Topsail Island, North Carolina

Chase didnt want to get wet but he wanted to throw a rock:)

Brandon's 7th birthday fishing with his best buddies..Nate and Bray:0)

A moment in Time a memory for a lifetime

We just got back from Topsail beach, North Carolina.  My parents chose to have all of their children and grandchildren with them to celebrate a huge milestone in their lives instead of a big party, their 40th wedding anniversary which will be this December.  It was a week filled with lots of fishing, boogy boarding, sandcastle building, shelling, swimming and amazing food, drinks and conversations.  It was an amazing week but much more than that it was like we let time stand still for a bit.  We were able to let our kids be kids and no rushing to and from anywhere except down some steps and onto the beach. I loved watching all of my sister's and their husbands interact with my kids.  What memories they will have spending time fishing with uncle D and uncle Scott or playing football with uncle Ry.  Swimming with aunt Nellie and aunt Jules or making shell necklaces with Amy.

I also enjoyed watching my parents interact with each of their grands and each other.  The one thing my parents have that each couple should strive for is a deep love for each other...a respect between them that shows each morning when they get up in their body language with each other.  They truly enjoy each other and their surroundings.  They showed my sister's and I that hard work and lots of cherishing of each other goes along way throughout our childhoods.  I can only pray that as Brad and I live our lives and raise our family that when our children look back on their childhood they remember Brad and I loving each other the way my parents did, I hope they remember us dating and respecting each other. I hope they remember us putting God as the center of our home and of our relationship. 

Thanks mom and dad for your time and dedication to not just each other but to your family. It's a generational gift that you gave us. One that will be past down to our grands and then to theirs.