Sunday, June 15, 2008

Shout Out to Dads!

In honor of Father's Day, I wanted to extol my praise to some of the amazing men who have helped and shaped me, and been amazing fathers:

My Grandpa High always took us fishing and can fix anything! He fought in WWII and loves to tell us his heroic stories. He also has quite a sense of humor. My dad was in trouble with the law when he was around 14 for driving a tractor without a red sign on it. My grandpa told the judge, "If you can't see the tractor, how can you see the red sign?" When the judge was unconvinced and about to fine my grandpa, he said, "Why are you fining me? Ron was driving the tractor!" At least, I think that is about how the story goes- what a great man!
My dad is the greatest man I know. He is the hardest worker I have ever met- EVER! He instilled in all of us the value of hard work and the value of a dollar. He always put his family first. I remember when my sister Stephanie and I were on the JV softball team in junior high, and we were NOT good (softball was definitely not our sport...). Well, my dad took off of work to come and watch us. That meant a lot to me, because it could not have been fun! He was at all of our games- and he would drive me 45 minutes one way to go to soccer practice twice a week. He did this for two years- get off work, drive home, pick me up, drive me to practice, sit in the car and read the newspaper while I practiced for two hours, and then drive me home again. What a sacrifice!!!! I always knew that he loved me and put us kids first.


As you can see from this picture, Ben's dad- Mac- is a fantastic Grandpa. He absolutely LOVES being a grandpa- every time we go visit, Mac takes Audra and walks around everywhere with her. When we found out we were pregnant, he kept saying how excited he was for a grandSON, but I think his granddaughter has completely won his heart over! Like my dad, Mac always put family first, and Ben often talks about how wonderful a dad Mac is, and I can tell by how he shows such unselfish love that it is true. Audra is a lucky girl to have Grandpa Marriott so close!
Last, but not least, is my WONDERFUL husband Ben. He was so scared when Audra was a newborn- once he thought he broke her thumb while changing her clothes because it got stuck a little bit in the shirt he was dressing her in. After that, he was always scared to change her! He had never changed a diaper before, but he was a fast learner! Within a week he was a diaper master! In the hospital after she was born, Ben was the only one who could get her to calm down- he would just hold her and rock her for hours.
What I absolutely love most about Ben, however, is that he doesn't just say he wants to be a good dad, he actually IS a good dad. While other guys go play golf on Saturdays or have video game parties until all hours of the night, Ben never wants to do those things. When I encourage him to go out and have guy time, his response is always the same, "I would rather be with you and Audra." How can anybody not LOVE that about their man?

As you can see, I truly have been blessed with some wonderful men in my life! I am so glad that Audra gets to enjoy those same blessings.

2 comments:

  1. How come Audra is calm in all of the pictures except when our dad is holding her. She is screaming! He better work on those skills when he sees her next!

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  2. Hey Christina!! I'm a blogger now, too. I found you through Jen and Travis'. Our website is http://authierfamily.blogspot.com/
    Hope you are doing well!!!

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