Daddy's Girl

First of all, I want to say Happy Father's Day!

Today is a day to honor our fathers and remember all that they have done for us. And I most certainly have reminisced over the times I've spent with my dad and the things he has done for me all my life. Let me just start by saying that my dad is the greatest! I'm not biased; he really is!

Growing up, I remember he was always good about playing with my sisters and me. He would come home from work and drop everything just to lay on the floor and let us crawl all over him. When I was a baby, he would carry me in a backpack rider thing on his back while he worked int he garden. I learned to sing because he taught me. He taught me to ride my bike, to respect my mother, to love my sisters, to pray for the lost, and most importantly, to love my Savior. The night I accepted Christ when I was 7 years old, I remember him leading me in the prayer. Then he baptized me in the ocean in the Philippines. He took me to the mountains to hand out rice to the poor; he set the perfect example of what a Christian should look like: the way he lived sacrificially and the way he served.

He was also a very FUN dad! He still is! I love be around him and watch him play with my kids. He becomes a kid himself. Growing up, he was always very good about taking us places. We went to the Philippine Eagle Sanctuary plenty of times, the swimming pool almost every weekend, and on furloughs back in the States, he took us to the movies (something we didn't get to "experience" overseas), to Six Flags, to Hurricane Harbor and many other fun places. I remember one furlough when we flew into Los Angeles, CA, we took a big family vacation. I was 14. We went to Disneyland and Universal Studios and stayed in an awesome hotel! Then we rented a car and drove from LA to Texas and stopped in Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam, and the Grand Canyon. And I remember one morning while we were at the Grand Canyon, he and I got up early to watch the sunrise. It was FREEZING cold, but well worth it. The sunrise was beautiful. The colors of the canyon were amazing. I will never forget spending that time with my dad.

When Jim asked his blessing to marry me, I'm sure he gave him a hard time. I'm the oldest, but he said yes. And that was one of the greatest gifts he could've given me. His blessing. And I remember how handsome my dad looked at my wedding and the song that he sang. And when I gave birth to my first baby, his first grandbaby (and only granddaughter for now), I'd never seen a bigger smile on his face when he saw her for the first time.

Dad, I love you and cherish every moment I have with you. You are the best dad anyone could ever ask for. Thank you for loving Mom the way that you do, for loving me and the girls so unconditionally, and most importantly, for teaching me to love Jesus.

And to my husband, Jim, I love you and I am so grateful for the father that you are to our children. Your love for them shows in all that you do and I am so proud to call you my husband. You mean the world to me.

"Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a daddy."