The third trimester flew by and we were all counting down the days until October. As we were watching the seasons turn, Joe’s birthday was celebrated. Malia’s was next. She was turning six and had big plans! As always, each child got to pick what dinner and dessert they wanted for their special day. This was Mia’s last celebration as the youngest, so she was adamant about having a white cake with chocolate frosting. The night of September 12th, I laid out all the ingredients for the cake, so I could start as soon as I woke up. We always decorate the house for the birthday star so when they wake up they are greeted with fanfare.

At 5 a.m. I woke up to go to the bathroom, and felt a pop. This being my fourth baby, I instinctively knew Noah wasn’t waiting until October! He was making an early entrance into the family. I roused Joe and told him, today was the day and immediately started making Malia her birthday cake. The kids alerted Mom and Kate to the news that the baby was coming! Joe kept reminding me that we still had an hour drive to Wimington and that we were going to hit rush hour traffic! I was determined that Mia was going to have a cake! As the contractions worsened, I grabbed the hot cake from the oven, a jar of frosting and hobbled to the van.

Joe was right, of course, we hit massive traffic. The contractions started to really kick in and I began to claw at the window,. Thankfully Mom, Kate, Marley and Mia were following behind and didn’t have to witness my craziness. We got to the midwife’s townhome and she knew we only had minutes to spare. Somehow Mom had gotten separated and was still a couple miles away. Finally, everyone was together, I gave Mia the cake and the jar of frosting, which she immediately dug into. Then Noah Jonathan McGinnis made his arrival on a wave in front of four adoring generations. Zoe, being the oldest sibling caught him and Joe cut the cord. Malia, covered in chocolate at this point, remarked that she did not like sharing her birthday!

Kate had never seen a baby being born. Witnessing her great grandson’s birth only deepened her unbridled love for him. Mom, who had been at all the kids births, immediately went into nurse mode and swaddled him. Even a month early, Noah weighed 7 pounds and was 20 1/2 inches long. The exact same weight and length of Mia, they really were twinsies! Our midwife gave the baby to Joe and I, as mom gathered everyone else up. As soon as we got ourselves together we would meet at the farm and celebrate our new addition.

But there was no escaping the plan God had for us….