Reasons To Love Helen (the person, not the town)

My new sister-in-law is celebrating a milestone birthday tomorrow and since I won't be there to celebrate with her in person, I thought I'd honor her with a Reasons To Love blog entry. So here you have...

Reasons to Love Helen:

1. She's left-handed. Me too!

Pink sampler I made her for Christman

2.Pink is her favorite color.

3. She throws a good party/wedding/whatever.

4. She is a professionally trained chef. Everything she cooks is amazing. She could cook poo and I'd eat it because I know she can't make a bad dish. (ok... maybe not POO but you get the idea.)

5. She went to boarding school and I am fascinated with that life... so different from Riverdale Senior High! I always liked watching Facts of Life because I thought it was so cool to go to boarding school

6. She went to Wellesley which is awesome just because of the movie Mona Lisa Smiles (check it out if you haven't seen it) but also because she made some really awesome friends that we had the pleasure of meeting.

7. She wants babies. WE want babies! Match made in Heaven.

8. We were sure that Bryan was going to be the bachelor uncle for the rest of his life but he's not!

9. She knows how to knit/crochet and since she's left handed she can teach me how!

10. She bought me my first pair of Tieks. Which, by the way, are the cutest little ballet flats ever and feel good even if you're on you feet a long time. I wore them with a pair of socks before the wedding to have them just a tiny bit loose to accommodate the inevitable swelling from being on my feet for awhile.

11. She loves my nieces. The way to my heart is through those two little red haired girls!

12. She gives great gifts, more than I could possibly repay. She's just incredibly generous!

13. She flew me, my mom and my sister-in-law to New York for her bridal shower. While we were there we met so many lovely people! It was a quick trip but it's a time I will always treasure because it gave us the opportunity to truly see Helen in her element. It also gave me an appreciation for what a rare gem she is!

14. Although she was crazy busy with school and wedding planning and wasn't feeling well, she went out to brunch with us the day after the shower and drove us to the airport.

15. Her name is Helen... we live near a town called Helen... it's funny to say, "do you mean the person or the town?" when a family member mentions Helen.

16. She has a wonderful family who are all entertaining, delightful people and I quite enjoyed getting to know them. I'm particularly fond of her maternal grandma.

17. We heard so many kind words about her during the shower and rehearsal dinner and wedding... she's a really special lady and we are honored to have her in our family.

18. Her initials are now HG! Mine are too!

19. She's the youngest of all of my sisters-in-law.

20. She's passionate about the things and people in her world. She makes things happen. She's determined without being stubborn. She has a can-do attitude. She's positive and upbeat and cheerful. Maybe each of these sentences needs their own point but...

21. She has an insanely huge cookbook collection. I could spend months curled up on their couch reading cookbooks. I won't, of course.

But the most important Reason To Love Helen is....

22. She makes my brother happy. The love they have for each other is so magical that even people like me who are cynical about love begin to believe in Happily Ever After again by just being around them. She's a gift not only to Bryan but to all Gants. She is what was missing from our family.

Happy Birthday, dear, Helen! So proud to call you my sister!

Love and hugs, y'all!