Three Cheers for my Three Dads (and one amazing husband that is also a dad)

I have three dads. My real dad, my step-dad, and my father-in-law...but they are all my dads and on Father's day I just want to take a minute to honor each of them. A lot of my closest friends don't really know my family that well because they live so far away and I don't see them as much as I would like to. I consider myself very blessed to have learned so much from my dads. Dads, I hope you know how very much I love all of you!!!

Dear Dad,

I want you to know that you have influenced my life in so many ways because of who you are. You are a man of great integrity and honor. You have taught me to do what I love and love what I do and to take great pride in what I accomplish. You have taught me there is wrong and right and where that line is.

You also taught me how to be silly with my kids and how to create really magical memories for them. I can remember as a little girl all the fun things you did for all of us kids...the "magic tricks"..where you literally "stopped" the rain, the vacation to Disney that you planned so well, the Christmas traditions we had, that involved you going to great lengths to keep us all believing in Santa, the birthday cakes that you made for me. There are childhood memories I have of the two of us spending time togther, just the two of us; which was not easy with 5 kids running around. Like the times in the airplane where you bought 2 tickets and flew back and forth to Odessa to come and get me for our monthly visits. And the time in the airports, where we chased lizards, ate bagels with cream cheese, and you bought me little figurines that I so proudly displayed on my dresser when I would get home. I treasured this more than you knew, and I still treasure it to this day. I can remember always trying to make sure that I would get a 100 on my spelling test each week in first grade...not because you cared so much that I made a 100, (because I know you would have been proud of me with whatever grade I made as long as I gave it my best), but because of the fact that my teacher Mrs. Ryan would give me the coolest sticker in the world if I got a perfect score. Some would be fuzzy with googly eyes, or sparkly and puffy...they were all 3 dimensional and very "cool". And the most important part of all that...is that when you would pick me up from the airport on Friday night, I would give you that sticker from that morning and you would proudly put that sticker on the dashboard of your state trooper car. No matter how silly it looked :) That meant the world to me...and poor trooper who got that car after you, because those stickers would not come off from the sun and heat!

As I got older, the lessons you taught me would come in the form of some serious talks. I can remember talking to you about my college choice, my career choice, and my future spouse. It was you who gave me the best advice when it came to Jason...let me set the scene. We had been dating for 6 years...and I didn't know if he was going to propose ever...I was feeling discouraged and down and I sat down with you and cried, saying, "it's over...I don't think he ever wants to marry me...so what does that mean??" You looked me in the eyes and said..."Do you love him? Do you want to be with him? Even if that means dating him for the rest of your life?" I said "Yes!" And you said, "then tell Jason that...and I did! And we were engaged soon after. I guess Jason needed to know that I wanted him and not a ring! And you were right!!! Oh, Dad, there is way too much that I could say, but I just want you and everyone else to know what a wonderful dad that I have and how much I love you and appreciate you on Father's Day and every day!!

Love Always and Forever,

Jennifer

Dear Dad,

Do you remember the Christmas I gave you that Brad Paisley CD, not because you like Brad Paisley, because I don't even think you knew who he was, but because of one song. A song about a dad choosing to be a dad, not because he had to, but because he wanted to. That song is still on the radio and I always think of you.

I remember the first time you took my mom out on a date. I was 4 years old and it was Valentine's day. You brought me a red dog and I got to go along on the date. I think that speaks volumes of who you were and are.

You have always provided everything that I needed because you love me. You made sure that I got to go to the best schools...all the way up to Baylor. I can remember you taking me to school in your 300 ZX (is that what it was called?) with the top down, listening to whatever music that I liked...even if that meant Michael Jackson (4th and 5th grade :) You would take me all the way across town to the best magnet school in Odessa. I know you did this because you loved me. And when it came time for me to go to college, you wanted me to be able to go to Baylor and you made sure that I could. That school changed my life in so many ways...it strengthened my faith and my relationship with Jesus Christ (main thing) and it brought me to my wonderful husband! Thank you for making sure I had the best.

You didn't miss any of my volleyball games in highschool. You were there, videoing each and every one. You read every newspaper article they ever wrote about me...even if it was just one line. You did this, I know, because you were proud of me. It made me feel very special that you cared that much.
You have always expected the best from me and you pushed me to try harder. I appreciate that. I also was raised to follow the rules and know consequences. I appreciate that too. It kept me out of too much trouble...even though I did mess up at times!

Thanks for being a great dad and great Pop and for loving me! On Father's day, I want you to know that I love you and wish you a great day!!

Love Always and Forever,
Jennifer

Dear Dad,
You came into my life when I began dating Jason. I remember the first time I really got to know you was Freshman year when I drove in the car with you all the way from Charlotte, NC to Birmingham. I got to meet your mom (Meemaw) on the way. I felt like I really began to know who you were from that trip and I also thought to myself..."I know now how Jason is such a wonderful guy" You are kind, generous, and loving. You are sincere and honest. You have such a strong and personal relationship with the Lord. I have so much respect for you. I am very blessed to not only have a wonderful husband but a wonderful family that came along with it as well.

You always treat me like a daughter. I know you love me. And I don't think there are a lot of daughters-in-law that can say that.

When you come to our house, you always find a way to help us. (I wish I could say it is hard for you to find something to do, but I can't...there is always plenty that needs to be done) Whether it is helping with furniture placement, caulking, yardwork, etc...you help us. Because you love us! We appreciate this more than you know because we know you don't feel like you have to, you do it out of love. You have a servan'ts heart.

I truly treasure the relationship you have with our kids. They love you so much and you love them more! I love to see them just run as fast as they can to you as soon as you walk in the door. Screaming "Docky!!!" It melts my heart for them to have such a sweet relationship with you. I know they are learning so much from you because of who you are and I just want you to know that words cannot express my appreciation.

On Father's day and everyday, I just want you to know that you are greatly loved! Thank you for being such a great dad and Doc!

Love Always and Forever,
Jennifer

Dear Sweet Hubby,

Our children are so blessed to have you as their daddy! If they could write and express their thoughts...here is what they would say :)

Dear Most Wonderful Awesome Daddy,

thank you for loving us so much. You give the best hugs and kisses. You are super funny. You tickle us until we can't breathe (we tell you to stop, but we love it!) We have the best Dad in the whole wide world. You always play with us. You and Mommy give us a bath, tuck us in every night, and say prayers with us. I know you can always fix anything that breaks. And our grass is super green and always looks good! When you are gone, we miss you like crazy and we ask mommy lots of times 'when are you coming home?' But, Daddy, no matter how much work you have to do, we know that we come first. We know you always listen to us and you think we hung the moon. And Daddy, on Father's Day, we want you to know that we think you hung the moon. We love you all the way to Pluto and back! You are the best Daddy!

Happy Father's Day! We love you!!!

Love, Abigail, Aaron, and Allison

written by mommy

I can't believe it's been 7 years!!

Monday was our wedding anniversary....7 years! The years sure have flown by...Well, actually, we have been in love for 13 1/2 years. College sweethearts...we were the only people each other dated during college more than one date! It is so fun to have that kind of history with your spouse. So many memories to treasure. I mean we literally grew up together! I had wanted to attend ATM, and when they rejected me and Baylor said yes...I said well, Lord, I guess you want me at Baylor instead. I sure am glad because the man of my dreams was also attending Baylor, we would be in a Freshman Leadership Organization together and would meet right after school started. I can vividly remember shaking his hand the day we met...and him introducing himself, with that sweet southern drawl. Soon after we were dating and have been dating ever since.

On Monday, the whole family watched our wedding video. The kids absolutely loved it. And so did we. I encourage all of you to make that a yearly tradition in your home. I loved listening to all Wade (friend and minister who married us) said. It was truly a worship service. I loved seeing all of our family there and listening to their words of wisdom they gave to us on our wedding day. Our video was not one that was edited...just raw footage, and I have to say, there was a whole lot of kissing goin on. I don't think Jason and I said much to each other that day, but we certainly kissed a lot!!! Like every other second!! I noticed my skin looked a whole lot younger and fresher. But, one thing is for certain. I love that man more today than I ever could have imagined. I love him more and more every day. He is my prince charming, my best friend, and the best father in the whole world!!
He wanted to treat me to a romantic dinner, but since we just got back from Disney World...we settled for pizza....and we will go out on the weekend. He came home with flowers and a sweet card. Happy Anniversary Honey! I love you more than words can say!!

Princess and Pluto for a day

I have to be honest, it is getting harder to get out of bed in the morning :) This morning we were not out the door at our usual 8:30. We were a bit tired from the night before and slept in about 30 minutes more. So we weren't there when Magic Kingdom opened, but we were close enough. Abigail and Aaron were wowed at the sight of the castle. And I must say, I was too. I just love Main Street walking towards the castle. We headed straight for Fantasyland to ride all those rides that last all of a minute. We didn't want to have to wait long to ride them, so we rode them first. Dumbo, Peter Pan, Snow White, Small World, Winnie the Pooh, Carrousel, Mad Tea Party (where Jason turned a bit green)....you name it, we rode it. It was so fun to watch the children's faces light up as they saw stories that they love come to life. They oohed and ahhed and shouted with glee. It truly was magical. They are the perfect ages for this trip. The magic and innocence is still there, but they will do and try everything and they can go longer than us. They don't complain and whine and it is just an altogether great time!! And we have become masters of the fast pass. We utilized every minute in that place today!!! We waited in no lines and rode everything! The kids got to pick out a souvenior from FantasyLand. They both chose hats. Aaron...a Pluto hat and Abigail--princess minnie ears....they wore them all day!



After FantasyLand, we headed over to Tommorowland. Aaron was so thrilled that he could drive his very own race car. Just like Lightening! Abigail, at first, wasn't so sure she should be driving. You know, she is my rule follower...so this just didn't seem right to her :) But, once she saw that it was allowed, she was all for it. Both of them were horrible drivers, but they didn't know that since the track didn't allow them to go all over the road. Space Mountain was great. Of course, Abigail loved it, rode it twice. Aaron wasn't quite tall enough to ride it. Aaron rode the astro orbiter instead..he thought he was really flying it!



The special treat of the day was lunch at Cinderella's castle! I have never done this so this was a treat for me as well. Abigail took her picture with Cinderella when we first arrived. Aaron would not do this (because he is a boy, that's why) He did ask mommy to take his autograph book over to Cinderella to have her sign it though. The lunch was lovely...they called us Lords and My Lady's and Princesses and Princes the whole time. Food was good. And the highlight was seeing every princess. Belle, Jasmine, Aurora, Snow White, Cinderella...Abigail was just delighted. To see the real princesses!!! In a castle!! I mean, who can beat it? And she is not even into princesses at home....but she was here! In fact, they had the children make a wish on a wishing star. Abigail leaned over and told me her wish. "I wished that I could be a princess today too" she said. "And it came true! They all keep calling me Princess!! Mommy, what did you wish for?" "A yummy dessert!", I said. And that came true as well.



After lunch, we headed over to Frontierland and rode Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. The kids loved them both. Aaron loved the huge fall of splash mountain. He wanted it to keep falling big falls the whole ride. We also watched the show Country Bear Jamboree. It is amazing to me....when I was a kid, I remember liking that show...seriously, I think I did. But, it was so bad! Jason fell asleep during it. I kept laughing because it was that bad...I look over at the kids, and they are fascinated. Go figure. :) We did everything in Toon town which wasn't much. Rode Goofy's Barnstormer. Abigail put her arms up the whole time. And at the end, she said "is that all?" She says this after every roller coaster, but I had to agree with her on this one. We took the train to the monorail and called it a day at 7 oclock. Yes, that was 10 hours ya'll. But, you would have never have thought it by the looks of our kids. Running around like little monkeys. You could see it all over Jason and my face though. Worn out!!!! But, having a blast. This truly has been the best vacation! Tommorow we will revist Epcot because we hadn't seen it all yet.

Here we come Hollywood!

Hollywood Studios was a blast! I am writing about it a day later so my memory is not as good, but it was just too late last night when we got back to write. We got there when the park opened. And we saw everything, and I mean everything. It is so funny to see Abigail on all these roller coasters and scary rides. She absolutely loves them...it is like a little mini me! My mom can testify to this...there was a lot of things I was scared of as a little girl, but roller coasters was not one of them. To this day, there is not much that can take my stomach or scare me. Our little girl is one tough cookie. She loved Tower of Terror (Aaron did this too...didn't shed a tear, but wasn't his favorite) and the Rockin' Roller Coaster. She rode both of these things more than once. A bunch of older boys, like 10 or 11, couldn't believe she asked to ride Tower of Terror again. This made her smile :) On every one of these roller coasters (including the upside down ones) her hands were up the whole time. You know the pictures they take when you are on the ride...well, Abigail's hands are all the way up with a huge smile on her face. Unbelievable!!! We also enjoyed the Toy Story Ride twice as well. Aaron loved this one because he got to shoot a little slingshot type thing at targets. We rode Star Wars Tours. The kids got light sabers to 'fight' one another. The 3-D show of Muppets brought us down memory lane. It is so funny how much I can remember even though it has been so long! We watched the little Mermaid show and Playhouse Disney. Both were good :) We were going to watch Fantasmic, but the rain starting coming down really hard. So, instead, we put on our poncho's and ran around the park, riding everything over again. The kids loved this! Aaron thought it was so fun to splash around and get completely soaked. We loaded up on cotton candy, cookies, and chocolate (yes, I know we are crazy) and then made it back home at around 10:15! What a day!

Day 2 at Disney

Today, on the drive home from Disney World...Jason looked over at me, grinning from ear to ear and said..."We must be doing something right for everything to have gone so perfectly these past 2 days!...I mean this kind of stuff just doesn't usually happen to us. We usually pick the longest checkout line in Walmart, we never win anything, and we have never been anywhere new without getting lost!" I laughed out loud and completely agreed with him. We have had the absolute best 2 days at Disney World!

We spent the day at Epcot's Future World. After a nutritous breakfast...he he he.... of cinnamon rolls and OJ, we were out the door at 8:30 and inside Epcot by 8:55. Perfect timing to ride the very first ride that we came to...Spaceship Earth. We jumped right on and the kids were so cute on it. Abigail oohed and ahhed and said..."Mommy, how did we get off planet Earth? I can't believe it!!!" After that, Jason and Abigail rode Mission: Space and then we all road Test Track. Aaron was so excited to drive a real racecar and as we literally zoomed around the track and such great speed, he was beyond thrilled. Nemo and Turtle Talk with Crush were great fun as well. The kids even loved things we weren't so sure they would even like...for instance, the Living with the Land boat ride...they were fascinated by it. We also watched the 3-D movie 'Honey I shrunk the audience' being sure to cover their little eyes on the scary parts. They loved it! Especially at the end when the dog sneezed all over them! We finished the day with the flying ride 'Soarin'. This was a huge hit for the entire family! Aaron has always wanted to fly in an airplane. The last time he flew anywhere, he was only 6 months old. He thought this was the greatest thing ever!! Hopefully, he won't be too terribly disappointed when we fly to Texas this summer and he realizes that all flights are not like the one at Disney World ;). We only waited for one ride and only for about 15 minutes...unbelievable. For dinner, we rode the monorail over to the Contemporary resort for dinner with Chef Mickey. What a blast! The kids were google eyed and giggly the whole time. The food was great, kids ate a ton, but the best part was Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Donald Duck all came by our table and paid a visit. They took pictures with the kids and signed their autograph books. The kids loved it. Abigail whispered to Minnie...I love you Minnie....my heart melted. Aaron had a smile from ear to ear. As each character would get closer to our table, the kids would start to get bouncy and by the time they got to us they were shouting...Mickey!!!! We loved every second of it. Right now the kids are in bed watching Mary Poppins. Lights out at 8 for them. Another day down. This is the best vacation ever!

The Big Surprise and The Drive Down to Disney

The plan was made. I had spent Friday afternoon writing a scavenger hunt with clues all related to Disney. The plan was to drive to Birmingham Friday night after Jason got off work and then spend the night before driving the long drive to Orlando. We had told the kids that we would be going to see Gammie and Doc and they were great with that. But, Saturday morning when they woke up...the big surprise was revealed! It was so exciting. Abigail and Aaron absolutely loved the scavenger hunt. They had so much fun. It ended in our minivan with presents on their seats in the van. For Abigail, a tinker bell shirt, little fan you where around your neck, and a Minnie autograph pen. For Aaron, a Cars t-shirt, little fan, and Mickey Pen. They were thrilled with the scavenger hunt and presents. Then, they read the final note.

You know how you build something up in your head. And you expect one thing and get another. I often times will tell Jason...I need you to be really excited about this, I need a BIG reaction..because he just doesn't give really big reactions and well...you all know, I do... Well, that just about sums up what happened when the treasure was revealed. Abigail looks a little surprised and says...really?...then sort of does a little jump and smiles. Aaron looks like we just told him to go inside and take a nap for the rest of the day. Seriously, he did. He was bummed because he wanted to stay at Gammie and Doc's house :) I was wanting screams people :) But, it was cute and funny and we will treasure it. We videotaped it and if I can utube it I will and then put it on here so you can see it. Once we got on the road though, they started getting really excited. Talking about it got them pretty pumped. So that by the time we made it...Aaron was so excited and delirious from the long drive that he was literally "backing" like a chicken and pointing to all the huge billboards outside that showed Disney characters. Abigail let out some huge squeals and screams and then really quietly said, "did I just scream?". It was adorable. They were so good on the drive down. I think it is because they have always driven places...to Texas or the beach...they don't know any different and that is good for Jason and I because we didn't hear any complaining or whining about when we will get there. We had no problem getting there either. Jason bought a GPS; which we fondly call "Little Miss". She has gotten us everywhere...we would have been going in circles without her. Because I can't read a map and Jason does most of the driving.

We pulled into the Embassy Suites (my favorite hotel from growing up and now my kiddos favorite) I mean who can beat free 'shirley temples and popcorn at 5 for the kids'...siblings I know you are going down memory lane right now. Abigail and Aaron called it the E hotel. It had an indoor/outdoor pool with the movie 'Enchanted' playing on one of the big walls of the hotel that you could watch from the pool. The kids had a blast. We swam and swam and didn't get to bed that night until 10:15! Late night...but worth it. Sunday morning we slept in until 8 and then had a great breakfast. We tried to stuff their faces so they would be good and full until lunch. Then we made a Walmart run before hitting Animal Kingdom for the day. Now, all of you know I am a Walmart fan. Love it. Well, this Walmart topped the charts. They had Disney stuff everywhere as you might imagine. Abigail fell in love. She wanted to go shopping and spend her birthday money. In fact, when we told her it was time to leave...she strongly says, "why are we leaving Disney World so soon? How sad..and funny....she thought Walmart was part of Disney World! Obviously, my kids live a very sheltered life. he he he "Little Miss" led us directly to Animal Kingdom, no problem. Abigail requested that we put on the 'Mickey Mouse' CD so we drove into the park with Mickey Mouse Club playing. Straight out of the movie Vacation (siblings, you are going back down memory lane) :) My very smart and clever husband had done his research and got us this pass thing so we got to park right up front. And then right after we entered the park the kids wanted to look at the flamingos...while we were there, a lady that worked at Disney starts shouting..."you have won a disney sweepstakes....you all are going to receive fastpasses for the rest of the day at animal kingdom for all the big rides. Yippee!!!! For those of you that don't know, you usually have to go and reserve a fastpass and you receive a time, etc..to get you to the front of the line. With these tags they gave us...we just went on any ride we wanted, when we wanted! Oh Yeah! It was so great!!!! We were completely spoiled today. We never waited in a line all day. We saw some great shows. The Lion King and Nemo were our favorite shows. And Abigail rode every roller coaster that was there. She is so thankful to be over 48"! She rode the roller coaster on Mt. Everest today...didn't even get scared. As a roller coaster lover myself, I was so proud and excited to enjoy that with her. The only not so great part of the day, was that we scared the kids on the Dinosaur ride. Aaron absolutely loves dinosaurs, but this was pretty scary. Abigail cried...Aaron was doing good until the very end. The ride stopped in complete darkness right before the exit...for like 4 minutes. It was 4 minutes of pure torture for the kids. Aaron imagined he heard t-rex's footsteps coming for us. poor baby. But, once we got off, he was fine and went about the day. Even saying he liked the ride all except for the end. Throughout the day, there were several times that I just teared up because I was so happy to see the kids so excited and happy. This is a vacation we all will treasure for a lifetime.

At the end of the day, we arrived at the resort place that we are staying at for the rest of the week. It is so nice. We have 3 bedrooms, 3 baths. The kids room is decorated in all Mickey and Minnie stuff. The kitchen is huge. We have our own pool and a clubhouse pool with a huge slide. The kids are beyond pumped. And it is so nice to have space to spread out and relax after a long day at the parks. So, all in all, it was an absolutely wonderful day! We are having a blast!