Today we celebrated Amy’s birthday even though her birthday was a week ago. Our family members could coordinate and harmonize their calendars better today than last Sunday. A celebration can take place anytime plus I firmly ascribe to the ‘birthday zone” theory. A birthday is really too special to confine the revelry to just one day.
Thirty-one years and one week ago, Amy Leigh Garvin made Marcia become a big sister. Marcia was delighted to meet her new baby sister. My two little girls. Seeing them together would almost make my heart explode.
Amy came here with a strong nurturing instinct. She always thought about her sister and wanted to make sure she wasn’t left out. As a small child, Amy would get very restless if night was drawing near and a member of our little family wasn’t at home. Everybody had to be in their appointed places. Her favorite place was sitting in her Mama’s lap.
Early on, it was apparent that other children were drawn to her. There were always scores of children who wanted to be around her. One of my fondest memories of her childhood was watching her line up her troops from smallest to biggest. I never could get her to tell me why she wanted to do that but she did it time and time again. The children never protested. They went along with because it was Amy making the request. Several teachers told me children would fight over who would sit next to Amy. Everyone loved Amy and Amy loved everyone. She was destined to be the world’s greatest Mommy.
There were behaviors that became predictable. She memorized the colors of the rainbow and would put things, such as crayons and stuffed animals, in rainbow order. Each time we passed by a fountain, she would always ask me for three coins, never two or four. Always three. She would throw the coins in one by one, turn on her heel and off we would go. She never talked about the three coins but she always carried out her ritual.
When she was in elementary school, she would tell me, repeatedly, how she wished I would have another baby. This is a common request from little girls, especially those who love to play with their baby dolls. But with Amy, it seemed the request was driven by her powerful instinct to nurture and not just because she wanted a new baby in the house that she could dress.
When the girls were nine and eleven, I found out I was pregnant. Sadly, the pregnancy was wrought with complications. There was a great degree of uncertainty about whether or not I would be able to maintain the pregnancy. We made the decision not to tell the girls right away. We wanted to protect them from potential heartbreak and anguish. Especially Amy. How cruel to tell her of a wish come true and then take it all back.
After I had gotten through the first trimester and the chances of maintaining the pregnancy were in my favor, we decided to make the announcement to the girls. I couldn’t wait! Amy was going to be so excited. This natural little mommy was going to be beside herself. We sat the girls down at the kitchen table and told him about the new baby. I looked at Amy to see her reaction. Without a saying a word, she immediately jumped up from the table and ran out the front door. My heart jumped into my throat. Never in a million years would I have predicted that reaction from her. Not only was she running down the street, she was screaming. After what seemed like a lifetime, she finally came back home. I can’t recall exactly how the conversation went when she walked in the door. All I remember is hearing her say, “Mama, you know how I would always ask you for three coins when we passed a fountain? It’s because I would always make three wishes. One, for you to have a baby. Two, for it to be healthy. Three for it to be a boy.” As it turns out, I did have a healthy baby boy named Tyler. Amy had wished her little brother here. As you might have imagined, Amy was just as sweet as she could be to her baby brother. She never grew tired of being around him.
Fast forward to October, 2002. Amy’s a young woman now who be marrying David Wren on this day. Tyler is twelve years old and proudly donned a tuxedo for the first time to be in his sister’s wedding. The thought of baby Wrens swirled around in her head.
Years clicked by and no baby Wrens. By the cruelest twist of fate imaginable, Amy was plagued with infertility. There would be no greater shame in this world than for this natural Mommy not to be able to become a Mommy. After years of disappointment, heartaches and painful treatments, she finally got pregnant! We all crossed our fingers, held our breath and prayed for a healthy Mommy and healthy pregnancy. Then a miracle happened. On July 24 2009, she gave birth. Finally! Our prayers had been answered. Mommy was healthy and the pregnancy was healthy. What a joyous day for our family. There’s only one thing that could have made this joyous occasion of welcoming a new baby Wren to our family even more special.
Welcoming TWO baby Wrens to our family!
Amy is living her lifelong dream of being a Mommy. Happy Birthday, Amy! You’re the best Mommy in the world. But, I knew you would be.
Fairy tales really do come true.
Y’all come see us.
*****************
Hummingbird Cake
Adapted from The Southern Living Cookbook
This is Southern Living’s most requested recipe. It’s not just their most requested dessert recipe. It’s the most requested recipe overall. That’s saying a lot for an organization that’s known for turning out amazing recipes. I’ve been waiting for a special occasion to make this cake. I think I found just the right occasion.
This cake is a BIG cake. My cake platter dome wouldn’t even fit over it. It’s moist and delicious and everything you want a special occasion cake to be. Plus, it’s easy! You don’t mix it. You stir it by hand. And you frost it with Cream Cheese frosting. This cake has a whole bunch going for it.
For cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups chopped bananas
For frosting:
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1 stick softened butter
1 pound powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
For cake:
Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl.
Add eggs and oil and stir until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not beat, just stir.
You get a batter that looks like this.
Add chopped bananas, pineapple, pecans and vanilla to batter. I used 2 1/2 bananas to get 2 cups. Stir well.
Pour into three well-greased and floured cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
When done, cool in pans for 10 minutes and then turn out the cakes to a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.
For icing:
Cream softened cream cheese and butter. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until fluffy. Add vanilla, cinnamon (optional) and pecans (optional)and mix well. Spread between layers, on top of cake and on the sides.
Keri Cathcart Rehm says
I’m so proud to be one of Amy’s friends…and yes, I want to be around her so much that we’ll be neighbors soon. 🙂
Thank you for sharing your heart song.
Jackie Garvin says
Keri,
I can’t wait until you and Amy are neighbors!
Ginger says
First let me say ” HAPPY BIRTHDAY ” to Amy. I loved the post, I loved that Amy always asked for three coins when passing a fountain, and how sweet was she to wish for a healthy baby brother . Such a sweet story !! I am so very happy to hear that Amy now has two little ones to love and cherish.
Now onto that hummingbird cake! YUM! : ) I think I might just make us one this week..To celebrate summer!!
Before I forget to tell you, I have enjoyed watching your youtube videos.. they’re great!!
I hope you have a wonderful day, Ginger : )
Jackie Garvin says
Ginger,
I’m am thrilled to know that you are enjoying the videos. I will be posting a new one each week. I hope you do try this cake. It is simply fabulous in every way! Just like you!
Julia says
What a lovely tribute to your Amy’s birthday, and how appropriate the story. I too have an Amy, with one
exception…her name is Melonee and she is the oldest of our 4 children. She always wanted a baby brother,
but instead, she helped me raise 2 younger sisters, then finally when she was 18, the baby brother came
along. Surprise! I thoroughly enjoyed Amy’s story though, and I’m so happy that she too ended up with
her “3 wishes”. Those little Wrens are adorable.
Another little bit of information you offered in the story was your family’s willingness to not put too much
emphasis on the exact day of a celebration. We’ve always followed the same rule, and have often ended
up with multiple celebrations or what we fondly call “Week-Long Birthdays” or Double Mother’s or Father’s Days.
If a birthday card doesn’t arrive on that special one day, it’s OK. It’ll be there the next day, or a week later.
These small “extentions” have added so much to the most important days in our years that we do it on purpose
now. Small gifts and funny cards might be mixed in with days of larger gifts and more serious and mushy
cards, poems or letters. It’s always a nice surprise every day for a week or more sometimes.
Although I’ve often seen and read the recipe for a Hummingbird Cake in my best cookbooks, I’ve never
made one. I think it’s time, and you made it look much more simple than some recipes I’ve seen. I can
almost smell the aroma and see that beautiful 3-layer cake sitting in the middle of our table right now.
I’ll do the shopping for it today, and plan to have it ready by June 25th when my son and his wife return
from their Alaskan Adventure.
Thank you for sharing your family and that delicious cake with us. Also wanted to let you know that I tried
your Blackberry Cobbler with vanilla ice-cream yesterday. It turned out perfectly and I’m going to try it
next time with my canned Raggedy Ann peaches with just a tiny bit of tweaking. Your video narrations
are just wonderful and as smooth as silk. I’m looking forward to the next one now. I’m betting you make
sweetened iced tea the same way I do too.
Have a super good week.
Julia in Boca Raton, FL
Jackie Garvin says
Julia,
Little did I know that we had so much in common! Thank you for sharing YOUR family with me. I feel like I know you and Melonee.
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the Blackberry Cobbler. I make the second one from our backyard vines yesterday for Amy’s birthday. The babies just couldn’t get enough of it. On the other hand, I don’t believe anyone in my lineage couldn’t love Blackberry Cobbler. I do believe it’s in our DNA. The recipe makes wonderful Peach Cobblers, too. I’ve also tried blueberry but I can’t seem to get the proportions worked out just right so the texture turns out the way I want. Blueberries have a lot more pectin than do blackberries and peaches. The cobbler tends to “gel”. It doesn’t affect the flavor at all but it’s not perfect like the blackberry and peaches cobblers turn out.
What a wonderful homecoming for your son and daughter-in-law to be welcome by this grand cake. I would love to see a picture!
Thank you, again, for all your support and encouragement. It means more to me than you will ever know.
Ann says
What a sweet sweet story about your daughter!! My daughter too has always been a “little mommy” and always loved babies. She was blessed with one of her own, almost 9 now – not a baby anymore!! That hummingbird cake is to die for! keep those stories coming!! love them!!
Ann
Jackie Garvin says
Ann,
I will keep writing as long as you keep reading! Thanks so much for your support. It means the world to me.
Julia says
Hi again Jackie,
I’ve not seen them in quite some time now, but if you can find the canned Maine Wild Blueberries, you
will find them to be a lot different from the blueberries we commonly see in our markets today. In the
first place, they are much smaller, and have the most intense flavor…very much like the old wild
huckleberries that we used to find growing all around us in Polk County, FL where I grew up.
That entire area has of course all been built into sub-divisions and tall condos just as most of Florida
has done. I can’t imagine finding a wild huckleberry bush today or being able to go and dig up enough
clean white sand that we’d get to set our Christmas tree in every year. We’d drive up around Dade City, take along a Number 2 washtub, fill it with sand and cut down a pine or cedar tree to serve as our Christmas tree more times than I can remember. Things change, but good memories linger.
I think I mentioned that my Mother was from Alabama, and Alabama cooking was all I ever knew. My
Father’s family were 4th generation native Floridians, so in many ways, I feel that I got the best of both
worlds.
I enjoy everything you write about, all your recipes and would love to share a few of the things I’ve learned
over the years with you. I can write to you at your personal email address if you’d rather I use it, or
please feel free to contact me at mine. [email protected].
Basically, I do make iced tea the same way you do except I’ve had to cut back on the sugar since being
diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. I’m not terribly restricted, but did have to make a few changes. We
have loads of company every week, so I make gallons of iced tea, sometime going through 2-3 gallons
a day. It is our drink of choice all year long. I wash and cut fresh lemons to go in the glasses for those
who want that wonderful fresh flavor as I do.
I like that you are in Tampa now, and hope you’ll find time to get to Ebor City and try the Columbia’s
Deviled Crab Rolls. We used to buy sackfuls of them from the street vendors back in the 1940’s.
While you’re there, go ahead and try their Spanish Bean Soup too. I just know you’ll love it.
Bye for now.
Julia
Jackie Garvin says
Julia,
Feel free to contact me at [email protected]. I’ve had the little wild blueberries before and they do pack a wallop of flavor but I haven’t seen them in a long time, either.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Syndi Askew says
Tears rolling down my cheeks…
Thank you for sharing.
Hugs and Kisses to you all and Amy you are the prefect Mommy. =) Happy Birthday Mama.
Jackie Garvin says
Thanks for reading, Syndi!
sweetsimplestuff says
What a beautiful story … and told so well. I recently had Hummingbird Cake for the first time … I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Jackie Garvin says
Thank you! Let me know what you think about the cake.
cindy clark says
This book is my favorite story of all children’s books. A few years back my cousin helped me search for a first American hardcover edition of it because it was the only book from my childhood that I loved. It’s about a little girl that rejects a tiny doll and throws it into a frozen food section at a grocery store. The doll entertains herself until another little girl finds her and decides that the doll is very special. She brings the doll gifts every time that she visits the store until finally she asks the lady that works at the store if she can have the doll. The lady didn’t believe her that the doll was there until she saw her in the frozen food section. The little girl gets to take the doll home and put her with her other loved dolls. I loved this story so much that every time I went to the store with my mother I looked for a tiny doll in the frozen food section.
Jackie Garvin says
Cindy,
Was the title of the book the same title as my blog post? I googled it and I found my blog post but I wasn’t able to find a book title. What a sweet story. Thank you for sharing your personal story with us.
Eden says
Thanks for sharing. Forgive me if I’ve over looked it but, how much cinnamon and pecans do you add to the icing mix?
Jackie Garvin says
Eden,
I edited the recipe to add 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1 cup chopped pecans as optional ingredients. Thank you!
Michelle says
First I want to say, What a beautful story. Happy Birthday Amy.. she’s truly been blessed! Secondly, in the ingredients for the frosting.. they’re are only 4.. cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. In the directions you mention cinnamon and pecans. Is this a typo? If not. . Then how much cinnamon and pecans will be needed for the frosting?
Jackie Garvin says
Michelle,
I edited the recipe to include 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1 cup chopped pecans as optional ingredients.
pumpkin061 says
I never get tired of reading this story. What a blessing Amy is, how blessed you are! Oh and thank you for the story and the recipe
Jackie Garvin says
Thank you , Jill. We are a blessed family, indeed.