Happy Birthday Julie

Hello everyone. If you don't know, this is Seth. This is my first time posting on the blog so I hope I don't screw everything up. I also don't know how to post a picture yet, so instead of trying and breaking the blog I will just leave words. Today is Julie's birthday. Since she has honored so many of you on your birthday I thought that I would do the same for her. I don't have the same way with words as Julie does so I will make this simple. I wanted to write a list a some of the things that I love about Julie. I was going to make a list as long as she is old. But since I kept writing things down it is a little longer, and Julie is not really 51 years old today.. This is a small list of some of the reasons I love Julie and some of the things that make her so amazing...

1 – She is a great mother. I am not just saying that. She really is. Every day she is trying to do something with or for the kids to make that day special. And as you all know from this blog she documents nearly every second of each of their lives. She makes me want to be a better father…
2 – She sings to Alex every night before he goes to bed.
3 – She loves to do homework with and teach our children.
4 – She doesn’t worry about ever getting things for herself. She would rather spend money on the kids.
5 – She will spend hours at a time doing whatever it is that they want to do.
6 – She always knows and understands what each of them wants.
7 – She makes every holiday and birthday special and memorable.
8 – She is protective of the kids and it makes her sad to watch them grow.
9 – She doesn’t yell at the kids.
10 – She is very patient with them.
11– She helps them clean to keep them from getting in trouble.
12 – She is a BIG softy. Basically the kids have her around their fingers.
13 – She will do absolutely anything she can for them to make them happy.
14 – She teaches them about the gospel.
15 – She is a wonderful example.
16 – Have I made my point yet? She is pretty much the best mother a kid could ask for.
17 – She is very smart. She doesn’t give herself enough credit, but it is true.
18 – She is a hard worker.
19 – She is competitive.
20 – She likes to step in and take responsibility.
21 – If something isn’t getting done, whether at work, church or wherever she will step in to help out and get things done.
22 – She is a great cook. When Alyssa was born she determined to learn how to cook. It is something I am grateful for every day when I get home. Here are some examples…
23 – She makes the best chocolate cake. It sounds silly, but all of our friends have made requests for it when we have get-togethers.
23 – Her cookies are the best. She has about a dozen different kinds that are delicious.
24 – If she wants to learn to make something she will put her own spin on it. She tried to replicate her favorite chili and ended up making something even better.
25 – She makes a great salmon dinner.
26 – She likes seafood. This is a big one because she wouldn’t even try it until we moved to Wisconsin. Now she has seen the light.
27 – She is honest.
28 – She is a good and loyal friend.
29 – She doesn’t gossip.
30 – She sticks up for her friends.
31 – Family is the most important thing to her.
32 – She has great relationships with each of her brothers and sisters.
33 – She loves to play board games.
34 – She loves to keep the house clean. This is a funny one because she thinks the house is a mess if there are a few clothes on the floor.
35 – She works hard at every church calling she has no matter how big or small.
36 – She was an amazing Sister Missionary. Our missions are a big part of our relationship and something that we were lucky to go through at the same time. Here are some more things relating to that time in our life.
37 – She inspired me on my mission.
38 – She made reading schedules for morning study so that we could study the same thing and talk about what we were learning.
39 – She gave all of herself to her mission and was 100% dedicated.
40 – She touched and changed the lives of many people in New York.
41 – She made a tape for me to listen to every week on my mission. (And they weren’t sappy, and distracting.) One comes to mind that is a good story. Once while making me a tape she started hiccupping. Not a big deal, right? She would stop the tape and then come back later, but she would still be hiccupping. She wanted to send me the tape and tell me about her week but she couldn’t stop. You could hear her frustration with every hiccup, and soon she gave in and laughed and hiccupped through the 30 – 40 minute tape. It was hilarious to listen to!
42 – She did everything there to serve the Lord with all of her heart, and took no credit for herself.
43 – She does not judge other people.
44 – She finds joy in helping others.
45 – She has a great laugh. If you have never heard Julie laugh really hard you are missing out.
46 – She has the best sneeze in the world. Some people sound like mice when they sneeze. Some people try to be quite and keep it in. Not Julie! If she sneezes anyone in a two mile radius will hear her. When we were first married we worked at Discover Card on the phones. Even though we sat 100 feet apart I could always hear her sneeze. When she did the entire department would stand up (100+ people) because her sneeze is actually a really loud yell. It doesn’t sound anything like a sneeze, more like a woman in labor. It is loud! But unique, and I love it.
47 – Julie has a way with words. She knows how to express herself and tell a good story. If you follow the blog you know what I am talking about.
48 – She knows how to make people feel good.
49 – She never embarrasses or makes fun of others.
50 – This next one is a big one. Let’s all be honest with ourselves. Julie is hot! That’s right, she’s got the look! She is one hot mama! There hasn’t been one person who has come to my desk at work and seen her picture and not said something about how pretty she is or how lucky I am. There are a lot of things I love about how she looks. She does this thing with her eyebrow where she raises one side in she is thinking hard, or biting her fingernails. It’s great. It kills me! She doesn’t need to do herself up. She doesn’t need makeup. She doesn’t need to do her hair. She is just beautiful.
51 – Last but not least, Julie is funny. She makes me laugh in a million different ways. I know she think I don’t think so, but it is true…

As I siad above, this is just a short list. There are too many amazing things about Julie to mention in a single blog post. So I will just say Happy Birthday Julie. You are amazing, and I love you!

Seth