Happy Father's Day, Dad!

It's Father's Day. Another one of those days, I just get to sit and think about how lucky I am.

And I am.

I got two parents that love each other, and have loved my sister and I our whole lives. That's pretty special. And almost rare these days. Like the mother's day blog, this one has been a little tricky to come up with. It's hard when you're just used to loving your parents your whole life. You don't ever really have to think about why. It's just a fact. I learned through these two blogs, that I take them both for granted - and don't think nearly enough about just how and why they are so special. More so than all the other parents out there :).

But like my mom, I also subconsciously learned a lot from my dad. He's a pretty funny guy. He has an incessant need to go to walmart on a daily basis. He's Italian, so he's loud. And the more people around, the louder he gets, and the more his hands move. Talk radio is his best friend. I think he has 74 drills, and always wants a new one for Christmas. He loves God, something I never knew was so valuable to watch growing up. And he would give anyone anything - on the spot.


Do you know people that when they say they'll pray for you, you instantly feel better. Like God can hear their prayers better than the rest of the world? Like He likes them better, so He'll listen more closely? I know that's not true - but I feel that way with my dad. He's the most Christ-like person I know, and I didn't know how much of a blessing that was until later in life. He used to read the Bible with us growing up, he prayed before every meal, and I'd watch him give our stuff away if someone needed it more. All of those things got on my nerves growing up. I would have rather watched TV, just let me eat my food already, and, "Um, that's ours." But what's funny is... it all stuck. Funny how that happens. Kyle and I read our Bibles. We pray before meals. And I love giving stuff away, almost to a fault. And I learned it all from my dad. In a world where kids learn a lot of bad habits from their dads, I'm lucky to have picked up some pretty good ones.

With my mother's day blog, I could parallel how I want to mother Leah based on how she raised us. With this one, I'm not going to be a dad - but I married one - and sometimes it just freaks me out who I married. My 16 year old self would have swore I would not "marry my dad" as they say. But do you know what I've learned in the past year? I totally have. And my 16 year old self would roll her eyes at me for saying this, but I'm completely okay with it. I was raised by a guy that loved God and was never ashamed or scared to talk about it. I married the same guy. I was raised by a guy that was the spiritual leader in our family. And low and behold, I've learned I married the same guy. I was raised by a guy that probably would have had a lot of fun raising a boy, but loved his girls more than anything. And I've already learned I married the same guy. I was raised by a guy who made me feel safe and secure, happy, and like I would always be taken care of. And that's exactly who I married.

My 16 year old self is covering her ears by this point, but I am so excited that Leah gets a dad like my dad. They're not identical, but they've got all the important stuff in common. She's a lucky little girl. She gets to meet not only her dad whom she will fall in love with, but as her cousins can attest to - she gets to soon meet her grandpa whom she will fall in love with. Hopefully, she will pick up on what a wonderful example he is and consider herself very lucky!

Thanks for giving me everything that mattered, Dad! Happy Father's Day - I love you!!