Happy Birthday Lizzy!

Sorry this is a couple of days late, but it still needs to be said. Happy Birthday Lizzy, I hope your day was fun. I know it was fun for me! I love our tradition of going shopping on your birthday. I have no idea where you get your energy from. All of us were dragging by the end, but you. I think you could have gone on forever.
I hope I don't sound too hokey here, but I really cherish our friendship. You are an inspiration to me every day. You inspire me to try harder and be a better person. You also gave me one of the greatest compliments I have ever received when you told me you wanted to raise your children like Dad and I had raised you. Maybe you are just making up for the years that you tortured me, but really you don't need to. What we have now is probably as strong as it is because we know how hard we had to work to get here.
You have known what you want and how to get it from the moment you arrived...feet first. Or at least tried to arrive feet first. I forgive you for breaking my body, you have 4 younger sibs so I clearly got over it. Well, you have given me a great son in law and the 2 most wonderful grandkids on the planet, so I am willing to overlook a lot! You have great focus and an ability to work out any problems for anyone. You are a lot like your Grandma and Grandpa Downard, so compassionate and caring.
I love you more than I can say. I love hearing you give talks and lessons in church, you have such a strong testimony. I love that you are the "real" mom in our family. It lets me be a slacker without feeling too guilty about it. I love lots about you and could go on forever. Just know that you are a fantastic person and a great friend. You are also a great mom.