Two of the Best

The above picture was taken quite awhile ago. I have no idea when, but I look to be about 10(ish). I will always remember this Father's Day for some reason. So much so that whenever someone mentions Father's Day, I immediately remember this morning.
All of us kids were so excited to wake dad up that morning.
We painstakingly made the breakfast and the signs, the king's crown, everything! We even made little coupon books where he could cash in chores and what not. We decorated his bed while he was asleep and finally when everything was ready, we triumphantly marched into his bedroom and woke him up. We were so proud of ourselves!

I really must say, I have the best father in the world.

I know, I know, so many of you reading this would try and argue with me, but I'm just telling you. You're wrong. My dad wins.

Now to qualify my statement :)

He didn't have the best example of a loving father growing up. Actually he didn't really have an example of a father at all.
My grandfather when he decided to divorce my grandmother, sat down his 3 sons -- I think my dad was around 10 or 12 at the time -- and told them in no uncertain terms, "You are part of my past, I don't want anything to do with you in my future."
Now I won't speak against him as later on, my father had a chance to reconcile with him to an extent, but throughout his entire childhood, the only example he had of a dad was an alcoholic who abandoned him at an early age.
Thankfully the story didn't end there. My dad met and fell in love with Jesus when he was 16 and it totally transformed who he was. He always says he learned how to be a Father by reading about the Father Heart of God. I'm always in awe of that, but so thankful you see because in any way that I may have trouble understanding the love of God, I never grappled with the understanding of the Father Heart of God because I saw it in my own dad. To see God as a loving father came so naturally to me that I never questioned it. What a gift.
I'm not saying he has been perfect all these years and that he hasn't made parenting mistakes and he has never hurt my feelings. Let's be real here. ;-) But what is most important is that he always recognizes and then comes back to us kids in complete humility and makes it right. I just really love my dad. He is in all reality one of my best friends and one of the first persons I go to when I either need advice or need to tell something exciting to.
We can also thank my overly inflated self confidence to him as well. From the time I was little he was telling me that I could do anything that I set my mind to. You know that song, "When she was 3 years old on her daddy's knee, he said you can be anything you want to be." Yeah, that was me, and I'm serious. When I was 6 years old and I would say, "Dad I'm going to be a vetrenarian" he would get all excited and start telling me, "Oh Desi that's great! You would be an amazing Vetranarian. You love animals and you are smart. You aren't afraid of things and you have a great way with animals. You would be an amazing vet. You would easily excel to being one of the top vets in the whole country." The next week it was a lawyer. "Oh Desi, you would make an incredible lawyer. You love to read, you love to write, you love to talk. You have the brains for it. I could easily see you in front of a judge giving your arguments. You would make an AMAZING lawyer. There wouldn't be a law firm in the country that wouldn't want you to work for them. Or better yet, you could own your own law firm!" Then the next week I wanted to be a writer, "Desi, you have such a gift for writing. You could be a best selling author by the time you were 16 if you put your mind to it. You have such a talent. I would read anything you wrote and I know thousands of people would to. You can do it Desi! Go for it!"
You think I'm exaggerating, but I'm not. My dad always encouraged us and made us feel that we were the most beautiful, most talented, most intelligent kids on the face of the planet. In his eyes, there was nothing that we couldn't do. It was a pretty great way to grow up.
I am so grateful for my father. For the way that he loves his wife, the way that he loves the Lord, the way that he loves his grandkids and the way that he loves us kiddos.
It's so hard being thousands of miles and a few time zones away from each other, but our hearts are connected. That's more than most fathers/kids can say. I hope you have a great day dad!

And Jon... my Jon-Boy.
You amaze me every day. You have no idea what it does to my heart to see you reading a Barbie book to Lyric, or when I come in and you and Shiloh are asleep on the couch together. I love to watch you love your kids.

I always wonder how moms function with husbands who tend to think that anything to do with helping with the kids is the "mom's job" and working is the "dad's job". You are always quick to help out and pitch in when you can and that is such a tremendous blessing to me.
Thank you for reminding me day in and day out why I married you. It's because you are an incredible, amazing man who loves the Lord and loves us with ALL your heart. You would sacrifice everything to see us happy and that is what a true dad and husband is all about.

Thank you for always providing for us. Thank you for working so hard so I can stay home with our kids. Thank you for loving me despite our mutual stubborness. Thank you for everything you do to make our family what it is. I truly do fall more in love with you every day and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you were made for me.
I love you Jonathan!

So HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to the two most amazing dad's on the planet!