Happy Birthday, Sam! I am getting this done after you are in bed. But you have to give me credit for getting it done at all, since I just got back from almost two weeks in Guatemala tonight. I stayed up late the night we left trying to scan in pictures so I could easily post this with some comments. I think I went nuts with the scanning. So here are a lot of Sam as he grows up:
Coming home from the hospital!
With JR, about 2years old.
Maybe 4 years old.
8--he never really loved baseball.
Football mean look.
Sam silly
He loved to pick up his mother.
Off to the MTC and then Chile, Santiago East mission.
Married !!
I think this is Max.
The day he defended his thesis. Doesn't he look smart.
Ruby is born!
Sam officially is awarded his PhD.
Forgive me if I don't add a few more updated pictures. Before I crash I want to put down a few things I love about Sam:
1. Sam is a good listerner. He calls me regularly and asks questions and listens and discusses what I say. He also loves to make me think by his discussions.
2. Sam is a good dad. He tries to get home early and his favorite activities involve his family. He loves to be with them. He has sung to all his children and they respond to his songs. He is a hands on father even though he has been very busy getting his degree.
3. Sam is converted to the Lord. He believes the principles of the gospel and uses them with diligence in his life daily. Because of his total commitment, he throws himself into doing the things that are asked of him, whether it is counselor in the SS presidency, Gospel doctrine teacher or Elders quorum president with enthusiasm and creativity.
4. Sam loves his wife completely and is happy when she is happy. I never dreamed he would turn into such a handyman. I can see by the way he lives his life, that he thinks marrying Lindsay was the best act of his life.
5. Sam has a unique sense of humor. When joke night at Grand Camp is coming up he is sure to get a call from nieces for some advice. His humor is usually their level. He has other ways of showing his humor. He used to think it was funny to make me or one of his sisters scream by surprising or scaring us. Does he still do that Lindsay? His type of craziness makes him a fun person to be with.
6. Sam takes advantage of the brains the Lord blessed him with. He pursued his degree until he had it, no matter the obstacles. He thinks deeply and helps solve problems. He loves to read and analyze, but stimulates others to do so as well. He retains things well and uses them often in his life.
7. Sam has become a very happy, outgoing person. People like to be with him because he seldom gets down. He has a great optimism about him. Who knew?
8. That brings me to the point that Sam has learned to change what needs to be changed in his life when he recognizes the problem. He overcame a speech problem when he was a child that some people never conquer. He learned to overcome the awkward public image he had been tagged with and extend himself to others and be happy and have many friends.
9. Sam has wisdom and character. He does the right things for the right reason. Sometimes he even helps me make better choices from his sense of integrity. He applies the scriptures to his problem solving and has many memorized. He encourages me to do the same. It helps.
10 Sam participates in life fully. He is doing a triathalon soon. He plays church sports. He enjoys his work and the people he works with and works hard. He calls Adam to discuss things Adam is interested in such as the NBA playoffs, me to hear what I Conference talk I like best, Alan to hear about his hunting and so on. I love his interest in so many things.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM! I LOVE YOU!
