Tuesday, August 9, 2016

The Beautiful Land of Life

Over the weekend we celebrated two birthdays. Our son in law Eric, who is married to our youngest daughter Chelsea, turned another year older on Saturday, while our oldest daughter Hilary, will have her birthday this coming Saturday. We enjoy having one big party when we can. It's always so much fun to get everyone together. This time Chelsea held the party at her house.
I baked Hilary's favorite yellow cake with chocolate frosting and Chelsea baked Eric's request, a chocolate cake with Oreo Cookie frosting. It was a big hit with the children who were present. See Hilary blowing those candles out with all her might? Well, what she soon discovered was that her mother put some of those fun trick candles on her cake so they just kept relighting themselves.
She just kept blowing and blowing and Eric kept laughing and laughing. I think it took her a few minutes to realize what kind of candles they were because I don't usually use those. It took her by surprise. I love how something so simple can be so much fun. We didn't think they would ever go out. Eric even called for a glass of water to douse them in but before it arrived they finally went out and stayed out. There was so much laughter ringing around the table that Archer came along to climb up on his Mommy's lap and see what all the hubbub was about.
He got there just as the candles finally gave up the ghost.
I think he enjoyed the massive smoke they left behind quite a bit though.
We also had Parker and Archer at our house recently. We love every opportunity to have both of them at the same time. They are incredibly cute together.
I love to sit them next to each other at the dining room table.
Two little men, side by side.
Before they left for home they had to water Grammy's plants on the front porch.
I mean seriously, how cute can they be?
I love any event or celebration that brings any or all of my family together under one roof. Although our family is relatively small in comparison to so many others, and we all live in the same area, it is surprisingly difficult to coordinate everyone's schedules. So when it does work out it seems like even more of a celebration. Just being together is pure heaven to me. It makes my heart soar. It's one more precious memory stored up for a rainy day. The collective sound of their laughter and their voices is like music. As the clock ticks the time away when we are together, I look around and observe each one of them in turn. I see their beautiful faces, shadows of past generations in fresh, new life, and my soul rejoices with the sheer knowledge that they are mine.
I love watching my children love and care for their own children. It gives me a deep down satisfaction unlike anything else. Sometimes I feel that surely there is too much here for one heart to hold. Then suddenly I am aware that all of these things add up to an extremely beautiful life.

"Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life."
Albert Einstein

4 comments:

  1. Simple family get togethers can be so wonderful. Happy Birthday to all! And those two little guys are just precious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There's really nothing else like them is there, Kar? Thanks! We have lots of summertime birthdays. Love these two little guys... just can't get enough of them ever.

      Delete
  2. What a great quote! Your words are always real and true!
    Family fun is the BEST fun!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Danette! Love this post. Birthdays are so much fun, especially in the summertime. How funny that your daughter was pranked with the candles. We love surprise confetti and those pop things, too. Your Little Men are adorable!
    Have a great week!
    Toni

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking time to chat with me ~
Your comments make me so Happy!
Have a lovely day.
Danette