To the lady I almost killed with a strawberry daiquiri (well not quite killed, but it was a pretty lethal drink)

I've told stories before about Jeremy's family and how wonderful I think they all are, so some of you might be familiar with his grandmother, Mary.

There are tons of cool things about her:

1. She loves Mustangs (and drove a few for awhile too)
2. Has a tattoo (from her 50th birthday)
3. Has gotten my mother and grandmother half drunk (on more than one occasion)
(Okay, more importantly, has made friends with my family and definitely helped to bring out their fun sides, which is a gift in itself)
4. Makes kick-ass chili, roasts, lasagna, hot dips, brownies, and assorted other foods
5. Isn't bothered when the cookies burn in the oven (and she's teased about it for ages afterwards) or when her daughters call her "Gimpy" (result of a terrible car accident several years back)
6. Is the only person I know who can make African Violets bloom
7. She made the best afghan EVER for us (for Christmas one year, that was supposed to be for us, but I totally stole it)
8. She plays lots of tennis (despite the aforementioned bad knee) and could totally kick my butt, if I ever dared to play against her...
9. She's taken her grandkids to Disney World, on cruises, paid for flights to Florida for winter visits, gone to the horse track, gone to hockey games, plays cards and boards games for hours, and does everything she can to spend time with her family
10. She was willing to let me make her margaritas even after the Deadliest Strawberry Daiquiri Ever...


11. She's helped us move, has come to visit us in every place we've lived, has done so many things for us that I don't have the room to list them all here, and has treated me like a granddaughter for as long as I can remember - including giving her 45-year old engagement ring to Jeremy a week before she even knew he was going to propose to me...

There are lots of other nice things I could say about her, but most importantly, I'd like to wish her a
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Thanks so much for everything you've done for Jeremy & I - words can't express how thankful we are for having you in our lives... I'm always bragging to people about how lucky I am to have found such a wonderful family to join and you're a big part of that!

Hope you had a fantastic birthday!
We love you Grandma,
Melinda & Jeremy