To Brenda

So, I was going to write this last night when I got home from work, but nobody else had written yet, so I didn't want to be the first one, so now I'm the last one.

Brenda, I've really enjoyed living so close to you for the last few years.  It has been great to be able to get to know you better and spend more time with you.  It has meant a lot to me.  I always liked coming to visit you before, either in Death Valley or Logan, but I don't think we were nearly as close as we are now.

I love having you on our softball team.  The main reason I like to have a team is to have people I want to spend time with on it.  It's a lot of fun for me to have you and Geoff play with us.  It also means a lot to me that you come and spend time with us after games whenever we go get something to eat or whatever.  I know it probably isn't always completely convenient for you to come, but you do every time.  I know that you know that it means a lot to me too, and that's partly why you do it.  Thank you for that.  Many times it is just you, me, and Dallas. 

I appreciate that you are always willing to help us.  Thanks for helping us watch Donovan when I had school and Dallas was still working.  I don't know what we would have done otherwise.  You are always willing to help anyone that needs help.  That is a great quality to have.

So, I'm thanking you a lot, but thanks for supporting me (or anyone else in the family) when I plan stuff for us to do.  This is similar to my softball thanking, but it means a lot to me too.  It is nice that you are willing to make family activities a priority.  I know that is not always easy to do.  I think it has helped our family grow closer together.

I think you and I share some of the same personality traits, and I feel like I can relate to you because of some of those.  We are both loyal, we both care about supporting other peoples efforts, we've both struggled with many things in our life not going the way we would have planned, we both struggle to feel accepted, and we both share the same super awesomeness.

I hope you have a great day, and I hope you know how much I appreciate you.  Happy birthday.  I love you.

Jason
 

Happy, happy birthday, Brenda Marie!!!

I hope you have a very happy birthday, Brenda. You were a beautiful baby, and a darling little girl. You were always the funniest, too, and kept us all laughing. Even at the age of two you could carry on a lively conversation, and argue with the best of them. When we lived in Midvale we would find you "talking" on the phone, or sitting on the potty. Often you fell into the toilet when climbing on, since you potty trained yourself at age 18 months. You'd let Jason lead you around the yard, your little hand in his.

When I was expecting Adam, you were only four; but you helped me a great deal. Almost every day you'd sing "The sun will come out tomorrow..." And one day when I was having a difficult time, you said, "I know it's hard to be pregnant, but it's better than adopting." Every day you told me, "I love you, Mom." Thanks for your sweetness and caring.

You have lots of good qualities. You are a very kind person, always thinks of others, does not want anyone left out. You think of kind things to do, like take a meal to someone who might be in need, send money to a poor child in another country, help feed the homeless, etc. You are very thoughtful when you buy gifts for someone, or organize a family get-together, or call on the phone just to chat. A quality you have, which I would like to emulate, is that you don't say unkind things about other people. You are willing to forgive and forget. Thanks for forgiving me. You are a very patient mom, at least when I've seen you interact with your children.

We have had some fun times together, and some difficult times, too. Thanks for the sweet notes and letters you would write to me. I saved them all. We love you with all our hearts.

Love, Mom

Brenda, hi

I wanted to be cool and put a picture on here too. Here you go.

I have a cool story to tell you about for your birthday. Its a story about how you would do stuff with me and try to include me in your crazy ideas. I don't remember when it was but it was when the internet was all new and i was just little. You got a free trial for like 30 hours of internet free and you were going to load it and use it on the computer. You were all excited about it and telling me it was going to be so fun and it would be the coolest thing in the world.. so i was there with you pretty excited about this internet thing and then you got it working and i just couldn't understand why you had been so excited about this internet. I remember asking you what is so fun about this? You were so excited about it so sorry if i ruined your moment.

The point of that silly story was that you are always doing stuff with me and including me in all the stuff you are interested in, even if its not something i really like. Stanks for that Brenda. When i was in Jr high and High school i remember wishing we were one year closer so that i could be in the same school as you for one year. Oh well, but thats why i ended up so strange, because i had to go and figure out things all by myself. I almost ended up in a van down by the river, but i had you at home to set me straight.

I don't really ever have anything good to say so happy birthday Brenda, i love you. You're a good sister. (Maybe even my favorite sister... but don't tell Mindy, i made this text all small so she can't see because she's getting old, so don't tell her and she'll never know. If Mindy has someone not so old reading this for her, i'm just kidding Mindy... you're my favorite sister, but don't tell Brenda, she probably won't make it all the way to the bottom before she gets bored so don't tell her and she will never know.)

Happy Birthday Brenda

Brenda,

I hope that you have a very happy birthday. You have always been a very caring girl. I have so appreciated how much you have helped others. As a little girl you were so fun and just a joy to be around. I remember how you used to love to go places and would love to go for a ride with me and help me with things. You used to say the funniest things and we would get such a kick out of them. Hugs were always a joy when you were around, if I ever had a bad day or was discouraged about something you would be there with a big hug. I sure appreciated it, it was fun and such a blessing in my life. You have always seemed to know how to get the family together and were always willing to organize a family outing or make sure someone did.

I am rambling on and wish that I was better with words and could express things better. Anyway you are a wonderful daughter and I am so glad that you are in my life. I love you and appreciate all that you do.

Oh, one more thing, thanks for encouraging me to do things and for always being there for me.

Dad

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRENDA!!!

Here is a poem

It won't be very long

Brenda writes a better poem

Mine seems all wrong.

It's Brenda's birthday

She is really great!

Horses eat hay and neigh

but this poem isn't about horses.

Brenda, you are much better at writing poems, but I don't think that you'd write yourself a poem for your birthday so I did it for you.  I've been excited to write this for your birthday.  For the last couple of months or so I've been thinking of things that I could write about, I should have kept notes though because I know that I'll miss some of them.

So, I've never told you this, but when I was growing up, I inwardly blamed you for my cowlicks.  Mom would always say that I had cowlicks every time she cut my hair.  It all seemed to start when we went over to your friend's house and you put gel in my hair.  I think that was the first time I had gel in my hair, but I remember learning that it was sticky and made your hair stay a certain way.  So after that (and even to this day even though I know better now), I think about how my cowlicks came from you fixing up my hair with that gel.

We did a lot of fun stuff.  I was always happy to go along with your ideas.  One day we decided it was time for a photo shoot.  We dressed up in cool clothes and found places to take pictures.  It was fun to be with you, and for some reason I did feel cooler.

I guess there was that one time you dressed me up as a girl, I really don't know why I didn't fight it.  You must have had some secret power of persuasion.  Good thing I can't find that picture.

I found the picture below when I found the one above and thought it was funny.  (Mindy - you don't have to worry about looking weird in this one because you were probably taking it).  We have a great family!  Brenda, you have always a good link to keep us all together.  I appreciate all that you do to help the family stay close.  Thanks for planning things where we can get together.

You are a great sister!  I cherish the memories that we have together.  I remember all the crazy emails that we used to write (which we need to start up again).  You always know how to cheer people up with your clever humor.

There was that one time that we were eating at Mom and Dad's and for some reason I thought it would be funny to start copying you.  Even though we were both old enough that that really shouldn't have been that funny, I think that was one of my favorite memories.  It was great to be able to be kids again for a little while.

I hope that you have a great day.  I love you and I'm grateful for the example that you have always been to me.  I know I can always look up to you.  Happy Birthday!

Brenda, My Sister

Where do I even start?  Brenda has been one of my greatest joys and my biggest pains, which is what every little sister should be.

I always thought that I hated sharing a room, and resented that I had to share with a sister my WHOLE LIFE.  When I finally got my own room for a little while, I was lonely.  I missed sharing with my sister.  I missed our late night giggles.  I didn't realize how much fun we had had making mom and dad say "girls!" 500 times a night.

I always thought that I hated sharing clothes.  Well, I don't know if sharing is the word, because I don't think I wore Brenda's very often, but if she wore mine, there was sure to be a stain on it when she returned it.  Now I think, who cares?  They were just clothes!  And how lucky I was to have a sister who was close to my same size and who wanted to wear what I wore.

I still have a hard time forgiving Brenda for being so cute and photogenic.  It's hard to be the ugly big sister next to a perfect blond haired blue eyed angel in every picture.  I can't think of anything good to say about that.  ;)

A recent fun memory is coming across the finish line at the triathlon together.  It was way more fun and meaningful to me than it would've been if I had won the whole thing.  When I saw we were getting out of the pool at the same time, I was really excited.  It might seem like a silly thing, but it was really neat for me to finish something we had never finished before, and to finish it together, holding hands.

One of my favorite times was when I got to spend almost a week at Brenda's house in Ridgecrest after Ethan was born.  She didn't really need me by the time I got there... she was so self-sufficient, her house was already clean, Ethan was a good baby... but I cherish that time we spent together.  I loved talking, sewing, cooking, and just being together.  It was also wonderful holding and snuggling a sweet soft baby in the middle of the night.

We had our hard times growing up, we've had our hard times as adults... but the important thing to me is that Brenda is my sister, and will always be my sister, and I love her with all my heart.  And there are enough of the really good times together that those hard times don't really even matter.

I wanted this to be funny, and maybe later when I'm not all teary I can write something funny.  (Because Brenda is truly hilarious), but for now, this will have to do.

I love you, Brenda!  Have a happy happy happy happy birthday!