CELEBRATING 40 YEARS

And it all started like this . . . .

The quilter and the blacksmith were married on May 23, 1970. Back then I was just an amateur seamstress. In fact I made my wedding dress, the two bridesmaids dresses, the two flower girl dresses and my going away dress.

(Do they still have going away dresses?)

It was my senior year of high school. I skipped the senior trip to Florida and sewed. The blacksmith, who would not be a blacksmith for about another 8 years, was just graduating from college.

So the thing to do after we both graduated was to get married.

Fast forward to last week, when our kids threw us a surprise party. It was held at Steve's restaurant, southwest of Jefferson City, out in the country. There they serve the best fried chicken and country cured ham, along with real mashed potatoes with milk gravy.

We had been told we were going out to eat for the grandson
Alex's upcoming 6th birthday (which by the way was only
3 days later).


When we arrived, the dining room only had about 5 tables full and they directed us to another door, which I knew led us downstairs to a party room. There were 35 of our family members and close friends waiting for us. Plus, daughter Sarah had driven in from Oklahoma City that day!



Here we are opening a beautiful glass 40th picture frame from Jeremy, Lori, Sarah and Rusty. (So sorry Rusty couldn't make it, as he busy reporting on the severe weather conditions in Oklahoma)




It then made sense to us why Lori had borrowed our wedding album just a month earlier. See the photos on the cake table.

Sarah had ordered a half white and half chocolate cake. Bless her heart, she got her mom and dad each their favorite kind.



Whe is was time to cut the cake, we made a pact immediately not to shove cake in each other's faces. So we cut it, acted like we were going to feed each other, and then put it our own mouths!




Bernie's mother folded up cash and hid it in confetti for us. Here we are searching through all of the confetti in the gift bag.






We received gifts of wine.







Two beautiful cobalt blue stemmed wine glasses.









Wind chimes from BFF, who thought she had a dream after she bought them that the blacksmith didn't like wind chimes.
To which her husband said of course he didn't like them. (He likes
them.)







The blacksmith's sisters came, Darlene and Karen and SIL Larraine.








His sister Grace was there to harass our grandson Brady.







His sister Janie (who was a bridesmaid in our wedding) was there to spoil our Elizabeth.







His sister Marla (who was a flower girl in our wedding) with her son Andrew.






My BFF





Lots more were there, including my mother and my sister (who happened to be a flower girl when we got married). MIL came all the way from Texas.

The last photo of the night. Our family, minus Rusty.

We were just so proud that our kids did this for us. When I thanked the son he gave all the credit to his wife Lori and his sister Sarah. But to you kids I say THANK YOU.

And here's to many, many, more happy years.