Where Our Story Begins

Clint and I have been married for almost a whole year but our story begins seven years ago in a hotel room in Little Rock, AR....

I first met Clint at my eighteenth birthday party, which I was hosting in a hotel room. He came with my cousin, Wade, and their friends from Conway. I immediately set my eyes on Clint and my life hasn't been the same since. If you ask him, I was way too young for a college senior, which is what Clint was at the time. Fortunately for me, he quickly overlooked my age once we started to get to know each other. For the next four years we were in a dream. We shared many of the same interests. We loved listening to up and coming bands at Juanita's and spending the weekends at his house watching movies and hanging out with his friends. We loved to travel and go on dates. Clint became my best friend and I knew that one day, this was the man I would spend the rest of my life with. He is my constant. I knew that no matter what life threw at us, he would be there.

I graduated from UCA in the Spring of 2006 and awoke from my dream. Suddenly, I was lost. I have been dealing with one crisis after another from a very young age and for once there was nothing wrong with my life. I didn't know how to react or to adapt to a world with no problems. I freaked out and confronted my deepest fears. After I re-evaluated my life, Clint and I started year number five closer than I ever imagined I could be with another human being. We picked up where we left off, except this time, I was a different person. I became happy and started to enjoy the little things in life. I knew that 2007 would be a year of changes and contentment. There was just one little problem. I was ready to get married. Right then. Let's go, let's do this and start our life as Mr. and Mrs. Mickle! I think it took Clint by surprise because I had never been that persistent about getting married. Here we were, living this wonderful life. Why mess it up? Why take the next step? All I can say is that was what my heart was telling me. I knew I was ready; that we were ready.

For my birthday that year, Clint brought home a ten pound pit bull. He was the cutest thing I had ever seen (and still is). We were in awe of this little puppy. The biggest thing on him at the time was his belly. Little did we know, his head and paws would soon catch up! We weren't sure what to name him, so that first night we observed him. I was at the stove and Clint was on the couch. The puppy was sitting by Clint on the floor, facing me. All of I sudden, I saw his little muscles move! Clint suggested the name FLEX, and I knew it was the perfect name for this addition to our family. So, FLEX Bonebreaker Mickle came into our lives that January night and it hasn't been the same since. We did everything with him. After all, he was going to be the most well-behaved, loved pit bull in the world. He's not. Don't get me wrong, he is definitely the most loved but he is no where near well-behaved. We were determined to break the stereotypes about pit bulls. Instead, FLEX did that on his own. He is attached to me at the hip. He loves his Daddy and when Clint is not at home with us, it is FLEX who protects the family. He will only sit, shake and lay down for treats and he doesn't do anything he doesn't want to do. He snores with his eyes open and he pouts. He is also stubborn. It's like he took the combined bad qualities that Clint and I have and put them together. There will be many more blogs on FLEX, so I will get back to how Clint and I came to be married.

On Labor Day weekend of 2007, Clint took me to Petit Jean Mountain. This is special to us because it was where we spent our one year anniversary and my nineteenth birthday. On that particular weekend, Clint and I were sitting by the fire in our little cabin and we were talking about our hopes and dreams. I asked him if he ever thought that one day we would get married. He said he did. We knew we were too young but it was the first time we ever told each other we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. Jump forward to 2007. We woke up before sunrise so we could hike to the mountain and watch the sun come up. Clint packed a cooler so we could have breakfast before our hike back. Once we got to the waterfall, he told me to sit down. I sat down and he had this strange look on his face. He dropped to one knee. Time stopped. I said yes before he could even ask me. Along with the arrival of FLEX, that was one of the best days of my life. Looking back, it was so funny and it was so perfect. Clint had packed my favorite things for us to snack on and I hiked all the way back to our cabin staring at my engagement ring. We had a quick engagement. Our commitment to each other was witnessed by our friends and family and I became Mrs. Elizabeth Claire Mickle on March 28, 2008.

The past year has been wonderful. Our first year of marriage has made me look forward to the years to come. The only thing that has really changed is my last name. Clint and I have shared seven wonderful years together, even though the law only recognizes one. I look forward to what the future brings!