33 Years!

Today Ron and I "celebrated" 33 years of marriage. 

Our day was like any other day.  Ron got in at 2:00 a.m.  We got up around 8:00 a.m.  We watched a little bit of t.v. after we had breakfast.  We sat on the deck for a bit.  We had lunch.  Ron got called out in the afternoon and so had very little sleep to go to work tonight.  So perhaps we didn't really celebrate but it was a day to be thankful for the relationship that we have and it's also a perfect reason to write a blog post.


33 years ago two young kids got married.  Did we know what we were getting into?  Probably not.  We did know that we loved each other and thankfully that love has grown.

Oh the changes that 33 years have brought.  We first moved into an apartment in Napanee, Ontario after our wedding.  I was working for Empire Life Insurance Company in Kingston and Ron was a Breakfast Manager for McDonald's.  Shortly after we were married, he took a real estate course and did this for about 1.5 years until we made the decision for him to go to Bible College.  In order for us to save money we moved in with Ron's parents for about 8 months.


In 1985, we moved to Peterborough, Ontario where Ron attended Eastern Pentecostal Bible College for 4 years.  I worked for Liberty Mutual.  At the end of 4 years, our daughter was born and we moved to Gananoque, Ontario to be assistant pastors for the next two years.  It was during this time that our son was born and our little family was complete.

In 1991, we found ourselves between churches and were welcomed, once again, into Ron's parents home.  This time it was a shorter stay because Sharbot Lake Pentecostal Church invited us to be their pastors.

This was a great time in our life.  We lived and worked on the beach.  I went back to work as the school secretary and an educational assistant.  Ron worked hard in the church and with a blue grass band...Country Church.  The kids flourished.

After 8 years of living on the beach we knew it was time to move on and so we accepted the invitation of Frankford Full Gospel Tabernacle to pastor there.

This was the first time that we needed to buy a home and after shopping hard for the right one we made the plunge and went deep into debt.

The house was perfect for us and we have many happy memories of Frankford.  There was lots of space for dirt biking, a back yard rink, gardens and a big yard to cut! 

25th Anniversary at Frankford Full Gospel

We made lots of friends but like all good things, there comes a time to change. 

Ron's last wedding before joining the RCMP

So after 9 years of ministry here, Ron changed careers.  He gave a little hint on the sign outside the church.

The last Sunday for Ron at the church began the hardest time for us in our marriage.  We were not use to being a part.  The RCMP training was six very long months in Regina.  I continued to work in my job as a school secretary in Ontario until Ron completed his training.  We sold the house.  By this time Jenn had moved out and Stephen had just finished his first year of college.  We were flying out of the nest before it was empty.  Thankfully Grandma Clark stepped in once again and provided a room for our boy so he could finish college.

Graduation came which meant another move.  This time, not just around the province but two provinces away.  It was hard to leave family but so good to be back together as a team.  Ron's first posting was in Swift Current, SK.  We bought a home and settled in for the next four years.  I was able to get a good job as an executive assistant for a credit union.

Ron was looking for different opportunities in the RCMP and I was up for an adventure so when staffing offered a northern, isolated, limited duration post we decided to give it a try.

We lived in Deschambault Lake for two years.  We were able to have our grandchildren visit two summers in a row.  I was a stay at home nanny!  We enjoyed canoeing, cross country skiing and the northern lights.  At the end of two years we were offered a posting in Alberta and we jumped at the chance to be closer to the mountains and our son, who now lived in the area.  We bought our third house.

So perhaps, today wasn't very exciting but our 33 years of marriage has been. 

We now have five grandchildren.

Jacob, Emma, Abbigail and Sarah

Newest addition, Anthony

And two granddogs and one grandkitty.

Tanker and Bentley

Lilly

Yes, 33 years with Ron has been an adventure.  Who knew that those two Napanee kids who had lived in only one house all their single lives would have moved 10 times, lived in 3 provinces, been pastors in 3 churches, had 3 different posts for the RCMP, had 2 great kids and are now old enough to have 5 grandchildren.


Yup, it's okay that today was just a normal day because who knows what tomorrow might bring!