Thursday, February 14, 2019

Thirty-Five Years

Michael has great confidence in the resurrection of my green thumb. This winter has been HARD on our inside plants. I put them by the windows so they could get what little light we have....and they got too cold. I moved them to a rocker and they got too hot and dry.....but he bought me orchids. I've never had orchids. Thy DID grow in our yard in the Philippines. Mom loved them; orchids were her favorite plant. The directions say I need to put 3 ice cubes every week at the base of each plant.....we shall see about this. Thy ARE beautiful and a wonderful touch of my childhood. 

Happy Valentine's day to all and a Happy 35th Anniversary to us. I should say something very profound - but I'm not feeling particularly profound....Doing life with Michael these past 35 years has been an adventure I wouldn't trade for the world. Fifteen moves, 2 years living full-time in an RV, 2 countries (as a family), 4 (or 5?) deployments, civilian ministry, military ministry, one cancer scare, 5 surgeries,  9 children, 5 grand-children, ...oh the places we've gone and the things we have seen.

There have been highs and lows, expected and unexpected twists and turns, great joy and great sorrow. There were quite a few who cautioned against our marriage.  We were simply "too different" to survive. We learned a secret, early on, which I credit with our marriage's survival thriving. Through it all has been the choice to love.  To love God at the center of all relationships, and to specifically love this other - my gift from God. Michael has loved me well and that has shown me how to love well - imperfectly, but we have years to grow. LOL

I broke my lens our first day out of Beale AFB in the RV.  I put my camera in a top cupboard thinking it would have a safe ride. It was tossed and jostled all day. The lens was wobbly, wouldn't focus, and was simply kaput. That was four years ago. Michael began to look for a replacement. The telephoto lens is great for moose photos, but awkward inside. He discovered, "for a bit more," he could get a camera like mine with lots of lenses and extras on Craig's List.  Now you know why we found ourselves sitting in the Fred Myers parking lot, with a laptop (to get a shutter count on the camera), waiting for a little black Nissan.  It turns out this camera was given to this gal by her ex. It has EVERYTHING -  but she no longer wants it. In fact, she used it very little. It's got the 18-55 lens I wanted, 2 telephoto lenses (one a macro), 4 converters (fish eye being one), 4 or 5 wallets of filters, an external flash and reflector set up, a cool bag, 3 tri-pods, a rubber cover to protect the camera, several photography books....and she just didn't want it anymore. The 18-55 lens doesn't auto focus - everything else is in good working order.

We bought it anyway. This is another ANNIVERSARY present.  It's perfect for the kids. I will take the bag.  The lenses  all interchange....THEY will have their OWN camera to use and MINE will be back on my desk, where it longs to wait for me. Their camera is lighter than mine (though it's the same model). I thought of switching - but I LIKE MY RED CAMERA BODY.  The 18-55 lens takes good shots...it just doesn't auto focus. Stacia likes playing with all the manual settings anyway. We'll keep our eyes open for a couple of smaller lenses.

For VALENTINES DAY Michael got me this lovely arrangement and a warm fuzzy blanket.

We had an early dinner and dessert at home with the kids. They all seemed to like this (even with the almond milk topping). ::wink::  BTW this was a totally cholesterol free dessert.

"I take thee, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge myself to you."

Happy Birthday to my brother, Will. Happy 5th Anniversary to BreZaak and 38th to John and Mary K. Shoot - we meant to call them when we got home. We got busy with the kids and forgot. Oops...