35 Years!

Happy 35th Anniversary to my wonderful parents!!

(This pic = their 33rd Anniversary dinner at KD's.)

I'm thanking God for their marriage today... I am so thankful for their firm commitment to each other and to our family over the past 35 years! They met at a New Year's Eve party (1980 into 1981), and they got married 5 months and 13 days later... fast! lol I'm thankful that God has blessed and strengthened them individually and in their marriage! I am grateful that Mom encouraged and financially supported them as Dad worked hard to get his State Farm agency going, and thankful for the way God has blessed his business over the years. I am deeply thankful that Rachael and I got to grow up in a loving, peaceful, happy Christian home, secure in knowing that we were loved and our parents loved each other. (I'm much more aware now what a blessing that was, and how rare it is in today's society.) I'm thankful that they were there for our programs, recitals, school events, parties, etc. and that we were the fun house where our friends loved to come hang out!

I am thankful for their strength of character and Godly values -- that they prioritized church and made sacrifices to send us to a Christian school and guided us toward the right path in so many little ways. I'm thankful that God healed Mom when she had cancer and later a staph infection, and that He divinely protected them in the 2011 car wreck. I'm thankful for every holiday and vacation and family get-together and birthday party, for Dad's fantasy football league and the lasting family friendships there. I'm grateful for their continued support and encouragement in my adult life, and for getting to see their joy and love for their grandchildren! I am thankful for Dad's peaceful attitude and uncommon generosity and for Mom's listening ear and nurturing spirit - that she made sacrifices to make sure we were taken care of and happy and having fun as we grew up. And I'm thankful that Dad is selflessly taking care of her now that her back is injured. Praying that God uses the coming surgery to heal her and strengthen her!

I'm thankful for their patient, kind, and committed love through all the ups and downs of life! To sum it up, I'm thankful for their marriage and praying that they get to celebrate many more years together!!

"Love is patient and kind. It is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance... Three things will last forever - faith, hope, and love - and the greatest of these is love."  ~I Corinthians 13:4-13