On August 18, 2007, Daren and I were married 20 years. The twentieth year anniversary bears the traditional gift of china. I got four place settings of china when I got married. They have moved four times and are still in their original boxes in the basement. I knew I did not want china for our twentieth anniversary. Not even a Lladro figurine. Originally, I wanted Fiji. We both did.

On our first anniversary, we duly exchanged our cards of paper (the traditional gift) and dreamed of the future. At that time, we were both students at BYU working as managers of Miller Apartments - a 25 unit apartment complex for singles. Daren was the handyman and I held office hours, collected rent and paid bills. (Not too much has changed since then - I still collect the money and spend it.)

That first year, we spent a lot of time dreaming. Mostly about the things we couldn't afford. Like the day when we would walk into a grocery store and buy the Kraft brand of Macaroni and Cheese. The big dream that year was of the sweet vacation we would take to Fiji for our twentieth anniversary. Bula Vinaka Beachside! Use your imagination, there we would be in Fiji on our own private beach, sippin' our non-alcoholic pina coladas and living the good life. Snap! Okay, back to reality . . . Collin arrived two short years later and by the end of year ten, there were three more - Andrew, Paige and Maddi.

Two years after our wood anniversary (wood=5 years) we finally got the house. Ironic timing. Even more ironic was our tenth year when the traditional anniversary gift is to be of tin and aluminum. That was the same year Collin got braces and we celebrated with a payment plan. Everything was in full swing by year ten. By then, we had our second home and four children. Life was good. We were buyin' the Kraft mac and cheese. House number two had us in the country just outside the quaint little village of Chelsea, Michigan, the town where Daren grew up. We spent lazy summers at the lake and winters sledding the hills from Daren's childhood. We spent most Sunday afternoons with extended family. Daren was coach for the boy's baseball and I volunteered at the elementary school.

In 1999, Daren had the opportunity to take his career in a different direction and although we hesitated leaving our home and family, we couldn't pass it up. We moved to Texas. It was the growth spurt we all needed. We eventually adjusted to the changes and grew to love our new home. Friends became our family and we learned new traditions. Before we knew it, our fourth baby was in kindergarten.

Fast Forward. August 18, 2007. Twenty years later, we are forty-somethings with four active kids, (three of which are teens) looking at each other and wondering where the time went. This was supposed to be the year of Fiji, the beach, the non-alcoholic pina coladas - Bula Vinakas. Neither of us forgot. But this weekend turned out to be very different than we had originally planned all those years ago. We spent it quietly, reverently if you will, counting our many blessings.

You see, the weekend of the 18th was the weekend my Dad was here visiting from Michigan to give Collin a patriarchal blessing. His special privilege as patriarch and grandfather. It was also the first time Collin used his priesthood to give a blessing to his sick father. This year, the gift was a glimmer of eternity. This isn't on the traditional gift list where there is china, paper, wood, tin or aluminum. It is on the list of things that matter most in life.

Someday I still hope to visit Fiji with Daren. But if we don't get there until we are couple missionaries, too old and wrinkly for beaches and non-alcoholic pina coladas, so be it. There wouldn't be any better time to go.

Happy Anniversary Daren
I love you more today.
Shauna