{"id":12125,"date":"2015-04-06T12:40:02","date_gmt":"2015-04-06T19:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nettiesworld.com\/?p=12125"},"modified":"2017-06-28T21:10:02","modified_gmt":"2017-06-29T04:10:02","slug":"48","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/?p=12125","title":{"rendered":"48"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This year, for the first time in my memory, my birthday and Easter Sunday coincided in a happy celebration. My day started, of course, the night before, with all the Easter Vigil revelers coming home and telling me all about the wonder and beauty of the night at church. And, because my daughters are who they are, when I had seen how pretty\u00a0they looked in preparation for the vigil, I asked Megan to get a nice picture of her sister. These were the best that\u00a0I got. I will leave you to judge which one is the &#8220;nice&#8221; one. \ud83d\ude00 (And I always tell them, if you don&#8217;t want to see that face on my blog, <strong><em>don&#8217;t make that face in front of a camera!<\/em><\/strong> Everything is fair game! :-D)<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-12125 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-medium'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173036N1.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"306\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173036N1-306x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173036N1-306x400.jpg 306w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173036N1-138x180.jpg 138w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173036N1-766x1000.jpg 766w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 306px) 100vw, 306px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173051N1.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"267\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173051N1-267x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173051N1-267x400.jpg 267w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173051N1-120x180.jpg 120w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173051N1-667x1000.jpg 667w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 267px) 100vw, 267px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173304N1.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"267\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173304N1-267x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173304N1-267x400.jpg 267w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173304N1-120x180.jpg 120w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173304N1-667x1000.jpg 667w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 267px) 100vw, 267px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173311N1.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"267\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173311N1-267x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173311N1-267x400.jpg 267w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173311N1-120x180.jpg 120w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173311N1-667x1000.jpg 667w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 267px) 100vw, 267px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173415N1.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"267\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173415N1-267x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173415N1-267x400.jpg 267w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173415N1-120x180.jpg 120w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173415N1-667x1000.jpg 667w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 267px) 100vw, 267px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173432N1.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"305\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173432N1-305x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173432N1-305x400.jpg 305w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173432N1-137x180.jpg 137w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173432N1-762x1000.jpg 762w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 305px) 100vw, 305px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173600N1.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"437\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173600N1-437x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173600N1-437x400.jpg 437w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173600N1-197x180.jpg 197w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173600N1-1092x1000.jpg 1092w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 437px) 100vw, 437px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173614N1.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173614N1-600x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173614N1-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173614N1-270x180.jpg 270w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150404_173614N1-1500x1000.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<hr \/>\n<p>Well, so anyway. Sunday morning, I knew I was &#8220;on my own&#8221; for church, as Paul was feeling a little under the weather, and he and Jacob had both been to the vigil anyway, so &#8211; not really on my own, as I had mumsy coming along as well, but she always sits in the front row, and I always do NOT sit in the front row when I am managing little people whose behavior can be unpredictable. I was getting ready to go, when Paul insisted that I open his birthday gift. I thought that an odd request since it is longstanding tradition to open gifts after the birthday dinner and before the cake.\u00a0However, all was made clear when I opened the box and found this:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_080030N1dsweb.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12148\" src=\"http:\/\/adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_080030N1dsweb-323x400.jpg\" alt=\"20150405_080030N1dsweb\" width=\"323\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_080030N1dsweb-323x400.jpg 323w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_080030N1dsweb-145x180.jpg 145w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_080030N1dsweb.jpg 726w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 323px) 100vw, 323px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I have wanted a missal of my own\u00a0for several years, so it was a fabulous gift. What a delight to use\u00a0it for my very first mass on Easter Sunday!!<\/p>\n<p>It goes without saying that the liturgy and music, with organ, trumpet, chant, and glorious hymns were thrilling and beautiful. One thing that was memorable about the day, however, was that we were sitting behind a family with an autistic teenage boy, and I was so tickled watching him throughout the mass. He wasn&#8217;t a big distraction, but there were just certain things that made me smile. Throughout the mass he was enthusiastic and vocally inquisitive, and his parents were precious with him, quiet, patient, and careful in their explanations of what was happening. At one point during the prayers before communion when we stand for a while, he got worn out and just flopped down on the pew, and his mother took him out for a while. \u00a0They were back before communion, though, and he was audibly excited to go forward to receive the Eucharist. At the end after the blessing, as the organ and trumpet began the recessional, he couldn&#8217;t contain himself and began clapping &#8212; and as Fr. Lankeit approached our rows on his way up the aisle, the boy gave him a giant thumbs up sign! It was adorable!! \ud83d\ude42 In my heart, I was hugging the whole family.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>After mass, we made our usual stop for drinks and a doughnut at QT, and then headed home. Since the Gonzales family were having a giant bar-b-que to celebrate Easter and Joann&#8217;s reception into the church, we were on our own for dinner. I&#8217;d planned a taco salad bar, and the girls laid the spread, so all I had to do was sit down at the table with all my beloveds. I share with you the hilarity in all its silliness so you can see just a little of what I see when I&#8217;m sitting on my end of the table at any given meal.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div id='gallery-2' class='gallery galleryid-12125 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-medium'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_120329N1dsweb.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"578\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_120329N1dsweb-578x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_120329N1dsweb-578x400.jpg 578w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_120329N1dsweb-260x180.jpg 260w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_120329N1dsweb.jpg 1444w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 578px) 100vw, 578px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_120324N1dsweb.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"578\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_120324N1dsweb-578x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_120324N1dsweb-578x400.jpg 578w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_120324N1dsweb-260x180.jpg 260w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_120324N1dsweb.jpg 1444w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 578px) 100vw, 578px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_120357N1dsweb.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"277\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_120357N1dsweb-277x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_120357N1dsweb-277x400.jpg 277w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_120357N1dsweb-125x180.jpg 125w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_120357N1dsweb.jpg 692w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 277px) 100vw, 277px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_120438N1dsweb.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"745\" height=\"363\" src=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_120438N1dsweb-745x363.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_120438N1dsweb-745x363.jpg 745w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_120438N1dsweb-300x146.jpg 300w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_120438N1dsweb.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 745px) 100vw, 745px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123629N1dsweb.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"289\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123629N1dsweb-289x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123629N1dsweb-289x400.jpg 289w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123629N1dsweb-130x180.jpg 130w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123629N1dsweb.jpg 722w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 289px) 100vw, 289px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123635N1dsweb.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"513\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123635N1dsweb-513x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123635N1dsweb-513x400.jpg 513w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123635N1dsweb-231x180.jpg 231w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123635N1dsweb.jpg 1283w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 513px) 100vw, 513px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123652N1dsweb.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"560\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123652N1dsweb-560x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123652N1dsweb-560x400.jpg 560w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123652N1dsweb-252x180.jpg 252w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123652N1dsweb.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123722N1dsweb.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123722N1dsweb-400x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123722N1dsweb-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123722N1dsweb-180x180.jpg 180w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123722N1dsweb.jpg 1001w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123726N1dsweb.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"462\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123726N1dsweb-462x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123726N1dsweb-462x400.jpg 462w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123726N1dsweb-208x180.jpg 208w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123726N1dsweb.jpg 1154w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123748N1dsweb.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"412\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123748N1dsweb-412x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123748N1dsweb-412x400.jpg 412w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123748N1dsweb-186x180.jpg 186w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123748N1dsweb.jpg 1031w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 412px) 100vw, 412px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123754N1dsweb.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"578\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123754N1dsweb-578x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123754N1dsweb-578x400.jpg 578w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123754N1dsweb-260x180.jpg 260w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123754N1dsweb.jpg 1444w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 578px) 100vw, 578px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123818N1dsweb.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"553\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123818N1dsweb-553x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123818N1dsweb-553x400.jpg 553w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123818N1dsweb-249x180.jpg 249w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123818N1dsweb.jpg 1382w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 553px) 100vw, 553px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123834N1dsweb.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"451\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123834N1dsweb-451x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123834N1dsweb-451x400.jpg 451w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123834N1dsweb-203x180.jpg 203w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/20150405_123834N1dsweb.jpg 1128w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 451px) 100vw, 451px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">I spent the rest of the day alternately resting, playing with photos, and keeping up with a steady stream of kind birthday wishes from Facebook, reminding me of just how blessed I am with such a super-abundance of family and friends. I am completely at peace with growing another year older, as each year brings more love into my life.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em>Thank you, Lord, for this year 48. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em>Let me use it for you!!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This year, for the first time in my memory, my birthday and Easter Sunday coincided in a happy celebration. My day started, of course, the night before, with all the Easter Vigil revelers coming home and telling me all about the wonder and beauty of the night at church. And, because my daughters are who [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[101,7,43,303,97,3,206,121,266,598],"tags":[305,360,304,152,19],"class_list":["post-12125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-birthday","category-catholic","category-celebrations","category-easter-holidays","category-easter","category-family","category-feast-days","category-fun","category-holidays","category-netties-world","tag-birthdays","tag-catholic","tag-easter","tag-family-3","tag-family-life","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12125"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12125\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12177,"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12125\/revisions\/12177"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}