a sweet surprise

Monday was my birthday. I'm past the age where I can get excited about my birthdays. I'd prefer to have one about every 5 years at this point. But something unexpected happened that I must share today!

Our mail comes late, about 4pm, and my daughter Mary Grace was home from school and came in from the mailbox with an armload saying, "Happy Birthday, Mom!"

Imagine my surprise to see that this armload was from my beloved swap buddies! Yes, YOU!

I was most surprised to see some "Royal Mail" from England! Miss May, how in the world did you manage for your card to arrive on my birthday? Do you have an "in" with the Queen? I told my daughter in my best over-dramatic British accent, "Oh, a lovely bit of Royal Mail just for me. I do hope it's from the Queen!" Such a pretty card, May!

There was also a card from Debbie, which features her own adorable image on her birthday when she was young. I've often told Debbie that she was about the cutest little girl ever...she could have given Shirley Temple a run for her money...I LOVE the card, Debbie!

Then a sweet parsel from Joyce. Lovely packaging of course. Sorry, I ripped into it like a toddler, and there was no way to repair the damage for a photo! First I opened the chocolate. The delemna will be how long I will be able to save them since the wrappers are so delightful. Yet I know what is waiting inside... and she also sent some wonderful destash! I am quite sure that adorable baby face image will be showing up on the blog at some point! And the card was especially delightful as well. I love that nurse (she looks like she could kick some serious butt!), and I love the saying on the card too! Look how the stickers on the card resemble band-aids! And Joyce's sweet sentiment on the inside touched my heart. Thank you so much.

And finally, when I saw that box, I knew exactly who it was from. No one on this planet can create masterpieces on the front of a box like my friend Linda I've learned that when you get one of these boxes from Linda, you open it from the bottom to keep the top intact.
The wrapping paper on the gift inside the box about stopped my heart. Have you ever seen anything more deliciously retro? I photographed it in front of the flowers my son and his girlfriend gave me since they looked so fab together! What was inside you ask? The sweetest nurse's prayer ever! It is vintage, but the prayer is ever so true today. I realized that although everything about medicine has changed dramatically through the years, what it is like to be a nurse never really changes. The references to babies was touching since that is what I do. I am with the babies when they take their first breath and it is an honor and very precious to me. Linda is a nurse too, so we have always had that bond. Thank you, Linda. I cherish it.

So that was my most precious birthday surprise! I told my husband that it amazes me how we as women can connect so intimately with other women we have never met. I consider many of you to be very dear friends, and I've never even heard your voice or seen you in person! Such a gift. Thank you all!