I Do, We Still Do

Tallying up 40 years of marriage:

3 incredible children

1 miscarriage

3 apartments

5 houses

8 dogs

2 horses

2 kids with broken limbs

3 ER visits for stitches

1 road trip to Disney World

1 hamster hunt

3 baby rabbits trapped behind a dresser

1 trip to Uncle Ed's 'earth home'

The 'I lost count' category:

• church services/picnics/meetings/mission trips
• garages-turned-haunted-houses
• piano recitals
• tennis tournaments
• diving tournaments
• school programs, concerts, carnivals, PTA metings, graduations
• rodeos and horse shows
• little league games
• basketball games
• art contests, science fairs
• plays

1 zillion good times at the farm: hayrides, cookouts, campouts, scavenger hunts

1 rattlesnake bulls-eyed in the dark

a few nerd parties

1 funny vacuum cleaner story

1 business started from scratch

1 flooded house

2 wrecks caused by Domino's pizza drivers

1 child almost arrested at the Whitesides' house

3 moves to college

1 broken pelvis in a near-fatal car crash

1 empty nest

1 no longer empty nest

2 siblings,6 grandparents, and 3 parents passed away

1 child's wedding

1 wonderful son-in-law

3 remarkable grandchildren

1 Broadway debut

25 books published

1 yellow playhouse and 1 Adventure Trail

1 grandchild's broken arm

1 scary pool accident

218 birthday celebrations

35 years serving Oak Hills Church

2 hearing aids

6 rounds of chemo

5 years free of cancer

Thousands of burgers for hundreds of singles gatherings

5 years of Camp Grand

Too numerous to count: Friends and fun and blessings.

Total: one ordinary family with ups and downs and in-betweens, all lived under the sovereign hand of a loving Savior.

Thank you, Lord, for the bottom line!