From Dennis

Dear Nancy,

Happy 50th!!!! It's hard to believe that you have reached this important milestone in your life. I'm so happy for you and I wish you a long,happy, healthy, and joyous life filled with the love of family and friends.

One of the things I am grateful for is that we are related not only by blood (you are the first second cousin I ever had), but also by a bond of friendship. It has been said that we can't chose our family, but we can choose our friends. I am grateful to God that over the years we have become close.

I know you've already been through a lot in your life, and I admire you for the way you have handled the suffering and traumas that have come you way with nobility and grace. After all, your very name, "Nancy," I am told, is a derivative of the Hebrew word for "Grace." And I think I once told you that people with red hair of Sicilian heritage are thought to have noble blood running through their veins!!! I said that with a smile then, and now I would like to say that as you face the future, and as you hair turns from red to gray, I can still sense in you a deep nobility of heart running, if not in your veins, then certainly in your spirit.

We love you, Nancy! And we wish you God's choicest blessings through all your life. On a personal level, I wish to thank you for all of your warm thoughts, prayers, and loving notes that you have send me during my illness.

Although I don't have any pictures of you to put up on this blog, I have many fond images of you planted deep in my memory that are a cause of great joy and happiness for me.

So Happy Birthday, Nancy! May the Lord bless and watch over you. May He bless you and shed his Grace upon you!

Blessings,

And much love,

Dennis