Dear Reader:

It’s that time again…Jake and my birthday weekend…even though our real birthday is Monday September 24. Can it really have been four years since Jake came into our lives?

Jake wasn’t even supposed to be around on the 24th since his due date was October 8…Mandy had sent out cards and I had this one on the fridge….just waiting!

On September 24, 2014 I had arisen early because Brooke was coming to celebrate my birthday….we were going out to lunch, catching a movie…we had the day planned. And then came the telephone call…“Mom…it’s Mandy…how would you like to share your birthday with Jake?” 

Mandy had already had a couple of “false alarms” so initially I took the news in stride and she said she would call me back once they had finished examining her and let me know definitely it if was “on” for this day. So I called Brooke and told her what was happening…and we all went into the “waiting game” mode as Dr. Seuss called it.

The next time the phone rang it was John and things were happening fast…it was definitely “on” and how quickly could I get to the hospital in Mt. Pleasant…he needed someone to sit with Eva Cate while he went into surgery (c-section) with Mandy.

Thank goodness Tommy got there in time to take Eva Cate so John could go with Mandy and that’s how I found things when I arrived. Eva Cate had her Big Sister t-shirt on and everyone was so excited.

More family arrived and time dragged on…but still no news. For a “c section” it should have been over quickly…so we were all giving each other worried glances until finally two nurses walked by on their way to the elevator and asked whose family member we were there for…and they assured us that all had gone well…and mother and baby were resting. Jake had been there for a couple of hours and somehow none of the staff remembered to tell us.

When they got Mandy in her room we all ran in to see the latest family member…precious little Jake. Even though Eva Cate and Jake fight like most siblings today…they are actually very close and it was love at first sight when Eva Cate saw her little brother.

From the title picture it looks like Jake is winking …and he is the funniest little thing around…the class clown in his pre-school class…and he has always been like that…cute, mischievous and hilarious! He definitely keeps everyone on their toes and can come out with the funniest comments that always catch you off guard. You have to be on your “A” game to keep Jakie…he is always full of surprises. A tiny little dynamo!

Mandy and John are having a “Jake and Boo Boo Brunch” this morning with family invited to celebrate our dual birthdays…they are getting out the jump castle, swimming, and all the other activities for the little cousins and friends. I think Boo Boo will take a rain check on the jump castle.

Then Saturday evening it is the adults’ time to celebrate….we are going out to eat at a fairly new restaurant that sounds delicious….called Grace and Grit. It is a combination of seafood, country style sides and grits in every form imaginable. Bring it on! I can hardly wait!

I do think it was so special that Jake decided to come two weeks early on my birthday…so from then on out…September 24 would always be  our birthday… forever and ever!

I will be staying over in Mt. P so I can go to my little nephew’s (Rhodes’) second birthday Sunday afternoon before returning home later in the day. So lots of birthday’in going on…a fun weekend to be with family and friends.

So until tomorrow…

On this echoing-day of your birth,
May you open the gift of solitude
In order to receive your soul;
Enter the generosity of silence
To hear your hidden heart;
Know the serenity of stillness
To be enfolded anew
By the miracle of your being.

-John O’Donohue

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

My recently planted Mexican sunflowers look so delicate and pretty by the fence in the early morning light.

A shout-out to all the walkers and runners today participating in the Lowcountry Race for the Cure. I certainly have mixed feelings about missing our first race in eight years… my heart and support will always be with this important fund-raiser…because it has been the new drugs (that have appeared during my treatments) that have kept me around…no doubt about it.

*Tomorrow…Fun Facts on the Fall Equinox (tomorrow’s blog post) which arrives today…it’s officially Fall Y’all!

And look what the ‘almost’ autumn equinox brought in…the funny, adorable Jo Dufford! She came with birthday harvest/Thanksgiving decor which I will love having when the holidays roll around this year! But the real blessing was just having some of Jo’s time to laugh and have fun!