Out of all twelve months, January is the busiest for us. We have 5 birthdays in 9 days. Randy kicks it off on the 11th. Eli follows on the 12th. Next is Daniel on the 15th. Then my day is the 16th, and sister Pam ends the celebrations on the 20th.
I grew up with Dad, Mom, and brother Bennett. I was adopted, one of the most wonderful things that has happened to me in this lifetime. Mom, Dad, and Bennett all have birthdays in August. I was the only one in January. I grew up feeling left out during that month and all alone in January. Now, it's funny.
At the young age of 17, I met my biological brothers, sisters, and their families. Instantly, I had a sister with a January birthday. How cool was that!
Evidently, that wasn't enough for me. I had two of my four kids in January also. My firstborn and last born are Eli on January 12th and Daniel on January 15th, ten years apart. I thought surely January was the best month of all. Now I had my sister and two of my kids in January with me.
Then, along came Randy. You guessed it. His birthday is in January. One of many indicators he was THE ONE for me. Haha! Not only was his birthday in January with Pam, Eli, Daniel, and me, his special day is in the same 9 day span as the rest of us.
So, you see, January is busy, exciting, and a bit hectic here on John Peter Way. Being the party creatures we are (we love hosting parties for any occasion), we celebrate big.
For 2010, Randy got flowers (He also got me roses on Saturday) and his requested dinner of corned beef brisket and steamed cabbage. Eli went shopping on her day. My birthday fell on Saturday, so we had not one, but TWO parties that day. The "older" generation had a party at 2:00. Randy's kids and granddaughter, Emma, Randy's parents, and my dad came over for snacks and Scene-It. Thanks, Andrew and Heather for the Catch Phrase game. We played it also... at both parties.
After the first group left at 4:30, the younger generation took over. I changed the Cubs decorations to something more teenager-friendly, refilled the snacks, and started again. Daniel invited some friends from school over for his 5:00 party. We ordered pizza and enjoyed the antics of teenagers for the evening. It was a great day!
On Sunday, my sister, Linda, had a surprise party for my sister, Pam. She was really surprised. :) We went to Pizza Hut. Pineapple and black olives. Score! We had a great time visiting and reminiscing.
With Sarah hanging out in India for the semester, we had her "21st-going away-Christmas-birthday party" in December before she left. We get a little break before the next party. Daniel Scott is next in line in April. Can't wait for more partying. :)
