Happy Birthday, Daniel!

Dear Hearts,

April 5th is the birthday of Daniel Sullivan Glick; son of Brian and Margaret; brother of Elizabeth, husband of Amanda; father of Holden; grandson of Dody and Mom (Daniel's names for Big Sully and Mary Claire) and Jack and Dawn; nephew, uncle, cousin, in-law and friend to scores of others.

Daniel is working as a firefighter/paramedic for L.A. County Fire at Station 101 in Claremont. He is studying to become an engineer--one of the people who provides support and maintenance to the firefighters in a variety of ways and in various scenarios.

He remains a renaissance man, adding culinary arts to his repertoire. Living in a firehouse requires everyone to prepare meals for the team and Daniel has impressed his coworkers many times.

So, happy birthday, Dano, and may you have 89 more healthy ones, respectively, by the Aunt Joannie Sullivan Law of Longevity Aspiration of 2008.

God bless us and save us and keep us from harm.

Love, Patty

Happy Birthday, Erin!

Dear Hearts,

April 5th is the birthday of Erin Louise Coffey Sullivan: wife of Doctor Seamus the Younger; mother of John, Annie, Kathleen, Thomas, Peter, Maggie, Joseph, Brigid, Seamus and Patrick; sister of eight siblings; daughter, aunt, cousin, in-law and friend to hundreds more.

Erin's faith is strong and beautiful. Her sense of humor is wonderful. And her steadfastness as a wife, mother, sister and friend is quite admirable and appreciated by all. She has been a home-school teacher in Omaha for many years, and clearly succeeding--the older kids have begun attending and graduating college with many accolades and honors!

Erin is now the grandmother of two and is looking forward to another family wedding in the coming year with her daughter recently engaged.

Happy birthday, Erin, and may you have 73 more healthy ones, respectively, by the Aunt Joannie Sullivan Law of Longevity Aspiration of 2008.

God bless us and save us and keep us from harm.

Love, Patty

Happy Birthday, Nancy!

Dear Hearts,

April 3rd is the birthday of Nancy Carol Sands Sullivan: daughter of Donald and Florence, sister of Sandy, wife of John; mother of Mike, Maggie and Matt; grandmother of Evangeline, Violet and Brandon; in-law, cousin, aunt and friend to many more.

Nancy continues to live her life with constant strength and goodness, even in this incredibly difficult time of loss since John died. Despite the grief, she is consistently kind, consistently funny as heck, consistently smart. Her humility is incredible as this woman is so gifted in so many aspects of her life! Nancy is a terrific photographer and musician, and can design and produce a bountiful garden as well as a delicious meal.

She is a true champion of children, giving them time, patience and whatever tools/toys they need to be successful or just have a blast at playtime. Nancy has been my go-to comrade in all things chocolate and Nutella cookies/balls will remain in my top three favorite desserts.

Happy Birthday, Nancy, and may you have 53 more healthy ones, by the Aunt Joannie Sullivan Law of Longevity Aspiration of 2008.

God bless us and save us and keep us from harm.

Love, Patty

Happy Birthday, Jo!

Dear Hearts,

April 1st is the birthday of Johanna Frances Clark: daughter of Lisa Whalen and Jim Clark, niece, cousin and friend to a whole bunch others.

Jo is an adventurous and creative person. Living in Seattle, Jo is working as a baker and manager at Belle Epicurean, a high-end bakery serving delicious pastries throughout the state of Washington.

So, happy birthday Jo, and may you have 99 more healthy ones by the Aunt Joannie Sullivan Law of Longevity Aspiration of 2008.

God bless us and save us and keep us from harm.

Love, Patty

Happy Birthday, Steven!

Dear Hearts,

April 1st is the birthday of Steven Wolfgram, Jim's fellow soldier who taught Jim more about courage and duty than just about anyone in the Army.

He was born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin and currently resides in Washington State enjoying some of the most beautiful sunsets on the globe from atop a hill overlooking the Pacific.

Jim describes Steven as very hard-nosed and very fair and very human. He is also very funny. Steven earned the Silver Star--an honor right under the Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Cross--and maintains with great respect that it's the ones who fell on beaches, rice paddies, deserts and hilltops who were his heroes.

Happy birthday, Steven, and may you have 44 more healthy ones, by the Aunt Joannie Sullivan Law of Longevity Anticipation of 2008.

God bless us and save us and keep us from harm.

Love, Patty

Happy Birthday, Patrick!

Dear Hearts,

April 1st is the birthday of Patrick Joseph Sullivan: son of Bobby and Nicole; brother of Jeremiah, Ella and Thomas; grandson of Bob, Darlene, Ron and Celia; nephew, cousin, teammate and friend to dozens more. He's also become an uncle this past year!

Patrick is a young man whose confidence and humility makes spending time with him very enjoyable. He's a junior at the University of Dallas, continuing the tradition as the fourth of his immediate family to attend UD. His brother Thomas is there too, along with five cousins.

So, happy birthday Patrick, and may you have 104 more healthy ones by the Aunt Joannie Sullivan Law of Longevity Aspiration of 2008.

God bless us and save us and keep us from harm.

Love, Patty

Happy Birthday, Joan!

Dear Hearts,

April 1st is the birthday of Joan Shepson Sullivan: wife of Mike; sister of Paul and Lynn; mother of Katie O. and John; grandmother of Caroline, Charlie, Grace, Micky and June; sister-in-law, aunt, cousin and friend to scores more. She is, in fact, the author of the Aunt Joannie Sullivan's Law of Longevity Aspiration of 2008 which is invoked at the end of every Dear Hearts greeting. Click here for more information on that law.

I was lucky to spend the past weekend with Joanie and was wonderfully reminded of how incredibly kind and compassionate she is. Throw in her terrific and usually understated sense of humor and it makes for a great time.

After a career and raising children, Joan has become an extraordinary woman in retirement, developing new skills in photography, Lego building and all things Super Mario. And is up for whatever fun, goofy, experimental activity her grandchildren dream up.

Happy birthday, Joannie, and may you have 45 more healthy ones, by your law--the Aunt Joannie Sullivan Law of Longevity Aspiration of 2008.

God bless us and save us and keep us from harm.

Love, Patty