Tanya's Happy Birthday

At one of the latest family gatherings I was stalking Tanya with a camera.  I knew her birthday was coming up and I knew I didn't really have loads of pictures of her.  She was very kind and didn't tell me I was being creepy and to get lost.  Instead I got her to pose a little, but even this good picture doesn't do her justice.  Tanya is pretty and I really like it when she smiles and laughs.

This is what happens when I ask Doran and Tanya to pose and Doran surprises me.  I forget to aim.

So then he has to hold her for a few minutes while the camera gets ready to take another picture.

 Doran and Tanya are good sports and are fun to spend time with.  They have six children -- two girls and four boys -- including Tyson who Dan always wants to play with even though they don't live close by.  Tanya home schools her children and I am always impressed with people who do this, and do it well.  It takes organizational skills.

So what else do I like about Tanya?  Well, if you are going to have an Aunt (ont) Tonya it is fun to also have an Aunt (ant) Tanya because it's kind of fun to say.  Tanya is impressive to me because she is really good at things that do not come naturally to me.  Perhaps they didn't come naturally to her either, but she is good at them.  Tanya has determination.  If she decides to do something, she seems to make a plan and then carry it out.  After baby number six she decided to run again -- seriously.  She can run 6 or 7 miles in the time it would take me to run 1 or 2 -- no kidding.  She ran a marathon and I think her last miles were all probably faster than any I have done, maybe ever.

Aside from that, at family reunions I have always enjoyed watching Doran and Tanya work together to take care of their kids.  They work together well.  Tanya might notice that there are five things to do and that she can reasonably only manage 3 and so she'll just go and ask Doran which things he wants to take care of.  My natural inclination has been, unfortunately, to play the martyr.  Woe is me, there are five things to do, I can't possibly do them all, it's a shame nobody notices, I will just do what I can and feel sorry for myself the whole time, while hoping there are no dastardly consequences.  I have to say that her way is better and I did get better at that -- sometimes:).  I like that she just seems to matter of factly handle the things that need to be handled -- no woe needed.

Tanya has not really lived close by and so maybe I don't know her as well as I could.  However, I do know that she and Doran will spend their time, and their gas money, and lots of wear and tear on their car to support family activities (we have a lot) and family occasions (a lot of these too).  I know it is not convenient for them to come but family is important to them and they show it.  Doran and Tanya's faith in our Savior and their good example of how to value family is something that I am thankful for.  I hope that today will be a very happy day for Tanya because I love her.

Happy Birthday!