54 years

 Hey Bob Sims, I'm so glad we found each other

...and that we decided to spend the rest of our lives together

... and build a family

But first you surprised me by building us a house!!!

And an amazing house it was!

We took some trips, did some hiking and camping.

Somewhere during those crazy wonderful years, 

we also planted a Christmas tree farm

But then came the day, much to our surprise, when we decided to walk away from that farm and live on the road, here and there, for awhile.

I'm glad we took the chance to collect some more memories in the Dominican Republic...

...but I'm also grateful for that little ole' fifth-wheel RV we found and for the years we lived in that amazing rig.

Thanks for listening to my heart when I realized I needed to get back to Michigan to be near the little guys.

And then I listened to YOUR heart when you felt like you were ready for a project... because you needed something to do with your hands.  It's pretty cool that we have learned to hear each other.

So...we bought a house with "a table big enough for us to all sit..." 

In the meantime, there was more camping and travel and fun with the kids.

Turns out the house project was so much fun that you decided to do another one across the street.  Sure enough you found something ELSE to do with your hands!

I am so terribly thankful for these years together.  

For the wonderful people in our lives

For the miles we have been privileged to travel

For the beaches we've discovered

For the amazing houses you have built and rescued and restored

What a guy!  

Bob the builder

Bob the re-builder

Bob the legend

And I am incredibly grateful that as the seasons come and go...

At the end of the day and the end of our energy...

And it's time for rocking and relaxing...

I'm so stinkin' glad it's still you and me, babe.

Golden

Fifty years!

How could it be?

…

Guests could start arriving soon so we all headed inside to get cleaned up and dressed up.  When I came downstairs and noticed Riley’s gold shoes I told her that this is our Golden Anniversary.  “That’s what Grandpa said!” she laughed.

…

Golden Anniversary  

1971 to 2021

Not sure I ever thought much about the chances of making it to 50 years.  

People who celebrate Golden Anniversaries are old; right?  

Maybe I didn’t often imagine myself getting old.  

And suddenly here we are.  I don’t feel old.  Well, except for those stiff joints.  

But how did we get here so quickly?    

And why are we the lucky ones who get to be together this long?  

Some people call it an accomplishment.

Others ask what’s the secret.

I don’t think there’s any secret.  

No magic formula. 

Maybe we’re just lucky.

Blessed.

I don’t know why we get to celebrate this milestone.  

But I guess that’s the way with privilege.  No rhyme or reason to it.

…

Eugene, one of our foreign exchange students, texted greetings from Russia.  He said that they call the 50th a golden anniversary there.  We told him we do here as well.

Bob’s mom gifted us with a gold plate.  Well, a plate with gold trim.  A family heirloom.  It was given to her parents on their 50th wedding anniversary in 1962.  Grandma Grody left the plate to Mom & Dad Sims who then celebrated the golden milestone in 1995. ... How cool that Mom is still alive to pass it on to us and celebrate with us.  Wow.  Such a thing gives one pause. We feel honored. Privileged. Blessed.

I still don’t know why we are so fortunate. So blessed.

Why us?

Why did we both survive cancer when so many friends and family members didn’t?

Maybe there is no answer.

But one thing we know.

We know that it is a gift - one that we definitely appreciate. 

Cherish.

Celebrate.

We are grateful. 

Because gratitude is pretty much always a good idea.

Gratitude is golden.

48 years: What a ride!

We've come a long way, Baby!

We have ridden in planes

trains...

... and automobiles

... and four-wheelers

...and trucks

... sometimes towing trailers.

We have walked

We have climbed

We have biked

But through these 48 years we've also done a lot of sitting around...

Just hanging out in amazing places...

Yep, we've come a long way.

I'm so glad that I get to travel with you.

45 years!

Happy Anniversary, dear man.

45 years. Wow!

Not sure what I expected, but I didn’t imagine it would be so good.

So amazing.

So comfortable and yet so adventurous.

Living on the edge and yet feeling so secure. 

So incredibly wonderful.

Amazing.

So many things I didn’t dare dream we’d do together, but we did.

Then there are all the things we did dream about, but didn't suppose we would ever actually do. But we did.  Sure, there were dreams that didn’t come true, but I can't seem to think of many.

Who knew all the places we’d see and all the food we would taste?

Who knew all the places we’d call home?

All the address changes we’d make?

Who could have imagined all the thoughts we would think and the words we would say?

All the new words we'd coin or the silly songs we'd sing?

All the inside jokes we'd share?

Or all the empanadas...

Who would have supposed all the people we would meet and the languages we would hear?

Who knew the extraordinary places we would celebrate? 

And lots of wonderfully ordinary ones, too.

Who knew the roads we would take and the trails we would walk?

...

For that matter, who knew all the cars we would drive?

And the trucks?

And the vans? 

Or the other vehicles?

Or those that we would ride in?

Oh, the vehicles.

Who knew? 

Who could have imagined?

...

And who knows what lies ahead?

How many more days or years?

How many more places?
How many new addresses?

Obviously we can’t know.

But we can appreciate the ones we do have.

We can celebrate the days and the moments we are given.

And so we shall.

And so we do.

To another year, my love.

And hopefully another and another...

A lot of years. Together.

Happy anniversary, dear man.

I could never have imagined how amazing life would be with you. You created a place that far surpassed my dreams and wishes. A place that we could call home for four decades. What fun to make it so. Together. 

Together. What an awesome concept.

 

Together we created a safe place where we could both flourish and grow. Not sure how we even knew how to do that, but somehow we stumbled into it. A safe place to raise kids. Oh, the kids! Yep, more kids than we could have imagined.

First there were the beautiful baby girls who grew into amazing, kind, compassionate, confident, strong women. Delightful women who are like both of us in the best of ways - and then some.

There were the foster kids who needed a home. Seventeen of them who became part of our family for a little while - some for a few days or a few weeks - and some for a few years. There were others who needed a second home. Who needed a safe place to heal and grow.

There were a whole bunch of guys who needed a dad - so you invested in them. Not only did they hang out at our place, but you planned camping trips for them. And spelunking trips and mission trips and diving trips.

There were those who came from other countries (at least five of them) who needed to hang out with a real American family for awhile. And let's not forget our sisters and aunts and other relatives who needed a temporary place to live. And the friends who lived with us for a month or a year.

I've lost count (somewhere around fifty) of the people who called our house home during the years. And that doesn't even touch the dozens (or maybe hundreds) of teens and adults and families who came to play "Capture the Flag" or paint ball in the woods or to climb the high ropes course or for a quiet retreat.




Together. We did all of that together. What an adventure!

But that safe place we created wasn't just a piece of real estate. It was far bigger than a plot of ground - which was why we could find the courage to walk away. Twice. Once to pack up the fam and move to a third world country for a year and again when the time was right to let it go.

That safe place was a haven where we both grew in our faith, in our giftedness and in our mission. We grew in honesty and vulnerability, in compassion, in gratitude and in generosity. Our confidence grew as did our curiosity. And our courage. Our worldview expanded together through the years. Yes, that safe place has been a haven where we could do life together. Where we could live and love and learn. A haven that we have taken with us.

How incredibly blessed we are and have been. Together.

You are an amazing man, an incredible husband, an awesome dad and a fantastic grandpa. You are a faithful friend and a fearless leader. You are a compassionate teacher who treats people with respect. You are a creative builder, a talented artist and a phenomenal musician. There is nothing I could have done to deserve you or the blessings of our life together. But I'm really glad I had the good sense to choose you and then to wait until you decided to choose me. What a ride it has been together.

Happy anniversary, sweet baby!