No, I didn't forget...

Just over a week ago was Father's Day. I was out of town, so I was not able to enjoy the songs and talks that would have been presented at Church. And I don't really need to send out a card to my own dad. I think he knows my thoughts on that. So I sort of ignored the holiday, at least on the outside. But over the last few days, I have thought a lot about my father and what he did for me and my family during his lifetime, and how his life continues to bless us all. Is it necessary for me to share this? No, but I'm going to share it anyway.

Thank you, Dad, for:

1. Marrying Mom. I'm not sure what stars had to align for you to cross paths with her, but I'm glad you did. And you wooed her with a milkshake...how appropriate. Not that she necessarily loved milkshakes, but appropriate that you thought a milkshake would make an impression. I guess it did, and she does.

2. Working. During medical school he had 3 jobs, which he juggled while he had a wife and 2 children, then 3, and a calling at church. I never felt neglected and my mother never complained about the time he spent away from the family. She knew that he was doing it for their future, and she kept the "homefires burning" while Dad was at school or work. When he was home, he always made a little time for us (or we just took it), then it was back to studying late into the night, I'm sure.

3. Laughing. My dad had a great sense of humor, and I think he passed that on to his children. We sometimes laugh at each other, and sometimes it goes too far. But mostly, we enjoy laughing. I remember a conversation I had with my dad within the last couple of years of his life. He commented that he thought we should plant some seedless grapes in the back yard. I just looked at him and said, " Now, how are we supposed to do that?" He immediately got it, and sat there laughing, silently, with his shoulders moving up and down, and a big grin on his face. He also loved the line from the movie "The Great Race" - "Leslie, ran off with a chicken?". (I'll explain it later for those who are not familiar with that movie.)

4. Loving chocolate. My dad handed this down to me. I love chocolate in most forms. One Christmas, instead of making a gingerbread house, my dad made a chocolate house. I think he was a frustrated architect, too. Anyway, he used every type of chocolate candy he could find to put that house together. I remember him carefully heating up a scalpel to cut the chocolate into the right shape, and then melt the sides a little so that they would stick together. It was a beautiful creation. Lovely to look at, lovely to smell. I don't remember if we ate it, but I'm sure there was some sneaking of little bits here and there.

5. Serving in church callings. My dad always had a calling in church. And sometimes he recruited us to help him. When he was Sunday School Superintendant (back in the olden days), he printed up nice programs and decided to attach little scripture cards in each one - a reminder to memorize or read the verse during the week. We had a system of glueing with Rubber Cement glue - another wonderful smell! We put a blob of glue on a paper and used a tongue depressor or the eraser on the end of a pencil to dab into the glue and put it on the program, then the next person would stick the card on the dab of glue. Once they were dry, we folded them, again, very efficiently. You fold about 10 papers at a time, then pull them apart and make the final crease. I learned this from dad. What does it have to do with church callings? I guess it taught me to go the extra mile.

6. Teaching me how to type. During the summer between 5th and 6th grade, my dad signed me up for a typing class at my school. Every morning, I went to school with all the other typing nerds and learned to type on a manual typewriter. I think that's worse than walking to school uphill both ways! I could never really use my little finger to type on that monster, but boy was I a happy camper when electric typewriters were invented! Anyway, without saying anything to me about how this little skill would bless my life, my dad made it possible for me to learn how to type. i wll be fOrefer geatfil.

7. Letting me go on a mission. My dad planted the seed when I was 11 years old by giving me a gift at Christmas. The gift was pocket size scriptures, and he said I would be able to use them on my mission. That seed was planted VERY deeply. Ten years later when a mission was actually becoming a reality, I called my parents very early one morning (I was living in Hawaii, they were in Dallas) to tell them I had decided to go on a mission. My dad's response? "I've know that for years, but I'm glad you finally found out." He never once hesitated to support me in that decision. I think I'd put my parents through enough anxiety, so they were relieved that I had finally decided to do something worthwile.

8. Taking me fishing. Corny, I know. I used to love to go fishing, mostly because I didn't want to be left out. I was even able to thread a worm on a hook, or stick a hook through the back of a minnow. I was a little more distressed about actually catching a fish and taking out the hook. But I did it. I even cleaned fish with my brother, Jeff. Dad told us he couldn't clean fish because he needed to protect his hands from any cuts or germs. Once I realized that the reason dad didn't clean the fish because it was really gross, I didn't clean them anymore either. In fact, I lost interest in the whole process. A worm, no matter how simple a life, I'm sure has feelings. But at least my dad indulged me in the learning process, a little. He also took me duck hunting once. I never asked again.

9. Loving the simple things in life. My dad showed me how to enjoy simple joys. We used to go camping at a little lake near Dallas. If I told my friends we were going to the lake, they would assume Lake Dallas or that other big lake east of Dallas - Lake Ray Hubbard? But no, we were at a little private, scruffy lake. At this little lake, there was an old abandoned house on the hill. I loved to walk through it and imagine the family that used to live there. I always wanted to find some artifact that would give some clue, but I never did. We also used to vacation in Mexico. Cabo, you ask? Puerto Vallarta? No. The interior. Deep, deep interior. No beaches, no stores, no nothin'. But you know what? We still had fun and I have great memories of those vacations. As a side note, my dad taught me to appreciate a good cemetary - the older the better.

10. Taking care of us all. My dad used to say "We have everything we need, and most of the things we want." I think my dad would have done anything to give us those things. When I was little, I would beg nicely for some spending money. I remember a time period right after my mission, within the first week home, when every morning, my dad would come into my room and wake me up and ask what I was going to do that day. I never had a plan, but he would always ask if I needed any money. I always said no. But he would always leave $20 on the dresser. I felt so guilty - I would never touch it until I had cleaned up the family room, or the kitchen or something, so I would feel like I deserved the money. Dad has always taken care of us ALL. Even now, we are blessed financially because of the decisions that dad made at some point in his life.

I would like to say that these words are not meant to exclude my mother in any way. Dad would be the first to admit that most of the time it was Mom who had the good idea, and I would have to agree. She quietly supported my dad in everything, never asking for recognition, or credit.

Also, this is not an complete list of reasons that I appreciate and love my dad. But you get the idea.

Ketchup!

Let's see if I can remember what's been happening over the last few weeks that I have not posted!

Since April 11th, hmmm.... Ok so I don't remember anything in April yet. The first weekend of May, though, was really fun! I came up with a plan to surprise Cathy for her birthday. I enlisted Lara to help me, and of course, she enlisted Erin and Melinda. There was a wise decision to NOT tell Rick. As wonderful as he is, there was a huge risk that he might blurt it out. I flew in on Friday afternoon, Cathy's actual birthday. Lara picked me up, and the coordinating began so that Erin would get to the house at the same time. When we got to the front door, Melinda answered and said that Cathy was on the phone...wait, wait, wait. Then we decided to all go in, kids included, and wait inside. Erin had made a beautiful cake and the kids were going to sing Happy Birthday. I waited on the stairs, just below the wall to the TV/bedroom level. When they got to the ending, I jumped up and sang with them. I think I am safe to say the Cathy was indeed surprised! Speaking from experience, it is very disorienting to be surprised. We visited for a few minutes, then Lara and Erin left to take the kids home so all the girls could go out for dinner. Part of the perfect plan is that Rick was out of town, so he didn't have to deal with all the chaos.

That weekend was all about the "food". We went to Earll's on Friday night which is always delicious, then back to the house for a visit. We are not a "party" bunch. The next morning Cathy and I went to Eau Claire downtown to our favorite little breakfast place. I've probably posted about it before cause I'm having a little deja vu right now. Anyway, after that we did some errands - always fun when you run errands in another country and have someone to laugh with! We tried really hard to work off the breakfast because we planned to somehow get in a dinner at Peking Garden. We succeeded! Yes, it was all about the food. Sunday was Church and a little visit before going back to the airport. It was another quick trip, but it was so much fun! I had to keep reminding myself that it was Cathy's weekend. The fact that I was enjoying it was a bonus.

At work, the month of May started out just fine. As we progressed to the end of the month, it got more stressful and the last week was a killer. I'm just so glad it's over and that everything has basically worked out. It's very frustrating to have to depend on others to complete the job that I started, and to have others do it poorly.

I have a new great-niece! Her name is Camille, and her parents are Jeff and Alisha. We got to see her on Memorial Day, and she is just gorgeous! She has a full head of dark hair and she looks like her mama. Jillian looks just like her daddy. It looks like Camille will have huge eyes like her big sister.

I have a weird feeling that my time in YW may be over soon. Maybe not. But I think they will be making a change in the YW president after camp in a couple of weeks, and you never know what that will bring. I would be really sad to go.

The weather has been pretty nice lately. A few weeks ago it got really hot, then it cooled way down to the 50's! Weird. It has slowly warmed back up, but it's been very comfortable.

I just remembered something else from May...Kerri and Cade were down for her work. I went up to their hotel one evening to watch Luke while they went to a formal dinner. I decided to take Emma with me because Luke doesn't know me that well, and I know that babies always relate better to little people. Well, I was right. It was so funny to see him laugh at Emma, and when it was time to put him to bed and he cried, he grabbed onto Emma and wouldn't let her go. He is not that much smaller than she, but he still felt more comforted holding onto her. I even asked her to climb into the little crib with him, which she did willingly (for $5), to help him settle down. Did it work? Not really. He did settle down, but Emma fell asleep before he did. Luke was awake when Kerri and Cade came back, but the good news was that he was alive and well. I always think that's a good goal to have when you are in charge of a child!

I promise to post some pictures so my posts aren't so boring! Ta! Ta!