apart is the pressure we put on those vows and that day.

I learned a very valuable lesson during our Marriage Encounter weekend prior to our wedding. A couple said that we choose to love, and we make that decision, either consiously or not, every day. And now more than ever, I believe they're right.

Today I choose love.