Tuesday is for Thirty, Three and Taxes

I'm a liar.

I told you that I'd tell you Monday all about the secret get-away I planned for my husband this past weekend. And it's now Tuesday and I haven't told you and I'm still not gonna.

The best excuse I have is that it won't be a very good blog without pictures and since brilliant me brought the camera but left the SD card in the reader, we had only our phones to take pictures with and I still haven't gotten John's off of his.

So, I'm hoping to write about it tomorrow. Here's a teaser.

For dinner Friday night we went to what Travel and Leisure magazine called the "Best Restaurant in the World" in 2009. In our best estimation, it's still true for 2010!

Ok, so on to today.

For the past 30 years of my life, this date has been all about my little sister, Martha.

I remember getting to hold her for the first time, being carefully positioned on the couch with plenty of cushions. This picture shows how I must have graduated to being able to hold her on the floor.

Eventually, as most babies do, she grew from being a delicate doll to a suitable playmate.

I remember feeling a special bond with her, since we were the girls often having to face off against older and bigger brothers. We are also 2 1/2 years apart rather than the 23 months between both of the boys and me, so I felt a big responsibility to take care of her since she was sooo much younger. Over the years, we became good buddies.

(had to show off my handsome brothers, too!)

She was a willing audience perched on the top bunk for my fantastical story telling at night. Sometimes she even helped when I drew blanks on further adventures for our princesses and their flying horses. 

At some point, though, I think we became annoyed with each other (as siblings do sometimes) or just were in survival mode from being teenagers, that I don't really remember having a good relationship with her through the second decade of our lives.

I went off to college while she was starting high school. We lived in two very different worlds and we didn't have make that much time for each other.

Before I knew it she was going to prom, then marrying the guy she went to prom with, then having my first nephew and then a few more, and somewhere in the midst of that we became friends again. 

Really. Good. Friends. 

Best friends, even.

I admire her so much, and even though I'm the older one, I look up to her as a wife (of 10+ years) and a mother (of 5 amazing kids). I'm so proud of her for pursuing her education while supporting her husband through his. 

Martha always had the spring to herself, as the other three of us had fall/winter birthdays. That is until three years ago.

That's when my brother, Tim, made the best decision of his entire life to marry Victoria. It's her 30th birthday today, too, so we've got alot to celebrate!

Even though I haven't known her very long, I'm incredibly blessed by her friendship. She is somehow one of the strongest and sweetest women I know. She defines beauty inside and out. She loves my brother like he was made to need, and she puts up with the rest of our crazy family, too. She has been a vessel of grace, forgiveness and healing to almost everyone who gets to know her. She is also an amazing mother and step-mother, and I hope we can have little girls around the same time someday!

So today, I'm sitting in a pile of gratefulness for these two women (and their moms for giving them life). 

(Here with each other's youngest child!)

I also did my taxes, and I'm rather grateful for the repayment of the interest-free loan we gave the government this year.

How was your Tuesday?