HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GORGEOUS!

Today is Amber's 27th birthday. I love her birthdays because they give me an entire day to celebrate her (please no comments on how I should be celebrating her everyday :) ). Amber is simply the most amazing person I have ever met. Her smile or a look from her eyes instantly lifts your spirits and fills you with a positive energy. She is unceasingly optimistic and unfathomably charitable. I don't know of anyone else who can meet a mentally healthy grown woman for the first time and within a few minutes have the woman crying on her shoulder and sharing the deepest pains of her past. (Actually happened). There is kindness and love in that face.

This is all old news to most of you, but I understand it more each year. The past nine years of my life have been the most enjoyable adventure with Amber leading me by the hand from one adventure to another. I have been happier than I deserve, but I'm not going to complain about overcompensation. We have had a lot of fun together, and, thankfully, we have years of fun ahead of us.

But more than an amazing friend and wife, Amber is a wonderful mother to Maya. Through two years of dirty diapers, sleepless nights, meal-time disasters, temper tantrums, and altered or ruined plans she has never lost her patience with Maya (or with me). She is always striving to make sure that Maya is experiencing new things and growing to be a healthy, happy baby. She is a constant in our lives.

Thank you. Happy Birthday, Gorgeous. I adore you.