My aunt Alice approached me with the brilliant idea to make a quilt for her, to give back in part some of the love Mom has sewn into the dozens upon dozens of quilts she's given away while never keeping one for her own bed. Aunt Alice not only had this brainchild, but she then selflessly offered to assemble the entire quilt for the contributers. All of Mom's children sewed, embroidered, and/or designed at least one square, and all of her sisters made one, as did one of my cousins and two of Becky's children. It was pretty cool to see her face when she opened it.




________________________________________________________________

I'd planned to have the party at my place, and I baked and scrubbed in preparation, but when nearly 60 relatives R.S.V.P.'d the day before the party, I started calculating how much excess furniture I could move out into the snow without irrevocable damage. (John and I once crammed over 30 people into our tiny apartment in Buffalo, but that's not to say stuffiness and smushing provide the best party ambience.) My sister Becky is the greatest. With less than 24 hours notice, she offered to have the party moved two doors down to her apartment, even though she's got enough on her plate for several mothers to chew on. It really was much nicer in her more spacious home, and I'm grateful that she bailed her thoughtless, little sister out. I didn't snap even one shot of the party, so Becky bailed me out again by letting me pilfer the following photos. (Thanks, Beck!)


Luke and Joel share laughs with Uncle David and Aunt Lorraine.


The kids loved the quilt as much as Mom did, if not more.


Susannah on Papa's lap


Watching Mom open gifts.


Debbie holding Amanda and Audra.


I'm posting this last one because my Dad rarely looks this animated. Yeehaw!