Thankful Thursday - Family

I've been asked a couple times now to participate in this weekly posting called Thankful Thursday. So today I'm going to join in. I can make excuses that I'm too busy but in the end those are probably the times when I should be dwelling on this the most.

So this week I want to thank the Lord for my family. My immediate family - my wonderful husband and my three beautiful children. I also want to thank the Lord for my church family.

I was just thinking a couple days ago about where I am right now in life and in my walk with the Lord. I realize some choices could have been different in my life. My husband and I met in high school and married when I was halfway through college. We moved from Washington State where we were both raised to Arizona and then from there to Northern California where we now live. When times are rough, I could always start the "what if. . ." game. But then I realize the blessing in my life are dependent on those choices I've made.

Sometimes I wonder if I had not been rebelling against God in high school, then maybe I would not be in a spiritually unequal marriage right now. Many decisions and situations in my life would be so much easier if I was married to someone with the same beliefs that I have. However, on the other side of the coin, I would not be married to the wonderfully caring husband I am married to right now. I would not have the three beautiful children I have. I would not have moved to Arizona with my husband and ended up with the company I worked for that moved me out here to Northern California. If I had not moved out here I would not have met the amazing people I now call family, my house church. That makes me wonder if I would be walking as closely with God as I am right now if it was not for some of these people and the way we "do" church.

So - today I'm thankful for my family - the people the Lord has put in my life even when my choices may have not always been the wisest. None of my choices ever surprise Him and I need to remember regardless of my past, He has a purpose for me. I'm right where I'm supposed to be right now and He has surrounded me with people I love and who love me. If that is not something to be thankful for, I don't know what is!

For more Thankful Thursdays please visit Sting my Heart.

An example to our Children

I attended a Children's Equipping Conference this weekend. During this time the Lord spoke very clearly regarding a few different issues in my life, one of which I want to share tonight.

The conference focus was on the 6-12 year old children. My daughter is six and so I was very excited about this conference. I desparately want to see my children know the Lord, but I don't want it to be forced on them and I want it to be real. However, I went into this weekend with expectations as to how my daughter would react and interact with others. If you had asked me prior to the first night, I would have denied it, but looking back I now realize I did have them.

At one point I was actually getting angry and frustrated because instead of going up with the other children during worship, she was sitting in her seat and actually fell asleep at one point. Then all of a sudden it hit me, God spoke to me. Not in an audible voice, but it was Him nevertheless.

"Let it go, my daughter. She is in my hands and I'm drawing her to me. The seeds are being planted even if you can not see it."

This was Friday night. On Saturday the speakers addressed specifically the issue of parents letting go. But that is not all God said to me. I have a bit of a control issue that the Lord is revealing to me. I've known it for awhile now, but He is showing me how deep it runs. So in my normal fashion, I figured I knew better than Him and started to argue.

"But God, she's not even trying. She's falling asleep! How can seeds be planted when she is not even awake?"

That's when He really struck deep.

"How will she know how to seek me, if she does not see it modeled for her? Let it go and just seek me yourself. That is all I require of you. I will do the rest. Let it go."

That brought me to my knees. My responsibility as a parent is to show my children who God is in MY life. They watch us and learn more from what we do than from what we say.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy Birthday Daddy

Saturday, April 7th is my Father's Birthday, so I'm posting a special post today in honor of this man who has had a huge role in making me who I am today. I am a daddy's girl and want my Dad to know how very much I love him and appreciate all he has done for me over the years. He has always been a comfort to me and always been there when I needed him.

In fact, when I was pregnant the first time, my husband insisted my daddy be there when I was in labor. He was not sure how well I would handle it and knew my dad was the one person who would be able to calm me down if I needed it.

Thank you daddy for everything!

In honor of your birthday, I've added a playlist to my blog with some of my favorite Father/Daugther songs. It is on my sidebar and should have started playing when you came to this page. Unfortunately, my side bar is not wide enough for it, but it does not work in the actual post so it will have to do for now. You can click on the Launch StandAlone Player button if you'd like to open a new window with just my playlist or visit Ang4him Father & Daughter's Playlist

Also, your beautiful granddaughter Tyler (a daddy's princess just like her mommy) has drawn you a special picture. Sorry about revealing your age! She is learning her number "families" and wanted to know how old you were. In case you did not know you are in the Fifty Family!

P.S. The top picture on this post is one of my favorite pictures of my Daddy & Me. It was taken at the 4th of July parade in 1975.

He Did It! Potty Time

Okay, so some of you won't care that much, but it is a huge thing for us!

Austin came to me this morning saying he had to go potty. Usually this means we'll spend the time to undress him and put him on the potty, he'll sit there for less than a minute and and say "All done!". Usually there is nothing to show for his efforts, which are usually just him scrunching up his face and trying not to smile.

Today however, he sat down and actually went poo on the toilet. After mommy praised him profusely telling him what a big boy he was, he wanted to get up and see the efforts of his work. I was wondering how that would go over because I still remember the first time Tyler saw her poo in the toilet. She started screaming!

Austin got up, turned around and looked for a second in the toilet. Then he bent down a little and mommy got ready to stop him in case he decided to pick it up. Instead he looked up at me with his big ole dimpled grin and said "Look Mommy! Austin poo'd a hot dog!"

So now I'm hoping it is just a matter of time before we have only one in diapers instead of two! We'll see.

The pictures are ones I took with my camera phone of the proud Austin after the poo'd "hot dogs".

Snow Time!

Today was Jesse's first experience with the snow. I had to work today (quarter end) so Shaun decided to take a trip to the snow with the kids. Tyler absolutely loved it and he almost had to drag her out of there. She kept looking for bigger hills to take her brand new purple sled down!

Austin just got over a cold and was not quite feeling himself yet, so he was not as excited. Shaun said he kept falling down and would cry each time. He also cried everytime any snow stuck to his gloves. However, he did say he was amazed to see the snow on the way up. Last year I took him with me to Colorado Springs and so he'd been around snow before, but he was just over a year then and I'm not sure he still remembers it. Shaun told me he fell asleep on the way up to the snow today and when he finally woke up, the snow was about 4 or 5 feet high. He said he all of a sudden heard Austin say "Ohh!" and looked back to see him staring out the window with wide eyes.

Jesse loved the snow. Shaun said he just kept grabbing handfuls of snow and stuffing it in his mouth. He said he did not even care about how cold it was and had a "death grip" on his handfuls of snow.

We've decided we need to head up to the snow more often. Next time I'll be able to make it as well and maybe Tyler will let me try out her sled.

7 Months Today

Today Jesse is 7 months old. My third blessing from God!

These were taken today with my camera phone. Enjoy

"Her children arise and call her blessed." (Proverbs 31:28)

Family

My family back home (WA State) had their family Thanksgiving dinner today and my uncle hooked some of us who could not be there on Yahoo. We were able to hear what was going on and we could see video. I grew up with all of these family get togethers with aunts & uncles, grandparents, great grandparents, cousins and the whole crew. Now I'm two states away and not able to participate except by the internet or about once a year when I'm able to make it up there. The others online were my uncle in New York and my aunt in Australia. (If you read this, it was great to hear your voices!)

Now watching it on video via the internet is a blessing and kind of sad. It makes me want to go back up there more often for these family get togethers. I wonder if everyone who was able to make it in person this year realizes how blessed they are to get to see everyone at Thanksgiving, Christmas and at our family reunion every August.

I think I took these get togethers for granted as I was growing up. I look back with fond memories now. Maybe it is that I am now older and have children of my own and I'm seeing all my cousins with spouses and children now. I wish I could have been there.

Make sure that you don't take your family and time with them for granted. It is precious!

Teaching through Scripture

Once again the Lord is using my children to speak to me. I was reading my book again today (Creative Correction) and at the end of the chapter there is a 'Toolbox'. This chapter's 'toolbox' includes scripture you can teach your children in order for them to understand what God (and you) expect of them and why we should do certain things. They are divided up by subject.

As I started reading these, ready to make mental notes of which ones I'm going to add to my children's memory verse lists, I was immediately convicted by the Lord. How can I expect to teach these things to my children if I do not model them myself? Where I tend to have the most problems with these particular ones is not a place where my children usually see me, however it is convicting.

Here are some of them that I'll be meditating on and memorizing myself in the next few days. The subjects these were listed under were Aggravating/Stirring up Strife, Anger, and Arguing.

Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins

James 1:19-20
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

Ephesians 4:26-27
In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

Notice the italics above added by me. I've heard and known this scripture for years, but this last part I've seemed to gloss over in the past. Tonight it jumped out at me. Our refusal to let go of our anger gives the devil a foothold into our lives and gives him control.

2 Timothy 2:23-24
Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguements, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.

So as I try to learn to deal with my children in a more godly way and raise them up in the ways of the Lord, the Lord Himself is raising me up in His Ways.

Discipling through Scripture

My mind tends to wander from thought to thought so that in the end I sometimes have no idea how I got from my first thought to the last thought. Last night I was reading a book called Creative Correction which I picked up on account of my middle child, Austin. He is a wonderful, loveable little boy, but also can be a handful. You see, he is adorable and knows it.

The Smith Clan - Can you guess which one is Austin?

Anyway, it was talking about how God is the perfect example of how a loving parent disciplines their children out of love. A loving parent is not too strict and demanding, but at the same time does not give in to their children. They allow them to suffer consequences for their actions.

" . . . My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as his son."

~Hebrews 12:5-6

The author (Lisa Whelchel) has explained this to her children with the example of an umbrella. The kids are standing under an umbrella which represents their parents. As long as they stay under that umbrella, mom and dad will be able to protect them from whatever rains down on them. If they step out from under mom & dad's direction (umbrella) they must suffer the consequences of what rains down, without mom and dad's protection. This is the same for us, except our umbrella is much better because it is our all knowing Father in Heaven!

The following scripture is listed in this chapter and got me to thinking about how this applies to our lives.

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

~2 Timothy 3:16-17

This got me to thinking about how God sees us as His children. Think of how you love your children and try to guide them to do what is right. God does the same for us.

I remember my mother many times telling me that no matter how old I get, I'll always be her little girl. Here I am now, almost 32 with three children of my own and she still sees me as her little girl. I am starting to understand that now with my own little ones.

This is also how God sees us. No matter how old we are or what we've accomplished in our lives, we are still God's little girls and boys. That is comforting to know. He will always be there to protect me if I stay under His umbrella. If I step out I'll have to suffer getting wet, but He'll always have room for me to step back under His umbrella!

Time Flies

Boy, it's been awhile since I've posted. Time sure flies by and I've been learning lots of things that I want to share with everyone. That is if you are still out there and have not given up on me yet!

I'll be trying to post this week (even with month end upon us!) however, for now I'll leave you with pictures of my little ones!

First, Tyler's school had a field trip to the local pumpkin farm last week and these are the pumpkins we picked out for her and Austin.


The next picture is my new favorite Superheros! Tyler loves Batman right now. Her birthday party was even a Batman theme this year. So, of course, for Halloween she chose Batgirl. From there it was an obvious choice to have Austin be Batman. He doesn't really have much of an opinion yet so I can dress him as pretty much anything I want right now. We even had him trying to hum the batman theme! (the one from the old t.v. show)

Soccer Tyler

My oldest is playing soccer now. She's been wanting to do this for over a year, ever since our visit to my parent's house last summer. My father had setup a stick in their yard and had an old volleyball that he had Tyler start kicking around the yard. She got pretty good at hitting the stick with it so we set up a goal for her to start kicking it into. He also had her kicking the ball up the hill in the back of the yard and then stopping it when it came back down.

Ever since then whenever she sees someone playing soccer she would get all excited. We ended up buying her a purple soccer ball for Christmas and she loved it! She now has a pink Disney Princess soccer ball (birthday present) and a pink and white one that she got when we bought her uniform.

She is playing this year in the Lincoln Youth Soccer league in the 5-6 age group. It is coed at this age. They do play with goalies but they do not keep score. For the most part the kids do not understand positions or offsides yet. Most of the time they can't even remember which way they are supposed to kick the ball. They are just excited to play. Alot of times one will get the ball and be so excited they just keep kicking it even once it is out of bounds. They spend alot of time getting up off the ground too. But they all have a blast and we parents have fun cheering them on!

Tyler is one of the shortest on the team, but also one of the fastest. When they run laps she is always at the head of the pack. She is actually pretty good and not afraid to get in the middle of things and get the ball, that is when she is paying attention and not playing with her hair!

We are really proud of her and enjoying watching the games! This may end up being something she decides to continue doing every year. We'll have to wait and see!

Begining to Let Go

Today I started the first step in letting go. My eldest child (my only daughter) started kindergarten. She was excited and I was excited for her, however I did not think it would be all that emotional for me.

On the first day the teacher wanted one parent to stay in the classroom for the first hour. Shaun stayed home with the boys and I took Tyler to her first day of school. As I watched her interact with the other kids and her teacher I felt that motherly pride swell my heart. No surprise there. But then all of a sudden another feeling surfaced. Quite rapidly, too! One minute I was standing there watching her answer one of the teacher's questions and the next my eyes started to well up. Mom actually almost lost it!



But I pulled myself together and finished up my hour. She is so excited and having lots of fun. Mom & Dad are very proud. My first baby is growing up!

My Monster - Monster Moose

Written for Sunday Scribblings

This is my current monster. Shaun calls him Moose because he is so stocky. He is my loveable, cuddly monster.

Why do I call him my monster? Well, Austin turns two next month (anyone who has ever had a boy that age, understands, I'm sure!) Don't get me wrong. I love him immensely and would do anything to protect him, but he is a MONSTER!!! And he knows it. Unfortunately he knows that he is a CUTE monster.

He loves to make people laugh, so when determining whether he is going to do something he knows he'll get in trouble for, he'll usually look around first to see if he thinks anyone will laugh at him. You see, for Monster Moose (aka Austin) if he can make someone laugh, the punishment is worth it!

You get so frustrated with him, but at the same time you continue to love on him because he is just so darn adorable!!

I guess he's just like his Daddy!!

Speaking of Daddy. Here is an example of our wonderful Monster. He was hitting our couch the other day and scratching it. It is leather so we really did not want Austin doing this. Daddy told him to stop and started counting to three. Austin knows daddy means business when he starts to count. At three he is in BIG TROUBLE!!!

Daddy - "One. . . Two. . ."

At this point Austin stops, looks at daddy and runs around to the back of the couch. (Now the couch is between Daddy and Austin)

"Three, daddy! Three!!" the Monster shouts as he gives the innocent couch one more slap.

At times like this we are at a loss for words or what to do next. Actually I think Daddy was pretty mad, but Mommy had to run out of the room so the Monster did not see the smirk that was creeping across her face or hear the snort that came out of her mouth as she tried not to laugh. I did not want his forthcoming punishment to be rewarded!

I Loved Her First

I'm a daddy's girl and absolutely love songs about Fathers & Daughters. One year I made my father a video with pictures of him and I from my baby pictures up to my wedding pictures and picutres of us with my first born (a girl!). I set the slideshow of pictures to the songs Butterfly Kisses and a song by Natalie Grant called Always be your Baby. My uncle helped and set it up so my wedding pictures came up at the exact time both songs were talking about weddings. It was wonderful.

Another song I love is Tough Little Boys by Gary Allen. The chorus says "When tough little boys, grow up to be dads, they turn into big babies again."

Anyway, I recently heard this a new song on the radio and have been trying to figure out who sings it. I finally figured it out. Here is the song and the words. I may post the words to some of the other songs I like sometime too. I've linked the titles above to other sites with the lyrics if you are interested.

Someday I want to make a CD for myself and daddy with all the father/daughter songs I love!

________________________________

Artist: HEARTLAND
Song Name: I LOVED HER FIRST

Look at the two of you dancing that way

Lost in the moment and each others face

So much in love you're alone in this place

Like there’s nobody else in the world

I was enough for her not long ago

I was her number one

She told me so and she still means the world to me

Just so you know

So be careful when you hold my girl

Time changes everything

Life must go on and I’m not gonna stand in your way

* * *

Chorus:

But I Loved her first

and I held her first

and a place in my heart will always be hers

From the first breath she breathed

When she first smiled at me

I knew the love of a father runs deep

and I prayed that she'd find you someday

but its still hard to give her away

I loved her first

* * *

How could that beautiful woman with you

Be the same freckle face kid that I knew

The one that I read all those fairy tales to

and tucked into bed all those nights

and I knew the first time I saw you with her

It was only a matter of time

* * *

Chorus:

But I Loved her first

and I held her first

and a place in my heart will always be hers

From the first breath she breathed

When she first smiled at me

I knew the love of a father runs deep

and I prayed that she'd find you someday

but its still hard to give her away

I loved her first

* * *

From the first breath she breathed

When she first smiled at me

I knew the love of a father runs deep

Someday you might know what I’m going through

When a miracle smiles up at you

I loved her first…

Trip to Oregon

We traveled to the Oregon coast over the 4th of July weekend. It was Shaun's grandmother's birthday on Friday so his aunt rented a house for all of us to stay in. We had 17 adults and 9 children, but the house was huge with lots of rooms. It was a lot of fun.


We took some pictures on our way up to Oregon. Shaun's cousin, Shauna took some really good pictures but I've not received copies of them yet.


Here is a picture of us driving through a redwood tree. Tyler loved this. Austin was not too sure about it. Jesse slept through it! It is a bit blurry (thanks to my superior skill at using our camera!)




We also stopped to visit Paul Bunyan and his big blue ox, Babe. Shaun got a picture of the Tyler & Austin with Babe.








Tyler did not want anything to do with Paul Bunyan, but Austin ran over to him as soon as Shaun took the picture of them with Babe. It was a bit chilly for Tyler (and Shaun) but Austin did not seem to mind any.








We also saw a lot of elk on Highway 101. Most were bulls still in velvet. Here are a couple of them. There are signs all over the place warning people to not approach the elk because they may charge. They even have a station you can tune to for "Elk News". It also warns you to stay in your vehicle and not to approach the elk. It is amazing how many people think they can just walk up to them.



I remember Shaun and I seeing people doing that when we visited Yellowstone a few years ago. We heard one guy commenting that he knew the bulls were dangerous so he was only getting near the cows. Of course the one he was approaching had a calf with with her. I'd rather approach a bull than a cow with a calf!

People never cease to amaze me!

Happy Up - Things I'm thankful for

I was visiting the Nutter's blog yesterday and he's started his Happy Up posts again and it reminded me how great it was to do this last time. So I've decided to start them again. You can say I'm justing copying him if you want, but I guess if I'm going to copy someone on something, this would be a good one!

Happy Up - First thing is the Happy Up posts. When I start doing this it just makes my day! I start the day looking for those good things so I can post them and that just turns your day around. At work I've told my staff that perspective is reality. For example, you can have a tremendous workload, but if you give off the impression to management that you have time on your hands (ie. long breaks, socializing too much) it will be hard to get management to take you seroiusly when you ask for assistance with your work. Well, this can be positive too! If you start out your day looking for the good stuff, then your "reality" for the day changes dramatically.

Healthy Baby - My two oldest children have been sick recently with a fever. No other symptoms, just a high fever. They are both over it now, but my 7 week old ended up with a 102.8 fever on Sunday night. My husband spent the day with him at the children's hospital on Monday. Because he is so young they wanted to do a bunch of test to ensure it was the same virus my other children had. They took multiple blood samples and even a spinal tap. I'm thankful, it was my husband who went instead of my (sorry, honey!) because I was almost in tears just hearing about what they did. But in the end, it has been confirmed it is just a virus. My baby is a bit sore from all the poking and prodding, but he is healthy!

Sunrise - This morning I was up early because I had to travel to one of our other offices a couple hours away. As I left this morning I noticed the beautiful sunrise. It was just over the horizon and was a huge circle of an almost fushia color. Absolutely beautiful! Makes getting up early not bad at all!

My Job - Since I've returned from maternity leave my job responsiblities have changed. I no longer supervise other employees. I am now only responsible for myself. I still work closely with others in my department on process improvements, projects and audits, however I am only responsible for the projects, not the individuals. It is amazing how much more I've accomplished this last week and a half since I've returned and how much more I enjoy my work!

Starbucks - okay, so I'm a coffee junkie! That is what happens when you grow up in Washington State with parents who have a coffee machine that is on from the moment they get up until the moment they go to bed. I met two other co-workers today on my way to our other office at a Starbucks and while waiting for them treated myself to a Venti decaf nonfat iced White Mocha. Yummy!

Meetings ending early - Our meeting at the other office today was supposed to end at 4PM, but was done by 1:30. Yeah!!!! We were able to easily beat the traffic and I was home by my normal time to see my babies and hubby! Which brings me to. . .

Family - I love having a wonderful family to come home to every night. Even on days like today when the little ones are a bit fussy, it is still wonderful to know that there are three individuals at home waiting for me and that I am their whole world to them right now! And once they are asleep and in bed for the night it is so wonderful and relaxing to watch them sleep.

Bubblebaths & Good Books - My ultimate way to relax! Nothing can beat reading a good book in a nice warm bubble bath. Add a scented candle and something yummy to snack on, and it is a perfect way to end a busy day!

Boy, just writing this has cheered me up even more than I already was. I need to remember to do this more often.

Thank you Lord for all the wonderful things you provide for me and help me to focus on those items instead on the things I dislike. If I'm going to exagerate something in my life, let it be the good!

Off to Work I Go!

This week was my first back to work since Jesse was born. And the first week officially in my new position.

Part of me dreaded going back, but part of me was excited about some of the projects I knew I would be working on. I had always known that managing others takes up a lot of your time. We used to always joke about how the only way to get your work done is to come in early or stay late when nobody else was around to ask questions or come into your office and complain. I was amazed this week though at how much I did accomplish.

One project I had been trying to get to and finish for six months before I went on maternity leave, I completed and finished the first day back at work.

I still work closely with others but I'm just not responsible for them any longer. It is amazing how much more I look forward to my days at work now. I am actually enjoying my work again!

Now the leaving the baby was not easy. This is the third time I've done this so it was a bit easier. The first day back at work our daycare was on vacation so they stayed home with daddy. That was a bit easier for me, not for him though. The next day they all went to daycare. I am fortunate to have a wonderful daycare who all the children love and consider to be part of the family. That definitely makes it easier, but a part of you still misses that little bundle sleeping in your arms!

Overall, my return to work was successful and happy.

Sleeping Babies

We just downloaded some pictures from our camera and I love these two.

Tyler feeding baby Jesse

* * *

Austin sleeping on his giant teddy bear

Sunday Scribblings - Bed

Posted for Sunday Scribblings

This week's prompt is "Bed". That's it. Whatever that word brings to mind for us is what we write about. I don't know if it's because we just had a prompt about our earliest memories a couple weeks ago or that I just finished my post for my daddy for Fathers Day, but for some reason the first thing I think of is my first real bed.

It was one of those toddler beds with the sides that go about half way down so you don't fall out. Of course those don't work all that well because as a toddler you end up turned around in your bed or curled in a ball at the end of your bed and then the rails do you no good at all. Luckily, the bed is not very high off the ground.

Mine was painted white and my mother had put nursery rhyme decals on it. The one I remember the most is the old woman in the shoe decal. I loved that bed and felt like such a big girl in it. It was later passed on to my little brother (pictured above).

I now have little ones of my own and have done the toddler bed thing with two of them now. My daughter was so excited when we brought her bed home. She had been sleeping on a mattress on the floor because she had climbed out of her crib one night before we were ready for the transition. We had thought we could at least wait until at least after her 1st birthday, but at about 11 months she climbed right out. It was a few weeks before we found a toddler bed we liked and that was affordable. The first night she was so excited, but she never quite made it into her bed. This is her asleep the first night with her new bed.

This bed has now been passed on to my son (almost 2 years old) when sissy graduated to a twin size bed.

Something else I notice looking at old pictures of my early beds is the weird positions kids sleep in. There is no way I could sleep comfortably like that now. I'd end up with my legs asleep on me and a major kink in my neck. It never ceases to amaze me how little ones sleep in such weird positions and wake up none the worse for it. Have you ever seen a child fall asleep in a car seat? If I fell asleep like that I wouldn't be able to move my head for at least a week!

This picture (along with the naked baby bathtub ones and the one of me with oranges under my shirt at about age four) are the ones that always seemed to make an appearance when mom decided to show my new boyfriends pictures. How embarrasing!

However, as you can see, I've now turned into my mother. I have one of my daughter sleeping like this too! It is just waiting for that first boy to show up at the door. Of course, I think my husband will resort to my father's tactics. He believed embarrasing me was not effective enough. Instead he would decide every gun in the house needing cleaning and would scare the poor boys! I always joke that the only reason I married my husband is because he is the only one that was not afraid of my daddy's guns! In fact, he talked to my dad more that night than he did me.

Well, I guess that is enough walking down memory lane for now. Time to return to present day reality, dirty laundry and all!

To My Daddy

Fearless. Okay, so maybe you were not always fearless, but to your little princess you always seemed to know exactly what to do and what to say. You could handle any situation and could fend off any monsters, whether they were those hiding under my bed, the boys rocking the hanging bridge when I was scared of heights or that boy who just broke my heart!

Absurd. Websters defines absurd as so unreasonable as to be ridiculous. I think this describes you quite well. You always could tell a good story and make someone laugh about anything. I loved (and still do) to listen to your stories and goofy songs. Remember Jesse’s squirrel, where can I find a rodent like that? Yes, I found it quite annoying at the time and still hear your voice singing that line whenever I happen to hear Jesse’s Girl on the radio, but it always brings a smile to my face and makes me think of all the good times when I was a still living at home with no real worries.

Tender. You were always a macho blue collar dad, but there was still a tender side to you. Of course, I was daddy’s little girl, so you always had a soft spot for me and I for you! The one memory I cherish is you brushing my hair. It did not happen very often but I loved it when it did. You were also so gentle and loving when you would brush my hair (in contrast to mom or even myself, we would get impatient with all the knots and just start pulling the brush through it!) By the way, to this day I still prefer and respect blue collar men who put in a full day’s work with their hands over a white collar man who sits behind a desk all day. Nothing against white collar men, I just like a guy that smells like sweat and grease I guess. : )

Honest. I still remember there were two things that would get us in the most trouble when we were kids. Lying and talking back. You have always been a very honest man and I’ve admired that. Because of that, this is one thing I hold in high esteem to this day. You are one of the most honest and hard-working men I’ve ever known and you’ve raised me to be the same. Thank you Daddy!

Empathetic. Anytime I was upset and needed to talk you were always there. You may not always agree with me but you would listen and let me vent. You would listen, give me advice if I wanted it and always made sure I knew I was special to you and could accomplish anything I set my mind to do. I often wanted you to solve my problems for me but you would gently push me to take charge of things myself with the knowledge that you would be there to help me. You ensured I felt totally loved and supported while developing in me an independent spirit. At the time I would sometimes get frustrated with you, but now I am grateful for what you did for me. You enabled me to become a confident and loving adult.

Respect. You taught me the definition of respect, not only for others, but for myself as well. You always respected my decisions, thoughts and emotions whether or not you necessarily agreed with them. This has enabled me over the years to disagree with others while still loving them. You may not have always been able to give my brother and I every material thing we wanted, however we were rich in that we had a father that loved us unconditionally and taught us how to stand up for ourselves and stand up for our beliefs, even in the face of opposition. That is something for which I’ll always be thankful.

This year I don’t have any material item that I’ll be sending to you in the mail, however this is my gift to you for all the world to see, Daddy. You’ve been a wonderful father to me and I will always have fond memories of my childhood as daddy’s little girl. I still am daddy’s little girl to this day. It fills me with happiness to see my own daughter have a close and loving relationship with her father as well, because I understand now as an adult how precious that is and how it will develop her into a beautiful young woman one day.

Thank you Daddy and Happy Father’s Day!!