#1307 birthdays!

Today is the birthday of two very special ladies in my life.

First, a girl I've known since the day she was born, my little sister Lizzie.

Lizzie was such a cute baby with soft, straight hair and a happy smile. There is five and a half years between us, but we did a lot of things together growing up. I coerced her into playing tennis with me, because you know, you need two people to play a game of tennis. She was a good sport about it. Somewhere along the line, her hair got super curly and turned a magnificent silver color. Lizzie is smart, loyal, talented, loving, giving, funny and lovely. She plans amazing surprises. She's a hard worker with a strong work ethic and probably goes above and beyond what people expect from her. I love the fact that even though she has a very busy work schedule, she takes the time to go down to visit our parents every month to spend time with them and help them with stuff if she can. I admire her for that.

The other special birthday is my mother-in-law, Linda.

Linda is pretty much the ideal mother-in-law for me. I hear other ladies talk about their mothers-in-law and how some things they do drive my friends up the wall with frustration, but Linda is cool. She has always been kind and generous. She's very intelligent and had a really amazing career. When I met MT, Linda was going to school for her MBA; in fact, I got my bachelor's degree the same year she got her MBA. Linda is pretty mellow and rolls with whatever is going on with her family. She's a strong person. Her first husband, MT's dad, passed away way too soon, leaving Linda to care for their four small children. I think MT was seven and his youngest brother was two or so. Later, Linda married Jake and he also had four kids. I've always admired the way that Linda cares for and thinks about all of the kids - not just her own four but Jake's as well. I feel lucky to get along so well with my mother-in-law. I think she's great!

Happy birthday to both of you! I love you!!!