Happy Birthday Stacie!

Today is my sister Stacie's birthday!  She is 24 today, which is hard for me to believe, since I have her cemented in my mind at about 20.  Sorry Stace, I don't know why that is??  Stacie and her husband Jesse, live in North Carolina.  Ironically, they live just a few hours away from where we used to live, but somehow we managed to miss them by a couple of years.  I wish I could have Stacie and Jesse over for dinner tonight, as I remember how it felt to be celebrating a birthday, so far from family and friends.  Will you do me a favor and please visit her blog, and leave her a birthday message?  I know that would brighten her day to get home from work and have some birthday wishes waiting for her in her inbox.  

Stacie is my younger sister, in the middle between Jennie and I.  I am 4 years older than Stace, and she is 19 months older than Jennie.  We have become very close over these last few years, and I'm very grateful for our relationship.  Stacie teaches pre-school in the mornings and runs an after school program in the afternoons.  I know that the kids adore her because she is very quiet and sweet.  Not so much like her other loud-mouth sisters!  Stace has always been one of those girls who is a very loyal friend with a tender heart.  In many, many ways, she is just like our Dad.  We've all inherited a love for our beloved Iowa Hawkeyes, but perhaps she is the most "serious" fan.  There is a story I would love to tell about Stacie, but I'll spare her the embarrassment of all the details...Let me just tell you that "someone" once ended up in the ER after throwing her shoulder out of socket, while cheering during an Iowa football game!  I don't know who thought it was funnier, the doctors and nurses or my Dad!!  Do not get in the way of this girl during an Iowa game or a Packer's game!  She means business!!  And by the way, to top it off, she was at her future in laws house when it happened!  Somehow she managed to subdue herself and not let them see how much pain she was really in!  

One of the things I'm most proud of about Stacie, is the choice she made in marrying Jesse.  These two started dating in high school, and from the very beginning, my whole family fell in love with Jesse.  He is the most fun to be around, always making us laugh and usually explaining something in great, great detail!  Stacie had her sights set on Jesse and she dated him for a couple of years in high school and all through college.  As we grew to know Jesse more and more, we saw all the reasons she loved him.  He is thoughtful, creative, FUNNY, detailed, organized, and he adores Stacie.  He also loves the Lord very much and is the kind of guy who would do absolutely anything for you.  We are so thrilled to have Jesse in the family and so glad that Stacie is building a life with someone who loves her so selflessly.  I am proud of both of them for starting this adventure in North Carolina, while Jesse is in grad school, and for making the most of their time there.  It hasn't been easy to have them so far away, but it's been great for each of them to grow and for their marriage to be strengthened.  We LOVE to have them home, at my parents house with all of us, on the holidays.  It is such a blessing to love both of my sisters and the men they married and to truly enjoy every minute we have together.   Travis and I take great joy in knowing that our little peanut is going to have the best aunts and uncles ever!  Have a wonderful and blessed birthday Stacie.  I miss you and I love you!!  Hope this has been a great day for you!  Love, Steph