Happy Birthday Jade

It's hard to believe that today is my daughter Jade's 18th birthday. I can still remember quite clearly the day she was born. I had awful, awful back pain and could not get comfortable, so I ran a nice warm bath and hopped in the tub in hopes it would ease some of the pain. It seemed to help a bit, because I fell asleep in the tub and woke up when the water was chilly. But as soon as I got out of the tub the back pain started up again. I asked Joe to take me to the hospital to see if I could get something for the back pain cause it was just too much to handle. He made we wait until he took the dogs for a run! Our niece Nancy came and got us and took us up to the hospital. They were going to check me to see if maybe I was in labour. Joe left and went back to work figuring if I was in labour it would be about 12 hours or so before anything happened anyway. Well they took me upstairs and I was 6 cm dilated already! What a trooper!! So Nancy called Joe to tell him that if he wanted to be there for the birth he better come up right away! So he left work and headed up. Not long after that I gave birth (quickly) to Jade. Joe got her this doggie right away - I think maybe this might be the reason she has loved dogs ever since!!! She was a fun, cute little baby. And a good baby too. She loved her bath time, playing and splashing in the water. She was very excited when her little brother Joel was born, and even though some days they fight like cats and dogs.....they are there for each other when it counts. She loved to dress up and this was a Halloween costume I made for her - I think it was the warmest costume ever - fun fur sure does keep the heat in! Here she is with Uncle Jeff and Aunt Diana! We were lucky as she was growing up and I went back to work to have great babysitters. The Larcher's watched the kids and now Jade works for them at their store in Woodstock. They are good people and we were very lucky to have them in our lives. Here is Jade riding a tricycle outside of their house. She has done a great job over the years picking good friends. Friends are so important in your life, and she has some great ones. She has turned into a beautiful young woman and I am so proud of her. I am very excited for her as she ventures off into the next chapter of her life, going to college. I'm sure she will be very successful in anything she decides to do.
I love you Jade,
Happy Birthday.
Chow for now,
Jacqui