The dog woke me up licking my feet. It’s one of the most irritating things
to me. I had so many years of
babies waking me up and now we have a dog that has taken on the task. It did afford me the time as I wrestled
to go back to sleep to think about Father’s Day. I thought about my Daddy and how much I miss him but how
loved I was. I thought about Dan
and what an incredible father he is to our five kids. When you marry someone, you take so many chances. They may be nice to you and you may get
a long great while you are dating but you never know what will happen when you
merge two lives together, not to mention adding five kids in the mix!
Dan and I always had the best time. I am still not sure why we get a long
the way we do. We are not opposite
personalities. We are both babies of the families full of opinions. One of the things I have always
appreciated is our sense of humor.
We are both sarcastic and we laugh a lot. With the hectic life we created, you either laugh or
cry. One of the things I have always loved about Dan is he doesn't worry. I am sure he
does to some extent but he never obsesses about problems, or fixates on them
like I do. He doesn’t freak out in the night and stay up trying to figure
things out. He doesn’t panic on
how we are going to raise these kids and move importantly, how we are going to
feed them! He truly takes one day
at time like the Bible instructs us to.
People marvel at how we keep up with all of our
kid’s activities. I chose wisely
in picking my kid’s father! Dan
grew up in a house with two hard working parents and so that is what Dan knows
to do. He also grew up in a house
where his parents were true partners, not segregated in their typical
roles. His mom worked and his dad
did most of the cooking. It just
worked best that way.
Dan has been the hardest working father I have
ever known. He is passionately
committed to helping his kids reach their goals. He puts them first everyday. He has laid aside the things he wants and loves to do in
order to accommodate his kids and their activities. When I met Dan, he played
golf almost everyday and was really good.
He used to play golf every Friday with my Dad while he was in college. Now he will go years without playing
and never complains.
He sold
a nice car he loved dearly in order to cover the kid’s expenses for the things
they are involved in. Our vacations surround our kid’s sports. He buys them the gear they need and
rarely buys nice brands for himself anymore. The biggest shock of all is he is now a faithful grocery
shopper at Walmart because the prices are so cheap and we buy so much food. He
fixes everything, builds things and is never afraid to tackle any challenge.
I am so glad I took a chance marrying a guy
still in college. I remember
hoping he would be a hard worker when he graduated college but I had no idea
how hard he would work. This life
is much bigger and wild than we would have ever dreamed. It is filled with
individual, unique, spirited, strong, opinionated children who have known the
sacrificial love of a Daddy who would do whatever it takes to provide and
protect them.
He is not easy on
them. He makes them work hard. He doesn’t allow them to be
disrespectful. He makes them keep
their commitments and expects them to do well in school. He is always there for them and they
know above all else that he will do anything for them.
One of the most important things I believe that
Dan has taught them is how to love their mother. I heard a sermon recently about Deborah in the Bible who was
a Judge. She was a leader but was
also a wife. Sometimes people act like you can’t do both. There are still so many men in the world
that resist women leaders. They
may not say it because it’s not politically correct anymore but they make it
clear they would rather work with men and have the women just make their
coffee. They have the attitude
like they are forced to tolerate the women leaders in their life. 
Dan has fostered an environment in our
home where he celebrates my leadership, believes in me, listens to me and
cheers me on. When I was asked to be the Chairman of Board and was nervous
about it, Dan is the one despite our ridiculous schedule encouraged me to do
it. Dan is the one who pushed me
to take a new leadership role last year knowing it would be time consuming and
difficult for our whole family.
Dan is the one that on a crazy busy weekend of multiple kid activities
thought I should officiate a wedding and was willing to help me manage all the
kids to make it possible.
My prayer is that my girls will never marry a
man that doesn’t believe in their leadership and who supports the call of God
on their life. My prayer for
my boys is that they will love their wives like they have watched their Dad do
and never limit them or diminish their gifts and talents.
Dan has taught them love and devotion
in marriage and in our society that is probably the best gift of all for my
children. Oh and he has also shown
them how important it is to hone your coffee making skills. He has made me coffee almost everyday
for 21 years even though he doesn’t drink it. Now that is true love!
I am so thankful that Dan is the father of our five incredible
kids. When I found out I was
pregnant for the fifth time, someone told me that God trusted Dan and I enough
to allow us to raise and train up five kids. I can see now that Dan was truly the man for the job and I
am forever grateful! Happy
Father’s Day Dan!