Scaredy Cats...Good Grief!

Hi all.

I have 2 cats (one is 3, the other almost 2) and they are soooo scared of anyone but me and my husband. Our families and friends only see the tail end of them running from the room when they come. When we had my father-in-law stay a few days to ride out the coast hurricanes I didn't see the cats very often either!!! I don't know why they are both like this. I am guessing since the first one was always shy he "taught" the other one to be as well???? Has to be cause we got the 2nd from a shelter so she was handled by lots of people and seemed o.k.??? I guess it's good because I let them outside and I know they won't be tempted to seek affection from strangers.......anyone else's cats like this? Does it improve once you have children in the home? They just adore us and I try to tell everyone else how sweet they are but I still have people asking what color are my cats again....cause they never see them! HA!