Here I am Steph.

Our 40th anniversary was absolutely terrific. In the morning our oldest daughter and her family came over and went with us to church. We were ushers (my wife and I) and after the homily, we renewed our wedding vows. It was really neat because just by coincidence, the church was decorated with lots fo flowers so it really helped set the mood.

After church, we went to lunch with our daughter and her husband and had a thoroughly good time visiting. On the way home we drove through the areas damaged by the tornado some weeks ago (they'd never seen it). Big quarter to half-million dollar homes broken like so many toothpicks not to mention the apartments and everything else that got damaged.

After they dropped us off, we had to get ready to go into Peoria for another dinner that evening, this time with some thirty or forty other couples. Wasn't all for us, but we were toasted which was nice.

Tomorrow we head over to our daughter's in Indianapolis where we'll spend a couple of days with her, her husband, and our granddaughter; then on to Cincinnati to spend some more time with our third daughter and her husband.

Our daughter in Cincinnati has reserved for us a night at a local inn so we can have some private time. Should be wonderful. Then back to their house for another day.

Plan a stop in Springfield, Illinois as we head home this weekend. Turning this anniversary into something of a week long celebration.

Yippee. Now we start the second half of our married life.