42 years and counting

August 28, 1970  St George Temple  The new Mr & Mrs Douglas Sullivan

So today is our anniversary.  We will have to wait to celebrate it more officially--not that we have ever been really big on celbrating our anniversaries. We pretty much got married and went to work--not a real honeymoon--just our drive to our new home in New Mexico.  But that was more or less the norm back in the 70's.  No big honeymoons--just couldn't afford it or was never really expected.  And we started our family--didn't wait till it was more convenient or we knew our direction in life, just figured it would all come together.  I am thankful for the naivete that we had that allowed us to believe it would all work out.  Thankful we did get Casey born nine months later, then Holly, then Angie, Kay, Beth and Sean. What a wonderful blessing to have our children. It made the growing up process happen faster. How else do you really learn about life unless you have children that burst your bubble of supposedly reality.  And I'm still learning.  So a bride at 19-- a mother of 6 children by 33.  Doug and I grew up together and facing life as it came at us.  So thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and our understanding of God and our relationship with him.  Kept us balanced and relatively happy in the journey. Obviously it wasn't all peachy as you all can attest.  We had our growing pains--but in looking back at where we have been and where we are now, I feel pretty good about what we have become so far.  My biggest blessing in life is Doug. So grateful we found each other, and I figured it out that he was the one I should build a life with. He is the righteous man I was promised in my patriarchal blessing. Have I always known that--no--I was really too imature to fully understand what a righteous man was--but I was blessed none the less, and it is something now I just thank God for.  The wedding that took place in the St George Temple Aug 28, 1970 on a very hot summer day.  That wedding sealed us together for eternity. How sweet it is to have that knowledge and peace. Now that we are aging, and the possibility of one or both of us leaving mortality--it becomes so much more meaningful. How can I every live without Doug? But God planned for our happiness, not just for this life, but for the next and for eternity. Thanks Doug for loving me and our children.  You have always been there, I could always count on you and your children could too. Looking back, but also looking forward to many more happy years.  I love you.  Ilean