HAPPY 40TH, MOM & DAD!

I know this picture is a few years old and mom is no longer a brunette, but it is my all-time favorite. I think it captures how truly happy you are together.

How do I even begin to tell you guys how great you are?? I think back to the beginning when Grant and I were small and remember how much fun we always had as a family, whether it was the church events we never missed, going camping for the weekend, or even the day-to-day at home. You were always fun to be with, and you always made sure we knew how important we were. Throughout our teen years, you somehow found the perfect balance between giving us freedom and setting the boundaries of what was expected of us. I know we both had so much respect for you that we accepted the rules and consequences to avoid ever disappointing you. Then came the big decisions - what to do after high school, where to live, who to marry - and you gave 100% of your support and then stepped back. I think you knew you had done your absolute best in raising us, and you trusted us to do what was right. But what mattered more than anything else was that you showed your love for the Lord in everything you did. You instilled in us from the beginning that giving your heart to Jesus and following Him faithfully would be more important than any other decision in life, and you were right. So, as I look to you guys and the 40 years you've been together, I can only hope that Scott and I will be just as much in love and will come as close as possible to being the kind of parents that you've been to me and Grant. I love you more than you can imagine!