Happy Anniversary!

 

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness." ~Jeremiah 31:3

Danny and I celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary this past Saturday.  In these years together, there have been many ups and downs, good times and not-so-good, great joys and the crush of disappointments.  We are so thankful to have navigated all the roads before us with genuine love and affection, knowing all the while that God has our backs.

Usually, in anniversaries past, we haven't gotten gifts for one another as our mutual gift is always a trip to a cabin in the Nantahala Mountains of North Carolina.

That tradition ends the year Mimi, Danny's mother, comes to live with us due to her failing health.  When she passes away in February of 2019, we are too consumed with planning for her burial on St. Simon's, we don't reserve a cabin.  We more than make up for that in the summer when we take granddaughter, Virginia, for a short but oh-such-fun trip to a cabin in June.

And the following year?  Can we say, "Covid-19?"  Yep!  What a damper that put on everyone's plans!  I'm so thankful that this whole mess can now be viewed only in the rear view mirrors of our lives.

So, why didn't we book a cabin for 2022?  Those of you who follow this blog regularly know that I was deathly ill for most of the month of January, and I'm still working to build back my strength.  And Danny incurs some expenses with his recent trip to New Mexico, so we thought it best, this anniversary, to stick close to home.

We enjoy a lovely lunch at a higher-end restaurant here in Kennesaw called Capers.  I have a crab cake with creamed spinach and a cucumber salad.  Delicious!

When we get home, we exchange cards, and I get to open the gift Danny has promised is for both of us.  Isn't this the most unique pillow?

It features the lyrics from Steven Curtis Chapman's love song, I Will Be Here.  Characteristically romantic, Danny starts playing the song on YouTube the moment my hand pulls the pillow out of the gift bag.  Talk about needing tissues!  You can listen to it here.  

But this last gift is NOT characteristic of Danny at all in the sense that it falls into the artsy-craftsy category.  He confesses to getting the idea off of something he sees on Facebook.  Isn't this just too cute and clever?

Can you see the bride and groom?  How I love Danny's creativity!  But he can't stop with that, and adds a "punny" joke to his story:  "We met online, and that's where clothespins hang out!"  (I don't care who you are; that there is funny ~ Thanks Larry the Cable Guy!)

All things considered, this is an anniversary we'll not soon forget.  We are so thankful that God has kept our love for one another and our love for Him strong through all these years, with hopefully, many more to come.  We know He will always be here for us.

Amen!