My husband's parents turn 70 this year and their four boys (I am married to the youngest) decided to throw them a joint surprise birthday party. The guest list was drawn up, invites were designed and mailed out...and over 75 family and friends from all over the country gathered together Saturday night, just north of Baltimore, to celebrate. I love my in-laws DEARLY, so of course, I wanted to jump in and help...
and I wanted to go BIG!...
All ideas from here...
This is what I did:
Under a clever ploy, I managed to get many dozens of old family photos from my mother-in-law.
I then made color copies of the very fun ones...
As you can see above, I turned some into party hats for the kids..
I put out a little scrap book and got a cute new polaroid camera
for the kids to take photos of each other
and put them in the scrap book for Grandmom and Poppie.
My favorite thing was the giant 70 we created by taping color copies of the
old photos to the window in the shape of a huge 70...It made for a really great giant collage.
The photos are so amazing and fun to look at...
(Extra special thank you to Michael and Brian for all their help in getting this done!)
It does look like a 70, right??
Above, some details of the photos in the collage.
Another nice idea was, using photo corners, we attached copies of old photos to dollar vases with a votive candle in each one for the table center pieces...
so when it got dark outside, each photo was illuminated by the candle and it created a really lovely effect.
The party was a huge success and very fun. Just about everyone that was invited joined us.
It was so wonderful to see all the faces of those who
Pat and Chrystie hold so dear in one room celebrating them...
My parents-in-law welcomed me into their family with open and loving arms 12 years ago and they never fail to amaze me with their generosity and selfless ways. They are devoted and committed to their family and friends and would drop everything-in a heart beat--if any of us needed anything...ever.
Their close friends, still to this day, are from their college days and the neighbors that their kids grew up with; and to me, this fact is just another testament to how dearly loyal and committed they are to those around them.
But beyond all this, I think I have learned something far more dear and valuable from Pat and Chrystie...
My daughter was born at 11:30pm on a cold wintery night in January and first thing that very next Sunday morning, Pat and Chrystie were flying across the country from Baltimore to New Mexico so they could hold their brand new baby grand-daughther in their arms, before another moment could pass...
They then proceeded to fly out 5 more times that year alone to help us and be with her...
As Magda grew bigger and Luca came to join us, the love and bond between the four of them grew deeper and stronger. And after all the many, many trips to Santa Fe that Pat and Chrystie made, and all our trips to Baltimore...And then since moving here--all the time the four of them have spent together: at the beach, going out to pizza, at soccer games, holidays, knitting lessons, trips to the park, family get-togethers, pick ups from school every Monday, the sing-alongs, birthdays, weekend visits, when the kids got sick, overnights at Poppie & Grandmom's house, the games, the gifts, the clothes, the craft projects, the special treats, the dollar bills!!... on and on...
By just watching them interact: the squeals, the giggles, the sheer delight--(from all of them!) I think I have come to realize that being a grandparent is quite possibly one of the greatest joys in life...that simple love between grandparent and grandchild is purely unconditional and completely self-less. Of course being a grandkid is awesome, because you get totally "boiled" (as Luca would say--he means, spoiled!) But honestly, by the looks on Pat and Chrystie's faces, they are having just as much, if not more fun, than the kids!!
I have often thought that by watching Pat and Chrystie with my kids that their relationship truly illustrates this great gift of the human experience--this love between one's parents and one's children. It is pure joy and its amazing. I can't really express how much I value being a part of it. I think I have an inkling about how much it means to Pat and Chrystie to be so a part of our lives. I am more sure than anything, that knowing as my children grow up and older, they will glow with the love they feel for their grandparents; that mark is indelible and it will last their whole lives. And everyone who knows Magda and Luca, throughout their lives, will know how dearly they love their Grandmom and Poppie...and what a close, beautiful bond they all continue to share.
Happy Birthday Pat and Chrystie
We love you...
and here's to many more celebrations still to come!!
Poppie and Grandmom with all the Goles grandkids
No comments:
Post a Comment