Father's Day

There's just something about a dad with his baby. It is a beautiful thing to see a big, strong man with such a gentle touch. Who loves and caresses, who pats and snuggles and who isn't afraid of changing messy diapers or plopping them in the tub for a good scrub down. When you find a guy like that, you grab on and don't let you. Because he's a real keeper. Now I just hope my kiddos realize how lucky they are to have him for their dad. I know I do.As I was driving to church on Sunday, I listened to Everything by Michael Buble. It perfectly captured and expressed how I feel about the father of my babies. My best friend. My husband. Life IS crazy and the only way I get through is to share it all, the good and bad, with him.

You're a falling star,
You're the get away car.
You're the line in the sand when I go too far.
You're the swimming pool, on an August day.
And you're the perfect thing to say.
And you play it coy, but it's kinda cute.
Ah, When you smile at me you know exactly what you do.
Baby don't pretend, that you don't know it's true.
Cause you can see it when I look at you.

And in this crazy life,
and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you,
You make me sing.
You're every line,
you're every word,
you're everything.

You're a carousel,
you're a wishing well,
And you light me up, when you ring my bell.
You're a mystery,
you're from outer space,
You're every minute of my everyday.

And I can't believe, uh that I'm your (girl),
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.
Whatever comes our way, ah we'll see it through,
And you know that's what our love can do.

And in this crazy life,
and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you,
You make me sing
You're every line,
you're every word,
you're everything.

Spending Father's Day 2008 with you in New Orleans was simply... PERFECT. I love you!

To my own sweet Dad. Father's Day 1980. I remember the day of this picture perfectly. My mom had purchased a shirt for him and told me countless time NOT to tell him. Just before he opened it the suspense was too much to bear and I blurted out- it's a shirt- before I could stop myself. He didn't seem fazed at all and I'm sure hugged us tight after and told us how much he loved his gift. Thinking about growing up, I remember intense wrestling matches where Greg and I would attack my dad as we proudly wore our Underoo's (Wonder Woman for me) and my dad would catch us, tickle us and quickly put one of us between his knees. We loved it, but the battle usually ended when one of us started crying. He would give us whisker kisses and was the best Atari player around. He used to pull out our loose teeth with surgical clamps and always could find the money the tooth fairy left even when we had hunted for a good ten minutes. When I was very young during sacrament meeting he would play a little game with us. He would put pretend food on our hand and then use his fingers to be a make believe spider. We would have to guess if it was a mean or nice spider. The nice ones would just eat our food softly out of our hands, but the mean ones would pinch us and disappear before we could slap at it. He taught my boys this game years ago. We used to play paper, rock, scissors while we waited for movies to start. He would always win. He never tired of riding bikes with us, strolling through the zoo, exploring a museum, gazing at the night sky, going bowling, watching movies, assisting with science fair projects, correcting our math homework, playing miniature golf, reading Childcraft books to us and spending time together when he got home from the hospital.

I always knew we were loved. Always. Love you Dad!To my father-in-law. Who has such a special bond with Rich. Who has loved and supported him and now our little family throughout the years. Who faithfully serves his family, patients and stake. And who makes all the kids feel special. Josh especially loves it when they go golfing. We love you!

The words that a father speaks to his children in the privacy of home are not heard by the world, but, as in whispering-galleries, they are clearly heard at the end and by posterity. ~Jean Paul Richter
Dad, your guiding hand on my shoulder will remain with me forever. ~Author Unknown