Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Monday, August 24th, is my parents 35th Anniversary. My siblings and I decided to give them a nice celebration. We did a renewal of their vows ceremony complete with a mini reception. We surprised Mom with having Grandaddy there to "give her away again". Shane officiated the wedding and wrote out a beautiful service for them. It was really special when he asked, "Who gave this woman to be married to this man 35 years ago?" We are all so thankful that Grandaddy was able to be a part of this special event. My youngest sister and brother stood in as Mom's maid of honor and Dad's best man. The 3 grandsons walked in as ring bearers and the eldest granddaughter Kirsten carried the other granddaughter, Evie, in as flower girls. We got their original kneeling bench down out of the attic. Grandaddy made this for them to use in their wedding 35 years ago. They were very surprised to see the old bench! It was a beautiful service and very special for us kids and grand kids to be able to watch this renewal of their commitment to one another!!!

After the ceremony, we served them a private meal. Kirsten was their waitress and did a fabulous job!

After dinner, we had a mini reception. My sister Dawn made a precious wedding cake for them. There is a story behind the characters on this cake. Years ago a friend of my parents drew two precious cartoon characters with the saying "Love is..." . These framed drawings have hung over their bed for as long as I can remember. So my sister recreated the characters, though a little more gray and a little more bald, and wrote on the cake "Love is...35 years together"

After the cake, we watched a wonderful video that my sister and brother put together. It was really creative and well made. The video opened with footage of each member of our family then was followed with a slide show of photos put to music. The photos chronicled Mom's and Dad's relationship from dating, engagement, and marriage and ended with photos of the grand kids. Dawn made copies of the video for all of us to have. After we watched the video, we sent Mom and Dad home. We had decorated their car and we blew bubbles as they went to their car.

It was so much fun and very special to be able to do this for Mom and Dad. They have demonstrated a beautiful marriage relationship to us 4 kids and are now doing so for their grand kids. Thank you Mom and Dad for honoring your commitments to one another and to God over these past 35 years. We are praying that the Lord will bless you with several more years together, happy and in love! We love you!