Happy Birthday!

It is my fortunate lot to share my birthday with others close to me for the rest of my life(and through eternity too!).I was born on my Dad's 40th birthday, my sister Gayla is 11 years older than I am, and my sister Holly is 3 years older than me. Those are the only birthdays and ages I never have to struggle to remember! I was 4 months shy of turning 18 when Gayla passed away, and it has been hard for me to celebrate our birthday without being able to share it with her.

I love being able to tell people that I share my birthday with my father and two of my sisters, and see the look on their faces!I have always felt extra close to my Dad because I was born on his birthday. I remember always climbing on his lap and snuggling with him. He was my Daddy, and I wanted to be with him as much as possible. I loved hearing him sing - he wasn't very good at holding his own pitch, though. He used to tell us that he could only carry a tune in a bucket! Sitting next to him in church was fun, because he listened to people next to him singing, and he followed whatever pitch they were on. I don't know if he ever realized that we would purposely change from singing soprano to alto to tenor, and then back again. As long as he had someone to follow, he had a beautiful tenor voice, and I'm sure he still does!

One of my most favorite memories of my father is of him bringing me to my orthodontist appointment once a month. My Dad worked long hard hours and would collapse in a chair and fall asleep as soon as he got home from work. Being able to spend his waking hours with him was a real treat! We lived in Aurora, NY at the time, and my orthodontist was in Ithaca, NY. Those of you who know the upstate New York area, know that it is a good half-hour drive. I had that entire time with my dad all to myself. I loved it! We spent the time talking, listening to the radio(did you know that Dad liked Country music?), and talking some more.

Gayla had a beautiful soprano voice. I always wanted to have a voice like hers. I tried to audition for the All-State chorus, but I didn't make it. I was devastated! I haven't given up, though, and I love singing. I can still hear her voice singing the descant to "Silent Night". I can't bring myself to sing it, because I cry too much, but I can play it on my violin.

A few months before her death, Gayla and her husband John, moved to upstate New York to be closer to us. Gayla told Mom that it was because she wanted to get closer to her little sisters. I believe that Noelle, Rachelle, and I were home at the time. We used to spend hours talking, laughing, reading dramatically, singing together, and so many other things that I will always cherish. When she died, it was the morning that I was supposed to audition for an All-County chorus. Mom told me that I could go or not, it was my choice. I decided that Gayla would be mad at me if I didn't go to the audition because of her, so I went. I was accepted into the chorus. It was my senior year, and it was very hard to be without my big sister whom I had just gotten to know really well. I am so glad for that time I had with her.

Holly and I have always shared a unique relationship. I guess you could say that there are so many qualities of my older sisters that I wanted to emulate. Holly plays the violin beautifully, and I love playing the violin, too. After Holly decided to major in violin performance, I decided to major in performance and education. I have always loved being able to share our violin abilities, and playing duets with her. I used to love staying up late nights talking with Holly. She could usually out-talk me, though. There were many nights that I would be mumbling my answers to her as she was trying to talk with me. I'm sure I missed many things she said to me because I had fallen asleep!

I brought Nicholas and Michael went to our stake's Father-Son campout on Friday, and Tony met them there later. (Tony was very tired after a tough day at work, but trying to be good) They returned Saturday morning at 10. So I had Friday night into Saturday all to myself. It was a great birthday gift! I watched a movie, went to bed, and went to breakfast the next morning with my visiting teachers for my birthday. I went and got my nails done, too(I very rarely do that!), then went home and helped Tony prepare for a neighborhood birthday party. We have two neighbors who share my birthday week, and we decided to celebrate together. Unfortunately one of them wasn't able to make it, so just Liz and I celebrated!

Tony made me feel so special on my birthday - it was a great day!