Happy 105th Birthday Doc!!

Where to begin? Wow, today is my great-grandfather's 105th birthday!! Can you believe it? I stumble to fathom the magnitude of this momentous occasion. There really aren't too many people who have a loved one who lives such a long and amazingly healthy life for so long! I am truly blessed....and I realize it. Although Doc's physical strength has begun to decline over the past year or two, he's still completely with-it mentally! What a huge blessing he is to me and our family. We're ever so thankful for this patriarch of our family. He's an amazing man of God, a well-grounded leader who offers each of us wise counsel, and has such a huge heart for so many. These are just some of his endearing qualities.

I called Doc today to wish him "Happy Birthday!" He was so happy to have survived to this amazing birthday! He said he's been following his philosophy: "Everytime you breathe out--be sure to breathe back in!" For those of you who don't have the pleasure of knowing Doc, this is just like him! He has such a spunky wit about him! Today, on his birthday, he was painting wooden blocks for children with numbers on them to help them with their counting and math skills. I believe the secret to his long, healthy life is the fact that he never lets his mind slow-down. He's always busy reading, watching the news, knitting and sewing booties for the "Gifts for the Unborn" charity his children (my Grama Lou and great Uncle Rich) began when their mother passed away in 1987. To date, he's personally made over 20,000 booties! To me this is just so amazing! He's been involved with a program called Elderhostels for about 20 years now. This has also been a great source of strength, wisdom, and quality of life for him in his later years. He also met his second wife there! Her name is Nora. She's a true sweetheart. She takes great care of our Doc and is always knitting and sewing booties too for the charity and is also involved in several other charities as well.

Gary and I went to visit my grandparents and Doc and Nora last year during Doc's birthday. We had a great visit! Doc was just as lively as ever and even drove himself and Nora over to my grandparent's house three miles away from their home. I have so many wonderful memories of going to my grandparent's homes in Pennsylvania during our summer vacations. Many of those memories include going over to Gram and Doc's and swimming in their great built-in pool! We used to have so much fun jumping off the diving board and just relaxing in the pool--all together my whole family (and extended family). I always love hearing Doc's "stories" of the good 'ole days. I also like reminiscing through the old family photo albums and hearing who is who and seeing all the old fashion styles and things of the past....those were simpler times it seems.

Doc's grandparents and parents were German. Doc has a copy of the immigration papers for his grandfather when he entered the United States arriving from Germany! In his home growing up, they spoke both German and English. He's such a well-educated man! His birth name is John Theodore Jacobs. But he was nicknamed "Doc" when he became a chiropractor. Since then the name has stuck. He was a chiropractor for a few years and then went to work in the Pittsburgh Steel Mill. This is where he made his career and eventually retired. He and my great-grandma traveled all over the world together after they reared their children. He's so full of stories....living through the depression, BOTH World Wars, Vietnam War, Desert Storm, 9-11, and the War in Iraq just to name a few.

I hope you enjoy some sweet pictures of this precious member of my family! We took these last year when we celebrated his 104th birthday.

What a legacy he's given us. Thank you Doc--I love you!