Local Tourist -- Meadowbrook Hall for Christmas

On Friday, December 19, the Local Tourist and his lovely Mrs. took a tour of Meadowbrook Hall in Rochester, Michigan.  Click on the link for details about this amazing home.  We toured it as it was all decked out for Christmas.  It was fantastic.

Here are some photos.

Happy Anniversary!

          On this date, 26 years ago, I bound myself to my beloved wife, Laura.  I would do so again in a heartbeat. 


          We were wed at Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church in Appleton, Wisconsin, and the majority of our 26 years of marriage have been right here at Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church in Novi, Michigan.  We have enjoyed so many blessings over the years, endured a few hardships, and have been spared from even more.

          King Solomon taught us: "An excellent wife who can find?  She is far more precious than jewels." (Proverbs 31:10)  I certainly feel that way about my wife, and pray that other marriages enjoy the same joys that I have known for these past 26 years.  Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; and his mercy endures forever.  And I pray that his mercies continue upon us for many years to come.

25 years of marital love and commitment

The post below is from the book I had made for Laura and me for our 25th anniversary.  It has been slightly edited for this blog entry.  It is also not nearly expressive of what my beloved wife--as well as my best friend--has meant to me for all of these years.

I love you, Laura!  Happy anniversary, and may God grant us many, many more.

June 27, 1992.

June 27, 1992.
Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church,
in Appleton, Wisconsin.

       




          For one quarter of a century, God has graciously blessed us.  We were wed on June 27, 1992 at Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church in Appleton, Wisconsin.  Since then, we have lived briefly in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.  Then we moved to Jenera, Ohio were Tom served as a vicar under Pastor Alois ("Brownie" -- we still haven't called him that to his face) Schmitzer.  We moved to Grafton, Wisconsin where Tom completed his seminary training.  Then after Tom was assigned to be an instructor at West Lutheran High School in Hopkins, Minnesota (it has since moved to Plymouth, MN), we settled in an apartment in Eden Prairie.  Our second year there, we lived in a rented house in St. Louis Park.  Finally, Tom was reassigned through the Seminary to serve as a parish pastor at Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church in Novi, Michigan.  We moved here in July of 1996 and have been here ever since.

          In those 25 years, we were richly blessed with children.  Faith was born in St. Paul, MN.  Nathanael was born in St. Paul, MN.  Andrew was born in Livonia, MI.  Caleb was born in Livonia, MI.  Philip was born in Livonia, MI.  Peter was born in Livonia, MI.  We were also anticipating another, but on May 4, 2010, Isaac Christopher was still born.  His body awaits the resurrection at Glen Eden Cemetery in Livonia.

          25 years has not been without its bumps and bruises.  We have been parted from grandparents and friends by death, and we have bid farewell to friends whom we were thankful to have had in our lives, even if momentarily.

          Still, God has been good, and has been pleased to see to it that we still have had each other to lean on, to laugh together, to cry together, to celebrate the joyous moments with thanksgiving, and to pass through pain and hardship with prayer.

          We did not know where we would go when we were married 25 years ago.  We did not know how the Lord would bless us and what we would experience.  But we were committed to going through whatever it would be together.  We would not have had it any other way, and we would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

After 25 years, ths is what the Lord has turned us into.
December 25, 2016.  It is getting harder and harder to get us all together in one place.

Summer 2017, celebrating 25 years together.

Sake's alive! She's 45!

          On February 13, my beloved wife, Laura, turned 45 years old.  That's 16 years we've been celebrating her 29th birthday.
          Actually, Laura does not get hung up on her age.  The kids tease her about being so old.  Of course, they also tease her about being so happy.  I only get teased about my hair line.  (Careful boys, that's your future, too!)
          I am so grateful to have the beautiful wife I have.  She is generally very happy, and I don't tease her for it.  I am thankful for it.  It is wonderful to have a wife who is genuinely pleased that I walk in the door each night.  She is incredibly supportive, though she is also wise enough to see when I need to be talked back in off the ledge.  We have spent our life laughing together, crying together, and just being together.  In fact, our dates these days have been more about being together, because sane people don't say that running errands is a date.  But I will take an evening of doing nothing together with Laura than doing just about anything with anyone else.
           This birthday marks for Laura the milestone that she has spent the majority of her life married to me.  I have to wait until 49 to hit the milestone of having more than half my life being married to her.
          Anyway, Laura, I hope that you are blessed with many more years, and that I am blessed with many more years with you.
          Happy birthday, Laura!  Love you!

Football Mom and Beautiful wife

Laura had a successful splenectomy and is recovering in the hospital right now.  The surgery took a little longer than we had anticipated.  When we saw her in the recovery room, barely alert, she recognized that it was later than we had anticipated the surgery would take.  Among her first words when she saw us was a groggy, "It's late.  You need to get to Andrew's game."

I love my wife.

Happy Anniversary, dear (a day late)!

I meant to post this yesterday, but sometimes life happens.

21 years ago, I married my best friend.  She's still my best friend, and I'm still very happy she's my wife.  Love you, Laura!

Here's some photos from our wedding at Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church in Appleton, Wisconsin.