Mama celebrated her birthday on December 16th (yes, this post is late)!
Her special day started out with getting to sleep in (a rarity for her!) and getting to do her devotions in the solitude of her room. :)
Then we all ended that peacefulness with a blaring edition of "Happy Birthday" when breakfast was ready. :)
Morning hugs! (Poor little Judah is getting squished!)
Mama chose her favorite for breakfast: pepper and onion omelets. Thankfully she was gracious enough to let us just have cheese in our omelets. :)
Mama also wanted blueberry buckle which was amazing (thanks to the cook, Hannah).
Reading a card from one of my siblings. :)
After breakfast was over Mama went around and gave everyone a hug and told them thank you for whatever we gave her. (I didn't have anything ready for her...but I did get her a candle and give it to her 2 days after her birthday. :)
Hugs for Lydia!
Then the day went on...Mama left to go birthday shopping with Na-naw, her mom, and the rest of us stayed at home! (Don't worry, we definitely were not bored!! A few of the Jacksons came over for piano lessons and while one of them was with Hannah, we would jump on the trampoline/play with the rest.)
Around 2 P.M. we all went to Bass Pro to do some gift shopping. Judah and Lydia were in love with all the *stuffed* animals!
Once we were done browsing, we headed over to Na-naw's house and got ready for Mama's birthday dinner! We chopped the onions, fried the meat, and Mama made the enchiladas (we tried to get her to let us do it...).
I had to take pictures of some of Na-naw's decor! You wouldn't believe how decorated Na-naw's house is at Christmas! She really likes wreaths and I think I counted 5-6 wreaths in just one room. :) [Our cousins went around and counted all the wreaths just inside, mind you, and came to over 15. :)]
Eventually family members began filtering in and, around 6 P.M. we prayed and dinner began!
Before dinner, the boys had some wrestling matches which were quite entertaining. Here, Daddy traps our cousin, Mason (who does a valiant job in resisting but to no avail).
Don't these look amazing? And, trust me, they are! I don't know why (I'm thinking it was the gobs of cheese) but the enchiladas were really good that night. Like reallly good. :) I'm so sorry you had to miss out.
Seeing these pictures as I type makes me wish I could eat this all over again! I'm half-way convinced I was meant to be Mexican. I mean, what about Mexican food is there not to like? Spanish rice, enchiladas, tacos, meximelts, salsa and chips, taco salads, etc. = wonderful (perfection?)...right?
While everyone was getting their food, I found Lexi reading a book to Lydia and Justus (our cousin).
Once the delicious meal was over, Mama opened her presents!
Next came the cake!
Along with the Ukrops cake, Na-naw bought some happy cupcakes for the kids. :)
Judah was a little hesitant with the candles...
...and the excessive amount of loud singing that accompanies a birthday at Na-naw's house (thanks for your example, Uncle Sean! ;).
Blowin' out the candles!
There you have Mama's birthday! Those of you who have met my lovely Mother know what a great woman she is: kind, caring, wiling to share her abundance of knowledge, faithful, hospitable, and the list goes on. Our family really has been blessed by having her as our Mama!
Kimber :)
