Happy 29th Anniversary

Today, November 1, 2009, at 2:22 pm in Sacramento, CA, Gerry and I have been married for 29 years. It was a dreary Saturday 29 years ago. I was surprised at the turnout for our wedding since Denise and I had not lived in Sacramento very long. Most of the guests were church family and friends of Gerry. A friend, Larry Bowler told Gerry after the ceremony that we were pronounced man and wife by Gerry's dad at 2:22 pm. Through the years I have been reminded of the precise time in numerous ways.

I remembered it was a very busy morning. All of Denise and my belongings were moved to Gerry's apartment that morning. Then I had to get things set up for the reception and in the church besides getting 5 girls dressed. Gerry had the responsibility of making sure 3 boys got dressed.

A friend, Rita, made our cake for us and got it set up. She was a big help in helping me to get what was necessary for the ceremony and reception.

We were married at Arden Church of the Nazarene, Gerry's dad performed the ceremony and our eight children were the wedding party. It was quite a task finding outfits for 7 of them. Our oldest son got his own suit. Gerry found a 3 piece cordoroy suit at Sears in a rust color and so Erik got a beige one. Our colors were peach, rust and ivory. I found a really nice peach colored gown at a bridal shop in Town and Country that needed very little alterations. The four youngest girls dresses were found at Sears. Surprisely enough we were able to find sizes to fit them all. They were ivory and our oldest daughter wore a long ivory colored gown. I think we found it at JC Penney's. Matching shoes was another story. I had to go to the Naturalizer store to get Denise's shoes. The other girls shoes were bought at Sears. The two boys wore khaki pants with a printed western style shirt.

The ages of the children were 19 years to 9 years.

It is hard to believe that 29 years have passed.