Yesterday was the 25th anniversary of my first date with Karana. To celebrate I shared 25 of my top memories with her on Twitter and Facebook, one every 25 minutes. If you missed them, here was the list:
- The first date and the first kiss. My what a wonderful life that day started!
- The first day we reported for work at FamilyLife and how thankful we were for God’s provision
- Rose petals
- Sitting up all night in the Orlando airport waiting for a 6am flight to get home to our kids after the tornado.
- Coming back to our hotel room to learn that a tornado had hit our home but that the kids were safe
- Driving you home from working together at Sonic so your Dad wouldn’t worry
- Lots of “Surprise Christmases” when we’d wake the kids up early on a random December day to open gifts
- The way Rebekah screamed whenever she first saw us in Korea
- The look of shock on your face when a friend told us a stranger wanted to give us the adoption money
- Praying over a list of costs for out last adoption and asking God to provide if it was meant to be
- The way Kyle smiled and laughed at everyone on the plane
- Calling you when God answered our prayer for guidance on our first adoption by Dennis Rainey asking “Do you have room?” on FLT
- The curly-haired smile of our little “Sweet Potato” and how it lit up our hearts
- When Christine was born and the nurse said, “You just gave birth to your best friend.”
- When Gene was born face up and the Dr bent him at the waist and said “Hi Mom!”
- You pulling my hair in a contraction with Gene when I was trying to remind you we had decided no drugs.
- Giving my parents mugs for Christmas 1989 that said “Grandpa” and “Grandma.”
- Our honeymoon at Disney World as two kids who couldn’t believe we were really married!
- The way you kept the kids away when “Daddy was working on his thesis.”
- Coloring a FamilyLife logo divided into 100 parts each time we got 1% closer to reporting
- When you agreed to take IBS classes with me then I abandoned you because my boss said I had to withdraw
- Watching “Sabrina” together at the Arcadian Inn
- Wandering through NamDaeMun street market haggling for Hanboks in Korean with calculators
- Arriving at our hotel room for Ministry Preview full of questions and expectancy at what God would do.
- Buying our first house together and being amazed at how God had provided so well
I have been blessed with a wife who has joined me on the amazing adventure of following God where leads. It has been the a rich life full of the best that life has to offer.
I am also very thankful for the teaching that we received from parents, church and through the ministry of FamilyLife. If you’re looking for a richer marriage, now’s a great time to learn what we did at the Weekend to Remember because through Monday it is Buy One Get One Free!
