Friday, July 29, 2011

marking the years...

Marriage is meant to be celebrated...
and we have always marked our wedding anniversary in some way. 


On our second anniversary we went out for dinner with good friends...
 the ones who were the attendants at our wedding.
This was a photo taken that evening...
two weeks before we became parents to a beautiful baby boy.

There were also a few times that our anniversary happened to fall on the same weekend as a family reunion...
and so we celebrated with family.
On year we were at the 108 Mile Ranch where we rode horses...
and shared an anniversary cake with some 75 members of the clan.
Our 35th anniversary was celebrated at Lake Pinawa, Manitoba...
another family retreat.

Several times we stopped to mark our milestone while on vacation.
Once we had an anniversary dinner at the Outback Steakhouse in Cheyenne, Wyoming...
while passing through.


On our 28th wedding anniversary...
we were in Alaska with friends...
and watched glaciers calving in the Kenai Fjords.
We enjoyed a wonderful salmon dinner, of course!


We honeymooned in Victoria...
and have been back on our anniversary several times through the years.


 Last year we were passing through Utah...
and spent our anniversary at Bryce Canyon...
a most amazing place!

One of my favorite anniversary memories has to be one of the simplest celebrations.
We packed a nice picnic...
loaded up the pick-up truck...
and took a drive along a forestry road on the west side of Harrison Lake.
We picnicked on a blanket beside the turquoise waters of the glacial lake...
on a sunny summer day.
All was well in the world!

But as we all know...
things don't always go as planned.
And so even our anniversary celebrations were sometimes less than 'joyful'!
One year our plans were cancelled...
when our son had a car accident that very evening.

On July 31, 2000 we buried my mother.
It was a rather sobering anniversary.

We went out for dinner earlier this month...
with three other couples who all share July anniversaries.
Together we represented 144 years of marriage.
That is something to celebrate!
We realized this year (maybe more than others)...
that each additional year of life together is a gift.
One of the couples has been dealing with cancer this past year.
Another couple now share kidneys...
as of a few months ago.
It just seemed right to celebrate another year together with friends

We are away marking our milestone anniversary this weekend. 
And no...we are not in Victoria this year!
I'll fill you in next week.

 

19 comments:

  1. Judy, congratulations on 40 years of marriage! What an example you are to the next generation in your family. Enjoy your weekend away. Dairymary

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  2. Congratulations!! You are CELEBRATING and rightly so. Enjoy every moment!

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  3. That made me think about where we've been on our anniversaries and I had an interesting moment.
    I wonder where you are? Wherever it is, I know that the two of you will be marking the day in a special way!

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  4. What lovely anniversary memories you have had. DH and I started going on anniversary road trips after the kids all grew up and left home. And yes, every additional year is a blessing and nt taken for granted.

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  5. Congratulations to the two of you wherever you are. I hope your special day and the coming years bring you much joy!

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  6. I wonder if couples going through marriage problems really understand how it is affecting those that love them? I thought about this while reading your post. .it just makes my heart happy to know you and your Elmer are still loving each other and encouraging other marriages around you by your example.
    Have a wonderful weekend. ..xoxo

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  7. Congrats on 40 years of marriage!! Thanks for sharing some of your celebrations with us too!

    Hope you are blessed with many more years with and Mr. My Front Porch.

    Hugs!

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  8. 40 Years!!! Congratulations! What a journey...those vows that you took 40 years ago..who knew...for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad times...you've had quite the smorgasbord of experiences. What a beautiful life story thus far... you are still loving God and each other after all these years!
    Blessings x 40!!!

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  9. Congratulations on 40 years of marriage, how lovely to have others to share your celebration. Its great to see the photos as you go through the years too!

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  10. Glad you are having a chance to get away. I admire your memory of your family history and that you can find the photos just when you want them. I agree that the days together are precious.

    I bet you didn't need to hide the car this time! Those rascally old rascals have given up the chase.

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  11. Doesn't matter how you celebrate your anniversary..just doing something together is special.
    Judy, you and Elmer are a fine example of a lasting marriage.

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  12. Happy Anniversary! Quite a milestone! It is also my anniversary at work....11 years... and my brother's birthday!

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  13. I'll be thinking of you this weekend and wishing you a very happy anniversary celebration wherever you are! Enjoy, and many more blessings to come!

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  14. Oh I'm glad that you are away. And it's anyone's guess where you might be. I've no clue! (If you are on around the corner from me, though, I want to hear about it.)

    Loved seeing the anniverary photos through the years.

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  15. Thank you for sharing these wonderful posts about your loving strong marriage. My husband and I will be married 20 years this year..a rarity among my 40 something generation. It just keeps getting better with each year! God Bless you both...Happy Anniversary!!

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  16. Lovely memories of your anniversary celebrations through the years.
    I look forward to reading about the memories you are making on this special 40th anniversary.
    Congratulations!!

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  17. I love reading how you two have celebrated your special day through the years. I tried to jot notes on each of our own anniversaries in our wedding book, some years I didn't get to it though. How grand that you have so many happy anniversary photos to enjoy and share!

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  18. Happy Anniversary! It looks like you've had many fun advetures celebrating together. Forty years is nothing to sneeze at!

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  19. Belated, but enduring anniversary wishes. I know what a tremendous blessing a great marriage is.

    We will be celebrating our 41st in September.

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'The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.'
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson