70 YEARS...LOVED AND BLESSED!

Well...how in the world did this happen??  I turned 70 over the holiday weekend!

All the family came to help celebrate...and that was absolutely the best gift of all! Here I am with Micah, Hannah, Jonathan, and Sarah:

Don't you think these grandchildren with "Granny Deb" are adorable...on the left is one of Micah's three boys, and the other four are Sarah's children. We definitely missed the boys who couldn't be with us!

I love when the grandchildren want to come to " 'Ginia" to see Granny:

Hannah and her fiancé, Christopher, were in charge of the decorations...inside and outside.

After they decorated, it took me forever to notice that huge "70" in the window! Wonder if I was subconsciously ignoring that fact?!

Outside....there were buntings and lots of red and blue balloons everywhere!

My sister traveled here from South Carolina to celebrate with us and brought some fresh South Carolina peaches for everyone to enjoy. Here's Aunt Bet with Sarah:

These guys grabbed a birthday breakfast of quiche, scones, bacon, yogurt, and fruit:

Tractor and wagon rides have also become a special event for the kids. They loved riding on Grampa's "Buddies & Girlie Express!"

Cousins who very seldom see each other were playing together and having fun racing trucks!

 I'm always thankful when Sarah and Eric are able to travel the many hours with all the kids to be with us:

And, here I am with Jonathan, who was excellent at entertaining the kids over the weekend:

Sarah, our long-time cake decorator, iced the Peter-Paul Mounds cake for the occasion, a cake I've enjoyed for my birthday every year since I was 10 years old, or maybe even younger:

Micah brought in the birthday cake, as everyone sang Happy Birthday to this old lady!

And, of course, lots of nice cards and gifts followed. Thank you everyone!

The next day, in honor of Independence Day, we headed to church dressed in red, white, and blue:

So we could all be together for the Sunday meal, we transformed the living room into the dining room, although a few are missing from this snapshot:

The kids enjoyed some refreshing Slippy-Slide fun on a hot Sunday afternoon, pretend airplane rides with Uncle Jonathan, and in general being the best grand-kids around! In my humble opinion, of course! :)

Grampa's fireworks were part of the celebration that evening. This is what backyard fireworks look like for us:

We had lots of fun visiting with everyone this weekend. It was the first time Christopher had met my sister and also Micah and Sarah and their families in person rather than just on Zoom...so that was extra-special.

 

Then Monday, July 4th, rolled around...and it was time to say a sad good-bye to everyone! Here's a picture of most of the family before they headed back to their homes:

These little people are some of my favorites for sure, dressed in their red, white, and blue! I had the best 70th birthday a granny could have! Thank you to everyone who made it so special!!

 

But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations.

~ Psalm 102:12

~~Deb

Comments

[Sarah]

It was so special to get to be there!! Happy day after the day after the day after the day after your birthday. ❤

[Aunt Bet]

Loved being with everyone! You definitely know how to celebrate a birthday!! ♥️♥️♥️

[Tammy C]

Glad you had a great birthday. Looks like everyone had lots of fun with nice outdoor weather.

[Nancy]

Happy Birthday! What a lovely celebration with your beautiful family!
❤️🎂🎉🎈

[Tammy]

Happy birthday! It looks like you had a great weekend to celebrate!

[victoria]

Awww, what a nice and memorable birthday for you! I agree with you about those grandchildren being some of the best around!! :)

[Jill]

What a wonderful 70th Birthday!! Being with family is the best and especially out of towners! you are the youngest looking 70 year old I have ever seen! Blessings to you and yours and thank you for sharing this!

[Barbara J]

Happy Birthday, Deb! You are a very young looking 70 year old. What a wonderful celebration with all the grandchildren there. Some of them have grown so much since last summer. You'll have so many pictures to look at and enjoy in weeks to come.

[Rhonda]

Happy Birthday, Deb! Thank you for sharing the highlights of your birthday weekend. The pictures are priceless! Congratulations! :)

[Kim]

I love seeing the joy on your face in the photos where you are surrounded by your family. Pure bliss. Happy Birthday, Deb.

[Krista]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEB!! What a wonderful day and way to celebrate with all of your sweet family! Looks like the Lord is already blessing your 70th year with so much goodness. We are so very excited for your family.

Love you,

Krista Ehlinger

[Sharon]

Happy Birthday! Such joy in these pictures!! Your family is just so beautiful, you are indeed blessed! I really enjoyed this post : )

Blessings,
Sharon

[Holly]

Woohoo! Congratulations! It looks like a wonderfully special celebration. I know I'm late but I hope the year ahead is filled with joy, peace, and good health. At church we often sing, "We wish you joy and peace through all the year. And as your days increase may heaven appear. Long may your life abound with peace in Jesus found. Showing to those around love, hope, and cheer." God bless you, friend. :)

[Doris]

I am so glad you had a wonderful time celebrating your special day
with your special family. Looks like everyone had a good time celebrating with you. So glad you had all 4 children and almost all the grandkids. I hope you have a wonderful year celebrating 70 years of life. Praise the Lord.

[Chris]

“Celebration! “ Is your middle name🥳🧨🥰. Loved reading this post and seeing all the kids together! You know in ALL these years I don’t think I have ever tasted the mounds birthday cake! I’m gona have to get your recipe!!! 😋