A Surprise Anniversary Present

written by erin //

It's no secret that I have one of the most beautiful moms on the planet, inside and out. So when she asked me if I could take a few photos of her for an upcoming surprise, I was beyond excited to say yes. I didn't have very many pictures of my mom and I feel that photos of family are especially priceless, so I couldn't wait to take some. The images were part of a surprise anniversary present for my dad, so I had to wait to share them...but now that he's seen them, here are a couple for you to enjoy too!

My mom and dad just celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary yesterday. (That's nine times longer than Jon and I have been hitched!) They met at a church in Long Beach, CA. My mom was attending a Bible College in So. California and had chosen the church to be the location for her weekend ministry. My dad remembers first seeing her at a singles luncheon hosted by the church, though they did not actually meet or talk at that time. He remembers talking to her one afternoon when he was practicing some music on the grand piano in the church auditorium. He had thought the auditorium was empty, but Mom and one of her friends later walked up the aisle and the three began talking. Not long after, Dad invited Mom to join the choral group he directed. She did, and added Tuesday night music practices to her list of "days to drive to Long Beach for church & ministry."

One particular evening after music practice, Dad walked Mom out to her car (parking lots are not always safe in Long Beach, you know) and after seeing her old Mazda, gave her his phone number in case she had any car trouble on her way back to the college. Of course, that would be the night that her car would decide to completely die on the side of the 91 freeway somewhere near Compton. After arriving back home, Dad received a call from the CA Highway Patrol to let him know there was "a Gina" on the side of the road who needed some help. Dad came to the rescue, had the car towed, and drove her back up to college. Bible Colleges usually have curfews much earlier than 2 AM, so Mom received "community service hours" from the night guard for being so late. (She had to rake leaves and work in the mail room.) I guess it wasn't so bad, though, because we all know how the story turned out. ;) Mom fixed Dad a fried chicken dinner to thank him for coming to her rescue and they were married the next weekend! No, not really. But their friendship grew to love and they were eventually married, had a bunch of us kiddos, and now we get to take their photos for their 27th anniversary! (Now to talk my Dad into some pics...) =)

 

I am so thankful for my parents and I'm glad I was able to do a little something for them to contribute to their anniversary celebration. Stay tuned for part two of their gift - photos of my younger siblings!

Love you, Mom and Dad!