This was daddy's response when he saw R for the first time. He left my hospital room when the nurse came to check on me and knocked on the door 15 minutes later to see if he could come back in...little did he know, he would meet his second granddaughter...to me, this picture is raw joy and will forever be priceless!
My daddy is undeniably one of the greatest people I know. If there is a perfect person (which we all know there is not) he is as close as it gets. His heart is good. I have watched him over the years sacrifice for his mother and father, his sister and brother, his wife, his children and now his grandchildren. What is so amazing about his soul, is that he has never complained or expected anything in return. I have never seen him take advantage of a stranger whether it be in business or life, never heard him talk unkindly about another person, when confronted and accused, never seen him retaliate. He truly is a gift to all!
Lets talk about his love...
He loves his family...I still watch how he looks at my mother and I am certain they will grow old together with him gazing across the room at her telling her she is so much more beautiful today than years ago! He has never been shy about telling us kids he loves us...in fact, on one specific occasion when my heart had been crushed, I flew home specifically for a "daddy" hug. I knew his arms would let me know things would be fine...they did and he was right!
He loves God...He raised all us kids to love God and I still will find him at home, when I return, sitting on the couch with his Bible in his lap or the latest Christian book that caught his attention at Books a Million.
He loves history...I know, pretty random but he loves to learn and history is his thing. He should have been a professor!
He loves to fish...in heaven, I am sure God has a special spot for him to cast his fly-rod for hours in the most beautiful river you could imagine. This is a love he has passed to my brothers and is now their special time away from life...together!
It is nice to know that there is so much good in the person I still call Daddy!