With the lovely ladies at Like Mother, Like Daughter
For today's {pretty, happy, funny, real} I am celebrating this guy:
The guy who is 50% responsible for my existence = my Dad!
{pretty}
Rose (who lives in Chicago) and I were visiting home for some friends' wedding. He felt bad for missing the family time, so he sent us b-e-a-utiful bouquets of flowers!! Two bouquets unexpectedly arrived about 11 AM on Saturday.
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| Hiii Daaad!!!! (FYI: Grace is wearing an apron that says his name on it; thus, her pose) |
We snapped the above picture with the iPad and sent it to Dad, to let him know how very grateful we were for his gift and, more importantly, his sweet thoughtfulness. Mom is holding her bouquet and Helen is holding the bouquet sent to the daughters.
It is said that the best gift a father can give his children is to love their mother. This is one thing I love, and respect, about my Dad. He is not the perfect man, but he strives for sanctity and he takes his roles as husband and father seriously.
Left: Moments after shoving cake in my Mom's face on their wedding day (1985).
Mom has seven brothers so she fends for herself pretty well.
Right: Twenty-five years later (2010), at a surprise party their eight kids threw for them
I grew up with a father who regularly brought home flowers for my mom--often for no reason other than "just because" (for instance: with Saturday's bouquet for Mom came a note inscribed with only numbers...of the date that Dad first told Mom that he loved her). He gives Mom a big hug and kiss whenever he comes home from work, as well as before he leaves the homestead to run an errand. Though he isn't the most handy guy in town (like, at all), he helps as he can around the house and is quick to hire-out a job if none of us can't fix it because he respects and supports Mom's work as a homemaker. If there is a crisis, he and my mom are a united front in meeting it. (which stunk when it came to punishing one of us...but I digress)
It is Dad's faithfulness in doing little things like this that have gone a long way in teaching us, his daughters, the value of our femininity. He also gets each of his daughters a bouquet of flowers on our birthday and other special occasions. He loves going to the annual "Daddy-Daughter" dance. He has high standards for us, but doesn't hesitate to tell us "great job!" or say how "beautiful!" "ravishing!" or "gorgeous!" he thinks we are (even if we don't agree with him).
{happy}
My Dad has a gift to be upbeat even when things are stressful, uncertain, or down-right lousy. Don't get me wrong, Dad is not inclined to mistake the seriousness of any situation. He just pushes on through and says, "it's going to be great!" As my mom has often said, he is the rock of the family.
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| pumping up the six of us in preparation to move 300+ miles away from everything we've ever known (again, Grace with the funny faces. the girl is talented) |
He lives life with an attitude of gratitude, knowing that if he is negatively reflecting on his life or comparing it to that of others, then he is failing to glorify God.
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| he's even in a good mood when he is strangling one of his kids |
He is especially good in the morning. I'm not sure any of his eight kids have inherited this trait. But, without fail, Dad is ready to go by about 6 AM. This comes in handy when you have a boat load of sleepy heads on your hands who need to get to school on time.
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| giving Johnny a morning pep-talk, in the high school years (more than 10 years ago at this point) |
{funny}
Dad can be a goof. |
| with baby Johnny (the first born). Dad was so totally stoked about being a father that he had seven more kids |
And he is almost always up for doing something fun with us.
My dad's "secret weapon" is that he will surprise you by tickling you in the ribs when you don't expect it. Or tickling your feet as you are glued to the television. Yes. I am 25 years old, my dad still tickles me (the worst is when I'm sleep and he tickles my feet wake me up).
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| He's a wild and crazy guy |
{real}
In talking about how great my Dad is, it cannot not be said that my Mom deserves a round of applause for her impeccable pick of a husband, and father for her children.
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| the woman has great taste in fashion, home decor, and men |
Together, in cooperation with God, my parents have created a family that I am very grateful to be part of. While growing up, there were many times that my dad would tell us, "You'll thank me when you're older," in response to our complaining, whining, or generally believing that we were victims of Big-Bad-Dad's tough love. Most of those times, my thought would be, "You're delusional, Dad, and I look forward to proving you wrong!" Now, I can say that I was the wrong one.
Yes, Dad, you're right. I probably did deserve the 219,647 (give or take a few) groundings, chastisements, spankings, stern-talking-to's that I've received over the years. So, thank you. For absolutely everything.
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| someone being born (in case you weren't sure what this is a picture of) |
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| Rose is thrilled to be matching the other women in the family. Dan and Grace are not impressed. |
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| blue lips and stringy hair. also known as my "attractive years" |
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| Maddie is thoroughly enjoying this quality family moment |
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| Mom and Dad thought the limo was the only surprise on their 25th anniversary. Nope... |
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| we're on a boat! (that we do not own) |
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| Thanksgiving 2011. The specks you see are snowflakes, not cocaine. |
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| now that we are older, it's "the kids' turn" to grow the family. Johnny, like a true eldest child, started us off well by marrying Katie, who is an int'l rockstar. Let's hope this bodes well for the decision-making abilities of the rest of us |
Happy Father's Day, Dad!
