sometime mid-march, it was Grandma's birthday

First, we took a picture of my hairclip on Emily. She's starting to want to look like Mommy. It's really sweet.
Grandma and Grandpa brought dominoes...and a family tradition continues!

Grandma's cakes!
She really liked this card. It's so nice to make something homemade and have it appreciated. I sometimes feel self-conscious about making our cards, people call so much attention to it. I just have to stick with my little vendetta - inspiring others to choose to make things themselves, rather than relying on the big capitalistic machine to tell them what's worth giving.
Emily marches to a different drummer. We were trying so hard to get a nice snuggly picture of the three. *sigh*

We discovered that I am exactly half the age of my mother. That should make for some fun jokes this year!

This was a really fun day. We learned how simple it is to bless someone unexpectedly. We did a bit of decoration and little bit of cupcakes and a simple lunch, which all helped to make the atmosphere of birthday, but I think what made it such a blessing was the focus of Nathan and Emily as they unselfconsciously declared "Happy Birthday" and showered Mom with their sheer joy that it was her birthday and their excitement at being able to celebrate it with her. I'm learning that it's our reaction to each other that sets the tone. As celebrative as the stuff (decorations, food, planning, programming) may be, it's the outpouring of authentic, uninhibited love that touches meaningfully. All those polite, adult, socially acceptable walls are just that, walls and they hinder our ability to love each other deeply and meaningfully. I hope that I can really learn this lesson - to risk loving people with abandon. I know I have it in me. I see that I actually need to get it out of me.