We just arrived back from Illinois to celebrate my mother's 98th birthday. My sister Fe, who she is living with, wanted the party to have a nautical theme. And so I created a nautical centerpiece using stuff I brought from home. She already had nautical serving pieces that I arranged around the table.
And so the day came with so much food. All 5 of us children from various cities in Florida and St. Louis arrived so it turned out to be some kind of a reunion too and it was so much fun.
My sister Tessie from St. Louis and sister in law , Che, from the Tampa Bay area.
A beautiful birthday cake given by my dear friend, Ludy, with it's wonderful coconut and ube (purple yam) flavor. Simply delicious! We used to live in Waukegan too so we have a lot of friends there and it was wonderful to see them again.
Another extraordinarily gorgeous cake was given by another family friend, Norma. It was a mango chiffon cake and so yummy!
Thank you so much to all who came and helped us celebrate that special day.
Mama is very special. She had 3 birthday cakes. I baked one for her too but did not get to take it out until later because there was no room on the table. It went so fast that by the time I wanted to take a picture, it was all gone. It was a mocha chiffon cake.
Here is my mom with her big smile who is about to blow her birthday candle. Even her pillow is nautical, lol! I wonder what she wished for!!
My mom and her 5 children. She was so tired by the end of the day that we had a hard time getting her to open her eyes for the family picture, but she finally obliged.
My sister Fe, has a big back porch that she never used. She decided to get it cleaned so it can be used for the party because she was afraid the guests (around 50) would not fit inside the house. She paid $600 to get it cleaned so just imagine how messy it used to be.
I got her helper to trim the trees all around that were really overgrown.
and then we got it ready for the party. My other sister Tessie, helped me plant some fresh flowering plants on the window planters.
After the party, I thought it would be a good opportunity to stain the floor and paint the rails while the deck is still clean. I suggested that to my sister. And who could resist a free service? So off we went to buy the supplies at Menards and got started right away since we were only going to stay there for 2 weeks.
All done! It was so funny because her guests were all surprised to find out that she had a deck, lol. They never knew it existed prior to the occasion.
Now, my mom is even able to use it because it is adjacent to her room. Only a French door separates them. Her care taker assists her to take her daily walking exercise there and even feeds her there, taking advantage of the weather while it is still nice and warm. The overhanging trees are keeping the place cool.
We are happy with how it turned out considering the limited time I had in finishing it, though I would have wanted the floor stain to be somewhat darker.
It became my favorite place to drink my coffee every morning during my stay there.
Shown below is a very short video of my mom saying her birthday. I hope you will get to watch it.
Thank you so much for stopping by. And thanks to all the hostesses of the memes I am linking with.
Anything Goes" Pink Saturday
Metamorphosis Monday
Jeanne's Blue Monday
Sandi's No Place Like Home
Christine's Dishing It and Digging It
Cindy's Amaze me Monday
Kathryn's Make it Pretty Monday
Chloe's Celebrate it Monday
Bernideen's Tea Time, Cottage and Garden Blog Party!
Tweak it Tuesday
Julie's Talk of the Town Tuesday
Tuesday's The Scoop
Marty's Inspire Me Tuesday
Show and Share
Sarah's Classical Homemaking party
Home Matters
Thoughts of Home Thursday
Kathy's Home and Garden Thursday
Tablescape Thursday
Share your Style Thursday
Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop
Kathryn's Anything Blue Friday
Kate's Flaunt it Friday
Courtney's Feathered Nest Friday
Foodie Fri and Everything Else
27 comments:
I admire how hard you and your sisters worked to make this a wonderful party for your mother. The deck looks fantastic, your energy never ceases to amaze me!
I love the nautical theme! The table looks so fun and the food has my mouth watering. How blessed your mother is to have such loving children, and you are so lucky to have your mother in your life!
I apologize for not getting by more, hopefully once summer winds down I'll be better with visits!
Janie
I'm certain that your mom truly appreciated everyone's efforts and enjoyed her birthday celebration! Great job, Christine. :-)
Hi nice to meet you...visiting from How Sweet The sound, What a wonderful birthday you and your family had for your so sweet mom. Everything looks so yummy on the table. And what wonderful birthday cakes! So nice to see such a wonderful gathering of friends and family! Lisa@ Sweet Tea N' Salty Air
Your little mother looks wonderful and I'm sure she had a wonderful birthday! I love that big porch! So nice to have such a lovely family to honor your little mother!
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)
Your mother looks wonderful and so young for being 98 years...your family has fantastic genes to keep you all so young looking, Christine.
The food looks delicious, as usual.
You are a sweet sister to help paint the deck and railings.
Have a nice weekend.
Christine, you are so blessed to have your dear mama still and so well, it's a joy!
God bless her always.
Your sea scape is very pretty; all your elements are the best, so very appropriate for the theme.
Now the food looks FABULOUS!! Getting hungry.
FABBY
It's such a joy to see you spend that special time with your Mom. She looks so happy, god bless her. Looks like the party and the deck was a big hit! Glad ya'll had fun :-)
What a sweet party for your Mom, how special! You are so fortunate to still have your Mom, what a blessing. The cakes look fabulous and so does the deck. What a great place to drink your coffee.
What a wonderful party for your mother! I bet she was overjoyed to have her whole family there. Lovely looking cakes and that deck would be my favourite place for coffee too. Thank you for sharing with us.
Blessings,
Sandi
98!!! Happy birthday to your mom. What sweet daughters she raised. That deck looks great and the cakes all sound wonderful. Pretty, too. I could enjoy coffee on a deck like that.
Christine, what a blessing to be able to celebrate your sweet mother! It looks like a wonderful time! The deck looks amazing! I can see why you would want to sit out while you were there. Glad to hear that your mother is able to enjoy it, as well. What a lovely family you have!
Christine, what a beautiful celebration for your Mom! The food looked delicious and what a blessing to still have your Mom! Pam @ Everyday Livng
Happy Belated 98th Birthday to your mom, Christine! I loved the nautical theme of the party and my sweet tooth was salivating over the food and birthday cakes. YUM!
Great job on staining the back porch. You're a good sister!
Happy birthday to your mom. How wonderful to have five wonderful children and friends to all step up and have such a special celebration on her 98th birthday. The deck looks fabulous and now I am inspired to paint my deck.
Thank you for joining Blue Monday and being so faithful.
xo, Jeanne
Christine! Happy Birthday to your sweet Mother!! 98 years young!! Amazing!!
The deck looks fantastic!! Love it! And what a wonderful party with so much food!!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Hugs,
Debbie
What a nice celebration you had! I have three sisters and a mom close to turning 90 so I hope we can celebrate in such a fun way as you have!
Hi Ms. Chistine,
I had a great time reading your blog and I find it sweet. Belated Happy Birthday to your Mom.
God bless :)
What a blessing for your Mom to celebrate her 98th birthday. It looks like a lovely party and thank you for sharing this special day with us at Celebrate Your Story.
Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment!
How wonderful to throw such a big party for your mom's 98th birthday. I hope she was able to enjoy it to the max.
Love the look of the second birthday cake, the decoration is so elegant and beautiful.
What a transformation the staining made for the deck. I think it is great that it can be used now and people, including your mom, can enjoy that outdoors.
Warm regards,
Christina
Your table is lovely! Happy birthday to this lovely lady! Thank you for sharing at Celebrate Your Story!
What a wonderful celebration. Happy Birthday to your amazing mom.
Christine, what a beautiful occasion! I'm sure your mother was very pleased!
Precious memories with your Mom and family! How wonderful that you still have your Mom. She is beautiful. Dianne
Your mother is incredible. She looks beautiful and what a spread of food. Yum! Three birthday cakes. Wow! She knows she is loved. The tables look so pretty, the deck looks great. I think I need you to come to my house. I'm sure you could find a lot of projects to do!
thank you for sharing your Mothers birthday celebration at the Thursday Favorite Things link party. Happy belated birthday wishes to your Mother.The video is a sweet touch too, 1918 wow! she has been witness to so many things. I love that you made the deck and center pieces look so pretty for everyone to celebrate and a sweet present for your sister too.I have a nice patio in the back of our house where I love to sit and have my morning tea. I know your Mother was very happy with her celebration xo
What a great party. Love the nautical centerpiece and everything about the party. Thank you for sharing with us at #HomeMattersParty. We would love to have again next week.
Christine, I have been so blessed by this post of your sweet mama's birthday. What a blessing! Everything was simply perfect! Sweet video too. Hugs and blessings, Cindy
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