March• 2018 | 29the two were married on January 1,- Emily was born soon after.
The replica home and the amazing
story behind it deserved an impres-
sive unveiling. Emily arranged a sur-
prise party at which the miniature and
Katherine would be honoured. But
keeping the big secret about the little
house was a tough task.
“Ray would ask me questions about
the house”, Emily says of the plan-
ning process. “The last time I was in-
side was when I was a teenager, so I
couldn’t remember everything. When
visiting Mother I would start a con-
versation where I would say, ‘Oh, by
the way, do you remember ...’ and ask
her something about the house. She
would give details from her memory
about the colour and the layout. She
would tell me exactly what something
looked like or where it was in the
house.”
On August 28, 2016, Emily gathered
40 friends and family members at her
house. The partygoers waited while
Emily’s daughter-in-law, Christie, took
Katherine out to lunch.
After the special birthday meal,
Christie brought Katherine to Emily’s
house.
“When we went inside, there was a
house full of people singing ‘Happy
Birthday’ to me,” Katherine says. “I
was just shocked.”
Katherine’s many friends, siblings,
grandsons and great-grandchildren
packed the party. Emily and Thomas
presented Katherine with the carefully
wrapped replica home. It was the per-
fect gift.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” Kather-
ine says. “Now, the replica sits in the
middle of my dining room table. I
have fond memories of that house. I
have had several family dinners where
we eat around it. I can turn on the tiny
lights within it. It’s so pretty.”
For Katherine, it turns out that it isPHOTOS (OPENER, HOUSE) DAVID SIMS; (PAIR AND INTERIOR) BOZWELL PHOTOGRAPHY possible to go home again.
Emily Sims wanted to surprise her mother with much more than a party