Sunday, June 23, 2013
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Happy Father's Day, "Big Raleigh"
Mimi and Grandpa with Beau, Palmer and cousin Grey!
Happy Father's Day "Big Raleigh!" We hope you had a great day! I'm glad the fires are contained and you didn't have to spend the day evacuating!
Thank you for treating me like a daughter and for loving our boys so much! You will be the grandpa at kindergarten graduations and t-ball games (or maybe chess tournaments or spelling bees....who knows...) and Beau and Palmer will be so lucky to have you there. You are a wonderful grandfather and I am blessed to have you as my father-in-law. People are still telling my mom how they were impacted by your message at my dad's celebration of life service. What a blessing for so many to hear the gospel during the service. Many people have mentioned that they really enjoyed your "informal"and "relaxed" delivery style.
Thanks for raising such a great son! Little Raleigh is an amazing husband and father and I am so blessed to call him mine.
Happy Father's Day Big Raleigh!
Friday, June 14, 2013
Happy Father's Day, Raleigh!
Wow! Where do I begin? You have been my rock the last 7+ years, but especially since becoming a dad!
It makes me think of the Brad Paisley lyrics, "...I thought I loved you then..." I thought I loved you a lot when we got married, but my love for you has grown exponentially now that we are parents. You are one amazing dad to Beau and Palmer.
When Beau joined our family, our hearts were opened to a new type of love that we had not known. The love for a child is something special. Beau loves you so much and I love watching him mimic you. He loves to "help" you do anything and everything, as long as you are together. I definitely think Beau's love language is proximity! Ha! He loves to wrestle with you, "do work" at your desk, exercise together, help you shave, help you grill the meat, and so much more. When he helps me cook, he always tries to put the kitchen dish towel over his shoulder...just like you. Oh, and the jeep! We can't forget that! Beau sure does love your jeep and Alabama football! He was meant to be your son for sure!
Raleigh, you are completely selfless with your time! You have two full time jobs...your job that pays the bills and your job as a dad! You go to work everyday and when you get home, your next shift starts! Ha! The second you get home, you are ready to play with Beau, help with Palmer, and do whatever needs to be done to keep things rolling! I think that after 7 years, we still make a great team! You jump right in and are a hands-on dad! I hope I tell you this everyday, but I appreciate you!
When we first discussed adding to the family, you wondered if we could love another child as much as we love Beau. Well I think we both have discovered that our love just grew when Palmer arrived. He joined our family in a different way, but his arrival was equally as special. We prayed both boys here and they both made grand entrances!
I can already see so much of you in Palmer and Beau! They are so blessed to have YOU as their dad! Dads are special people that have a lasting impact in the lives of their children. The impact you are having in their lives will leave a legacy of love that they can pass down to their children.
Raleigh, Happy Father's Day!! Now more than ever, I know how precious our time together is and I do not take one hour of the day for granted! The memories we are making as a family are priceless! Whether it is a night at home or a family adventure out on the town, you make life fun!
Happy Father's Day to You!
Happy Father's Day Weekend!
Happy Father's Day! I bet it is a big party in Heaven! I can't believe that I haven't heard your sweet voice in almost 2 months. The other day I tried to send you a text! It was a picture of Palmer! You would really love him so much, just like you loved Beau! Well, I think you still love them, just in a different way now. Maybe now that you are in Heaven you love them even more because love in Heaven is a perfect love that we can't even comprehend while we are still here on Earth. I miss you so much, but especially this weekend.
If I could call you, I would tell you that the sod in the backyard is doing really well. If we watered our yard, it would look even better! Oh, and you know how you always said we should get our soil tested? Well, we are finally doing it so that we will know what type of fertilizer to use.
Remember how we tried to sell the house to be closer to you and mom? Well, we'd obviously still love to live closer to mom, but the blessing in being here is that I have lots of sweet memories in this home with you. And it is extra special since you found this house! The last time you were here was in December and it was the day we found out that Palmer was a boy at our 20 week ultrasound. What a great day that was!
Oh and I know you would love to know all about Beau. He will be three this month! He talks about you all the time and I tell him that you get to live with Jesus now. I know that since it is hot outside, you would tell me to try to get Beau to wear sunglasses and hat. Well, I sure do try, but he just refuses! Ha! Maybe one day! He loves the swing set you gave him last year for his birthday. He plays on it everyday and even learned to pull himself up on the trapeze. And he still has the two old iphones you gave him. He loves to look at all the pictures!
And Palmer has your sweet disposition. He really is a joyful newborn. He is two months old today and he is doing great. Thanks for fighting so hard to make it until he was born. The pictures of you and Palmer are priceless and I will cherish them forever. I'm so glad Palmer will have them as he grows up.
Oh, the other day a teenage boy came to the door selling packets of coffee. I asked if it was a fundraiser, but it was his summer job. He was really polite and was working hard to earn a little money. I bought the coffee, because I knew you would have. You were always quick to help others.
I was thinking about how much time you sacrificed doing things that I enjoyed, even though it probably wasn't very fun for you. I mean when I was a cheerleader you and mom spent every single Friday night at the football field and multiple nights a week in gyms during basketball season. I'm sure that sometimes you wanted to just be at home or go out with mom. But I also know you loved being a dad, so you probably didn't mind too much. And you watched the movies Father of the Bride and Sister Act countless times with me, when you really preferred "shoot em up" movies.
Everything I know about being a good parent, I learned from you and mom. Thanks for setting such a good example.
I am so thankful that God gave us the gift of 30 beautiful years together! I wish we had 30 more, but until we are together again I will cherish the 30 years of memories. And if you could, just give me a little sign that we will still know each other in Heaven. I love you, dad! You are the best!
Enjoying yogurt at Sweet CeCe's in Franklin.
Getting ready to explore the beach.
The surprise party you threw mom for her 50th birthday was awesome!