The Gift of Memories......

Yesterday my brother and I along with our spouses, surprised our parents with a special gift for their 25th anniversary. They have been our support and encouragement through so much over the years and a shinning example of how marriage works.  We thought long and hard about what to do to honor them and wanted more that a fleeting gift that would get old and dusty. We chose the kind of gift that lasts and shines even more with time....the gift of memories.  We honored them with a special 2 hour lunch cruise downtown aboard the Portland Spirit.

It was an amazing day and the weather was perfect. We didn't tell them what we were doing before hand so they made great sport out of trying to figure out what the itinerary of the day was. My mom sized me up in my clothing to try and guess if we were going for a hike or touring the waterfalls in the area while my husband teased that we were driving to Seattle for lunch.

Going inside the ship made them feel so special. Seeing the tables full of crystal settings brought tears to their eyes. Realising that the boat would be actually moving instead of docked while we ate made the tears overflow with humble honor and overwhelming joy.

You can't see in this picture but my brother's left arm is in a sling and his shoulder is all taped up for stability.
He did well on the trip. It was his first real outing since he broke his collar bone a couple of weeks ago. He was bound and determined not to miss this special occasion. And after all the tension he and my sister-in-law have had with his recuperating these past few weeks, they enjoyed getting out. When their special song came on they danced and romanced one another with smiles and giggles.
You can't see in this picture but his left arm is in a sling and his shoulder is all taped up for stability.

My hubby and I had a good time relaxing as well. We were so grateful and doubly blessed that the weather was so perfect for our excursion.

The food was all gourmet and amazing. Our appetizers were jumbo prawns with the chef's special cocktail sauce. My sister-in-law also ordered some sauteed mushrooms but I was so enjoying the food and company I forgot to take a picture of it.

Our main course was just as spectacular. Most at our table ordered Herb Crusted Beef Shoulder platter. My brother ordered  Baked Salmon Fillet and I had Tortellini Provincial.  All platters came with yummy steamed veggies and spaghetti squash.

 Does dessert really need an explanation? giggle giggle..... We picked plates of chocolate chocolate gourmet chocolate cake, raspberry cheesecake and Bailey's Irish cream cheesecake. The Bailey's was mine.
(It definitely didn't go with my new eating plan but I enjoyed it and slept away the effects later in the day with no consequences.)

 The whole day was an amazing experience and we were so pleased to be able to treat and honor our parents with special memories of love.

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 And on a completely different venue of memories for the weekend......
regarding the inheritance money I received recently that sent me in a quandary.
With a small portion of it I chose to buy a brand new washer and dryer. That may seem silly to some but let me tell you how it makes me smile. In our 21 years of marriage and raising of so many kids, we have always traded in used for used and taken the appliances others have cast off as they upgrade. They have all been blessings that served their purpose for the time needed...and our pocketbook. But they have all had their cute quirks as well that we have dealt with. They crash and bang around with imbalance and we had to choose certain times to wash because of the noise factor. Imagine the machines making their jubilee sounds so hubby turns up the tv which makes everyone talk more loud in their conversations, music practice gets more intense, phone conversations hide in the corners because of sound and not secrets.....

This is what I bought and had delivered on Friday. You can't imagine how excited I am and I want to wash everything in the house because of the efficient way this set makes everything clean. These machines are so quiet!  And in a way, every time I walk by my laundry room, I feel that it is a blessing from Daddy that makes my days easier.

The girls are all teasing me like crazy because I made up a check sheet for how to use this sparkling team. My reasoning for being so structured is that we have always had these old fashioned dials where you choose water level and temperature and type of clothing. These machines are so new and different. They are digital and do it all for you. It is foreign and scary to do the first load for fear of pressing wrong buttons.  And goodness.....though it sounds logical.....don't try to open the door of the front loader in motion to put in that forgotten article of clothing.


Thank you for reading along and sharing in the blessings of my weekend.
 I pray for you to feel God's blessings and encouragement this week as you pursue the fact that you have a purposeful destiny and are loved with a mighty never ending love.