while the thought to have a sibling write the poem is great, i'm concerned if one of mine wrote about me it would be along the lines of

Happy is the 5th of 7
that is why he is like he is
it's not his fault
love him anyway

I tell my2 younger brothers all the time:

Okie is the 2nd of 4
Should have stopped then.

Not now, but possibly when she is turning 65.

Mom loved people, and we were at a loss what to get her. The cost - minimal. The value - immense!!!

We sent the following letter out (got the names from their Christmas card list) to 100 people. Got 101 replies back! On her birthday, we gave mom the scrapbook. 3 hours and 2 boxes of kleenex later we had her birthday cake. The album was her most prised possession, and she took it everywhere. It was in her casket when she was buried.

Letter sent out

"December , 20xx

Dear Friend of C_____ P_______ (our mom)

In a few short weeks, mom will be celebrating a milestone, her 65th birthday. It is certainly a blessing for all of us. Mom’s greatest joy is life is being around people, and she constantly reminds us about you and others, her true friends over the years.

We would like to do something special for mom as she celebrates this occasion and need your help. We would like to give her a scrapbook with kind thoughts and remembrances from the people who mean the most to her. Could you please write mom a short note, remembering some incident that you shared or just wishing her health and happiness? If you have a picture that you wouldn’t mind sharing, please enclose it too. We request that you write only on one side so your notes can be mounted.

The return envelope is addressed to Barbara. She will be putting your thoughts in an album and since mom likes flowers so much, will be adding some dried flowers to make it more special. We want to give this to mom on her birthday.

Some of you may see or talk to mom between now and February 28th, her birthday. Please do not mention this to her or dad (he can’t keep a secret!) If you have any questions or suggestions, please call Rocky at xxx-xxxx- or Charley xxx-xxxx Thank you and God Bless.

Love,
R, B and C

How Wonderful!

Well we ended up scraping the gift certificate and gave her 3 of her favorite plants that she can plant and watch grow. The 3 plants signifies us 3 boys.

Celebrating had to get delayed as my 2 1/2 year old decided she needed to get sick with the stomach bug

Late to the party but I wanted to share my mom's favorite gift. She loves it when my sister and I get her tickets for the theater. No spouses or grankids allowed. Just the three of us enjoying dinner followed by something she'll like. She basks in the undivided attention. And as those of you who know me on FB have seen, she's uncannily lucky on getting chosen whenever the actors interact with the audience too.