25 YEARS...

Reason 1: She is my best friend. Wow...TWENTY FIVE YEARS! or Nine Thousand, One Hundred, Twenty-Five Days. How blessed we've been over the years. Side by side I have shared with my best friend Michelle some incredible experiences...what a ride so far. This fantastic journey officially began a beautiful late summer day September 9, 1983 in Santa Monica at the magnificent Los Angeles Temple and has kept going. We're taking a brief pause today to celebrate this fantastic journey.

A Few Snapshots Of The Last 25 Years With Michelle:
-Kneeling across the altar from the absolute most beautiful, radiant, gorgeous woman and being joined with her for eternity for the balance of my life. I was so excited and nervous that I attempted to say "yes" to the officiator at a pause before it was time for me to say "yes."
-I couldn't grab Michelle and leave for our honeymoon hotel fast enough after the grooms luncheon. We were the first ones to leave.
-Keeping my young wife alive and holding her hair many many times while she lost her meal bending over the toilet while she was sick with Ashley.
-Seeing my lovely wife holding that little miracle in her arms and nursing her as only a loving mother could.
-Looking at my first two daughters all dressed up perfectly for church with their hair in braids or buns or some sort of "do" and in matching outfits with their little white tights and shiny church shoes all ready for Sunday meetings.
-Witnessing Michelle give birth to our fourth child Alexandria who we thought was going to be a boy. She arrived as Michelle.s last masterpiece and we couldn't have been happier to have our fourth beautiful little girl, who little proud "Big Sister" Abby insisted was not a Daddy! (inside family joke)
-Wandering the streets of London England with my love Michelle, not knowing a soul but having only each other to rely on and share some wonderful memories for a few days before we hopped on a train to rejoin our friends in Scotland.
-Seeing Michelle put together delicious warm meals for cold hungry snowboarders at the (Tom Thorkelson) Big Bear cabin as they arrived back from the slopes. This crew usually included all my family along with three or four boy....friends of my two older daughters. Sometime other family friends.
-Watching my wife scrapbook for days in her night gown with one of her best friends (my cousin) Shawna Farnsworth only taking short breaks to make a meal for her neglected children and husband.
-Being with my beautiful wife and our four daughters while looking over the edge of the Haleakala Crater view point in their church clothes (after attending church at the Lahaina Ward) with the wind blowing their beautiful long hair everywhere. Michelle looked absolutely radiant that day in her floral patterned dress.
-While in the witness chair in the San Diego Temple Sealing room, basking in the indescribable peace, spirit and tenderness of the moment while seeing my eldest Ashley (who looked to me a beautiful princess out of a fairytale) marrying her handsome prince Jeremy, I stared across the room at the most radiant, beautiful, stately woman I had ever seen. It was hard for me to take my eyes off of Michelle and pay more attention to the ceremony as I was transfixed with this queenly vision as she looked on with dignified tears in her eyes witnessing her first born being married for time and all eternity to her prince.

I could go on and on as the memories come flooding back to me. These are just a small sampling.

I love you so much Michelle. I truly can't wait to get started on the next 25 years. They will no doubt be filled with good times and bad, but thank goodness the good times seem to dwarf the bad and are easily recalled. More weddings, grandchildren, baptisms, reunions, memorable vacations, graduations etc. await us. How exciting.

Eternally Yours,

Eric