is probably not what they thought i would.
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you thought i was going to tell you more about atlanta didn't you? well….i just need one more day to process my thoughts. so for today it's about talby. talby requested a chocolate cake with white frosting and oreos and was very excited to see balloons! we had cake as a family the next day and watched Harry and the Hendersons! such a big girl…growing up too quick for her mommy. oh I just love seeing birthdays at your house! Kelly Oh yea….I wanted you to know I am making your blueberry buckle tonight for Bunco at my home 😉 Can’t WAIT!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TALBY!!!!!!! She is ahhh-dorable!! Happy birthday Talby! You have a wonderful mama! Happiest of birthdays Talby! I think your choice of cakes is absolutely brilliant!!!! So fun. So happy. Happy Birthday Talby! Love Harry and the Hendersons! Happy birthday to your sweet Talby. 🙂 Where is the picture of the birthday girl alone with the parents???? Happy Birthday to Talby!! from Clara and all of us First of all I wish I had a piece of that cake right now. 🙂 Oh Happy Happy Birthday you cute thing!!! Hope nine is a year full of totally happy fun!!! my heart is smiling with you at such a precious celebration.. I haven’t thought about Harry and the Hendersons in forever! Too funny. aww! happy bday talby! First, Happy Birthday Talby! I have a recent 9 year old (boy) as well and I demand to know where the time has gone! TOOOOOOO fast! Meg, I have never neen ablt to take a pic of tne birthday girl withe lit candles. Can you shareany tips on shooting in tnst light setting? Please. 🙂 talby’s my fave 🙂 9 :0 I thought she was way older…………………… She’s beautiful! Happy Birthday, Talby! (and I’m so glad to hear she still likes Fancy Nancy. I don’t want my girls to outgrow her 🙂 ah Happy Birthday!!! Sleeping at all during a sleepover seems like a success 🙂 What a sweet girl-happy birthday Talby! My 8 year old had her first sleepover in March of this year-total disaster! 5 girls plus big sister = one ER visit (big sister fell off chair), screaming and dancing until midnight; we had a movie to watch (was some icarly thing that some kids claimed they weren’t allowed to watch, so no down time)…my daughter didn’t get enough sleep and was a grouchy rude host in the morning. UGH! I’m so glad that yours went differently! How fun? Meg, I have 2 11 yr olds and a 13 yr old and a 5 yr old………They just wont stop growing up! BTW I posted this great video on my blog that my kids LOVE and I am certain yours would too……I like it also 😉 Yummmmmmmmmy cake!!!!! Such a cutie! Happy b-day Talby! Happy Birthday, Talby!! 9 just seems so grown up! I love the pictures. What a wonderful way to celebrate your 9th birthday. Happy Birthday to your girl. 🙂 I Love everything about this post…it makes me Happy! she looks like you I dream of having a kid that would be excited to get craft supplies for his/her birthday….I suppose there is still hope the younger ones are quite little. Oh happy birthday Talby!! Love her cake:) Just because our kids are getting older doesn’t mean we are, are we??? Happy Birthday to Talby! Love Talby’s new outfit. 🙂 And the sunflower behind her head in the first picture! Looks like she had a great Birthday. And let me know if you find out how to keep children from growing up so fast.. I’d like to know, too! Hey, happy birthday to your little lady! in the pic of her by the chalkboard, i spy a b&w “whatever is lovely, etc.” where or where did you get that? Have a fabulous day, susan She really does suddenly look SO much older!!! Darn her! What a lovely, lovely girl! And not make you blush, but is she a Valentine Baby? You don’t have to answer 😉 So sweet! I love that she loves Fancy Nancy and basketball. Sounds just like a little girl in my house. 🙂 Happy Birthday Talby!! Looks like she had such a great time. :o) Happy Birthday Talby! You are adorable! love all the pictures….she is just beautiful! LOVE Harry and the Hendersons! 🙂 Happy Birtday, Talby! Happy Birthday, Talby! Love your new outfit and the cake you chose. Who wouldn’t love a cake with oreos wrapped around it?! 🙂 oh my goodness, for some reason i thought she was older than that. she’s right in between my two littlest. happy birthday talby! nine is so much fun. Happy Birthday Talby! Awww Happy Birthday Talby! Happy birthday Talby! Yummy looking cake! ahhhh so sweet! happy birthday Talby!!! That cake is amazing. She is so cute and I love the drawing on the chalkboard…it is also super cute. I love all the color on your blog and in your house! It’s very inspiring! the cake looks yummy…birthdays are so fun!! i called craig outside to take our birthday picture with annie before he changed out of his suit. and i know what you are thinking….."YOUR ROOTS ARE SHOWING!" i know i know. those are so great 🙂 and #9? Photoshop, my friend. Easy-peasy! Send it to me and I’ll remove the ears for ya! Your family is just toooooooo cute! Love the pink shirt and polka dot tie. I wish more men still wore suits to work. So cute! Love the one of you and your girls! Outtakes are my favorite part of photo/video shoots! Pretty darling. I like #8! Annie is so stinkin cute!!! Don’t you think that the best pictures you take are the ones not so serious and definitely not posed. Love all of them. So cute! where would we be without digital cameras? I don’t think I’d ever get a decent shot without one! so cute! Love Annie’s smile in #10. Your family’s smiles exude the fact that they are loved. 🙂 oh my word!!! you crack me up. i love the pictures. ALL of them. but, especially the ones of you and all your girls. so so sweet to the bones. i think i need to get a remote for my camera and try this with my family. we never get pictures together! Love them all, such wonderful memories! craig is so handsome! Love a man in a suit:) LOL @ “sock falling down” so adorable! #6…yup that’s the expression my hubby would’ve been wearing in each photo. Getting photographed pains him! You could always edit out the bunny ears in number #9, that one is soo cute I love #5!!!! – and I think it’s totally salvageable. Just a little photoshopping needed… I’ll Photoshop the bunny ears out of #9 if you want. 🙂 Our daughter is 2 and FINALLY learning to smile for a camera. We have 2 years worth of random faces… This made me laugh so hard! I have 4 kids and CANNOT get a picture of everyone even looking at the camera! The older ones always mess around making silly faces. So funny! I’ve actually given up trying to get a good picture and figure I’m documenting what my family is really like! 🙂 love it!! 🙂 I think you should frame the one where you’re getting bunny ears! It’s ridiculously cute! 🙂 You are so stinkin cute- blonde or brunette! What a cute family you are. I love polka dots too! I love your style! And I love your clothing style too! Links for the WHOLE outfit, please! 🙂 Funny stuff! Removing the bunny ears with Photoshop would be a great way to learn!! I love Annie’s smooches!! My little boy has been trying to ‘marriage kiss’ me, and it looks pretty similar to Annie’s!! I have to tell him, I only marriage kiss daddy. It’s heartbreaking to him!! I love your blog!! Great post! OH! I love the one of all the girls. You have such a beautiful family! Great pictures!! need a link for the gorgeous sweater please!! you guy are too fun! I love this! Awesome tradition! I think I will start doing this too. Thanks for the great idea. Those family shots are sooo hard to come by. Good effort though! funny stuff…its like that cloud commercial where the mom cuts and pastes the faces of the kids to have normal smiling faces…it made for a funny blog posting though……have a great day!! love the daddy kiss! soooooo precious! Ella does the same thing and her daddy is the MOST common recipient of the the slobber… How cute! 😀 I think outtakes are the best!! Love em all 🙂 this is why i love you! No. 9 is my fav…keep the bunny ears. 🙂 Outtakes are hilarious! Frustrating at the time? Oh yes! Fun to look back on later? Definitely! 🙂 so funny! I like #8 your eyes don’t look 1/2 closed it looks like you are looking at annie affectionately 🙂 Hilarious! my camera is full of outtakes too. Too funy Those kids of yours are just delightful!!! So so so cute!!! And I have no idea when Annie grew up so fast!!! These are great and fun to look at. It’s nice to see the missing teen, I mean Lauren again. She’s naturally beautiful. Love her tights too. 🙂 good tradition…even if it takes 478 pictures to get it right! I love that the outtakes tell the story. Cute! Oh so cute! Love it! Hope the birthday girl had a Very Happy Day! So it is not just us…ha! 🙂 Too funny. thank you for inspiring me to get out from behind the camera. these pictures are so fun! So Cute! Happy Birthday Annie! These are all hysterical! Gotta love family pictures! (P.S.~ Where did your daughter get her floral tights? I love them!) FUN! Our oldest is getting into new editing stuff and she just edited out something like the bunny ears on your favorite pic…CRAZY. I couldn’t believe she could do it. These are so cute. I LOVE the bunny ears. And I didnt even notice any roots, even when i tried to notice them because you mentioned it – 🙂 Guess I should go check my own roots This is a very happy group of people who seem to love and enjoy each other. Isn’t great to actually like your kids! Hope the presents opening was a blast. Have a good day! How fun is that! Also, Craig rocks the pink shirt and polka dot tie! Love the outtakes – WE tried at least a dozen to get my folks with the grandkids. All I had were outtakes. But that’s okay. Love the photos and lurvvve your shoes. Please share where you found them. Hi Meg!
annie decided that she could turn SIX. she received money in the mail from great grandma….the best! birthday dinner: spaghetti with garlic bread and fruit salad. she gets nervous when everyone looks at her. whether i like it or not. i LOVE this. i also hate the birthday song, so my family sings we wish you a merry christmas as well! which is slightly appropriate, being that i’m a new years eve birthday! such a fun birthday! Happy Birthday Famous Annie~! Love the photo tradition! adorable pictures of your birthday girl! (and glad to know I’m not the only one who hates the name Dress Barn…what were they thinking?!) happy birthday to your baby!! what a gorgeous, grown up girl! we have that flower print dress and LOVE it! My gosh… she is so big. I remember reading years ago and her being so tiny.. I love growing up with you guys. Happy birthday, Annie! It seems that if was a very nice party! Have a good week ahead! she is soo cute! i love her expressions and humor! Six was hard for me too. It happened so quickly. One minute she was a baby, and the next she’s a big girl of six! I don’t know how it happened so fast. annie i’m singing happy birthday to you !!!! (: and next time call me I Love Chocolate cake (: yummy yummy for your tummy little girl!! love and blessings, amy d’s Mom I love the instructional picture submission for the cake order..love it! Great shots 🙂 I remember bringing over lasagna after she was born – so little – in your house in Des Plaines – I remember holding her and giving her some of her bottle while you put dinner in the oven…. I also remember her cardiology appts, especially when David (who is now three!!) was born, and he needed to go to…. So sweet…the cake, the directions for the cake, the chalkboard cake…And the idea about the picture of the birthday kid with mom and dad–love it! I think I’ll steal that one too! Happy Birthday little miss Annie. She gets cuter every day, Meg! I love the idea of just the birthday child and the parents picture alone – it would have been perfect had she been looking at the camera with you and Craig. I laughed out loud about the no happy birthday singing but the wishing you a Merry Christmas singing was too funny! xoxoxo Happy Birthday to your sweet girl! They are so disobedient about growing up, aren’t they? 🙂 Happy birthday Annie! To funny about the cake and the picture! Looks like she had a good day. That is too funny! Happy Birthday Annie! My goodness. The cake looks just like the instructions! Great job, Meg. Happy birthday to Annie! She is the cutest. Love the cake “instructions”! Love the cake directions she gave you!! — I just sent off for my 31 bits party stuff! Can’t wait! Oh so cute….to be 6 again and have We Wish you a Merry Chtistmas sung to me at my birthday party. Love the cake by the way, so cute!!!!!! This is my favourite blog posting of yours I’ve ever read! Too cute! love the cake. love the song. love everything! Oh dear. I saw this title on my sidebar and I knew what it meant and I didn’t want to click over, because if Annie’s six, that means Calvin will be in four more months. Wahhhh! awww happy birthday annie. my baby turned 7 this year. it’s crazy to have them that big already! loved your outfit from the “moo” dress barn…very cute. BUT it’s the cake that got my attention. that looked sooooooo good! Adorable. Great idea to take a pic with the birthday girl! Six is a fun age! Cute, cute- and I love the idea of a pic with mom and dad every year. So wonderful! She is darling. I love everything about her day and what you did to make it special! The cake is amazing! 🙂 What a sweet girl! Happy birthday Annie!!! Happy 6th Birthday, Annie! Ahh that is so sweet! And I competely understand what you mean about Dress Barn. Happy Birthday Annie! ( believe me, you wouldn’t want me to sing to you…you’d run and cover your ears, they would hurt so… ) My baby just turned 11 – how fast they do grow! And lol at the “Barn” – what were they thinking???? Why do they have to grow so fast. Happy birthday Annie! My youngest son lost his tooth the other day and my husband and I both were emotional…we are so sappy. meg, it’s my baby’s birthday today too! my sweet baby James, youngest of 6, turned 8 today…i cannot believe it has been 8 years. he will always be my baby, as all of mine still are. i still call my 24 year old “baby”. 🙂 this made me cry. you still call her your sweet baby. Happy Birthday Annie !! what a sweet tradition. I can see the love in all your photos. My baby just turned 6 too. I keep telling him to stop it! No more growing! None of them are listening to me though. Happy Birthday Annie! My oldest turned six this summer. I told her no way was she bigger than five, b/c I only went up to one hand. So, she had to stop growing! She thought I was funny, but really… where do the days go?!! Happy Birthday to Annie – looks like such a fun time! Love your sweater – HATE the dress barn name…in fact, I can’t even bring myself to go inside due to the name…but that red sweater might change my mind! Happy birthday, Annie! Awww!! Merry Christmas, Annie! What a sweet memory! And you two look like twins in the mom, dad, and birthday girl picture. All of your babies now have to use two hands (or more) when they show how old they are. That’s sad! 🙁 Have a great weekend! 🙂 You’re funny. I also HATE the name ‘Dress Barn’. So much so that I usually can’t go inside. Although they do have the random really cute item… And Annie is such a cutie and I would have never guessed she gets nervous with everyone looking at her! My son never liked us to sing to him either and it *does* feel weird not to! Merry Christmas, Annie! Happy Birthday Annie!!! six IS too big Oh Annie you didn’t turn six already!!! Happy Happy Birthday… I hope six is a totally awesome year for you, full of fun and lovely surprises!!! Love the idea of the family picture with just the birthday kid! We will have to start doing that! And, that is HYSTERICAL you guys sang “We wish you a Merry Christmas”. So fun! Happy Birthday Sweet Annie!!!!!! My Jake will be six in March….so, we have a little more time…but I am NOT ready!!!!!!!!! But are we ever? Happy Birthday Annie! She is so cute, and it looks like her birthday was very special-just like her! I am still laughing at the “moo”! We had a dairy farm for 10 years. Thanks for making me laugh and smile this morning again! You are a very wonderful Mom. We love birthdays at our house too! she is too cute! Wow! Are you sure, because it seemed like she just turned 5. They grow so fast. My mom says it only really kicks you in the butt when your baby turns 30. 🙂 I’ll have to take her word for it since mine is only 1 1/2. Happy 6th birthday sweet Annie. What a cute girl! I don’t like being sung to on my birthday either. Annie and I can be friends. 😉 Megan, Hi Megan! I don’t know if you remember me but I used to watch your three youngest my freshman year of college at Bethel. Annie was just a tiny baby then!!! It was wonderful to find your blog and see how the kids have grown and the house has changed! I’m so glad to see you all doing so well! AWESOME!!! shes a big girl now!!! what a sweet post! and an awesome lookin’ cake! happy 6th, annie! 🙂 awww. i love how she designed her own cake! love the chalkboard. soooooo cute!! she’s so adorable. i would basically swoon if i got toy story 3 dvd for my birthday!! Merry Christmas Annie. Love this post. Happy Birthday to Annie and Merry Christmas one and all! Happy Birthday sweet Annie! happy birthday to annie, or maybe i should say feliz navidad annie!! so sweet….. birthdays seems so sweet at you’re house! She is so precious, and what a WONDERFUL birthday she had! You know exactly how to make each child feel special and unique – it shines through their eyes. An amazing gift. Awww… I love it! Singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas is just something our family would do. Thanks for the giggle. Happy Merry Birthday Christmas, Annie! I love the idea of a pic with just Mom and Dad. 🙂 And I love the blueprints for the birthday cake. I hope she got spoiled rotten. 🙂 Ginny will be 4 tomorrow, also without my permission. I hate it when she does crazy stuff without like checking with me first. I used to have a baby girl and now I have… I don’t even know what. Merry Christmas Annie! Happy Birthday Annie! Great post…I think she made GRAND choices…she knows what she wants…but don’t all of us who are the baby of the family. :o) Merry Christmas Annie! Ah my baby turns three tomorrow & I think that is too big too. He has ordered up a Toy Story 3 party (appropriate don’t you think?) but I’m not sure I’m ready. In fact I have nothing for this party yet. I must be in denial. Just a smidge. happy birthday to your sweet annie. my son is five but will turn six dec 21. i didn’t realize they were so close in age. i will keep that in the back of mind as i read/see things with annie. love to observe other kids the same age as mine. i also have a 4 1/2 year old. so your baby is my oldest…but i am about 5 years older than you (that was a gift for you, lol). i get having a hard time with 6…weren’t they just born?!?! i want time to slow down, maybe even stand still sometimes. especially since i will be the big 4*0 december 29. ugh. i love your sweet family…you are an amazing mom!!! What a sweet birthday. Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas to Annie! Really cute.. My 7 year old requested we hum the Star Wars theme music instead of Happy Birthday last summer.. tricky. How cute! And happy GIVING birth day to you. 🙂 Merry Christmas, Annie! Happy birthday to Annie! i love that new tradition. i’m totally stealing that. is it still stealing if i say, *i am stealing that*? my youngest will not allow us to sing to him either. your annie looks so much like my sweet adorable niece–that just makes me smile everytime you post a pic of her:) Happy (belated) Birthday sweet Annie! I love being her art teacher! That look in the money picture is priceless! Milestones with your baby seem so much bigger somehow, don’t they? oh my – I just laughed out loud that y’all sang “We Wish you a Merry Christmas.” Can I please come stay at your house a few days? I’m pretty sure I would like it. Happy Birthday to Annie! So sweet! Happy birthday Annie! such a special event, even though it may feel bittersweet. the day after liza’s party i got to be the decoy for Chicago Jenny’s birthday party! she picked me up from my lunch with my parents and sister before they flew home. 🙂 that made me so happy. she drove me to IKEA. then we dropped off her kids with dave. we ate very well at cheesecake factory. oh how i miss her! we were ready to go and i was secretly texting her husband “we are leaving now” when we got back to her house it was full of her friends and her mom had helped dave with lots of food. dave had arranged for two manicurists to come and we got our nails done!
there were three kinds of cupcakes. abby won first prize for their owl pumpkin! isn’t that an amazing owl?
i got to meet her new friends and see some old friends. it was so fun to be a part of it all. happy birthday chicago jen. how fun! what an adorable husband to get all of that set up for her. glad you had fun! You have me in tears missing my BFF!! Hello What a fun time! Aren’t friends great! Jackie sounds fun…girlfriend time is the best… I was thinking “decoy”? Like a duck? I finally got it. such a sweet time with good friends. And what a sweet hubby she has!! 🙂 i have a lime and bright blue daisy pin identical to the one you are wearing above-i love it! my grandfather bought it for me when i was a teen and we were in an antique store together. seeing yours made me think of it and him today and made me smile. :0) hey, who won the giveaway for “the glass is half full” picture love me some IKEA. great fun and cupcakes too…yum! Boy you managed to pack a lot of fun and love into a short time. However…next time you are in the area I’m going to have to kidnap you to take some family photos. For real. ooh cheesecake factory! have you tried the pasta divinci? it’s my favorite food ever now. and to think i thought that was you at Ikea…but didn’t think you had a twin. So lovely!! I’d love to get my nails done : ) how fun of a weekend! and i love the paper star lanterns! i’m swedish so there is a lot of history to those stars. they are literally hung in every window of every house in sweden. it gets so dark in early october…so we swedes do all we can to light up the house. it’s a sing to welcome guests in the house. my parents will have them in their windowns in vaxholm sweden and me&my husband will be hanging them here in costa mesa california! enjoy them in kansas too….you will love them! Hey Lady: I saw this and thought of you…check out the birthday cake…. One of my dearest is over in Rockford, IL. I miss her like mad. It’s no fair. We make plans to see each other and say that all we really need is a park bench to sit on, because all we do is TALK. (Well, and eat.) OK Awww, you gotta love Dave! Sounds like great time I LOVE it when kids confuse friends for family. 🙂 Um….Ikea light up christmas cardboard goodness?!?!?! Pics pretty pretty please!!!! I need to know if I need to send my sister there before she comes to visit me for a crafty sewey sistery weekend!!! : ) How special to have such amazing people in your life. Looks like you are a very blessed lady. i flew to chicago last week for a celebration. she is described as "sharp as a tack" by everyone. my sister and i sat with the women that owned a boutique with her in 1965 – 85. when i lived in illinois i would see liza fairly often. this summer liza sent me a shirt she'd embroidered for her son in college. you always know what liza is thinking. Meg just wanted to let you know I read the article in the Arkansas City Traveler. I noticed the web site so I wanted to check it out. I also happen to know the Kim Ranney thats in the picture. We rented from him for 6 1/2 years. We lived south of town on the Pretty Penny Horse Farm. I was wondering how you are related to Kim. How awesome! I hope as look as great as she does when I am 100! My great grandmother lived to be 104. When she turned 100 our preacher announced at church it was her birthday and how important her birthday was, she scolded him after church because “you should never tell the age of a lady”. She was a spunky old woman and I hope to be just like her. meagan i was so touched by your great aunt liza’s celebration! (: so sorry about her accident just before the party sounds like she was very lucky, God was looking over her (: blessings, such a sweet sweet post. that funny fiesty attitude works for her, gotta love that!!!! my dear grandma was also born in 1910. it was a very good year:) I LOVE old people. Love them. They are a rich heritage that are overlooked far too often! I am so impressed at how many people were there who seemed quite advanced in age! I always think it’s sad when someone is “on in years” and they have no friends or peers left. Awww. How sweet. I have 5 kids too, and that woman got it exactly right. Though I sometimes thought I might go off the deep end, it all pays off in the end. My most troubled child is now my most vocal in voicing his love for his whole family. He never fails to make me tear up, because he has come so far, and I fought so hard for his soul! The kid who couldn’t wait to shake the dust of this home off his feet, has since bought a house only one road away, and I get to babysit for his daughter, plus they have one on the way! God is good! Two others are out of state now, but always keep in touch. The two youngest are finishing college, so we’ll have to see where they end up, but they always want to come home. When they all get together, they always, even as adults, end up in a (literal) tangle on the floor, resting on each other and discussing how things are going. After everything is discussed, they eventually they end up in laughter! That’s LOVE! It is so funny that you posted this. We are getting ready to go to SW Kansas to celebrate my Great Grandmother’s 100th birthday as well. She still lives on her own, drives, and is still sharp as a tack and I too love to hear her stories. I am so blessed to still have her and blessed that nearly all of my kids are old enough to remember her. She still plays games with them, reads to them, tells them stories, prays with the every night before they go to bed when we are there…..It is just amazing. Like your Aunt, however, she is so ready to go and says she never knew what lonely was until she got old and all of her friends have long gone, some of her family has gone on, and she tells everyone she is just ready to check out and I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t wish it on anyone either. Oh, wow. How wonderful! I got all choked up when I read what the lady said about having five kids. And then I read that you cried too! And then I cried some more. 🙂 Beautiful Meg….just beautiful I came to your blog to thank you for the link to my yarn letters….. Oh how beautiful!!! Loved every word – and you know, once I read an interview with Martha Stewart (*before jail…*) and she said her only regret in life was not having more children. I wish I had a “middle” in between my 20 and 11 year old…. Beautiful post! Your comments about a big family bought tears to my eyes. We can all hope we will live that long and be surrounded by so much LOVE! That’s so wonderful! Thanks for sharing Liza with us. Awesome! We just lost our gram on sept 10th and she was going to be ninety two this past month. We miss her dearly and am sure you have the same sort of relationship with your aunt. I just adore older people….i make the kids understand the importance of respecting and taking time for them too. Would have been cool to bump into you – oakbrook cheesecake factory? My mom and sister and i are going to go away shopping next weekend to oakbrook/aurora for a christmas/girls weekend and I am so excited! Thanks for sharting,,,,, Happy Birthday to your Great Aunt Liza! That is amazing…and some pictures that will be cherished for generations to come. I love her quote about big families… Happy Birthday to your Great Aunt Liza! She looks fantastic for 100!! My Nana (who is my mom’s grandmother and my great grandmother) is 97 and it is so crazy to think of all that she has lived through and seen change in this world!! I think it is also sad to think of all the people they have loved and lost too by the time they are 100 years old. They must know a lot of people in heaven already. Beautiful post Meg. Lovely photos too. We leave our little home in Australia tomorrow morning to fly to HAWAII!!! I am very, very excited. I’m going to miss my internet access whilst I’m away so I’ll have to catch up on WHATEVER when I get home in three weeks. But in the meantime I’ll be able to buy Reese’s pieces without paying $5 each for them. My waistline isn’t going to like this trip but my tastebuds are very excited! Truly beautiful and special…the time with your aunt, family, and the people in her life. That’s all! 🙂 This is to Angie above. I hope you see this. We also were surprised (to say the least) about our number 5. Our youngest two are exactly to the day 14 months apart. My husband was in shock for about three weeks. I got over it more quickly, …..because I had to! Our #5 was delivered in the car…by my husband…on the way to the hospital. I still say it was God’s way of making sure they would have a special bond. And they have. That shock at finding out about #5 is long forgotten. We often say, “Can you even imagine if we had not had #5?” Angie if you see this you can contact me. I have SO many stories about God’s plan in our lives by giving us Five. Believe me. You are blessed. You will know that soon. Lori Lucas Such a sweet post and wonderful tribute to your Great Aunt. At first I thought we must be related, but then realized only the minor details were different…I flew to Oklahoma City to celebrate my grandmother’s 90th birthday. My mother is the youngest of 6…she has FIVE older brothers. Can you imagine if my grandmother had not had “just one more”?!!! More tears here from me too!! looking at that last picture, i just thought “she’s done that 100 times” happy bday liza! the pillow is great! what a sweet gift “the oldest of five) gave you. I was about in tears! It’s true…I’m the youngest (at 40) of six children and have been surrounded by love my whole life. Beautiful post! 🙂 Ok, you made me cry! So glad you were able to go! And to Angie above…you can do it! It will be wonderful! Congratulations! Just found out I am pregnant with #5. #4 isn’t even one year old yet and we were done. I was nursing and on birth control. AND I just opened my own dental practice one month ago. So much debt, so many kids, not enough of me or my husband. But for some reason God decided we needed a surprise. Who gets pregnant on birth control, breastfeeding, and hardly doing what it takes to make a baby because we’re too tired? ME. It’s unthinkable how I’m going to make it. But after days of tears I now try to remember this baby is an encore performance and God will walk us through this because HE made it happen:) How wonderful! Well shoot…now I’m choked up. What a great day. I can just feel all of that love through your pics. Your aunt Liza is precious. And may I just say you always have the best necklaces. 🙂 Amazing to think of what she has witnessed in her lifetime! My Nana passed away 3 years ago at 95. Her mom and dad were one of 8, she was one of 5, and she had 5 kids of her own. On my wedding day she asked me how many kids I wanted to have. I told her that I didn’t know at that point…perhaps as many as God had planned for me. She told me to always remember that it wasn’t the number of ties that bind one’s heart, but rather the strength of those ties. She said she had witnessed plenty of large families that barely got along, and those members that got together out of obligation. Love can be strong in families of any size, shape or dimension..it just needs to be nurtured well! I love what you said about big families. I am the oldest of five and have five children of my own. I couldn’t imagine it any other way! Beautiful Post….Simply beautiful! Beautiful~ Oh that’s fantastic! That’s awesome. Family is so cool. That’s wonderful to be able to celebrate such an awesome milestone with your loved one. And I just had to comment to tell you how right that lady you talked to was. I’m your age and the oldest of five. My siblings are absolutely the most wonderful gift my parents ever gave me. I adore coming from a big family. The only thing better would be having my own. I only have two but I love coming to your blog and reading about all your kids! I also have FIVE childern. I raised them in Hiawatha,Kansas (which is the northeast corner). I now live in Oklahoma. My children are 21-28 years old now. Yes, if you did the math, I had five children in seven years. All single births. And I lived through it. And when I say that I mean I LIVED through it. They were the most wonderful years of my life, so far, while I was busy every single night going to ballgames and concerts and practices and lessons. It was a wonderful, magical time. Now when we are all together it is special, since everyone lives different places. My uncle passed away in January and he too had five children. I took all 5 of them to see him in the hospital and we filled the room. He wrote me a note (he could not speak at the end), and he wrote, “Who would have 5 kids.” I said, “Only a couple of crazy people I know.” He wrote back, “Don’t let anyone ever tell you it is not GREAT (he wrote it like that) to have 5 kids.” I said, “I agree. But there are very few people that know the secret these days.” He wrote back, “But you and I did. And we’ll always be happy we did.” That was the last time I saw him alive. But when I think of five children, there is nothing but wonderful memories. Enjoy every minute of it! Lori Lucas congratulations! wonderful pictures. wonderful people. and such a photogenic family! it’s funny how when people live to be 80 or above, they sometimes are just ready to go meet the Savior, they feel they are done. I can’t believe it, 100 years old! she’s so cute!!! oh my gosh, I almost lost it just reading those comments about being surrounded by love for the rest of your life. Happy, happy birthday! She is an amazing little lady, I wish her all the best in the world! Great Post! Today is the 1 year anniversary of my Grandma’s passing – she was 97 years old. I miss her wisdom everyday. Weepy is good. I cried reading it. She must be a pretty amazing woman with some wonderful stories. What I wouldn’t give to sit down with a pot of tea and and afternoon to spare to talk to a woman who has been around for so long. wow! a lot of years for one person. i will confess i did not cry, but i might if i don’t find out where your beautiful necklace is from? love it! and love big families as I am from one. sweet post, meg. your blog is always ubberly delightful! surrounded by love… indeed! Hey Meg! I am 1 of 6…. The youngest. Being surrounded by people I love is great! Great post! You are beautiful. I loved the banner in multiple different pictures.. so cute! Meg, thanks for sharing this beautiful post. As a mother of five, it’s nice to be reminded that being surrounded by all that love for the rest of my days is worth every bit of the “grunge” work I do today. What a GREAT old family picture. Your Aunt is what I’m afraid I’m going to be when I’m 100 years old ~ very blunt. Guess if you live that long, you’ve earned the right to be. Looks like she had a good day despite her bruises and bumps. 🙂 Add me to the list of people who are all choked up & teary. How special that you got to be there for such a wonderful celebration! Is it weird that I can see a resemblance between you & your grandpa from that photo at the top? i love that that sweet lady said you’ll be surrounded with so much love the rest of your life. that’s so good. i always say, i want my house to be full of family forever. that makes me all weepy too! i cannot imagine being a little girl in the time period she was little and then seeing how the world is now. wow. I’m in tears reading about your large family and all of the love shared. My husband and I have a two year old and hope to have many more children. We both come from large families… many aunts/uncles, cousins, and knew many of our older relatives (great grandparents, great aunts, etc). We hope to have the love in our immediate family that you have in yours…. and be surrounded by your children and memories throughout our lives. Love your blog. For some reason this one just hit a soft spot. Have a wonderful day! 🙂 Oh Meg- no words. Perfect. Simply Beautiful! I only have one child but I come from a family of 13. It’s awesome to have so many siblings. Your family is awesome too. You can just feel the love through your blog. Even when the kids are being naughty…it’s so worth having all 5 of them. You’re an amazing mom! You make me smile! that is just the sweetest thing. you are blessed meg…5 children. someday all the work will pay off and you will be surrounded by their families and children…wow! thanks for sharing such a tender post. 100 years – AMAZING:) Now you’ve got me all weepy 🙂 What an incredible thing to get to celebrate! Now I am crying ! What a wonderful written memory of your family.I applaud you. Beautiful!! Beautifully written, and such a beautiful lady. She’s seen a lot in her 100 years! So beautiful Megan 🙂 And that first picture with the birthday cake….LOVE IT!! What a beautiful life 😉 Thank you for sharing. 🙂 Wonderful post! Poor thing I feel terrible for her with that huge bruise on her head and face. Ouch! So glad you got to go out to celebrate! Liza seems like such a sweet lady, and 100 is such an amazing age. Love this! What an inspiration! wonderful celebration for a wonderful lady. so glad you were able to go and share such a special time with your sweet aunt. awesome job on the pillow. =) My grandmother turns 94 this year. I think that is amazing to see how things have changed for her in her life. Wow, you got me. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Liza! I love it! The pillow is priceless. Im actually going to make one for my gma from my gpa’s old ties. Terrified. Beautiful! Beautiful. I have a 92 year old Mother in law who could easily live to 100…so healthy. She too is pretty bold. I think as she got older there were just a lot of things she had figured out and didn’t want us wasting time. So cool you could go. That sounds amazing. I am so glad that you were able to go. And the sweet lady that is the oldest of 5…..such a good reminder!! Precious! I lost it too when I read what that lady said to you. How sweet! You are truly blessed. She’s beautiful. I had a lump in my throat when I started reading, and then I got to your pic with her and I boohooed! Geez Meg…i have to go to work!!!!! Seriously, what a beautiful legacy. Megan, that had ME teary eyed! wow, what a precious lady and special time to celebrate!! so touching, what a great lady I love the comment about the 5 children. I have 3 and have always wanted 5. I’m currently trying to talk my husband into just 1 more. I think I’m going to send him this link… Crying here! I get it ! I had 5 but lost my twins when they were 17 days old. I was able to have 2 daughters after that , but then I had to quit… doctor recommended. I am blessed to have 3 grown daughters who all have married and live close by with my grandkids..so it is all good. My dad is 91 and my mom is 86… hope we have 100 yr celebrations too. God bless you. This entry brought tears to my eyes. You are so blessed to have Liza in your life!!! Thank you for sharing. It brought tears to my eyes and memories filled my heart. My own grandfather lived to be 101. And I loved him so dearly. I am the youngest of 5 and it truly is the best to be from a large family. That woman you sat to is right there is so much love. Thank you for sharing. I know am I am complete stranger to you but somehow it really touched me. So thanks again. My grandmother turned 100 in February and I’ll never forget when she told everyone that she was 2 years old when the Titanic sank. Wow! This is a wonderful post, thank you! My grandmother will be 83 on Christmas Eve and I am overly grateful that my five children are able to know and love her. We have five living generations going right now. She comes from a line of women that have lived up to 103 yrs. of age and I do pray that one day my future grandchildren will also have the chance to meet her. Amazing! meg, you made me cry. I love this post. Thank you so much for sharing with us. You had ME tearing up with this post! What a precious gift family is! This *is* amazing. I got teary-eyed, too. My Nana is 87.5 years old, and I can only hope and pray that one day we’ll all be celebrating her 100th birthday. God bless Liza! I teared up with you at the thought of being surrounded by so much love. I’m even more glad I had four children 🙂 Ah, geez…now I’m teary-eyed. Great post, Meg. Okay, I cried too. My husbands Grandma turned 92 last week. They asked her, “Do you have any regrets?” and she said “I regret not having MORE kids!”…. She has 8 children, dozens of grandchildren, several GREAT grandchildren and a few GREAT GREAT grandchildren! She said when you have lots of kids, you get to be around lots of babies your whole life. sob… She is beautiful! She doesn’t look like she is 100! What wonderful stories she must have to share. I see other readers cried too…. so I don’t feel like such a cry baby. I lost it just reading the post and looking at the pictures. Having 5 kids was my dream, I have 3, and I’m happy. But I see so much truth to that… you WILL be surrounded with love because you are an amazing mother. So Sweet! Wow! What a wonderful celebration to be a part of!! And as always, beautiful pictures!!! Whew. Glad I didn’t have the mascara on yet. Cry-baby over here in Chicago lost it when you said what the lady next to you said about having 5 kids. Beautiful. All the weary days of today will bring love and joy in the decades to come. A great reminder. Awww – That is amazing!!! Beautiful pictures. Beautiful woman. Incredible milestone. Happy Birthday Liza. God Bless her!! sweet post – and what a sweet celebration. Meg, i was in tears at the photo of you telling your aunt you missed her. Hey Meg – LOVE this post…I have 6 kids and although it’s been difficult, the blessings are amazing…I bawled reading it right along with you. People have thought I was crazy having 6 kids but we have so much fun together! Happy birthday to your great aunt, she deserved a big party! now I am in tears and also laughing at your aunts remark!
the weather this year was gorgeous for trick or treating. everyone gave me their butterfingers because it is my favorite. my kids asked me today what we were doing for new year's eve. i think my run will need to be extra long today. *************************************************************************************************************** the winner for the Studio Mela Print will be tomorrow….November 2.
LOL, my son & his cousin play football and they were also football players for Halloween. Yay for easy! super cute costumes! And, I will send you ALL our Butterfingers (yuck!) as long as you send me Reeces Peanut Butter Cups! 🙂 Hey she scored BIG TIME!!! Love kids in costumes. So cute! My daughter was Dorothy, too. It was my favorite costume so far for her! Love the jackolanterns. We completely forgot to carve our pumpkins this year. Crazy?!? I am probably the only one that would think this, but the pic of Annie and Sean reminds me a little of “The Blind Side.” ha He seems so much bigger than her. Glad you had a good Halloween! Ruby slippers! 🙂 ahhh, I had a Dorothy too 🙂 Love Bat Girl! Butterfingers are not common here. We have Crispy Crunch…do you have those? Mr. has been out of work since February. That poster is practically a necessity here at our house! I love the look of your porch and street – oh to have sidewalks in our town…. I love the picture of the jack-o-lanterns all together…so festive and perfect!! 🙂 FUN!!! Prettiest Dorothy I have ever seen! We also had beautiful weather here in GA. I stole all the kids snickers and threw them in the freezer for my rainy days. hehe! eating butterfingers sounds like a plan to me! and i love that demented pumpkin! Love the costumes! Esp the ruby slippers!! One of our favorite movies? You could do the whole Wizard of Oz main cast if your kids would agree….lol…I know I’m funny! 🙂 My son plays tackle football too and he was a football player for halloween… No money spent= Job well done 🙂 at least you remembered to carve pumpkins this year!! We only had a few trick or treaters, but the majority were teens and ADULTS! It was crazy. We give the Butterfingers to my husband and I eat the snickers! Enjoy the candy. Love your pics. Hope your kids had fun trick or treating and brought you home lots of Butterfingers. I go for the dark chocolate candy bars. 🙂 Love the colors of this print!! Beautiful! They are so cute and seem so nice to each other! So pretty! We had perfect weather too. Great pics. You captured it all:) gimme some TWIX!!! Funny… the rot makes the pumpkin look scarier. Perfect! The pumpkin with the bow… perfect! Loved Halloween, glad it was on a Sunday, weather was beatiful, but am sorta glad it is behind us and now omg Nov. 1st! Butterfingers are my fave too! Cute, cute pics! I thought of you as I dressed my youngest up as her favorite character, Olivia! Your bathroom makes me smile every time I see that picture of her! So cute! Love the pic of Talby and Sean walking down the street! We had lovely weather too. My little girls walked their little legs off. They were exhausted, but we had a wonderful time. Happy New Year!!! (couldn’t resist, so, have you figured out your plans yet? ;P) Love the halloween pictures and the prints you posted. I especially like the It’ll be OK…my best friend’s answer to everything when I’m feeling down. I love all of them though!! Pick me, Pick me!! 🙂 Thanks for reminding me about New Year’s Eve. We have a party every year and it’s time to get my invitations out before people make other plans! Your kids are cute. And I love that crazy headdress the little pink fairy neighbor girl is wearing. Very Bob Mackey! 🙂 Luke just asked me what day the Easter Bunny comes. I scoured three kids’ baskets for a Butterfinger. Not a one to be found. I love Butterfingers. Such sweet faces and forever memories. I do have one Butterfingers leftover from passing out treats if only you were closer. Hi Meg, We had beautiful weather for trick or treating here in Indiana too. Your kids looked so cute! I noticed that your oldest wasn’t in the Halloween pics. My oldest (15) wasn’t around much this year with the other 6 kiddos and it made me so sad! Would love to win the print! I need those kind of remiders everyday! Thanks for the chance. Rotten pumpkins are the scariest! Love, love, love that picture of Annie!! The one with the candy. You MUST frame that one!! Memories being made—love it! And you’re right—Butterfingers are the best! Looks like a lot of fun, Meg! The kiddos look cute as ever and looks like they “scored” big! Love the neighbors cute kid costumes and Annie’s red shoes with her Dorothy costume – too cute! Enjoy your run and relax today! xoxoxo Oh they all look super sweet!! Love the Dorothy shoes 🙂 Happy Halloween! For some reason the dog looked super clean? LOL. Pics as usual where great.Off to bed.Night Night from Nevada. I love their costumes and your pumpkins..they’re great!! I love that picture of the two of them from behind – looks like you guys had a really good time! Meg, |
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Juli - I left a comment “over there” too but you just don’t how God may have used you at Coke too. There may be some women who were seriously questioning whether they should return to work after a baby, others who are frazzled working Moms not thinking about their impact at home. It is beautiful to see a Mom satisfied “just” being a Mom in this day & age.
Kellie - Thank you Meg! We all need a quiet reminder!
kelsey i - Loved your post today. Thought you would like this great idea for some globes!
http://blackeiffel.blogspot.com/2010/11/globe-chandelier.html
april - Thats great!!! You work so hard to be a good mom…..a trip away and the recognition is awesome!! Good for you!!! <3
Sharee - I wanna say a big AMEN! to your vision and your witness of God’s purpose for us mothers and wives to the blog world. I think it’s so easy to get wrapped up in feminist views of the world and forget that is GOD’s will we need to live for daily. You inspire me and I will pray that God continues to use you in mighty ways for HIs Glory as a momma! from an at home Christian momma:)
Holly - Perfectly said. I’m sure you did a wonderful job the first time too.