Julie, The Irish Italian.

I remember the phone call. It came into my dorm room phone early one weekend morning and it was my brother Ryan. He was sad. I answered and the first words he quietly uttered were "Julie and I broke up last night and I've been sitting on this curb all morning. I just don't know what to do...." And he went on. It was then as I cried with my sad brother that I knew how deeply he loved this woman. A few weeks later I got another call that Ryan and Julie were back together and they have been together ever since.

To know Julie is to love her. Julie is the perfect mix of passion and compassion. She is, hands down, the most competitive person I know and I make ever effort to be on her team when playing anything. Seriously, you want Julie in your corner! She is funny, stubborn, feisty, smart, stubborn, honest, loving, stubborn oh and she happens to be beautiful. The whole package!

The brother Julie married and I are only about 22 months apart and so we grew up being very close and with our own insiders humor. I have always been amazed and how much Julie has always known who she is. She is unfaltering in her commitments to herself, her marriage, her family and to her friends. She came into my brothers life and always left room it it for me. I am forever grateful for that! It takes a women of great courage, deep love and a steadfast heart to be so wise at such a young age.

I love Julie like my own sister. We are the same age, just about 6 months apart, and she has always been the one who I could ask my secret questions to and get an honest answer. You know, the top secret embarrassing questions you can only ask your closest girlfriends and since Julie has been married for 6 years and is a mother of 2 and 1/2 ( due in November) she has a lot more knowledge in certain areas...:) Julie is as boisterous and as loyal as you would ever expect an Irish Italian women to be. To know Julie is to love her.

Julie you are an impressive woman. You have the drive and ability to always be moving forward. The depth of your character and the strength of your love is palpable. To know you is to love you. And to be loved by you is a gift, a gift that I cherish. Having you in my family has brought such joy and so much fun! Thank with all of my heart for being a part of my wedding. You knew about as soon as I did that Daren was the one and that unspoken understanding is something that only happens between sisters.

I know you and I love you.