FINALLY, THE BIRTHDAY PARTY!

The reason for all of this hoopla, and all of this travel, and all of the gathering of family and friends,was to celebrate the 90th birthday of an extraordinary woman, Dr. Elizabeth Jennings. The party was held in a very large meeting room of a local church and was decorated with quilts and blankets and the tables were set with teapots full of fresh flowers. The buffet and cake tables, as well as the head table were decorated with a stunning collection of antique tea cups and saucers belonging to my sister Suzanne. The quilts and blankets will be covered ( covered, get it?)in another post. During the birthday tea, everyone was given the opportunity to take the microphone and thank Elizabeth for her presence in their lives. During the afternoon, there was a wonderful Power Point presentation created by Bill Williams, detailing Elizabeth's life in photographs. Here are some pictures of the event for your viewing. Even though many of you will not know any of the people, you can see the happiness and love they all have for my Mother. She glowed and laughed and hugged...it was beautiful to watch. We all love her very much!

Left to right: Christine, me, Mother, Suzanne, Carol and Kathleen

This is the photograph of Mom in the front of the "Memory Book" assembled by her grand daughter Wendy. In the months preceding the event, friends and family were invited to write a favorite story or memory involving Elizabeth. Wendy assembled them in a large book and the stories were marvelous!

One of about 80 guests who came to enjoy the party This lady was a first grade student of Elizabeth's. She had a marvelous story to tell about her first day at school.

Finally we get cake! This was one for the head table. There was a very large sheet cake for the guests. The cakes were baked by Casey Foster, another grand daughter, who is presently in culinary school. Every family should have a chef, don't you agree? Stay tuned for the rest of the adventure!