December 26, 2006: Lordy, Lordy, Dr. H. is 40!

And in honor of your monumental milestone day, here are 40 reasons why I love you, Dr. H....

1. You wear Hawaiian shirts to work.
2. You are the nicest person I’ve ever known.
3. You do the crossword puzzle every night.
4. You play guitar in the bathroom while Duncan has his bath
5. Not only do you have your own blog, but you take your daily journey through all our friends’ blogs.
6. You yell at the football players on TV as if you really believe they can hear you.
7. You wave to people in parades and yell greetings to the participants (e.g., “Merry Christmas” or “Happy 4th of July!”
8. You are brilliant.
9. You abide by the maxim: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
10. You are adept at using all kinds of colloquialisms, such as “Don’t take long to look at a horseshoe,” “Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise,” and “Looks like they opened up a new box.”
11. You are gifted with knowing how to do small talk.
12. You always make people feel at ease.
13. You can talk about U.T. football one minute and genetic coding the next.
14. You’ve been wearing our engagement earring for 18 years.
15. You fold laundry every night.
16. You make the best guacamole.
17. You read The Lord of the Rings trilogy every couple of years.
18. You listen to whiny chick music even though your grad students make fun of you.
19. The right snack food makes you so happy.
20. You are kind to animals.
21. You love to read.
22. You are an amazing discussion leader/teacher.
23. You cook Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for my entire extended family with a smile on your face.
24. You take the dog out every night.
25. You learned how to play my family’s traditional card game.
26. You think homeschooling is awesome.
27. You do the grocery shopping when I need it most.
28. You know what food is in what aisle at Walmart.
29. You’ve taken over algebra with Jesse.
30. You treat our daughter like a princess.
31. You treat me like a princess.
32. You sometimes enter commitments reluctantly (e.g., being a deacon), but once you’re there, you take the situation seriously and do your best.
33. You fill up my van with gas.
34. You want to go to a hockey game on your birthday because it’s an adventure.
35. There is almost nothing you love more than to be in the mountains.
36. You worked your butt off in graduate school so that you could get us a job here.
37. You joined the Dave Ramsay bandwagon.
38. You’ve taught me more about what it means to be Christ-like simply by your actions than I’ve learned in 40 years’ worth of Sunday School, VBS, sermons, Christian college, and Bible study groups.
39. You are a spectacular father, and you are always willing to learn more and evaluate, and adjust your parenting skills.
40. You love me with all your heart and soul.