Happy Birthday Daddy

(My Daddy's birthday was Sunday, August 9. I didn't have a chance that day to write anything, which is why I'm doing it now.) (The picture above is probably six or so years old, but it was the only one I had of Dad and I on my work computer)

My favorite Daddy memories:

-Laying in bed and saying prayers before bed when I was a kid.

-Going Christmas shopping for my Mom every year, just Dad and I.

-Taking a break from Christmas shopping and eating a Cheesecake Brownie from The Cookie Company. We did this every year. It was tradition.

-Getting letters from my Dad while I was away at college. I still have those letters by the way and I get them out and read them every now and then.

-Learning to drive a stick shift in the parking lot of Stony Point South school. It was the only time I've ever heard my Daddy cuss, although he denies it. :)

-My Daddy is one of the hardest workers I know; and always has been. I don't remember how many years he went without missing a day of work. He set such a good example for us kids of what it means to have a strong work ethic.

-Watching my Daddy comb my Grandpa's hair and shave his face for him while he was in the hospital. What an example of love and service.

-My Daddy is a Deacon at church. On the Sundays when Dad would serve communion and the Deacons were walking in, he'd always tap me on the shoulder as he walked by. I always thought that was so cool.

-Playing tons of games of Uno, Scrabble, Score Four, Clue or Battleship while growing up. (The winner was the "Champ" and the loser was the "Chump")

-Going out to eat, just the two of us. We got to do this usually for good grades. I usually picked Don Chilito's. We'd share a bowl of CCQ (chili con queso) and then I always got to eat as many sopipillias and honey as I could handle because they were all you can eat. YUMMY!!

-The look on my Daddy's face when he saw Tanner for the first time. It was love at first sight.

-My Daddy telling me, right before I walked down the aisle to marry Mike "It's not to late to back out." If only I had swallowed my pride and taken Daddy's advice! Daddy always knows best.

-My childhood nickname, Shelly Bug, was started by my Dad because he said I was "cute as a bug." :)

-"Take care of my girls"-that's what my Daddy says to Steve every time we leave KC or they leave here. I love that he calls us "his girls."

-I love how my Daddy tells Tanner "You know your 'ole Grandpa loves you?"

-One of my favorite Daddy sayings is "I'm always in a good mood, it's just that sometimes I'm in a better mood than others." Crack me up!

-Family vacations in the summer-Washington D.C; Horn Creek, Colorado; San Diego and San Francisco, California; Taos, New Mexico

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Daddy-thank you for setting such a good example of what unconventional love is. Thank you for being an example of a Godly husband and father. Thank you for always working so hard for our family over the years. Us kids never went without and we learned the value of hard work. Thank you for always encouraging and supporting us kids in all of our different adventures over the years. Thank you for being who you are. Your the best.

I love you Daddy.