We built our home and moved into it in Jan of 1983, and had our first Christmas in it in 1984. We all, Ann, I, Phillip, Heather, Jonathan and Jake, gathered with room to spare ... in our front room.
Now 25 years (yes, this was the 25th Anniversary) later... we filled it, and half our living room now with the growth of our family! What a wonderful blessing, that for a short time we are so cramped for space!!
What a wonderful family we have. How wonderfully Ann and I are blessed by our children and their spouses (our 4 children grew to 8, each addition equally and wonderfully adding to our already bountiful and overflowing basket!) and with the addition of 6 grandchildren, our joy is boundless, our happiness is unmeasured, and our days are full of wonderment and excitement as each finds and clears a new hurdle in life, a new accomplishment, a new skill, or a new idea (even that "David Payne lies about the weather"!)!
And Christmas 2009 was another family milestone passed! Our 25 Christmas together as a family celebrating the birth of Jesus and giving thanks for His birth and for our many blessings and sharing our life together, even for such a brief moment in time, it seemed like a complete page in Ann and I's life.
Phillip, Tammy and Austyn, along with Paul, Heather, Andrew and Madison stayed and we watched the movie GI JOE... together. That was a wonderful moment in time as well...
To each, thank you for your thoughts, for the awesome gifts, and to Paul who was still assembling the chairs and table from their family well after dark (it did not go unnoticed!) thank you from Ann and I.
The Joy each brings to the table is unmeasurable and unending. As we have watched through the years, YOU each are our best gift ever! The joy you bring to our lives is beyond belief.
Mom and Dad
