Thursday, June 9, 2011

44 Wonderful Years Together - Happy Anniversary - June 13th -

Our 44th Wedding Anniversary will be celebrated on June 13th -  My dear husband is so much a part of who I am and is my first and only love for the eternities to come; I thought today that I would post some precious thoughts about this awesome man that I has been blessed to be married to for the last 44 years.
I met my husband in Drivers training class in the summer before I entered High School. I was attracted to him and he for me also.  Our first date was on November 17th of our Junior year. We dated during our Junior and Senior year.We graduated from High School together and then attended the University of Utah. 
The following Spring he left to serve a 2 year LDS Mission in Northern California. We wrote letters to each other weekly for those two years.While he was serving, I finished the year at the U.of U. and then transferred to BYU where I finished a degree in Nursing.  He came home in March 1967, we were engaged in April  and Married on June 13th in the Salt Lake Temple. We were privileged to have been married by President Ezra Taft Benson who was one of the
Twelve Apostles at that time. It was a beautiful, joy filled day for us.

 After our Honeymoon we came home and both worked until he started school at the U.of U.  During this time I worked at the LDS Hospital in their Medical Surgical ICU and he worked part time and went to school. We  had our first two boys during this time. He gradutated in Pharmacy 1973.
Through the years we have lived in the following areas, Northern California, Utah, Nevada and Washington. We had our next four children while living in California.
We presently are living in Utah. We are the parents of 6 wonderful children and their beloved spouses.  We have 30 grandchildren and 1 great granddaughter.

There is not time to list all of the attributes of this awesome man  so I will just list a few and then share a couple of moments.
He loves our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ and is a true disciple of Christ.
He is a loving Father, Grandfather, and Great Grandfather.
He is a very giving, kind man and has a compassionate heart.
He is very loyal to his family and to his faith.
He works hard and is very dedicated to his temporal work and his callings in our church.
He honors the Priesthood he holds and has given countless blessings to our family,to me and to others.
He is a great brother to our families.
He loves the temple and serves faithfully there.
He loves helping others and we now serve together in the Inner City Mission for our church.
Plus
He can cook really good and does quite often.
He also detail cleans items in our home. Usually something I haven't even noticed needing it.
 I can not even count the number of times he has blessed and gotten up and walked  or rocked one of our children. He has always in every way helped me with our children's needs. He has given our children wise councel through the years. He loved working in the scouting programs with his sons over the years and supported all of our childrens activities.
Over the years our children were trained to go to his side of the bed if they had needs. One reason was we made a deal that he would get up with any of the children that needed help in the night so I could take care of a new little one. Later we always had our children come into our bedroom to tell us when they came home at night. One night one of our daughters went to my side of the bed and as she touched me; I woke up screaming. Now you know another reason they didn't  come to my side of the bed.
For my 55th birthday he secretly flew my parents, brothers and their spouses up to our home in Washington as a surprise for the weekend. It was such a happy time for me and one of the last times that my father was aware of what was going on around him. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease shortly after that visit. We all had so much fun. We attended the temple together; this was a sweet moment. Both of my brothers had been inactive for years and were now back into the church and had taken their families through the temple.
Also, at that time he gave me a present that was remarkable. I had told him that  when I was young there was one gift  which I didn't receive for Christmas. This gift was an Annie Oakley Pop Gun. For this birthday, I received an Annie Oakley Pop Gun and autographed picture of Gail Davis who played the role of Annie Oakley on TV. This was such an emotional and sweet  birthday gift from him.

He is a devoted husband in every way. We have had 44 wonderful and loving years together. We have faced many trials through the years but with faith in our Savior and our Heavenly Fathers plan for us we have grown even closer. We look forward to our earthly years together and our eternity.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO MY DEAR HUSBAND, ROGER

 A few pictures through the years

Roger's graduation from the University of Utah






Fun In The Snow Just This Year



We are now off celebrating for the next four day.

10 comments:

Ardith Haws said...

Very sweet post! And I love all the pictures. What a fun peak into your lives. Thanks!

Barb said...

Hi LeAnn!

Happy Anniversary! I loved reading about you and Roger met, and all the fun that came with it! The pictures were priceless too - you and Roger make the cutest couple... :0)

I think my favorite picture of all was the one with you and Roger sitting on the bench . . . . I do believe there was a box of chocolate candy bars sitting next to you????!!!!

Hugs and Love,
Barb

Cheryl @ TFD said...

Hi LeAnn, You were and are a beautiful couple! Congrats on your 44 years of love together. I loved seeing all your photos and reading your story. Have a wonderful weekend. ~Cheryl

Anonymous said...

Happy Anniversary and enjoy your celebrating! I loved the pics too! 44 years is quite an accomplishment!

Renee said...

Congratulations! What a sweet post! You and your hubby are a photogenic couple. Love the pic of your beautiful family, and I enjoyed seeing your various hair and clothing styles over the years :)

Grammy Staffy said...

What a beautiful couple.... both as newlyweds and now. You both radiate with a sweet spirit and love. .... and.... what a wonderful family. You two have certainly been blessed.

Roger sounds like he is a great husband...(even if he did graduate from U of U... nobody is perfect.LOL)
I am happy for you and wish you both a wonderful 44 anniversary.

The Adventurer said...

Happy belated anniversary:) It is the same day as my Birthday--June 13th so we have a connection:) Love seeing a picture of your large family, 30 grandkids and 1 great grandchild, how absolutely amazing!!!

Kim-A Creative Spirit said...

I can't believe I missed this post. HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY Anniversary... Hope you had a wonderful day.

I have changed my comments to pop up box....so hopefully it will fix the annonymous comments. :o)

John said...

Happy Anniversary!!! June is a lovely month for weddings!

Mrs. White said...

I absolutely love these pictures!!

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Mrs. White
The Legacy of Home