Dads

I am very lucky to have so many dads in my life. There's no better time to talk about dads than Father's Day... or a few days before Father's Day. :) Here's a little about these dads: This is my dad, Todd. He and my mom were very young when they married, and were young when their marriage ended. Although things did not work out between them, they were blessed with two of the most astoundingly good looking children ever born. Really, it's true. You should see them. ;)

Growing up with a dad far away in the Army was hard. He moved around quite a bit, and spent a year in Korea. My brother and I would spend every summer and every other Christmas with him. When I was 12 my dad made a great sacrifice, and resigned from the Army to move closer to my brother and myself. Being a pre-teen, I wasn't as grateful for his sacrifice as I should have been. He lived in Ogden for 4 years, then was accepted to medical school and rejoined the Army. I really wish I would have taken advantage of my dad being so close because my brother and I were older, and we never went back to the old visitation schedule.

Although we have had our struggles, I am grateful for my dad. He has sacrificed A LOT to get where he is today. This week he is graduating from his Radiology residency, and will be moving to El Paso, Texas. I admire my dad for his strength in adversity. Our family has experienced some horrific things over the past few years, and we have all emerged a little stronger- especially my dad. I love him, and I am so lucky to have him in my life.

This is my other dad, Dave. He is a very special guy. He fell in love with a beautiful woman (with the most astoundingly good looking children ever) and decided to move her from the lush, green corn fields of Iowa, to the rolling mountains of Idaho. They were married in the Temple, and he accepted her kids as his own, no questions asked. They were NEVER referred to as "step-kids" (they were too little to understand such a word) and didn't like it when others used that word either.

He has made a lot of sacrifices for us along the way. He was always a good example to us, and taught us to be respectful to others. Some of my most fond memories are times when he would take me along on jobs he was doing. I remember riding with him when he was driving a truck during the sugar beet harvest when I was young, and when I was a teenager he took me to help load backhoes and trackhoes onto trailers. He even let me drive a dump truck. How cool is that? I think I used that little gem on Manuel to impress him. (I think it worked too! He married me, didn't he?!)

I have learned that not every kid from a divorced family is as lucky as I am. Most of the time second dads are horrible, and mistreat the children, or never bond with them and make sure they feel loved. I never had to worry about that. I always knew I was loved and cared for. Although he doesn't always know the right thing to say, or frustrates us at times, I am grateful for him. I know that Heavenly Father was mindful of our needs when He sent this crazy guy to us. :)


Now this last dad obviously is not MY dad. He is however, the father of my children. I knew that Manuel would be a good father from watching him with nieces and nephews, but I never knew just HOW great he would be. He is patient and loving, and totally devoted to our crazy kiddos. Some dads are just kind of there- they show up for family dinner, then disappear into a room until bedtime. Not Manuel. Any free moment he has is spent playing with the boys. My most favorite moments are when Manuel is trying to work on his Bug and Sam and Mateo are outside "helping" him. It seriously almost brings me to tears sometimes. I know it is frustrating to him, especially when tools or parts are lost, but it means so much to the boys to spend time with their daddy.

Manuel has been gone quite a bit lately. There was a pretty bad oil spill in Salt Lake last Saturday, and he has worked every single day since then assisting with the clean up. He has been working nights, so we don't get to see him very much at all. It seems to be easier when he's out of town because he's gone and we know he's gone. It is a lot harder to have him home, but "gone" because the poor guy needs to sleep. I think I have missed him more the past 6 days than I do when he's out of town!

I am SO lucky to have him as my husband, and SO smart for choosing him to be the father of my children!:) I really couldn't have asked for a better husband. He makes life pretty wonderful!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!