Grandma’s birthday card

My grandma turned 80 years old this week.  I had a hard time thinking of a simple, inexpensive, but thoughtful thing to do for her until I thought of the numbers.  Then it hit me:  8 children, 80 candles.  So we went to work.

I grabbed my pack of 80 candles I’d purchased months ago at the dollar store (Relief!  We hadn’t broken into them yet!)

birthday candles

I divided them into sets of ten candles, keeping like colors together, and tied each bundle with a different colored ribbon.

ribbon wrapped candles

Then I took a picture of each of my children holding one bundle and added text to the photos, counting from twenty (my youngest) up to eighty (my oldest.)
















I printed the pictures and mounted each one on a piece of pink cardstock.  On the front I added a picture of the cupcakes we baked in her honor.  I scored each piece of cardstock along the left edge so the little booklet will easily bend for her to turn the pages and stapled them together with pieces of ribbon to tie over the staples.


There were a million things I would have liked to add to this project, like notes from my kids for sentimental value and embellishments for the sake of making it prettier.  The problem was that I thought of the idea late, and now her birthday has already passed, and I knew that if I didn’t mail it the moment I finished I might lose the courage to get to the post office at all.  So this is where the project ended.  I thought it was a fun idea, though, that could be used for other birthdays.  Now it’s en route to her, and I hope she likes it!

My Cuppycake is TWO!

Today my daughter is two years old, and a more delightful two year old girl could not be found.
She has thoroughly enjoyed the day.  The excitement began yesterday, with a visit from her Aunt Kristen and Uncle Jake, with a special gift just for her.  She’s been saying, “Kisen and Jake give it me, and Jake open it for me.”  The little doggy even went to church with us today.
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This morning she looked lovely in her beautiful dress (given to her by Grandma earlier this year) even though she threw a five star fit while wearing it.
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I have never seen a two year old sing “Happy Birthday” to themselves with so much gusto, or with such a sassy little “cha cha cha!” at the end.  She opened each gift with pure delight, making us laugh and smile the entire time.
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And as I watched her, I couldn’t help but marvel at how quickly two years have passed.  How much we love her.  How sweet she is.  How can it have been two years already?
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She has been such a delight!
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Grandma and Grandpa called to wish her a happy birthday and she strolled around with the phone to her ear, chatting like a teenager.  She even gave them a tour of the Christmas tree.
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At last, birthday cake complete with two candles and another round of “Happy Birthday” complete with her “cha cha cha” at the end.
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After modeling the new ballerina pajamas her grandparents gave her (complete with tutu), she climbed on my lap and announced that she wanted to brush her teeth and go to bed.  A full, happy day for our darling cuppycake.
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She is fast asleep, and as I review the day I’m happy to say that now I am officially done with birthdays for the year.
We had two last month:
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Our sweet oldest daughter turned 11, and on Thanksgiving weekend our second son turned 9.
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Now we have our birthday break:  3 whole months before the next one!  Just in time.

Happy Birthday

About a week ago my 3rd daughter turned 5 years old.  She had a wonderful day.


She’s growing up, and it tugs at my heart a little bit.


The last few months have brought a beautiful new sprinkling of freckles across her nose, and I love it.


She seemed pleased with all the special attention that comes with birthdays, saying “Next!” after she opened each gift.


And, eventually, she got all five candles out.


Happy Birthday, sweet pea!

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