Father's Day 2013

I am so blessed to have so many wonderful men, 

not just fathers, but men, in my life who are strong role models.

For starters, my grandfathers.

This is my papaw, my mom's dad.  He loved God, and he and my Granny loved each other and their family so much.  Their love for each other and for all of us could be seen in everything they did.  I loved the big family gatherings for every holiday, or even just because.  I miss them both so much.  My Papaw's love and respect for my Granny is something that I will always remember.  He worked hard and taught not only his children, but his grandchildren to work hard for what we want.

This is my grandaddy with my daddy.  He died when I was fifteen, and had been sick for many years before.  I remember his smile and his unconditional love, though.  Even though I may not have known him as well as I would have liked, I respect him deeply.  He and my Grandma taught my dad how to love unconditionally.  He worked hard to provide for his family, and he also taught my dad this same work ethic.

My Daddy.  

The most God loving, caring, genuine, hard working, loving, respectable man you will find.  I knew I had a wonderful daddy, but in the days after he died, I think the depth of his presence on this earth hit me.  I knew people loved him, I knew he was hard working, caring, kind, and generous.  To hear people talk about the generosity of this man astounded me, though.  He was quiet and humble to the end.  We will never know all he did for his family, friends, and even strangers. 

My dad taught me how I should be treated.  Even though I messed up the first time around (if you've known me a while ou know what I mean!) I got it right the second time around.  He taught me that I should be treated with respect, that whoever I spent the rest of my life with, that I should be his world.  My mom, sister, and I were his world until the day he died.  My husband is always talking about how hard it is to live up to him and how great he was, and he is right.  

Daddy loved his family tremendously and you could see it in his face when he was around all of us.

My Husband

Like I said, I got it right this time.  This man was sent to me by God, I have no doubt.  He puts God first.  He loves me and our children with his whole being.  He would die for us.  He works hard for us, loves us, cares for us, takes care of us.  I am spoiled by this man.

Everything he does, he does with us in mind.

While I may have known the love of a man and his daughter, it is amazing to me to see the love of a man for his children.  He is the best daddy I could have asked for.  Both Wheeler and Caroline light up when he walks in the room.

If my mom did anything right (and she actually did a whole lot right, but to me, this one is kind of important) she made sure there were Godly men in our lives.  

I also believe this man was sent to us by God.

My Stepfather

It's easy to see why my mom fell in love with him.  He works hard, loves God, and loves his family.

He puts God first.  He loves my mom unconditionally.  

He has treated Kelli and I as his own since we met him.  

And these babies love him!!  And he loves them.  

We are so blessed to have him in our lives.  He takes care of all of us.  

Father's Day has been kind of hard for me over the past several years.  I decided this year I wanted to spend some time reflecting on some of the wonderful men in my life.  These are only a handful of those  men who mean the world to me.  I also have some of the best uncles and cousins a girl could have!  God truly blessed me and for that I am eternally grateful.

Psalms 103:13

“As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.”  (NIV)

Proverbs 22:6

“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” (NIV)

Joshua 1:9

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."