birthday wishes for kimmy

Today is Kimmy's birthday! Happy birthday Kimmy! If you don't know Kimmy, she is my sister by marriage - Brad's sis. If you would like to send Kimmy a birthday shout - leave a comment - & I'll bet she will see it, hopefully today. You see, Kimmy is one of my "silent" readers. She tells me all the time that she & Becca (Kimmy's 11-year-old ) love to read my blog. I'm glad they do, & I hope Kimmy knows I'm thinking of her.

I have to tell you a thing or two about Kimmy. She and I go WAY back. Kimmy is one of my BFF's from high school, & we shared many good times. We saw movies together, went to dances, hung out & talked, skipped school a few times (hope my kids aren't reading!), listened to music - oh yes - many good times. Kimmy worked at a bridal shop and I loved visiting her while she was at work. What teenage girl doesn't want to drool over all the pretty wedding gowns in a bridal shop?! I remember Kimmy would say she was going to go on a mission & wasn't getting married for a long time (so much for that - miss 19-year-old bride). During those years, I never dreamed I would actually get to be part of her family. I consider myself very lucky.

Kimmy is absolutely one of the best cooks I know. I have watched her make pies, and she makes it look as easy as rolling out playdough. As I've watched her, I've thought, "I can do that! I can definitely do that!" She would inspire me, and so I would go home to 'do what Kimmy does', and guess what, I can't do 'that'. She is amazing. When we were in high school, we decided to take a little day trip to St. George, just because we could. I remember that Kimmy brought along a tupperware container full of homemade chocolate chip cookies that were to die for! She makes the best cookies - you should taste her orange carrot cookies with the orange icing - what a treat.

I was just telling Brad (again) about how I would go over to his house while he was on his mission and Kimmy would take Brad's portrait off the wall and we would sit on her bed and look at it. She would say, "LaRae, look how cute my brother is! He doesn't have a girlfriend . . ." Whenever I tell Brad this story he always comes back with a "that sister of mine . . . " type of comment and you can tell he thinks we were such silly girls!

Hmmmm - what else should know about Kimmy? Kimmy is a great mom with 4 very impressive children - who are quickly turning into impressive adults! Kimmy was the first in the family to scrapbook & inspired us all to start scrapbooks of our own. Now we all follow Kimmy to Pine Valley twice a year to scrapbook, eat yummy food, reminisce, talk about our kids, and relax. It's one of my favorite things to do! Kimmy has the best laugh. I love to hear her laugh when we tell stories in Pine Valley. Kimmy is faithful, strong, and smart. I am so blessed to be a part of her family. Happy birthday!