supposedly it takes a village to raise a child. we think it takes one to build a healthy marriage too. gigi and pa paid for our dinner. my parents paid for our room for the surgery. mary watched the kids so that ben and jan could come be with us for dinner. and so even though our anniversary was spent with day-before-surgery injections, we had a wonderful evening escape. even baby scarlett met us in pittsburgh for a lovely outdoor dinner and jazz concert. and now scarlett is officially the cutest fifth wheel.

and we casually mentioned our anniversary to the waitress, who kindly brought us this, pictured sideways.

for all the ways that our family served us, ian says “they’re selfless” and it shows him that God is good.

one final anniversary celebration awaits us – setting off our two lanterns for the number of years we’ve been married when we head back up to our wedding spot next weekend.

for now, we’re off to a week on a lake with the whiteley’s. 

we’re continuing to pray for encouraging test results next week and that ian’s wounds heal quickly.

thank you, always

I&L