50th Anniversary

Bob and Sue Welch celebrated 50 years of marriage this month.

Just look at what these young kids....

started...

6 children. 13 grandchildren. And all 6 children are happily married to their first spouse. Hey, they had a good model.

A few days after I met Bob way back in 1981 (!!), he invited me to come to a little picnic with his family. Now keep in mind, I really didn't know him, We'd only just met.

So nothing prepared me for this "little" picnic. There I was surrounded by his parents, his five brothers and sisters and probably a few more people too - was Nana there? Schreiner? I can't remember - but it was pretty overwhelming. What was I getting myself into with this guy?

Well, it turns out I was getting myself into one of the great blessings of my life. Little did I know that day that I'd become a Welch myself and even have little Welches, all under the guidance and abiding love of Bob and Sue.

So roll the the clock forward...through marriages, births, uncountable laughs, our share of sorrows, graduations, trips to visit, and innumerable gatherings around campfires, kitchen tables or backyards.

On August 2nd, 2008 we all came together at church and blessed this incredible marriage.

And then on August 3rd we had a "little" picnic.

Ninety people came from as far away as Florida and Arizona. It was a Welch family reunion.

Brothers...
Cousins...
The John Welch extended clan...

And close friends of the family - including a few now-grown boys Bob and Sue had "adopted" as kids and welcomed with arms wide open into their crowded but happy home.

From the moment I met Bob's Mom and Dad, I have always, always felt welcome and loved. They have been there for me through thick and thin - they've been like parents to me.

I guess that explains why I kept crying off and on all that weekend. It was so great to see everyone all together. And at the same time it was totally overwhelming to think of all that Mom and Dad have meant to me, to us. All of us at that picnic felt the same way.

Everything begins with love.

It takes a whole lifetime to realize the layers and layers of truth found in those few words.

Here are a few faces from the day...


More pictures here and here.