River House Celebration!

We hosted a celebration at the River House last Saturday and considering the weather was forecast to be stormy, rainy and COLD, it turned out well. The sun came out briefly and was cool. Very unseasonable. Someone told me it was the coldest day here since the 1920's! I will have to check on that. Most guests did brave the riverside deck with a beverage.
We are so blessed to have so many friends and family come to the party. I did have to "endure" several renditions of people singing "Happy Birthday" but the best came at the end when Patrick belted out a soulful version. Yep, tears! It was a wonderful party and we hope to be doing this again soon when I officially retire. Since Ford didn't have a party when he retired, he promised it would be a joint celebration. Maybe in 2014.
Here are some photos; we only took a few near the end of the evening, so missed several smiling faces!
Russ Kamradt and Brad and Ellen Bloom:

Charlie and Donna Perry (and SIL Jesse joining in on guitar):

Belinda and Harold Daum:

Sharon and Fred Glennon and the Daum's:

Kenny, Pam Davis with SIL, Jesse:

Deb Hester, Patty Johnson and Kathy Kamradt:

Tim and Janice Martin with our daughter Leaa Cruce:

What a treat to hear daughter Leaa singing Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks song Dreams and Patrick harmonizing:

Lots of stories and laughs between Don Hester and Lyndon Johnson:

Werner, Cathy, Sharon Register and Christa having a laugh:

Kevin Tyler, The Daum's and Greg and Jennifer Wood:

 I received many lovely gifts including a book, summer bath robe (from cousin Carolyn), cosmetics, fragrances and a gorgeous blue orchid plant (above) and lots of wine! Thank you!

We had many other guests, just didn't use the camera until near the end: Larry and Kerry Gochnour, Kathy Barrios, Tim Drury, Bobby and Monique Recker, John and Linda Reid, Elaine and Randy Moyer, Steve and Eva Wills, Tina and Tony Williams,  Rose and Bob Sweatland and Mark and Beth Nelson (the EXCELLENT dancers!)
We asked anyone who would like (in lieu of a card or gift) to donate to the Florida United Methodist Children's Home. Six guest did so! Here's our appreciation note to those who did:

Thank you for your kind and generous offering to the Florida United Methodist Children’s Home (FUMCH). All the gifts to the Home went in the mail on Monday, the 22^nd. We thank you for your support, helping make this faith based ministry a success. You have helped children in need of a loving family and home! Thank you for coming to our party; it meant a lot to us.