Happy 90th Birthday!

I have been very blessed in my life to have known all of my grandparents, some great-grandparents even, and to have had step-grandparents who were just as doting as the real thing. I am even further blessed to still have one of those grandparents alive. My Grandma Jane is the epitome of the Southern Heritage side of the family right down to the sweet southern accent she still bears.

This year Grandma turned 90! We decided to surprise her with a family get together at a cousin's house telling her we were picking her up to go with us out to dinner. Once inside and she saw all of our family, it took only a second before the tears welled up. She was so touched and surprised! It was just a small gathering but it meant the world to her.

Over her 90 years, she had been through a lot.... lost brothers in the coal mines, divorced, raised my father, was widowed twice, and is her last remaining sibling of a family of 12. She lived through the depression, worked many years as a nurse, and learned to drive when most women didn't....it was only fitting to celebrate her many years and all she overcame.....

I made the arrangements to be "girly" while still fitting her country style. The candles are decoupaged with actual photos of her through the years.

 Including her own baby photo and one where she is holding my dad after he was born.

We even made sure the wrappings her gifts were in were fitting to her roots and style.