Happy Birthday, Debbie!

Today is my big sister's birthday.

Just a little older than I am, she stepped out first and gave me a good example to follow. She has a way of doing things with a little something extra, adding a touch of spice, a giggle, a little flair to just about eveything she does.

I remember once when I was a teenager, getting ready for one of my (rare) dates in high school, and nothing was going right. My clothes didn't look right, my hair wasn't cooperating and I was close to a meltdown.

But my sister was home from college that weekend and she came to my rescue. She looked at me and said, "Oh here, wear this with that!", pulling out something of hers that was just what the outift needed. I don't even remember what it was now, but it made everything work. Then she took a brush and with a couple of swipes at my hair I was a new person.

How did she do that?

I never knew, but I was glad she did.

She's still doing that, whether it's a simple potluck dinner, or sifting through the memories of our childhood as we cleaned out our parents' house so it could be sold.

She makes everything better.

And I love her for it.

Happy Birthday, Debbie!

My Father's Birthday

Today is my father's birthday, but he'll tell you he's not technically 80 years old until 11:37pm. At least that's what he said when I called him this afternoon to wish him a happy birthday. It would be wonderful to be with him today and hug his neck, but we live in different states now. The funny thing is he now lives in the same small Texas town where I lived for 11 years before moving to Maryland. And he's now married to one of my dear church friends (a childhood friend of his), surrounded by many other good friends of mine who are all taking very good care of him. That's a comfort to me now that I'm so far away.

We had a birthday ritual, of sorts, during my growing up years. The conversation would go something like this.

Dad: How old are you now?

Donna: I'm twelve!

Dad: Oh, oh...twelve! That's right.... Why, by the time I was your age I was fifteen already!


Is it any wonder I was never very good at Math?


Happy Birthday, Dad!

Happy 100th Birthday, Grandma!

Yesterday was my grandmother's birthday...her 100th birthday!

I didn't get to go to the party since she lives in Texas and I live in Maryland, but I sent flowers to honor the occasion. I talked to my sister tonight and got a good report of the festivities and it sounds like a good time was had by all, especially Grandma!

A few weeks ago I was in Texas for a brief visit and my sister and brother-in-law and I went to see Grandma. We had brought along some old family photos we'd found that we'd never seen before. One photo showed what appeared to be a large family gathering of some kind...several couples with kids of all ages, one mother holding her baby in her lap. We showed it to her and asked if she knew anything about it. She perked right up and said "Oh, yes! That baby is me! I was six months old!" She said it was a family reunion and she pointed to each person, reciting their names and relationships, telling us the whole story of the event as though it had just happened last week.

We were spellbound. Well, at least I was. My sister was scrambling to write down everything she was telling us so we could have it all documented!

100 years. She told me once how she used to pick cotton as a child of 6 or 7, with the hot Oklahoma dirt burning the soles of her bare feet as she dragged that long sack of cotton behind her. And yesterday, I was ordering flowers for her over the internet and now I'm sharing the story with all of you. 100 years...amazing....

Not Your Ordinary Birthday Card

I've been wanting to write this post for weeks. That's how long ago I picked out my Aunt Becky's birthday card.

Aunt Becky loves ladybugs...and everybody who knows Aunt Becky knows that, so we can't possibly look at a ladybug without thinking of her. So when I was browsing around etsy one day I spotted something that practically screamed at me "BUY ME FOR AUNT BECKY!"

So I did. I wanted to share pictures of it and brag on the wonderful artist who made this as soon as I bought it. But since I'd given Aunt Becky a link to this blog, I thought she might see it before I had a chance to give it to her. I had to wait until after her birthday to do that.

So, here's Aunt Becky's Birthday Card:





The artist also sent along a Thank You card to thank me for my order:





I was so impressed with her work that I added her blog to my favorite blogs listed here. Let me encourage you to visit her blog and you must go see all the wonderful things she has in her etsy shop, Cornerstone Designs.