Walking Tour Surprise

A few weeks before our anniversary, we were given a Save the Date card by our kids telling us to keep the morning of June 4th open and wear walking shoes. It was so much fun to wonder what was going to happen!

Once we had all gathered (Anne, Jed, Ellie, John and Kari) we were handed this sweet little flip-top album with a map of where we'd walk and "Reflective Questions" we'd discuss as we were walking. I think I might have screamed with excitement as one who loves this sort of adventure! We ended up walking to the North Park University campus where Wes and I began our courtship and love story. We saw our dorms, the Hanson Hall classroom where we met in Music 101, the Carlson Tower outdoor patio where we shared our first kiss, remembered the old library where we met to study (and my GPA was elevated because Wes was a serious student and if I wanted to see him, I had to go there myself) and remembered times spent on the mid-campus "Hump."

Then, we left the campus to walk to North Park Covenant Church where we were married. The building was unlocked and we had the sanctuary to ourselves as we relived the walk down and back the aisle. Photos were taken with the former bride and groom looking every bit as happy as on that day 35 years ago.

We ended up our walking tour by going past Wes' old house on Sawyer and our first apartment right across the street from his boyhood home. Memories were shared with the kids about my shoe heel breaking as we snuck our way up the back staircase following the wedding and our landlord coming out to see what the commotion was and finding us in our wedding attire - he was quite surprised!

Back together at our City Nest, we were treated to a delicious lunch and gifts. Even Ellie made a card for us:

Another part of our surprise was getting a stack of index cards listing events that occurred each year of our married life with pictures on the back of the cards. Not only was the stack thicker than one would expect, but also physical evidence of the beauty and blessings we have shared in all these years together.

To our kids - you completely blew us away with your thoughtfulness. We thank you for everything from the bottom of our hearts!!!! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!