Our Girlie's Special Day

Today's post is a little bit of an opportunity for me to sit back and decompress.  Mother's Day and Charlotte's birthday took a lot out of me and quite honestly, I'm tired.  Yesterday I took a "blogger's day off" and today I'm taking the simple route and sharing some pictures.

I just want to take the opportunity to thank all of you for all of the thoughts, prayers and kind words that you have shared with Matt and I over the past few days.  Trust me, no gesture goes unnoticed.  Yes there have been tears.  Yes there have been heavy hearts.  But there were also things scattered in between that helped us through two really tough days.  Here are a few things that brought smiles to our faces this year on Charlotte's birthday.

Tulips from my Mama.

Awesome shirts that my mother-in-law Mary made!

My sisters all wore them in honor of our little girlie.

 A picture that breaks my heart and makes me smile all at the same time.

A special thanks to everyone who visited and left birthday gifts behind...I wish we were closer so we could do the same.

Books for Charley at our door.

A random package from my sister Angie.

P.S. All of the gum is expired.  Did you know gum expired?  I didn't!  

She definitely knows how to make me smile.

 Our own little party.  
Matt inadvertently bought trick candles...
Charlotte would have loved it. (maybe not the candles themselves, more so her daddy acting silly while trying to blow them out!)  

 Two balloons for 2 years.  I love how this picture turned out.  Crazy thing is, those balloons stayed side by side right up to the moment they disappeared from sight.

Our new birthday traditions are not ideal, but they are our reality.  

May 14, 2012 and every May 14 from here until eternity we will celebrate...

...no matter how much it hurts.