1989...25 years later!


celebrating 25 years of marriage
Happy New Year!! I'm baack and I've missed you all!! A day late, but hey, I've got a good reason! Today my husband and I are celebrating our 25th(Silver) wedding anniversary...a way to start off the new year! Whoop whoop! Okay, for all of you who thought you were coming over here to read some mushy lovey-dovey 25th Anniversary post about how much I love and adore my husband, sorry, you won’t get that on this go around! Mind you, I absolutely love and adore my husband, but I thought I’d go against the grain for our 25th Wedding Anniversary(that’s just the kind of gal I am)! :-)



 

A lot has changed since me and my Toddy got hitched 25 years ago! It really does seem like it was only yesterday. Ahhhh, I remember it well! He called me personable, I called him sire pumpkin head and the rest is love history! :-D Here we are…25 years, 3 kids, one son-in-law, a wonderful extended family, awesome friends, 3 states, a boat load of houses, two ministries and a beautiful church family later and we’re still at it, rearing to go for another 25! You can read my "Marriage Musings" from my anniversary post last year HERE, where I shared a list of "Do's and Don'ts" to keep your marriage going strong.




In the meantime, I invite you to come take a stroll with me back down memory lane….



It was January 7, 1989, in Atlanta, GA. A cold blistering day and I couldn’t wait to warm up in the arms of my snookums...okay, I’m lying, it was actually a surprisingly balmy 72 degrees in Atlanta that day. It was a small intimate wedding. My mom, dad, sisters, brother-in-law, aunt and cousins came down from Columbia. And of course, I couldn’t forget my ace-boon coon, my HFP, my roommate Sebrinia. Todd arrived with his mom and dad in tow. I came down the stairs to Anita Baker’s “You Bring Me Joy” ~ she sang the prettiest love songs EVER! Todd’s dad performed the ceremony, we said our “I Dos" and the rest is history. An unorthodoxed wedding for an unorthodoxed couple. We’ve lived our lives that way ever since! Not fitting the mode whatsoever and ya know what…I wouldn’t have it any other way!

celebrating 25 years of marriage
I'm sure I had to tilt my head to the side because I didn't want to hit my husband in the head with the big bushel of baby's breath in my hair(so Minnie Riperton)! Look at those adorable dimples!




Now that I’ve shared with you our posh, lavish, over-the-top penny pinching nuptials, here’s a look at what was happening in 1989 - the last year of the BEST decade ever, that year I married my Prince Charming.




In 1989…



  • Gas was 97 cents, a postage stamp 25 cents, a ham and cheese pizza $2.59, and a new house $120,000…GAH!
  • The first unofficial text message was sent, the first dial-up internet connection was made in the USA, the launch of the World Wide Web-yep, www.com, the 1st release of Microsoft Office, world’s first HDTV broadcast, world's 1st television show(David Letterman), to use "dolby stereo", the world's first satellite(Skyphone) opened and the 1st of 24 GPS satellites was placed in orbit, (yes, our year was definitely the beginning of technology as we know it)
  • In the world of entertainment Lucille Ball died, Jane Pauley ended her career at the “Today” show and Dick Clark stepped down as the host of “American Bandstand”
  • Michael Jordan scored his 10,000th NBA point, Kareem Abdul Jabar became the 1st NBA player to score 38,000 points and also played his last NBA game in 1989, the Dallas Cowboys fired head coach Tom Landry after 29 years, baseball legend Pete Rose was banned from baseball for a lifetime, Canadian olympian Ben Johnson admitted to using steroids, Nolan Ryan struck out his 5,000th batter, the first NFL game coached by a black man(Art Shell), for the LA Raiders, the NL named Bill White as their 1st African-American president, the Minnesota Timberwolves played their first NBA game, the 1st Soviet hockey players were allowed to play in the NHL, the Toronto Blue Jays’ Skydome opened, the Orlando Arena opened and Fulton Co. approved a $210 million stadium for the Atlanta Falcons
  • Toyota launched their first luxury car(Lexxus), Chrysler was the 1st car maker to install air bags in all their cars and Yugo went bankrupt(who remembers Yugo? Lol!
  • MPAA created NC-17 rating for movies with adult themes. Speaking of movies, 1989 was the YEAR. It brought us “Steel Magnolias”, ”Driving Miss Daisy”, “Glory”, “Field of Dreams”, “Coming to America”, “Do The Right Thing”, “License to Kill”, “Lethal Weapon II”, “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier”, “Weekend at Bernie’s”, “Lean on Me”, “Batman”, “Back to the Future, Part II”, “When Harry Met Sally”, “Honey I Shrunk the Kids”, “Dead Poets Society”, “Ghostbusters II”, “Look Who’s Talking”, “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure”, ‘Tango and Cash”, “The War of the Roses”, “All Dogs Go to Heaven, “The Little Mermaid”, “Karate Kid Part II” and “Major League” to name a few…IKR! 
  • Oh and the fashion...well here, I'll just let you look at it for yourself!                       
    Quite lovely, don't you think! :-/

  • In the world of television we had the BEST! No syndication here…all “primetime” baby! “The Cosby Show”, “A Different World”, “Cheers”, “227”, “Amen”, "Siskel and Ebert", “The Golden Girls”, “Coach”, “Designing Women”, “Major Dad”, “Knot’s Landing”, “Dallas”, “Falcon’s Crest”, “Married With Children”, “Murder She Wrote” and “Roseanne”. It was also the premier year for new shows like, “The Simpsons”, “Seinfeld”, “Family Matters”, “Baywatch”, “Cops”, “Inside Edition”, “Doogie Howser, M.D.”, “Quantum Leap”, “Rescue 911”, “Tales from the Crypt”, ABC’s “Primetime Live”, “Saved by the Bell” and “America’s Funniest Home Videos”. We also said goodbye to some favorites like, “Family Ties”, “Murphy’s Law”, “Webster”, It’s A Living”, “Simon and Simon”, “Dynasty”, “Moonlighting”, “The Gong Show”, “Miami Vice”, “Kate and Allie”, “Highway to Heaven” and “American Bandstand”
  • And let’s not forget the music. Oh the music! There were so many hit songs, I can’t name them all, so I’ll just name “some” of the many artist that were BIG in 1989…Guns N Roses, The B-52s, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, George Michael, Millie Vanilli(which really shouldn’t count seeing as if they didn’t actually sing, lol),  Richard Marxx,  Rob Base, Anita Baker, Fine Young Cannibals, Simply Red, Bobby Brown, Jody Whatley, Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, New Kids on the Block, Teddy Riley and Guy, Heavy D, LL Cool J, Chicago, Bon Jovi, Duran Duran, Tiffany, Phil Collins, Gloria Estefan, Babyface, U2, Tone Loc, Depeche Mode, Soul II Soul, Young MC, Aerosmith, Tom Petty, Rick Atsley, The Bangles, Tina Turner, 2 Live Crew, The Beastie Boys, R.E.M., Taylor Danes, 10,000 Maniacs, Karen White, Poison, Jeff Healey Band, Mike and the Mechanics, Eric B. and Rakim and Big Daddy Kane to name a few
  • 1989 was the year we were introduced to Nintendo’s portable game system, “Game Boy”, Tetris Sega Genesis, Trolls, Polly Pockets and The Energizer Bunny 
  • Time Inc. and Warner Communications merged forming Time Warner, Eastern Airlines went bankrupt, 135 acre Disney MGM Studios was opened for the first time to the public, California Quake opened at Universal Studios, the Wonder of Life Pavilion opened at Disney World, Mega XL-200 opened at Cedar Pointe amusement park - the world's largest and fastest roller coaster, the Mirage Hotel and Casino(the first huge resort hotel), opened in Las Vegas, construction for the first McDonald’s in the USSR began, Sony purchased Columbia Pictures for $3.4 billion CASH and groundbreaking began in Minnesota on the world’s largest mall
  • PTL evangelist Jim Baker was convicted of tax fraud, Oliver North was convicted for his part in the Iran-Contra affair, Leona Hensley, billionaire hotel operator, was convicted of tax fraud, Lyle and Erik Menendez shot their wealthy parents to death in Beverly Hills,California and serial killer Ted Bundy was executed
  • In 1989 we also saw the beginning of freedom around the world...the 1st free elections were held in the Soviet Union, Poland and Czechoslovakia, the borders separating East and West Germany were officially opened - the Berlin Wall came down, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George Bush, Sr declared the Cold War to be over, US troops ousted Panama President Manuel Noriega, APEC is founded, Desmund Tutu led the biggest anti-apartheid protest march in South Africa, P.W. Botha resigned as president of South Africa and F.W. de Klerk became the 7th and last state president of an apartheid South Africa, Zimbabwe gained independence, "Solidarity" was in the Polish election and Ide Amin was expelled from Zaire
  • But 1989 was a tumultuous year also, as it brought us the Tiananmen Square demonstrations and massacre, the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, Hurricane Hugo, which struck the Carribbian islands and the southern part of the United States, an earthquake in the San Francisco-Oakland region of northern California, killing 67 people and delaying the 89' World Series for 10 days(I actually saw it live on t.v.) and the 1st Al-Queda related cell in the U.S. began operating in New York City
  • 1989 brought us America's 1st African-American governor since Reconstruction(Douglas Wilder of Virginia), the 1st African-American mayor of New York(David Dinkins) and Barbara Harris, an African-American, became the first woman to be ordained bishop in the Episcopal Church in the US 
  • To wrap up my list of some of the 89' happenings, here are a few more interesting facts...the University of Phoenix enrolled 8 students as the world's first on-line campus, the B2 Stealth bomber took it's first test flight, the highest overnight temperature was recorded in Phoenix, Arizona at 93 degrees and the lowest temperature in Black Hills, South Dakota at -60 degrees, North and South Dakota celebrated their 100th birthdays, Voyager 2 took the first pictures of Neptune and discovered its moon, Florida and Virginia were the first states allowed by the FBI to use DNA genetic fingerprints, Reverend Billy Graham was given the 1900th star on Hollywood Blvd, the Department of Veterans Affairs was officially established as a Cabinet Department, the first Spanish commercial aired on network television during the Grammy Awards, a 4,400 year old mummy was found in Egypt, a 150 million year old fossil egg was found, the 1,100,000,000th Chinese was born, and for one second on June 7th the time was 1:23:45 6/7/89(get it)? :-)


1989 was quite a year and the 80's was definitely my "coming of age" decade. It saw me in middle school, junior high school, high school, college, marriage and motherhood...WOW, that's a lot in 10 years...ya think?! :-)  But the best thing it brought...was the union between Todd and I. The coming together and making of what I consider our finest work yet...the making of a family that serves God!! The past 25 years had it's ups and downs, but the ups far outweighed the downs, why? Because we sought Godly wisdom and applied it to our marriage. I couldn't have asked for a better husband than Todd and I'm so grateful God blessed me with him and our beautiful children!! I need to add that Todd will celebrate his birthday, Thursday, January 9th. YES, he was one of those ones who married close to his birthday...IKR! :-) HAPPY BIRTHDAY hon!

 
I'll leave you with this quote from Christian author Nancy Leigh DeMoss, "The ultimate purpose of marriage is not to make us happy, but to glorify God"! And glorify God with our marriage is what we've done, but it's so awesome to have the "happiness/joy"...to me it's the icing on the cake!! Here's to US and 25+ more!!



Our family over the past 25 years...







All Rights Reserved copyright© 2012-2014 Michell Pulliam “Prowess and Pearls” by Michell Pulliam






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64 comments:

  1. Congratulations on 25 years...and thanks for the trip down memory lane!!

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    1. Hey Jen...thank you so much!! Haha, yes, it was definitely a trip wasn't it! Ahh...the memories! Thanks so much for stopping by...hope you and the family had a blessed holiday!

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    2. Congratulations on celebrating 25 years of marriage! Thanks for sharing this post. It was a great read! Stay blessed.

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    3. Thanks so much Nakia! Glad you enjoyed it...blessings to you as well! :-)

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  2. Congratulations Michell on 25 years. Love it truly beautiful. We have our wedding anniversary coming up this month also. I love seeing beautiful true love. I'm so happy for you two.

    Stephanie

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    1. Thanks so much Stephanie, you're too sweet!! And a big congrats on your upcoming anniversary! Hope you had a wonderful holiday! :-)

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  3. Congratulations on 25 years and on glorifying God through your marriage. How is it you look younger each year??? I graduated high school in '89-- I had those buckle boots!!! So fun to read through this post and remember:)

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    1. Oh you're too kind Seana, thank you my friend! :-) Yeah, that fashion was something else wasn't it?! Hope you enjoyed your holiday! :-)

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  4. Wow! Huge congrats! The only way I know it's 25 yrs (besides you saying it) is how much the children has grown because you stayed the same.lol. In 1989 I was a freshman in HS.lol. Most of tho happenings of 1989 I became familiar with in the early 90's...except for the falling of the Berlin Wall...that was huge.
    You have a beautiful family, God's blessing for 25 more

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    1. Thanks so much Hope!! Haha...yes, I was amazed when I was searching the internet, some pretty important stuff happened in our year, lol. ;-) Thanks again Hope and hope you and the family had a wonderful holiday lady! xoxo

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  5. Awww look at your babies all "growed" up. Love the timeline. Somethings I remembered and some I was surprised about. Like I remember getting $2 worth of $.97 gas. The $120K must have been a Atlanta house. In Florida in 2000 we got one for less than that. Granted it was a box ;-), but a cute box and we didn't have any kids. Oh and the shoulder pad fashion - that's one of those things if it comes back in style I won't be wearing them. I try to live by never make the same mistake twice. LOL! Happy Anniversary to you and you husband - 25 years is awesome! So did you do silver gifts or something unorthodox? ;-)

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  6. Haha Kenya! Yes they have "growed" up girl! Hey, but it was YOUR box, that's all that mattered right! ;-) IKR...looking back, the eighties had some awful styles, lol! But it was the best decade though. Thanks so much for dropping by, hope you had a wonderful holiday!

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  7. WOW!!!! This was an AWESOME reflection. Brought back so many memories for me....89, the year of my HS graduation. You and Pastor are AWESOME people and examples. I Thank God for connecting you two to me. I'm very excited for you all and congrats on 25 years!!!!

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    1. Haha!! I knew YOU would get a kick out of it, lol! You "pop culture" expert! :-) The 80's was definitely the decade! We too are blessed that God connected us to you and the family! Love ya lady and thanks so much!! :-)

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  8. Not many make to 25 anymore. Congratulations. Totally do not miss those shoulder pads. LOL

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    1. Thanks so much Kristina!! Ikr...ME EITHER! ;-) Thanks for stopping by!

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  9. Happy Anniversary Michelle! May you two celebrate many more years together. You such a lovely family.

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    1. Thanks Wanda! Amen...God willing, we sure will my friend! Have a wonderful week! ;-)

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  10. Happy, happy, happy anniversary!! What a milestone!! 25 years! WOW!! May you have many, many more wonderful years together!!
    I have to say, you have the most BEAUTIFUL family I've ever seen!!
    The 80's were my coming of age decade so I absolutely loved this walk back through 1989.
    Happy New Year and congratulations on your Silver Anniversary! --Lisa

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    1. Awww...thank.you.so.much.Lisa for your kind words!! :-) YES, the 80's were definitely the BEST!! :-) There's just something about that decade that was magical. Thanks again and may your 2014 be blessed! :-)

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  11. Congratulations on 25 years. May God continue to shower your marriage with blessings. Thanks for being a beautiful example of a Christian woman. Continue to encourage and inspire!

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    1. Thanks so much Trinity, I receive it!! I appreciate your kind words my friend! :-) Blessings in 2014 to you and yours!!

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  12. Happy Anniversary to you!! What a fun post - I enjoyed reading all those lists. That white exercise shoe? I die! You and your husband make such a wonderful, power couple. And you've produced such a wonderful family. May our Lord continue to bless you many times over! XOXO

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    1. Awww, thanks so much Meredith!! :-) Amen, I receive it my friend! Haha, yes, the soft foam leather exercise shoe. Can you say LA Gear, lol! Have a blessed rest of your week!

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  13. What a blessing!!! Happy (belated) Anniversary to you both!

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  14. Did that comment take? Huh!

    WOOHOO for 25 years of wedded BLISS!!! I love going back to that year and remembering all the incredible things that went on then!!

    What a gorgeous family you have raised in HIS Name!!

    And those dimples... swoooooon! ;)

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    1. Thanks Chris!! IKR...wish I could go back to the 80's, lol! But then again, I wouldn't be able to meet all my wonderful blogging friends! :-D Thanks Chris, we thank God they turned out okay! :-)) Haha girl, ahh yes...those dimples, lol! :-)

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  15. Michell, I hope you had a wonderful Silver Anniversary my friend! You have a beautiful family and the pictures were lovely! May the Lord bless you with many more years of healthy, prosperity and happiness!

    Hugs,
    Heather @ My Sweet Mission

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    1. We did Heather!! Thanks so much for asking! Thank you...in Jesus' name I receive that my friend!! :-) Blessings to you and your family in 2014!

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  16. Michell, first of all, happy anniversary. You guys were, and are, so cute. You are blessed with a beautiful family.

    Girl, you carried me back to the 80s big time! I love the 80s! And I was in the Caribbean when Hurricane Hugo hit in 1989. Not an experience I'd like to repeat! I had a big smile on my face as I read through the movies and television shows that were the bomb in 1989. Seems like such an innocent and happy time compared with what we have today. Ah well. Glad that I lived as a young person during that era.

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    1. Aww...thanks Alison!! We were living in Atlanta at the time, but Hugo affected my family(who live in SC) big time. Girl, I.had.so.much.fun writing this post!! It took me back too! Oh what I wouldn't give to be foot loose and fancy free again, LOL!! Ahh, we had the best didn't we? You can't even explain it to people, you just had to be there! Yeah, I feel bad for the generation of today, there's no innocence to their lives...they grew up way too fast...

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  17. How fun to re visit the past like that! .97cent gas-oh my! I celebrate our 7th year this month!

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    1. Hi Erinn! It was so much fun writing it! Congrats on your upcoming anniversary and thanks for stopping by! :-)

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  18. Congratulations!!!! Wishing you continued happiness. Loved the walk down memory lane. Thank you so much for helping to make the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop so much fun Hugs!

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    1. Thanks so much for your well wishes Katherine! You're so welcome my friend...sad news about Judy though. :-( Have a wonderful weekend!

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  19. woweee, you and your husband have not aged at all. what is your secret? i need to get me some of that secret sauce. you both look amazing. i love the quote about marriage being about glorifying God. that's amazing. i never thought about it that way, but it is so important. congratulations to you and to many many more years of wedded bliss. so happy for you!

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    1. Haha...thank you Catherine, you're too sweet! Yes, that is a deep quote isn't it, but it's the essence of a godly marriage! Thanks again for your kind words my friend! Have a blessed weekend! ;-)

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  20. Super congrats to you two. You guys look great and I hope there is at least 25 more.

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  21. Happy Anniversary! It is always fun to walk down memory lane...in 1989 I had been married five big years! Goes so fast. Thanks for participating in our blog hop!

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    1. Thank you Pam! It is isn't...the 80's were some of the best! My older sister celebrates her 30th wedding anniversary this year also! Congrats to you as well! ;-)

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  22. You have an absolutely beautiful family! Congratulations on 25 years and thank you so much for sharing the blessing of a Christ centered marriage :-)

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    1. Thanks so much Kalonda!! It is definitely our honor to represent Him! Thanks for dropping by...have a blessed weekend!

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  23. Congrats! I was laughing so the hard with the baby's breath comment. I had my share of those is my hair.

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    1. Hey Lisa! IKR...that was the "thing" back in the day! There was just something about baby's breath that made you feel like a "woman", lol!!

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  24. Congratulations to you and your hubby! :) I wish you many more years of happiness.

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    1. Thanks so much Alisha for your well wishes!! Have a wonderful weekend!

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  25. Woohoo! Congrats to you and your hubby!

    Next, this post brought back so many memories! I miss the 80's!

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    1. Thank you Jennifer!! Oh yes, as I was writing it my mind kept going back to those days! They were fun times weren't they! :-)

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  26. Congratulations! We're celebrating our 25th at the end of the year. It certainly has been a quarter century of changes in the world and in our lives. But the marriage just keeps on getting better! <3

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  27. Thanks so much!! Congratulations go out to you as well! :-) It has hasn't...a lot sure has changed! YES it does doesn't it! ;-) Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful weekend!

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  28. Congratulations on your 25th anniversary! What a beautiful occasion! I love watching the pictures of your family growing together over the years. Truly a beautiful family! Wishing you many more years of happiness!

    Thanks so much for sharing on Turn It Up Tuesday! We love having you! :)

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    1. Hi Natasha! Thanks so much and thanks for your well wishes...have a lovely rest of your week! :-)

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  29. Happy Anniversary dear friend! What a lovely post and tribute to this special occasion...love, love all the pictures!! Thank you Mitchell for sending me your "miss you" message; I have missed you too! My blogger account crashed on me in November, and I had to set up a new one. It took me a while to get going again (it doesn't come easy to me-ha!) with all the holiday preparations and business! I have switched over to Word Press and you can find me here http://refinemeblog.com/ I would love to hear from you sweet friend! Blessings and love! Denise

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    1. Awww...thanks Denise, you're a sweetheart! Missed you too and sure hate that happened to you...I'll be heading over to take a look at your new site my friend! Thanks again for stopping by...blessings! ;-)

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  30. Happy Anniversary sweet friend! Sorry it took me so long to get by. I did not realize I had missed so many of the TWW posts that were linked up. Oh my!! Happy New Year too! I look forward to catching up. {Hugs}

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    1. Thanks so much Beth!! No problem, my friend...I DEFINITELY understand, lol! May your 2014 be blessed! (((HUGS))) to you! ;-)

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  31. Congrats on the 25 years :) I always find it fun when something happened before I even was born haha! I love all those interesting facts you wrote :)

    Visiting from the SITS Tribe Building Challenge!

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  32. Hi Trine...thank you!! Lol, too funny...my kids get a kick out of too! We talk about the 80's so much...you'd think they grew up then, lol! Thanks so much for visiting...headed over to your blog now! ;-)

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Thanks so much for dropping by...I really appreciate it! Please check back for a response to your comment, as I post all responses to comments here on the blog, not via email. Please note, as this is a Christian blog...any comment that contains offensive and/or inappropriate language will be sent to the authorities...NAH, but seriously though, they WILL BE deleted. :-) Have a great day...I call you blessed! ;-)