Happy Birthday Erica

This sweet girl has been a Stoker for about 6 years. She married Daniel on Nathan's Birthday (Sept.4)  2004. They got married in Burlington, Iowa and had a beautiful reception on her uncle's farm.  It was a lovely place filled with lovely people.  Her family is very kind and when her aunt approached me and said, "I'm the family genealogist.  Can I get some information from you about Daniel?"  I felt so happy inside.

 I'm really thankful for in-laws.  They add a nice dimension to our group and make up the deficits.  Erica is very capable and has raised the bar for us in many areas.  I love pictures, and she takes wonderful pictures and then she makes them better.  One Christmas vacation she and Jacob spent many hours combining many shots plus making Aaron appear ( he was on a mission in Korea) in an almost-impossible-to-obtain family photograph.  We get some of our best pictures when she's in town.  I'm glad they're not in Japan any more.

I'm a pretty relaxed housekeeper, and that saved me from insanity when I had lots of babies in the home. But I'm ready to advance to a higher level so I keep my eyes open for ways to improve.  The last time I was at Erica's house she did the most amazing thing.  She opened up the refrigerator, closed it and then took a cloth and wiped off the finger prints.  Enlightened, I asked her, "Do you do that every time?"  She responded, "Do what?"  She didn't even think about it, but now I know why some people's fridge is not mottled with smudges and gunga'd with goo. Actually, not only does her fridge shine, her whole house looks great.

See that shiny chrome? (and the cute baby of course)

She is a dedicated mother and is raising some really sweet boys. Now that they live close to us I get to spend more time with them. Caleb and I enjoy reading Bible stories together, and he asks some very insightful questions that show he had been taught a lot about Jesus. He's also well trained in sharing.  It was so heart-warming when he excitedly said, "Grandma come look in here.  This is where we keep the toys that we're sending to the needy children for Christmas."  Nice job Erica.

Erica is very festive and goes all out to make holidays special.  She planned a great birthday for Caleb this summer and it was fun to be with them.

But of all the celebration skills she possesses, her most inspiring skill has to be her Christmas present stacking.  I didn't even know about present stacking.  We always just put them around randomly to make it look like there are more than there are, and because that's all we know how to do.  The year Erica joined us at yule tide opened my eyes to a brand new glorious Christmas tree world.  I was running around crazy as is par for Christmas Eve.  She asked if she could stack the presents.  I didn't even know what she was talking about but said, "Sure."  Well, what a difference a stack makes. It's a beautiful sight to see, and if you want a Christmas Eve tree to look magical, learn from the best.

Erica's family's very Christmasy Christmas tree and perfect Christmas stack.

Erica, thanks for all you bring to our family.  I love you.  Happy Birthday.