…of love, laughter and a house full of children.
I have to comment on this last picture. I love the way my father-in-law is looking at her in such adoration. They both look completely content and fulfilled.

Last month we were able to fly up to Seattle to celebrate my beautiful mother-in-law’s 70th birthday. She had no idea her entire family would be there and keeping that a secret from her, was no easy endeavor. We had to watch what we said around her for months, being careful not to let anything slip. I even had to ignore her friend request on Facebook in fear of one of my friends or clients accidentally posting something about my visit! Fortunately, she had no idea we would all be there to celebrate with her, and fortunately, she never noticed my non-approval of her FB friendship (which is good, cause you know that’s the most sincere kind of friendship there is).

The party was beautiful and full of children, grandchildren, cakes and flowers. The high lite (for me, anyways) was the personal chef my brother and sister in law hired. He made the most amazing prawns with this incredible glaze that I just couldn’t leave alone (of course my favorite aspect of such a fabulous soire would be food related). My mother-in-law is one of the strongest women I know. She has literally gone on  fantastic adventures, sailing the seas for 6 months on an old pilgrim ship, visiting just about every country in the world, raising 5 extremely successful children and experiencing the deepest heartache imaginable and all the while,  maintaining such grace, poise and generosity, one can’t help but admire her. Did I mention she’s one of my favorite people? I didn’t? Well, she is.

Happy Birthday Julie! What a beautiful year to celebrate such a beautiful life.