Father's Day

There are several men in my life who make me proud to call myself their daughter in some form or fashion. Today I wanted to honor them in some small way.

The first is my own Daddy.


This is my Daddy walking me down the aisle at my rehearsal.

He isn't an overly demonstrative or overly involved dad at this stage in my life. However, I know that no matter what I need or when I call him, he'll be there as fast as he can possibly get there.
I know what it's like to do without a dad for a while. It's not something that I would ever wish on another human being. When I was 13, he was sent to Bosnia for a peacekeeping mission for about 11 months. Then, when I was 17, and a senior in high school, he was sent to Iraq for a year. He joined the National Guard when he was 18, even before he met my mom, and in the 25 years he had been in the Guard, he had never had to go anywhere besides a few weeks for training here and there. When he was sent to Bosnia, it was difficult, but there really wasn't any fighting, it was simply a peacekeeping mission. Iraq, however, was a different story. He had a very dangerous job there and my dad is the ultimate hero. He would give his life for someone else in a heartbeat, and my mom, brother, sister, and I knew that. That was probably the most difficult year of my life, and I'm still in my first year of marriage! He is one of the most wonderful men I know, and I wouldn't trade having him for anything in this world.
Growing up, I never really thought about how wonderful he was, I just knew that it was no fun at all to get in trouble with him. He would give you this look that said, you know what you did wrong, and so do I, but we're still going to talk about it and then you'll get a spanking. I hated his spankings! If you noticed, he's a big guy, so when he spanked, you knew that hand was going to hurt! But he's super gentle, and hardly ever lost his temper.
I don't know if I can ever adequately describe what a wonderful father he's been, but every year in June I always try to show him a tiny portion of how amazing he is.
I love you Daddy.

The second is my father in law. My husband and I have been married for 6 months, and we dated for 2 1/2 years before that. However, I've known my husband's family most of my life. I've always admired his dad, and he has always been a huge influence on my husband, and a reason that my husband is so amazing. I appreciate him so much, and love the man he's helped my husband turn out to be.



Here are my wonderful in-laws with my husband.


The last is my husband. We don't have any children yet, but in a few years when we do, I know how wonderful a father he'll be. I have no doubt how much he'll love our beautiful children, and how much fun he'll have with them, and the wonderful things he'll teach them. I can't wait to see that in a few years, and to be able to give him a wonderful Father's Day.




Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful men out there!