Happy Birthday, Wendy!

It was so nice for me to think about all the reasons I love and admire Kate on "Praise to Jen & Kate Day", I decided on my sisters' and John's birthdays I am going to do the same for them. I truly feel like I have the best family in the world. My sisters are really very amazing women. And I cannot begin to say how much I adore John, I am so proud of him. So today is Wendy's birthday and there are a million reasons why I love and admire Wendy, but I will write about 10.

1. Wendy ran a marathon, I admire anyone who can do that.

2. Wendy is a perfectionist. Anything she does, she does well. And she does A LOT very well. I remember in middle school I had to sew a pair of short for my sewing class. I sewed the two backs together and the two fronts, so I had one huge leg and one really skinny one. Wendy started looking at the pattern and within a matter of days, she had made several pair, all of them perfect.

3. Wendy is very organized. I admire that because I am not. And she is organized in a very simple and effective way. I have taken many ideas from Wendy, haven't used any of them yet, but I liked them a lot.

4. Wendy is one of the most thoughtful people I know. She sees things that need to be done or could be done for others and she finds a way to get it done. Always quietly and without much fanfare.

5. She is kind. In a most sincere and genuine way, she is just so kind. She has such a good heart and her heart shines through her eyes. She literally saved me this summer with scouts. Jake would have NEVER gotten his Webelos done if it wasn't for Wendy's thoughtfulness, kindness and patience with me. I am so glad she has a son Jake's same age.

6. Wendy is responsible for some of the family's favorite traditions. She started Octoberfest and also in the spring she started the family clean-up at our family cemetery. She has great ideas and she is such a planner! I just feel badly we don't live close enough to enjoy all the fun stuff that goes on.

7. Wendy is a fierce competitor. I admire this so much. She sets goals and gets them done. We did get in a lot of fights growing up when I would beat her at a board game, especially if I bent the rules at all or teased her about beating her, but I love how competitive she is--she makes games fun.

8. She is such a good mom. I will say this about all my sisters, but it is true. Her kids may not know it, but they are darn lucky to have her.

9. Again, I will say this about all my sisters, but she is beautiful from the inside out. She had at least a dozen boys who said they were all going to marry her in high school. She had a following--seriously. Those boys thought she was perfect. It was pretty funny to see from a distance. I don't think she had any idea sometimes, but as her older sister, I saw it AND heard about it.

10. Wendy is strong. I mean this physically and spiritually. She is such a good athlete, but I think I admire the later more. Wendy never wavers. There is no grey area for her, she knows what is right and it is never a hard choice. I like to run into brick walls several times before I figure things out. So Wendy's ability to do what is right and do it so simply is amazing to me.

I really am so blessed to have such amazing people in my life. I love you, Wendy. Hope you have a great birthday.