Bundles and Bushels of Birthday Bliss to a Super, Sensational, Stellar Sis!

Guess whose birthday it is today?

It's my little sister, Jayne's. Looks pretty good, eh?

Too bad she doesn't have any of that old spark left. heehee

(More like a bonfire!)

Can you tell she's more fun than a barrel of these?

And more fierce than an army of these??

Because she has a black belt in karate,

and that's no joke!

(These are only a few of the remarkable things about my sister.)

Here are a few more, for good measure:

1. Gives the best massage this side of the Rockies. (And probably the other side, too!)

2. Is the sole female athlete in our entire family. (Don't be messin' with AJ, cuz she will take you down.)

3. Looked like an eskimo when she was born and still gets tanner than the rest of us combined. (She can do this without the aid of sunshine or tanning lotions, by the way.)

4. Has genuine, bona fide Japanese feet. (It's a gift...)

5. Is a loving mom to her daughter, Kirsten.

6. Is a crazy and fun-loving aunt to her nieces and nephews. (She's pretty much up for anything.)

7. Thinks she can beat up our little brother, Rich. (He begs to differ.)

8. Always tries to look on the bright side. (Even when there doesn't seem to be one.)

9. Served a mission in Austria and still retains much of her German. (Sang "I Am A Child of God" in that very language at her homecoming and had to stop mid-song because she was overcome by emotion...) (We won't say what kind of emotion.) (Okay...it was laughter...and she blames ME.)

10. Cares enough about her family (us included!) to take a week from her busy schedule every year and hang out at Newport Beach (and Huntington Beach, home of yet another sis).

11. Doesn't seem to have a shy bone in her body.

12. Can sell pretty much anything to pretty much anyone (and has!).

13. LOVES to play. Works hard, too. (But methinks playing is her favorite.)

14. Did I say she's a black belt in karate???! (How cool is that?)

15. Is kind and generous (with a pinch of feistiness added to the mix)...

16. And oh, so funny. (To say nothing of loving and lovable.)

17. Probably knows how to use nunchucks (and if not, could fake it well enough to make it).

18. Once talked her way into a job at Macy's as a buyer even though she had no retail experience or training.

19. Once took a little gift in a box to the neighbor child, before she was old enough to know better. (Not a Gift from the Sea...a gift from the...toilet.) (Sorry, Aikins family.) (Sorry, Mom.)

20. Ensures that anyone lucky enough to be in her company will never have a dull moment. (Not if she can help it anyway.) (And she can.)

Yep, that's my sis...Now you know why I love her! (We ALL do.) Which makes her universally loved. (An enviable state.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAYNE!!

We know you'll make it a good one.

=)

PS. Did I tell you she's a black belt?

PPS. And, yes, my sister can beat up your sister.

PPPS. But she doesn't, cuz that's not what zen-like karate people do.

PPPPS. Not in her dojo, anyway. ;)