WASHINGTON -- Among the invited guests to sit in the First Lady's box at Tuesday's State of the Union address is Minneapolis mother Rebekah Erler, who had lunch with the president last summer after writing an inspiring letter to him.

Erler will sit with other guests -- DREAMers, students, small business owners and a couple other letter writers -- and First Lady Michelle Obama tomorrow night at the U.S. Capitol to hear the president deliver the annual address to Congress.

Erler wrote a letter to Obama last year detailing run-of-the-mill middle class struggles of a 36-year-old mother of two.

Erler and her husband moved to Minneapolis from Seattle after the housing crash, because her husband was struggling to find work as a construction worker. In Minnesota, her husband found a job in the re-modeling industry. Erler took out student loans to attend community college and is now an accountant. The two recently bought their first home in St. Anthony. She told the president she felt lucky they were both working, but week to week costs -- from groceries to day care -- were still hard.

The letter resonated with the president, who reads roughly ten letters a night from Americans who write to him. He flew out to Minneapolis for two days last June, had lunch with Erler and delivered two speeches, one on the economy.

From the White House on Monday: "Rebekah's story is representative of the experiences of millions of resilient Americans: While our economy has made a strong comeback, too many middle class Americans families with two hardworking parents are still stretched too thin. That's why the President spent a day in Minnesota with Rebekah, and that's why he's chosen to lift up her story again."