I have to wish my parents a Happy 30th Anniversary! It's amazing to me that they have been married longer than I have been alive! And of course that would be the case, but what I mean is when I think about how things will be when Adam and I have been married for 30 years, that's a LONG TIME!
My dad created a sweet little webpage for my mom for their anniversary. I loved it SO MUCH. He wrote about how they met and included some journal entries from when they were dating. It was so neat to read about how my parents fell in love and to see some pictures that I don't think I have EVER seen! So I hope my dad doesn't mind that I am reposting the WHOLE THING on my blog here so that future generations can read it too. (since I am making this blog a book)
David & Julianne
30 years of wedded bliss
July 15, 1979 - July 15, 2009
July 15, 1979 - Jacob's Lake, AZ near North Rim, Grand Canyon
Sometime in November 1978 - David, then 22, was on his way to work at J.C. Penney in Orem Mall in Orem, Utah. His 1963 green VW bug would not start. He had to take the bus. Not knowing the schedule, he hurried to the bus stop. Too late, he missed it. At the same time, a young lady named Julianne, then 19, also missed the same bus. David and Julianne met at this bus stop and found out we both worked at the same place -- she in the cafeteria and he in the shoe department. She let me know that her roommate was coming to pick her up and offered me a ride. This was the first day of our relationship - we missed the bus to work, but, at that time, unbeknownst to us, we caught the bus that would take us to wedded bliss.
From that time through nearly Christmas, I would take a pilgrimage from the shoe department to the J.C. Penney cafeteria to order cherry cheesecake and to watch this new girl I had met. At the bus stop I knew I had met someone special and found it interesting that she worked where I did. But, I was shy and afraid of rejection, so I played it cool. We both knew each other's first names...mine David, hers Juli. Our conversations were light and not in too much detail. We were at the flirting stage. I had even taken her home from work a couple of times, but that was about it.
Then, she was gone...I had lost my chance due to my own insecurities....or so I thought.
Journal entry, January 14, 1979 - "...this last week has been a most exciting time of my life. I have been very tired because a beautiful young lady has entered my life. I knew Juli at work, but I never did too much because I was scared. -- Oh, yes, her name is Juli Bateman. She is 19 and is from Mesa, AZ. She's just my height and is a really pretty girl. The Lord couldn't have blessed me any better. Everyone even says that we look alike." She had been away and I thought I had lost her for good. Then, on Thursday, January 4, I was walking through the Wilkinson Student Center at BYU she saw me, said "Hey" and went out of her way to come over and say hello. "Right away I thought 'How neat. She likes me and went out of her way to say hello.' I was impressed. She then told me that she had quit Penney's. So, I felt inside of me that I must her phone number. I asked her and she gave it to me right away." I called her numerous times to invite her out, but she was never home. When i finally did get hold of her, she didn't know. I was stupid, I had never told her my full name. I reminded her of the JC Penney's thing and sure enough, I had a date!!
Continued from January 14 - "The thing about Juli is -- she is everything I want for a wife. She is pretty, she is loving, she is affectionate, she is spiritual. When I'm with her I'm proud to be with her...."
Journal entry, January 16, 1979 - "Yesterday, January 15, 1979 will be a day long remembered for me. Last night at about 7:00 PM I asked Juli to marry me. She said yeas. How wonderful it feels. This is how it went...I picked her up at 6:30 and we went up to Canyon Glen which is up in Provo Canyon. It was snowing lightly but it was also very peaceful...." "We talked of love and different kinds of it. After we finished, we got out of the car and went for a walk. The snow was about a foot deep and the stream could be heard loud and clear. We walked until we got to the edge of the stream. I then had Juli sit down on the bench. As she did, I got on my knees and told her of what love was...and that love had brought us together and that it was with love that I asked her to be my wife for time and all eternity, I was shaking so much inside that it was hard to even talk.
This was the beginning of our wondrous and joyful experience of 30 years.
Our first "recorded" kiss - in front of the Provo, Utah LDS Temple
ca. March 1979
July 15, 1979 - Julianne were married in Mesa, Arizona and returned to Provo, Utah via Jacob's Lake, AZ near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We then settled into our little apartment in Provo. I started a new job making sandwiches at a shop near BYU campus. We both continued in school.
Our wedding photo - July 1979
Departing for Utah from Mesa. Yes, we were tired and it was hot and we had the little VW
From that time forth, Julianne and I have traveled to diverse places, moved, gone to school in a few places, raised children...it has been a glorious life.
Soon after moving to Provo, there were some changes in the restaurant and by mid-October we made our way to Flagstaff, Arizona. Nearly penniless, I finally found some employment. We were living in the Alpine Motel, a dive of a place, but cheap. We had no place to go, but we made it through. I started a job as a busboy at the Little America Restaurant making $3.25/hr. A few weeks later i was working 48 hours a week at a TG&Y Variety store for $3.75 and hour. We also had insurance...and thank goodness. our first child was on her way. Throughout our days in Flagstaff we were blessed with friends, jobs and three lovely daughters.
Our 30 years of marriage are completely intertwined with with the lives of our children. From the time Amaree was born in early 1980 to this day, we have taken our children all over the United States and even lived in Japan as a family. Our youngest, Solomon was born in Oita, Japan. It has been a blessed life. Following are some of the photos of our lives through these 30 years...
Feb. 1980, Flagstaff, AZ with Amaree; late 1981, Mesa, AZ with Amaree & Marissa;
Early 1982, Sedona, AZ with Marissa &Amaree
late 1987, Kumamoto, Japan with 4 children (Seth on my back); March 1989, Oita, Japan with Seth & newborn Solomon
A couple of family photos while living in Oita, Japan ca. 1990 and 1991
L-Family with Oita Governor Hiramatsu & his wife, Jan. 1, 1991; Monument Valley, UT on our way to Kentucky in 1992
L-Green Gates Farm, Lexington, KY 1993; Family trip to Indiana ca 1996
Our extended family May 2009
(photograph courtesy of Kasey Mikelle Photography)
But it has not just been family. Julianne and I have been together for 30 years and are STILL on our honeymoon and more madly in love with each other than ever!! Here are a few pictures of our adventures together over the years:
On a park bench in Seattle and a restaurant in Seattle
On a cruise ship in Seattle and at Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada
On the cruise to Alaska before dinner; Glacier Bay, Alaska
Hamming it up in Lexington, KY; Green Gates Farm in Lexington, KY
At a waterfall near Great Falls, MT with grandson Kade; at a waterfall near Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska
Enjoying time at a cabin in the mountains of Arizona; visiting Tulum Ruins in Yucatan, Mexico
At Seth's high school graduation, Lexington, KY
Yes, I Married Up and my license plate tells the story (as do the shirts)
I am honored and blessed to have had my wonderful Julianne at my side for 30 years. She is the joy of my life and this page is dedicated to her for her love for me, for our children, for our grandchildren. We have struggled together, had joy together, traveled together and look forward to an eternity together. Julianne is truly the love of my life.
Julianne and David, May 2009
(photograph courtesy of Kasey Mikelle Photography)
(photograph courtesy of Kasey Mikelle Photography)
David & Julianne
30 years of wedded bliss
July 15, 1979 - July 15, 2009
I am the first to say that my parents are not perfect. (sorry mom & dad) BUT, I so look up to them. Their love has always seen things through and it is encouraging to me that they are still so in love. Sometimes it makes me sick. It brings a smile to my face to see them love each other so much. SO, Happy Anniversary mom and dad!
By the way- Adam and I celebrated 4 years together on June 25th. We are SO late on celebrating it as Adam was out of town on our anniversary, and things have been very busy for us lately with his job, my photography biz and the kids. But we WILL celebrate, and when we do, I will write all about it!!
