Father's Day

Warning: Long and slightly sentimental post ahead:)

I think my life is better because of the men that have played "father figures" in it. Not only was I so blessed to have an amazing father of my own, but my husband was raised by an exceptional father, and my own hubby is truly a wonderful Dad, so I wanted to give a brief shout out to them. Here are some things that I love about them, and some pics to enjoy.

My Dad:

I have to admit, I think I have always been a Daddy's girl at heart, and my dad is just the greatest! My sisters and I always say that my Dad was the perfect Dad for raising girls. He was hard and firm when he needed to be, but tender and loving with us, and seriously the man has more patience then anyone I know, he would have to be living with a house full of 7 crazy women! My Dad taught me to work hard, and not be afraid to take on tasks. We didn't have brothers so we were expected to do everything that boys could do without any complaining i.e., mow the lawn and other yard work, shovel snow, paint the house, move things that were hard and heavy (he taught us how to work together to get a job done) and my favorite..... home improvement projects. We hung sheet rock, sanded walls, and re-roofed our house with our Dad, and when people would volunteer to help us he would say, "I've got my girls to do it!" ( we would've liked the help!) My Dad taught me to be honest, and to be Christ-like and non-judgemental, and more than anything to have a sense of humor about life and know that everything will work out for the best. I remember multiple talks where I would be crying to him about what was going on in my life and he always gave me the best advice! He still does give great advice actually, and he still worries about us and wants to help us, most times I can call him if I need help and he will drop what he is doing and come to my rescue.

I also love the fact that my Dad works close by to where we live so he will stop by and check in with us during the week while I'm at home with the kids. He has a special knock and when he knocks on the door with his special knock Abby squeals and says "Papa!" My Dad is a total sucker for his grandkids too, and will pretty much give them whatever they want, here in this picture Abby wanted to be pushed on the swings which she always wants help with, and my nice Dad went out and pushed her for awhile until it got too hot. I love you Dad, thanks for everything!

Jake's Dad:

The best thing about Scott is he is always happy. He is very personable and easy to talk to. When he sees me he always says, "How's my favorite gal today?" or "Has anyone told you that they love you today?" He is always up for a fun night of hanging out with us, and he always makes us laugh. We love to go camping with him, and I think it's great that Jake and his Dad share a love of the outdoors together. Scott is a very hard worker and taught Jake that if he wanted something, he had to work for it. He taught Jake how to lay concrete and restore 3-wheelers so that he could earn money for his own 3 wheeler and other things he wanted while growing up. They worked hard together and played hard together.

According to Jake his Dad was the perfect Dad for him because he let Jake know what was expected of him, and gave him the freedom to make choices for himself. One time when Jake was younger he snuck out of the house to be with his friends, and when he got back home there was a note on his bed with the simple quote, "The measure of a man is defined by what he does when he thinks no one is looking." I am grateful for the things my husband learned from his father, and for how kind Scott has been to me. One of the nicest things he always says to me is, "I'm so glad you married my son." What he doesn't know is I am just as glad I married into a great family!

My Hubby:

I know that this post will be embarrassing for my husband to read but I want to write down some of my favorite things about him, especially how he is as a father. I always knew Jake would be a good Dad even before we had kids because he was always willing to take the time to play with my nieces and nephews. His favorite thing to teach them was "Who's your favorite?" and they would enthusiastically reply, "Uncle Jake!" Lately my favorite thing has been just watching Jake interact with our kids. Even though Tate is small he still tries to interact and talk to him and get great smiles out of him and then Tate will kick like crazy and coo at him.

Of course Abby is a big fan of her Daddy, so I am pretty low on the priority list with her and whenever she wakes up in the middle of the night and is crying, the first thing she says is, "I snuggle Daddy." She gets so excited when she hears his truck pull up or when she hears the garage door because she knows he's home, she squeals and puts her hands up to her face and yells, "My Daddy's home!" One of Abby's favorite things is to have Jake tell her bedtime stories which is good because I am really lame in that department. He sits on her bed and tells her the Three Bears or Three Little Pigs and does funny voices and actions with her. Whenever Jake goes outside to work in the garage or mow the lawn Abby has to be with her Dad, like his little shadow.

Jake loves to have fun and is so optimistic about life. I am grateful for the help he gives me as a parent, how hard he works for our family, and for the good example he is. I love you Jake, Happy Father's Day!