Happy Birthday

I had this brilliant idea several months ago that I would blog about those people nearest and dearest to me on their birthdays this year. I wanted to take the time to put in writing how much I love them, what I admire about them, and give you small peek into their life. So over the next twelve months I will be posting about these people I love so much.

Starting today.

Undoubtedly this will be the hardest one. I contemplated not even doing it. But honestly, when I first thought of doing this, my dad was the one I was looking forward to the most. So I have decided to move forward with this anyway.

Happy Birthday Dad!

My dad was a new years baby. In fact he was the first baby born in his home town. I remember seeing the news paper article with a picture of him with my grandma. She looked so unbelievably young.

He would have been 52 years old today.

There are many things that I admire about my father. He taught me by the life he lived, so many wonderful values. He taught me the importance of honesty, of hard work, and of perseverance. My dad was the kind of guy that truly believed if you were going to do something, you had better do it to the best of your ability. He was a perfectionist...really. His work as a machinist was certainly the perfect job for this guy who wanted everything just right.

He was the smartest guy I have ever known. He had a mind that could understand the most complicated ideas. As a kid, I always likened him to Einstein. He was this brilliant guy with a wild head of hair. We were always sure he would never go bald. He never did.

His sense of humor was one in a million. He loved to make people laugh and was always telling jokes or doing crazy things. Like the time I came home from school to find pig eyes (yes real ones)with eyeglasses sitting on the counter. He just somehow knew never to take life too seriously.

I bet you didn't know that political views were hereditary? Well I am living proof that they are. Some of my best memories over the last several years has been the phone conversations with my dad, when we would vent and complain to each other about all the current events and the irritation we shared with our government and their lack of....let's just be nice and say lack of wisdom. I am sure he is the only one who truly understood my tirades, and why I would allow such things to get me so worked up.

While all these things about my dad are wonderful, there is still one thing that means the most. There is still the one thing about his life that has had the most impact on every area of my life. His love for my mom. It has been said that one of the greatest things parents can do for their children is to love their spouse. If this is true, then I have had the greatest parents ever. Through his love and care for my mom, I learned about how to live life, what a husband should be like, what it means to serve you spouse, and the blessings of marriage. My parents truly modeled for me a marriage that was beautiful. He would have gladly laid down his life for her, and surly he did many times. My mom was his best friend. She was the one he wanted to play with. Whether it was hunting, golf, archery, or whatever else he wanted to do...he wanted to do it with my mom. She would gladly and joyfully join him. I know without a doubt, aside from the grace of God, my father is the reason Richard and I have the marriage we have. I am so thankful that the Lord saw fit to give me such an example in their love and marriage. I am even more thankful that He used their marriage to better my own.

One of the good things that came out of our stay in Kansas after his death was that we got to spend time with people who have know my dad for many years. They have worked with him, completed projects with him, and played with him. Every single one of these people had the same testimony about my father. He truly was a man of great love and integrity.

I am going to miss him.