powell family: April 2009

40 Years Together

What a testament you are to us! May God continue to richly bless you both, Mom and Dad. We love you.

A weekend of surprises

Bruce, Cody, Will and I really wanted to do something special to celebrate Mom and Dad's 40th wedding anniversary. I talked Mom into coming to CA to celebrate with us, but she just thought it would be the 8 of us - and I told her NOTHING of what we had planned. On the first day, Sullivan and I took them to the South Coast Winery to be picked up (just the 2 of them) for an all-day wine-tasting tour of the beautiful Temecula wine country, lunch included. It was such a lovely day out, and they say they had a wonderful time.

Surprise #2

While Mom and Dad enjoyed their day in the wine country, Bruce and Cody were flying in from Portland - another complete surprise! This one was hard to keep because at least one of the little boys had heard they were coming. We tried to make them forget, and Zane did a great job keeping the secret. Mom and Dad were SHOCKED when they walked in the door after the wine tour and B and C came around the corner! SOOOO FUN!

Ahhh... success... a job well done!

But of course...

... Sullivan spotted Nonnie's cork "necklace" from afar and just had to have it.

LOVE...

... That's what this weekend was all about.

Dinner Day!

Cody and I cooked together ALL DAY and had such a blast! We talked so much that we barely avoided a few potential disasters.... and we laughed about those a lot. You really should have seen us before we got dressed.

The lovely couple of honor!

Cody set this most gorgeous table. She has such attention to detail!

Well, we finally cleaned up after a long day of preparation and took time to pose for a few pictures. I sure love you, my beautiful Mom! Cody, I'm so grateful you're my sister and we get to cook together for years to come! And, Will, you're so handsome. XOXO

The MENU (Surprise #3)

Our first course: Cody's savory custard topped with Parmesan tulle and homemade ranch salad. It's as delicious as it is pretty!

Here is dinner: Chateaubriand with caramelized onion and mushroom stuffing, topped with herb butter; Shallot and sweet onion potato gratin; Cody's amazing parmesan pull-apart rolls and her Blanched asparagus with hollandaise. Mom and Dad bought some fantastic wines on their tour, which we were happy to add to our menu. (I need to make mention that the beef tenderloin would have never happened if Bruce had not painstakingly helped me by tying it in about 8 places while I attempted to hold it together. - Thanks, Bro.)

This picture makes me smile... just look how intense Cody and I are at plating the dinner we've slaved over all day.

A lovely dinner

We should have been toasting them, but Dad beat us to it and made a beautiful toast to his bride of 40 years.

Our happy newlyweds - a gorgeous couple, inside and out.

Levi swoops in for a kiss.

Well, the food was delicious, and the fellowship even better. There is NOTHING I like better than sharing a great meal with my family. And what a wonderful reason to do it! We love you so much, Mom and Dad, and we admire your 40-year Christ-honoring marriage.

A Sweet Ending

Bruce is so cute to be so excited about my cake...

We actually had two special occasions to celebrate this evening, and here is our birthday boy! What a handsome 73! I love you, Dad!!!

The cake was a bear today to try to keep together; I think I slathered too much caramel on it under the frosting. I had to keep repairing it and trying to get it cold enough to stop sliding. It's great to finally be cutting it! And it was worth all of the effort.

This picture captures the feel of the evening; I love it.

This is truly one of my favorite cakes on the planet (and, yes, you've seen it before)! I made this in February also for my father-in-law's birthday, and I planned all along to make it again for Mom and Dad. There is just something other-worldly about the salty caramel with the rich chocolate cake and buttery caramel ganache. You have to try it to believe it!

The boys presented their Popsie with some very special hand-written cards, along with his gifts from us. A perfect ending to a PERFECT weekend!

A couple more cute photos...

... of Uncle Bruce and the kiddos! Bruce, you're awesome; thank you for all you and Cody did to contribute to an absolutely amazing weekend. I love you and your beautiful wife so much.

HE IS RISEN!!!

What a reason to celebrate! We spent this special day with Will's family at our new church and then back here at our house, visiting, cooking and eating together. We are so grateful for the hope we have in Jesus. We can't imagine life without Him and the peace and joy He, alone, brings.