We celebrate 8 birthdays in our home between Christmas and Valentines. That adds up to a lot of cake, and many visitors (godparents and grandparents) passing through. We've always tried to keep birthdays simple, kids pick their special birthday meal and cake and ice cream on their actual birthday for grandparents and godparents that are able to make it. Inevitably though, there are folks that want to come celebrate, but can't make their special day, so we catch up on a weekend. This weekend was just that.
Friday we celebrated Alice and Emma's 9th along with grandparents and Emma's godmother. Saturday was pretty quiet.
Sunday we celebrated with Grace's godfather and his family for a belated get-together.
Monday brought Alice's godmother and her 5 kids, Alice's godfather and family, grandpa, and another of John's sisters and her family (cause the more the merrier, right?!) We started gathering after lunch, and by supper we had 7 adults and 22 kids in the house. What a joyful noise! The day included board games, a "square up" game tournament, and somewhere in the middle the older ones bundled and took off for the snow hill, while the younger ones played together nicely. I wish there were more opportunities for nice visits like these.
Anyhow, I had thrown on a crockpot of homemade mac-n-cheese, and another crock of ham slices for sandwiches earlier in the day. So along with a veggie tray (prepared ahead) and 2 dozen cupcakes, a 9X13 cake, some pretzels and dip, and other snacks, supper was quite simple. The hardest part was finding a seat, but then...there's always room for one more. Turns out several of the cousins, an aunt and an uncle all celebrate January birthdays, so we included each of their names on the cake, and sang to them all. It was a wonderfully exhausting day with family, and I'm so grateful for the blessing of each of them.
I think we're caught up with birthday wishes until February when John and Mary will turn 5. Oh my. I never thought I'd be grateful for a brief hiatus from birthday cake, but...who'd a thought I'd be this blessed with birthdays to celebrate?! God is good.
