50 years and great examples

Thanksgiving was extra special this year. We had family come from Texas and West Virginia; some family members I had not seen in 10 years.

The occasion? My grandparents 50th wedding anniversary.

Their anniversary was actually in October, but Thanksgiving provided an easier time to gather. We went to downtown Kansas City to Jack's Stack in the old Freight House. It seemed right since Pop-pop used to build locomotives.

Mom and Dad rented a room for the event. It was great food and even more fun to hear stories from Grandma and Pop-pop's 50 years together.

For their gift, I took some of their old photo slides and put them on a cd. Then, I created iPhoto books for them. One was of Pop-pop's years in the Navy; the other just of family photos.

Here they are on their wedding day, October 16, 1959.

And 50 years later...

What a great example they have set for us, especially today when marriage is not a lifelong committment. Pop-pop and Gram travel all over still today and continue to have adventures together. They have modeled what love, committment, dedication, and caring truly mean. Thank you for being an example to Hubs and I; I love you both so much.

Following in their footsteps are my parents, who just celebrated 28 years of marriage. They have been a true example of what it means to follow God wherever He leads. I can learn a lot from watching their life together. Thank you for being an example for Hubs and I; I love you so much.

And here's the couple who is just starting out on the journey. They'll marry on May 15th and move off away from all their family to live the college life learning to cling to Christ first, and then one another for a solid foundation. We are looking forward to watching your life; I love you.

And then there's us. Silly as ever and knowing that laughter gets us through most anything. We have 3 years under our belts - I like to think we got the hardest years out of the way, but I know we have just begun. We are leaning on God's direction each day and striving to be more like Him. I've learned that love is so much more than an emotion, feeling, or desire. We have lots of years ahead of us; but we have some great examples to gain wisdom from.