My Birthday.

A beautiful ice cream cake from DQ.

Strawberry Cheesecake Blizzard ~ my favorite!

A lovely collection of gifts from my dear family.

White chocolate from Purdy's, a white chocolate

Kit Kat (bit of a theme here), the Christmas edition

of The English Home, along with the annual insert,

a bag of my favorite sour candies and a pair of soft

slipper socks to wear on cold Winter nights. Not

shown is the amazing heating pad that dh found.

It's as long as my body, heats from top to bottom

and is also a massager. We had quite a bit of fun

going thru all the settings and killing ourselves

laughing! Dh is always trying to find ways for my

body to be warm as I'm always cold. Thankful for

his kind heart and creative gift giving. I wish I was

as creative but he is easy to please. Loved my day!

~ Chy

Birthday Girl.

Today was our youngest's birthday. She does not like

gift bags, so we teased her by wrapping a gift in bag

after bag and lots of tissue paper. Thankfully, she was

such a good spot. Cake, laughter, gifts and much love!

~ Chy

A Shared Birthday.

These 2 sweet beings celebrate a shared

birthday today. Mom is now 81 years

young and my baby brother is 56 years

old! Such a gift to be born on her day.

Happy Birthday to you both!

~ Chy

More Memories.

More Birthday Memories to share tonight. The flowers

were the sweetest surprise from our neighbors down the

lane. They also included ales for dh, who had his birthday

10 days ago. Best neighbors ever! My cake was amazing

and we loved the look of it. Dh found the cutest Minnie

Mouse card and he did gift me with a book I said I may

have to look for but he found it, a metal back scratcher to

replace the one he did break, and a new wheat bag for

the Winter. My big gift was my Lego set (Assembly Square)

that we found on sale before my surgery. Feeling loved!

~ Chy

Birthday Memories.

I had a very special birthday today. I

truly was not excited for today but in

the end, it was so special in so many

ways. I may have to share several posts.

This morning, we went to our weekly

Chamber of Commerce breakfast and

dh shared it was my birthday and I was

caught off guard. And then they all sang

"Happy Birthday" to me and it was the

sweetest moment! I was truly touched.

After the meeting, we headed to our office

for a bit to gather what we need for our

even tomorrow night, then had a meeting

with our volunteer centre for our festival.

Once that was done, we headed to one

of our local hotels to talk with their team

about our requirement for next Summer's

festival. At the end, after an amazing tour,

the GM asked if we had plans. Dh said

"it's Chy's birthday, so we're going to

head home for a bit before we celebrate

with family later. And then they offered

to have us come into the restaurant for

lunch, on them. We had the best time

eating the amazing food and talking

with staff who were brought over to be

introduced to us. We were so full at

the end but they sent us home with a

tray of birthday desserts. So incredible!

We will be back for dinner over time.

Let me share the photos: #1 is the name

of the restaurant. I'm assuming its a chain.

#2 is our appetizer: garlic aioli Crustini with

a goat cheese dip. A great start to lunch. #3

is a shot of my burger. I'm not a meat eater

but decided to try this for the cheese and

the bacon and pickles. It was so very good.

#4 is the Caesar Salad that came with my

lunch. It was equally amazing. I did have

to take half my lunch home as it was too

much for me. #5 is a shot of the in house

made lemonade that I now want to know

what they mix it with. Again, so good! And

finally, #6 is a shot of the washroom. So

elegant. We felt so well looked after and

know that this is the perfect spot for artists.

More birthday memories coming up!

~ Chy

International Bereaved Mother's Day.

On the Sunday in the week before Mother's Day in May is International Bereaved Mother's Day, a special day that began a few years ago to honor and celebrate the mama's who have experienced the loss of a precious baby or sweet child. It's a bittersweet day but one that was created to provide opportunities for sharing our stories, for receiving unique support and for providing awareness to the World around us. I cherish both of these days as a way to honor, love and remember our sweet babies: Bretton, Ciara, Birkley, Cabriola, Cambria, Beau, Cree and Bentley without guilt. And a week later, honoring and remembering this special time we've had raising and loving Chelsea, Brady, Brodie and Chynna. I wish there was also an International Bereaved Father's Day and hope to encourage the creation of another special day, just for dad's who have experienced tremendous loss in their lives. This year, IBMD was held on Sunday, May 7th, with Mother's Day itself on Sunday, May 14th. Father's Day this year will be on Sunday, June 19th but for today, I'm choosing to honor my dh as he remembers our babies in his own way, with grief and love, tears and gratitude.

                                      ~ Chy

Birthday Girl.

Younger daughter had her 30th Birthday

today. But it was cut short by an alert

about a fire just a few moments from our

little country cottage in the big woods.

We had to stop celebrating to get ready

to be evacuated but thankfully at the

end of the night, the fire was contained,

and we could go back to honoring our

sweet C for the rest of the weekend.

She did love her gifts, especially the

$10 bills in the million envelopes! And

her ice cream cake to enjoy. A birthday

she will truly never, ever forget. Happy

Birthday C! We love you to bits, forever!

~ Chy

Dh's Birthday.

Dh celebrated his birthday last week and

we spoiled him nicely. A bit of a Disney

theme you can see from some of his gifts.

My big gift for him this year arrived a

day late ~ a big Lego set featuring the

Mouse himself with Minnie. We started

building it today. Will take a bit as it's a

big one with almost 2,000 pieces. It was

a great day and just what he wanted. And

on the weekend, we had a surprise party!

He had no idea and we pulled it off with

precision. Ton of fun that created memories.

~ Chy

Special Lunch.

Every September, the community~based

hospice I work for hosts a special luncheon.

It's purpose is to raise funds for our local

initiative and to for new awareness of

our programs and services. Everyone

dresses up beautifully, we gather for an

amazing lunch, with guest speakers who

share inspiring stories and sweet music

from local artists. This event will always

be a favorite in my heart and my soul.

~ Chy

Mothering Sunday.

Today in the U.K. and other parts of Europe, Mothers are being honored and celebrated with "Mothering Sunday" which is similar to our "Mother's Day" here in Canada. A day to shower mothers with love and gratitude, gifts and time. Wishing each and every one of my readers from the U.K. a day filled with family and surprise. And love.

For those mothers who are mourning the loss of your baby or your child, I recognize this day is extremely difficult. There are not words that will bring back your baby/child and nothing that will heal your broken heart on this day or any day. Know that I hold you in my heart as you remember. You feel alone but know you are not alone. Hugs and love to you today. Pure love and a heartfelt hug.

If you are in the U.K., what are your plans for today?

If not, how will you celebrate Mother's Day in May?