(UPDATE) ATLANTA, Georgia: Jimmy Carter has always been a man of discipline and habit, but the former United States president on Sunday put off his practice of quietly watching church services online to celebrate his 99th birthday with his wife Rosalynn and their offspring in the city of Plains, Georgia.

The gathering took place in the same one-story structure where the Carters lived before he was first elected to the Georgia Senate in 1962. As tributes poured in from around the world, it was an opportunity for the former leader's family to honor his personal legacy.