10 Years

September 17, 2005. 

10 years ago today my dad suffered his first stroke. I never would have speculated how much that day would change the rest of my life, how much it would change our family. I will be the first to admit that the past 10 years haven’t been easy. But through them all, I can proclaim that God was faithful, He was with us each step of the way, He provided for us, and He guided each footstep we took. We have so much to be thankful for! 

Old Orchard Beach

Back in July, we went camping to Old Orchard Beach, Maine. We stayed at Bayley's Camping Resort, which is highly recommended if you go to the OOB area! 

Definitely the best part about camping:

I did a lot of knitting at the beach! Its the perfect spot for some quality knitting time!

Dad and Aaron participated in a sand sculpture contest. Here's their creation:

 There's a little booth at the beach that makes homemade crepes right in front of you. They are absolutely delicious! 

This one was Strawberry Banana Nutella and it was amazing! 

On our last morning there, I decided to get up early (shocking, right?!) to try and catch the sunrise over the beach. It was beautiful and so worth getting up early for! :)

It was the perfect ending to the week!

:)

Rachel's Pinning

The same weekend of my college graduation, my sister Rachel had her nursing pinning ceremony. 

Being pinned as an R.N.

I was the photographer for most of the evening; here's dad being my faithful purse carrier! 

Surprise 25th Anniversary Party

On March 18th, my parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. That following weekend, my sister and I surprised them with an anniversary party. We even were able to get family from out of town to sneak in. They had no idea! We finally got the pictures back this week and we are so happy with them!

Our tables came out so pretty! 

I made a delicious punch that was a huge hit! 

Mom always holds her chest when she gets surprised! 

A huge thanks to my Uncle Len and Aunt Deb for "taking them out for their anniversary." It worked out perfectly!

Pinning on their corsage and boutonnière:

We had a friend make a special cake, and then we used the Precious Moments topper that was on their wedding cake! 

Our family:

Cutting the cake:

A few months before the party, we sent out scrapbook pages and had family and close friends make pages. They were so surprised, and they love looking through the book! Rachel and I also did a big scrapbook of family memories from throughout the past years. 

We are so glad that everything worked out well. Also, we are so thankful that most of our family was able to be in on the surprise!

:)