50 Years of Bliss!

We surprised Mom & Dad Hardy with a big 50th Wedding Anniversary party at their church on Saturday.

How you can get a small town, and church family, and out-of-town family and me from not blabbing it is a miracle! But God pulled it off! They naively followed their sneaky son, Jim, into the church --and then it was too late. We heard a big "Uh-Oh" out of Dad and repeated shrieks and cries of delight from Mom. "Flabbergasted" and "spinning" are good words to describe it. :)

The dear church people had the fellowship hall beautifully decorated with the embroidered panels you see in the picture; cascading white twinkling lights draped across the entire ceiling; candlelight, silverware, white linens and gold touched fine stationery decked the tables; brilliant autumn flower arrangements set off the windows and head table . . . all too lovely to describe.

And then, you should have seen the food! Our great friends, Craig & Val Dixon from the "The Hot Biscuit" had a fantastic dinner spread for us, and gracious church families lovingly served.

The rest of us simply showed up: although traveling hundreds, even a thousand miles in some cases, is no small feat. Don's sister, Connie, and her husband, George, flew up from Florida; Elaine's brother, Henry, flew in from Colorado; her other brother, Richard, and his wife, Carol, drove in from Detroit; her sister, Julie and husband, Steve, from Virginia.

And then there were the cousins: Ken and his wife, Maria, from Buffalo; Janet Secor, Lois Hughes (all the way from the Carolinas now), Marilyn & Howie Stark, David & Grace Beyer; and childhood friends, Bill and Bob Secor from New Jersey days.

Plus their dear old Ticonderoga friends the LaTours or "Uncle Jack" and "Aunt Beulah" --as Tom still calls them. They now live in Tennessee.

What a blessing that each of them could come; it was thrilling to witness the lifetime friendships, family love, and God's grace that brought us all together to celebrate.

WRITING UPDATE: I really want to thank everyone who commented on last week's blog. If you haven't read the comments, just click on the word below. It's worth your while. Heartfelt wisdom with personal experience and God's Word, from people of integrity and honesty make each comment a real treasure.

As far as my writing day--this week it's Thursday or Friday, and I appreciate your prayers. Thanks for checking in on me!