Today is Saturday, June 19, 2010. In light of Father's Day tomorrow, June 20th, Phil and I want to honor the memories of our fathers, N. A. Kinlaw, Jr., and Rev. Paul F. White.
Daddy and Dad were, coincidentally, born the same year. Daddy was born December 12, 1911, and Dad White was born January 23rd of that same year.
Phil and I reflect on the persons we have become and the pathways we have chosen in life, and we thank God for the blessings we have enjoyed as a result, in large part, of the impact and guidance of our dads when we were young.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Our beloved Aimee This past weekend was very special for Phil and me as we anticipated the celebration of our 45th wedding anniversary on June 14th. In 1965, Phil graduated from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago on Friday, June 11th. Once all the festivities of that day were completed and we were packed and ready to leave MBI after the school year was over, we all (my family -- Mother, Daddy, Joyce, Teecie and Jerry had driven up from Florida for Phil's graduation and our wedding -- and Phil's family -- Dad and Mom White, and Phil's sister, Priscilla) drove to Phil's home in Ohio. Dad White, a minister, would officiate at our wedding the following Monday evening, June 14, 1965.
In light of the specialness of the 45 years together, Phil and I had made the decision a couple of months ago that we wanted to attend a theater production in Chicago on Friday evening, 6/11. We knew that we would be back in San Francisco on our actual anniversary, so we decided to make our special outing on the 11th while we were home from San Francisco (where Phil is working) for the weekend. We had decided that since we had really enjoyed the movie Billy Elliott several years ago, we would like to see 'Billy Elliott, the Musical" which is currently playing. We invited Aimee to join us for dinner and 'theatuh,' and were delighted when she said she would love to spend the evening with us!
We drove downtown Chicago Friday afternoon in time to pick Aimee up at Moody Church (located north of the Chicago "Loop") where she is employed, and we then made our way to the city's downtown area for a marvelous dinner at Petterino's located near the theater. After dinner, we walked the short distance to the Oriental Theater where the three of us enjoyed the musical and dance presentation in spite of the really strong Irish accents of the actors (which only means that we had some difficulty understanding the actors' words)! The dancing ability of the young star was amazing!
After the performance was over, we dropped Aimee off at one of the commuter trains stations so that she could make her way home, and we drove home to Huntley.
Our neighbors and good friends, Debra (above) and Pat (below) had asked if they could treat us to brunch on Sunday morning, 6/13, at the lovely restaurant, Walleye Grill, located within Sun City Huntley. We met the two of them at the restaurant (definitely *not* a grill but instead a great restaurant) Sunday morning, and thoroughly enjoyed time with them as well as the delicious food available. They also blessed us with special gifts for our anniversary! :-)
Debra took the above picture of Phil and me after brunch at Walleye Grill. We are thankful to have this photo to remind us of our special anniversary weekend!
After the picture-taking was done and we had said our goodbyes to Pat and Debra, we drove the short distance home in order to be ready for the limo that would take us to the airport for our flight to San Francisco.
We flew from Chicago to San Francisco Sunday afternoon, 6/13, for Phil's next eleven days of work at Genentech where he's been on his (6th ongoing) engagement since the middle of January this year. (He will be here until the end of this year, and we will continue commuting between Chicago and San Francisco, returning home to Illinois only every other weekend.)
Once we had checked in and were settled in our room at the SFO Airport Marriott, there was a knock at our room door. Phil opened the door and found a gentleman from Room Service standing there with a tray containing a bottle of wine, a selection of cheeses, and crackers. When he set the tray down on the desk in our room, he also handed us a card addressed to "Mr. & Mrs. White."
The tray contents and the card were a gift to us from the hotel staff! We were so touched to discover a beautiful anniversary card that had been signed by the front desk and bell staff here at the hotel! I just *had* take a picture (above) of what they wrote on the card with which we were so surprised...and blessed! We then sat down and enjoyed the wine and cheese, and smiled a great deal as we chatted about how blessed we have been to have this "family" at the SFO Marriott (most of them the ages of our daughters).
Last evening, June 14th, which was our actual anniversary, we went to a local restaurant in Burlingame (south of San Francisco) called Kincaid's Bayhouse, and had a wonderful dinner! We first shared a plate of Oysters Rockefeller, and I felt they were the *best* Oysters Rockefeller I've ever had! Phil then had (of course) salmon; I had sea scallops. We didn't order dessert, which was a good thing, because the restaurant surprised us with a delicious crème brulée, which we shared. :-)We were seated by the window overlooking the bay. The above photo was our view.
PJ paying the bill after our wonderful dinner together. My very own CPA has no problem figuring out the tip! (Smile.)
Once we left the restaurant, we walked the short distance to the paved walkway along the bay where I took the above photo looking westward to Burlingame proper where the SFO Marriott Hotel is located. A seagull was nice enough to fly through my line of sight just as I took the photo. :-)
Phil and I feel continually thankful and amazed to have enjoyed God's blessings on our marriage and our relationship the many years that have ensued since our wedding in 1965. We praise Him for His love for us, and for sustaining the love and faithfulness with which we have blessed one another. It hardly seems like it was 47 years ago that we met and enjoyed "love at first sight!" when we "just happened" to sit side by side during a rehearsal of The Moody Chorale the Fall of 1963!
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