Jenny

This is my beautiful sister Jenny!

Today is her birthday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SISSY!!!

Jenny and I share a special bond when it comes to our birthdays.

You see, when my sweet sister Jenny was just five years and one day old, she got what was (at least according to me) the BEST birthday present she has ever received, even to this date!  

ME!!!=)

When we were young, she most definitely did NOT think I was the greatest thing in the world!!! It looks like she liked me when I was a baby, but by the time I reached the double digits in age, I think she had changed her mind =) However, I think I have been able to change her mind a little again as we've gotten older.  Maybe by the time we are in our eighties she will agree that I was, at least, an "okay" gift!

We fought when we were young - I mean, we fought A LOT!!  The two of us have another sister, Jamie, who is two years younger than me and therefore seven years younger than Jenny.  Jamie and I would gang up on Jenny because we each needed a partner if we were even going to try and survive the wrath that Jenny could dish out as a teenager.  I can only imagine what brats the two of us must have been, so I guess I can't really blame Jenny for not liking us so much back then=)  

But luckily, things changed.  Jenny moved out, got married and had my niece Karly.  I was only seventeen at the time, and still living at home.  After school each day, I would come home and babysit Karly until Jenny got home from work.  I formed a special bond with Karly then, but that is an entirely different post, which will come a little later.  But I also got to know my sister a little better back then, and started looking at her differently.  I started seeing her as an adult, through the eyes of an almost adult, and I began to recognize what an amazing person my sister really is.  

To this day, my sisters are both some of my very biggest heroes!  I feel so incredibly blessed to have never known a life without either of them in it, and I am so glad that God chose two of the most beautiful and wonderful people I have ever known to surround me with and be examples to me every day.

Jenny is not only beautiful on the outside, but she has one of the biggest and most caring hearts of anyone I know. She would do anything, and I mean anything, for the people she loves.  And I am sure that doesn't exclude some things slightly outside the realms of the law!=)  But she also wouldn't hesitate to help a stranger in need as well.  And don't even get me started on how much Mike loves her!!!

She loves her kids in a way that makes me proud every day.  I always knew that I wanted to be a mother, but ever since the early days of watching Jenny with baby Karly, and then later with Sean, I knew I wanted to be a mother like my sister.

She loves them with total and complete abandonment.  She is proud of them and encourages them to be their best, and they are.  Her kids are little reflections of my sister and her husband - they are great, smart, funny  kids, who love their parents, and are changing the world.  

My sister Jenny has definitely changed my world.  In so many ways.  I have always looked up to her and admired her ability to always stand up for what she believes in, and not take crap from anyone!! She is tougher than nails and doesn't always show her softer side, but I know it is there!!  Jenny could beat the snot out of anyone if she wanted to, but you have also never seen a more tender moment than when she held my Ian for the first time.

You see, I am not the only one who holds a special bond with Jenny - my Ian does too.

They were both adopted.

They are both miracles.

They were both pre-destined to be vital parts of a family that could never live without them, and they are both loved more than words can say!!!

I am so grateful that Ian will have this special woman in his life.  Someone who knows and loves him that he can go to if he ever has questions for someone who truly knows how he feels.  I am so grateful for adoption and the miracles that can happen because of it! It first changed the world for me by giving me Jenny, and then changed it again with my little Ian.

Happy Birthday my Sissy!!  
I am so grateful for you and for the important role you play in my life.  You have taught me so much, and there are many things I am still learning from you.  You are such an amazing woman, and I am so proud to call you sister.  
I love you!