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Showing posts with label fatherhood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fatherhood. Show all posts

Sunday, June 21, 2015

The Dads in my life

It's Father's Day. 
A shout out to the best daddy in the world. 
The kids are so lucky to have you as their Dad. 
You are such a good teacher, confidant, boo-boo fixer, 
teddy bear, and role model.
You came into this daddy role so effortlessly. 
You picked the kids up in your arms and never let them go. 
You are such the coolest dad and they love you to pieces.
To my Father-In-Law, thank you for being such a wonderful example to your sons. 
You are one of the most selfless people I know and is always there to lend a helping hand. 
You have taught your son what it is to help others and work hard.
June is a hard month.  
Yes it is the start of summer and we fill the days with camps, summer fun, and sleepovers... but 
it is also a month filled with reminders of my Dad. 
June 1st was the day 4 years ago that we lost him.
June 10th was his birthday. 
And today is Father's Day.
It's left a hole in my heart. 
As much as I want to make Father's Day a special extraordinary day for my Hubby, it is reminder 
that my Dad isn't here to call, or visit, or give a hug to. 
So to all of you with a Dad close by give him an extra squeeze today.  
Spend 5 extra minutes with him on the phone asking him how his day is. 
You never know when you won't have him there beside you. 

"A good father is one of the most unsung, upraised,
unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society."
Billy Graham

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Summer is under way

Swimsuits, sunscreen, and ice cream. 
The three major staples of summer! 
We are halfway through June and I am glad to say we are enjoying our summer. 
Lots of camps, baseball/tball games, sleepovers, and activities but we have managed to carve out 
time to enjoy the summer as a family.  
We are going on our fourth camping trip this weekend.  
The kids look forward to the new adventures every weekend.  
This past weekend it was West Lake. 
This campground is only 20 minutes from our house.
We are so lucky to have so many campgrounds and scenic areas so close to our front door.  

 There were lots of trails to explore,
in the morning, in the afternoon, and even at sunset. 
 I also can't talk about camping without talking about what we 
stuff our faces with.  
We really indulged over Father's Day weekend.
I surprised Nate with homemade ice cream and that was a big hit after a 
hot Saturday afternoon.   

 I also tried my hand at loaded french fries over the fire.  
They were delicious and super easy.  
 {Foil Wrapped Loaded French Fries}
 We don't eat the whole time... we do find things to keep us busy. 
This week I pulled out some paper crafting I had bought and we put together some 
Chinese dolls.  

We had a good time and tried to pamper daddy.  
The kids were so excited to give him his gift Sunday morning.  
They got him a snow-cone maker.  
It was between a cotton candy maker or snow-cone machine, and snow-cones won out. 
We have already gotten a lot of use out of it.   
Snow-cones... a great way to stay cool! 

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Celebrating Daddy

I am so blessed. 
So blessed to have chosen the most amazing man to be a father to our children.  
Over the last 4 years, I have gotten a front seat view on how this man has developed into an exceptional father right before my eyes.  There is no better example of this than last night. 
We were all at Bubba's baseball game last night and it never fails somewhere in the middle of the game Bubba needs to go to the bathroom.  I wait outside the bathroom for the "mom, I need help" that always comes in adjusting all of his gear just right.  He is very particular.  His shirt has to be tucked in just right, and he is always concerned that his number is completely showing on the back of his shirt.  
As we are walking back to the dugout holding hands (yes he still holds my hand!), he turns to me and says "tell dad thanks for helping me learn how to hit the ball".  Right before we left for the game, Nate directly home from work in his dress clothes, was out pitching tennis balls to a nervous Bubba to help with his swing.  (he had been in a slump of hitting because he has been trying too hard and doesn't know how to line up at home plate)
So when Bubba hit his first hit that night, there was no one cheering louder than his Daddy right beside me, and our little boy went 3 for 3 last night! 
So instead of just having one day to celebrate daddy, we made it a whole weekend.  
We surprised him with a few small gifts throughout the weekend.  (mostly candy)
We let dad choose the activities and tried to let him relax as much as possible. 
(his ideal activity!!!) 
We camped at a local KOA campground with a pool.  
Bubba had a baseball game on Friday night and we have found we don't have to go far to get away.
We enjoyed the pool, even though it was really cold when you first got in.  
This girl was giving the camera smooches.  
One of the best things for the kids while camping, is the playground.  They liked the seesaws (which you don't see alot of anymore) and loved the tall metal slide which makes you go really fast.  
Mommy and Daddy even had a good time going down the slide.
There were lots of laughs as mommy and daddy zoomed down the slide and tried to gracefully land upright at the end.  
Lil Miss enjoyed her very first push up this weekend thanks to daddy and his love of sweets!  
Overall, it was a very lowkey weekend.  We didn't leave the campground the whole time and just had fun playing games.  The older kids are getting pretty good at dominoes.  It also helps with their math skills.  ;-)
We are consistently worried about the weather on our camping trips.  
So far this year, we haven't left for a campground without worries of rain.  
This weekend was no exception. It was supposed to start raining on Friday night and had the possibility of thunderstorms all day on Saturday.  It ended up being beautiful and we only had a small shower here and there.  We lucked out once again.  The sunset on Saturday night...  beautiful.   
I had told the kids to be really quiet when they woke up on Sunday morning as to not wake daddy.  
The kids idea was to make him breakfast in bed.  
They helped make the toast and fill his coffee cup and stand watch so daddy stayed sleeping and didn't come out of his room.  
Unfortunately daddy doesn't like crumbs in his bed, so he ate it out on the table with us, but it is the thought that counts.  LOL  

It was a great weekend. 
Of course, a day doesn't go by that I don't think about my own father.  
It's the little things that remind me of him. 
On Saturday, when Nate got out the baseball gloves to play pitch and catch he threw me a glove and as I put it on my hand I see my dad's name.  It was my dad's.  
What a blessed sign from him, to know that he is still there with me.  
Happy Father's Day Dad. 
Miss ya.