{To the tune of “Swanee”}

Sammy! How I love ya, How I love ya. My dear old Sammy!

‘Tis my sister-in-law’s birthday today and I am here to tell you that she is one fine woman.

Her fineness is far reaching and all encompassing.

I met her when she was around 10 years old. She was a great girl. She was good and sweet and, at the time, a little shy. She was under a lot of pressure having moved to the urban wilderness called New York from the desert paradise called Utah. Not every gentle Mormon girl has to go to a Jr. High where girls her age are having sex in the bathroom during school. I hate to be so crude, but it what she was dealing with – and it wasn’t very nice! But she got through the mess of Jr. high a la NY. She survived some crazy New York experiences and also had some downright wonderful times too. Then her family moved back to UT when she was in her mid teens. Sam’s mommy and my mommy were best buds and our family was very sad to see them go. The years passed by and we stayed connected – but little did we know what would be in store for all of us!

Most recently I have had the great pleasure of getting re-acquainted with this beautiful 25 year old woman when my brother fell in love with her and then asked her to change her last name to “Kelly”.

I remember when I first met Sam wishing that she would marry my brother Chas. For reals! I did! She is so kind and so good, just like Chas. She and Chas share a unique kind of gentleness and a serenity that just makes them so well suited. Kind of like Jane and Bingley in Pride and Prejudice, if I dare to make such a comparison (and I do!). When she moved to Provo last year I called Chas and asked him, “So, Sam Card is in town? Would you ever, you know, take her out on a date?”

I really, really, really wanted Chas to take her out on a date.

He did.

The rest is legend – as many previous posts will attest!

Sam is a wonderful combination of truly great qualities. She is a woman of character and true strength. She has always been willing to take the road less traveled and do the hard thing. Over and over again life has called her down this path and she has walked it with dignity. As she has walked it she has become very, very capable – in the truest and deepest sense of the word. I remember talking to Chas and asking him what it was he loved about Sam and he said, “She is so strong.”

Each one of us gets handed a share of trial and hardship in life – but I gotta say that Sam has really had her fair share. Yet, if you met her, or read her blog, or looked at her artwork, or had a long chat with her NEVER would you sense ANY bitterness. What you would sense is warmth, happiness – even a playful, joyful kind of giddy happiness. You would hear her exuberant laugh. (When she and Chas were first dating I remember my mom telling me how wonderful it was to have Sam around because her laughter would fill up the whole house!) I am so struck by this, I guess knowing a little bit of her background, I find it remarkable that she has found a way to make the ugly things she has faced into beautiful shining gems. Her trials do not define her – they’ve refined her.  She is so much fun and so delightful you would never think for a minute that she had known true pain. She has been able to do what few people are able to do – she has let go of the pain she has experienced. This was, I am sure, a herculean spiritual feat – but Sam is living proof that the Atonement works. By her example she has taught me that God’s love and power are there for us if we are willing to accept it and embrace it.

Sam is very talented. She is always getting scholarships and awards. She is a fine artist (I told you she was fine, didn’t I?) Her work has graced the covers of literary magazines and been hung in hip restaurants. Her work even hangs on my good friend’s wall! She has done really well for herself, in fact she always does well in whatever she chooses to do. She is ambitious and hard working yet she is equally down to earth, easy to talk to, fun to be with and relaxed and easy going.

Here is a little peek at her art work…

Her art work is not only her passion but her profession. She just finished a masters program in art therapy. Pretty cool, no? Personally I love it when any artist is able to make a living off being an artist and doing what you love. Kudos, dear Sammy on that one!

Another peek at her art…

She comes from creative stock – her father is also a wonderful artist and her mother is a talented interior designer. She is the oldest of five girls. She is totally devoted to her sisters and to her parents. They are a family who really love and cherish each other.

Sam also loves puppies – and she is not ashamed to say so! I’m not ashamed to tell you of her love of puppies either – so put that in your pipe and smoke it. She loves ’em! She also loves her dog, Archie – very, very much. Especially when he is wearing converse all stars!

She has a very kind and loving heart.

She is also a blast!

She knows how to be sensible and fun in the same moment. Perfect example: with some of their wedding money they paid off her car loan – very sensible. A few weeks later she and Chas found a great deal on a powder blue scooter and snapped it right up – totally fun!

She is a wonderful home maker.

She is a celebrator. She celebrates the goodness of life. She is also not afraid to celebrate her own accomplishments and I really admire that about her.

She is good to the core. She really gets the gospel in a profound way.

She loves my brother and has made him a very happy man. So, clearly I am indebted to her forever for the happiness she has brought to him and to our whole family.

I really love her a lot.

And I hope she has a happy, happy, birthday!