Yes, they are thirteen now. In one day, we have four teenagers instead of one! In fact, now over half of us children are teenagers. Their birthday was yesterday and we celebrated it at breakfast. Janice and Nacho and Willy and Marcie came over. Mama had made an egg casserole, and I baked a lot of pancakes. I had baked a cake the day before, so the girls decorated it after breakfast.

It was an enjoyable forenoon. Especially so with the snow that started drifting down. By evening we had a nice layer of fresh snow!

Although I was three and a half at the time, I remember when they were little. I remember the apprehension as Bianca went through, not one, but two heart surgeries; the worry about Imelda’s pneumonia; and the problem of Edgar not breathing on his own. I also remember going into the NICU in the huge hospitals, finding the correct incubator, reaching into the holes in the incubators to touch my tiny little siblings. And the attention! I was such a special little girl to be their big sister. Busy times obviously followed.

Although the attention has diminished by now, it’s still a specialty.

Happy Teenage years Bianca, Edgar, and Imelda! And may God Bless your next year.