Happy Birthday Tammy!

Today is Tammy's 30th Birthday. Yes, she's officially not a youngster anymore. She and I have been married for almost eight years now (can you believe it?) so I think I'm just about qualified to talk about how wonderful she is. (She's thinking - well, after eight years, it's about time!)

Let me just start by talking about how good she is to me. As we've mentioned, this has been a very busy summer for me - especially at work. I've never really had to work a lot of overtime in my career, but the last month or so has seen a lot of it. I know that it's taken a toll on our family and on Tammy, but she never complains about it. On those really long nights, she would always greet me with a smile when I finally made it home.

Tammy is an outstanding mother (a quick look at our kids is proof of that)! Having four little ones six and under is no small chore, but she excels at it. On top of her "normal" duties as a mother (is being a mother ever really "normal" - I don't think so, but hopefully you know what I mean), she is going the extra mile by teaching Adam piano lessons, teaching Anna reading lessons, and spending many hours teaching in lots of other ways to all the kids. I recognize how obedient and thoughtful and intelligent and talented our little ones are and I attribute most of that to Tammy's outstanding skills as a mother.

I know it is a husband's duty to be spiritual leader in a home, but in this home, mom leads the way in that category (and in most other categories). Tammy has a deep and true testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it shows in every aspect of her life. She is regularly showing me the example when it comes to living the gospel and when she's not leading, she's gently prodding me in the right directions. I look back on many spiritual decisions that we have made in our life together and see how they have blessed our lives and I recognize that the ideas for those decisions nearly always originate with Tammy.

One of her virtues and one of the first things I noticed about her when we were dating was her absolute honesty in everything. I have never, ever know Tammy to tell a lie of any sort. At first that was a little hard to take ("So, how do I look today?"), but I have grown to appreciate that characteristic so much. I've never had the slightest reason to ever distrust her in any way and that is such a comfort to me in our marriage.

Tammy is a hard worker when there is work to be done (and there always is at home) but also loves to have fun. She's not afraid to join the kids on the swings or slides at the park or scream at the top of her lungs going down a waterslide (I was a little embarrassed to be seen with her after that one).

Tammy is a caregiver not only to our family but to many others in our community. She is so kind and thoughtful, particularly to those who may otherwise be easily overlooked. She has blessed many people in many small but very signficant ways.

To those of you who are her family - THANK YOU. Thank you for raising your daughter/granddaughter/sister/niece/other to be the wonderful person that she is. She blesses my life every day and I love her with all of my heart.

Okay, now for the greedy part. I want to set a new record on this blog and I want it to be a record that will stand for as long as this blog is around. I want this entry to get a record number of comments (lets shoot for at least 30). I want everyone that reads this entry to post a comment (or two) and let us know what you think of Tammy (if you don't have nice things to say, at least wait until it's not her birthday to make your remarks!). If you don't know how to post a comment, all you have to do is click on the word "comments" below (beside where it says "posted by greg"). Then scroll to the bottom, type what you think. Where it says "Choose and identity" click "Other" and type in your name. Then click "Publish Your Comment". That's all there is to it! If you're a random visitor and don't happen to know Tammy, take my word for it and post something nice about her anyway. Oh, and get all your friends and neighbors to comment as well!

So, with that, I hope you have a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY Tammy!