--Celebrate My Natal Day with Me

----Dad and his girls: Heather, Marie, Mom, Jolie, Theresa and Coleen -about 1982

Waking Thur. morning, I glanced at the alarm clock calculating the minutes before it might ring with Happy Birthday's from my parents: Mom always called about 8:20am, the reported time of my birth and Dad chimed in with his deep resonant voice blazing across the airway. I felt warm and loved and remembered-----Could a daughter ask for more?.

It has been a long while since these physical calls, yet the memories of their unconditional love and sheer joy in being together as a family, continue to keep me warm and safe. Love, joy, acceptance, humor, forgiveness and tenacity---these are the parental seeds that planted in a garden of security and faith enrich us into becoming whole people of God.

My parents, Helen and Hugh McGee are my first thoughts when I wake to start a new year of my life and I expect until we are all together in God's great Heavens--it will remain so.

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Following a morning of immunizing babies and preg. women, I skipped around rain drenched puddles meeting Jackson, my driver, to pick up Michael from Potters Village, to celebrate my Natal Day with me.

He is 21 mo. old now and can walk from here to there but often choses to crawl if he think it will get him to his destination faster-smile (Don't miss the video on the bottom of this blog!)

John Coda helped me eat my birthday cake-Mmmm

------Happy Birthday to me-Happy Birthday to me-La La La-Thanks Marty


My American neighbors, the Codas(O, by the way check out their blog site at (http://codasinuganda.blogspot.com/ ) saw to it that I had my dream meal which for me was Marty's homemade white bread (so I could make two peanut butter and jelly (with butter) sandwiches. Followed by a chocolate cake that no bakery in Uganda could rival.

Dr. Lou and a trying to hide Anthony .

Then a short walk home by a moonlit sky and a click of my new Internet Modem and voila'---Birthday Greetings a plenty from friends all over the States, my Heather in NYC and new and old friends from as far as Sweden, Holland and even Bethlehem (no not Jesus, but one of his pals Br. Bob Smith). Thank you all for remembering my birthday and celebrating our friendships.

Video of Michael walking "Walk like a Man"