Day Belonging to Fathers

Let me say a few words about my Dad. I used to say that my dad was the most perfect man to walk the earth, besides Jesus. He didn't like it when I said that. I used to say that my dad was a very patient man. He doesn't like that either, because it turns out in some cases he's not patient at all. (especially in instances of changing brakes, people chewing loudly, high school chem/physics or double faulting). I used to be amazed at how he handled a household full of emotional women. And to that I can say a resounding...I'm still amazed. I don't know how he did it without killing us all...slowly. I am still astounded by the fact that he made me and my sisters such a huge priority in his life. I took for granted that's how every one's dad was. It turns out I was among the lucky ones. I think the job of dad is hard. I've never been one, but I'm married to one. I think it must be hard to balance it all. The stress of work, the pressures of being a man, and then trying to meet the emotional needs of the family. It must be hard. My dad made it look easy. He still does. He is an amazing dad to me still. He's an outstanding grandpa (Papaw). It just seems to come naturally to him. He was created to be a positive influence on kids and he embraced that calling with everything in him. My sisters and I all knew how to hit a baseball, a tennis ball, and a golf ball. We could throw a football pretty well at young ages. And he tucked us in every night, inspite of how tired he must have been most of the time.

Now in all fairness I have to say that the reason my dad could spend the time he did with us was because my mom is a supermom. She did it all and made life flow easily. She encouraged my dad to be a dad to us girls and that meant not always getting her due. It definitely was a team effort with those two.

So happy father's day to those who wear the title dad so proudly. Your calling is among the highest there are. Don't give up on the bad days and be encouraged on the good days. As my dad says a lot, "Finish strong!!"

Good Advice from Kayci Beth

This is a direct quote from my second born,

"Mom, I brushed my hair. You know what? You should always take your ponytail out of your hair before you go to bed. You know why? Because in the morning you might have syrup for breakfast and it might get in your hair and you won't be able to get the ponytail holder out of your hair."

Good advice Kayci.

Now faithful friends, family members and lurkers: Apply this advice to your individual lives as you see fit.

Proud to be an American (and Steve's wife)

She will bleed to death and then die

The origins of this title are an inside joke between my mom, dad and I. I'm sure they are smiling, my dad may even be using his real laugh. I know it makes no sense to anyone else, but it is my blog and I think it is funny. (Yes, someone bleeding to death and then dying is humorous to me. I will be a great nurse someday).

As far as things that really gross me out...this seems to be an important question to those who find out I want to be a nurse. I have found two things that actually make me blink and look away briefly: someone getting hit in the head repeatedly with an object accompanied by sound effects and someone getting their teeth cleaned. That's about it. I don't gross out easily, but those two occurrences make me feel a little weird.

I have also written much about the importance of friends and family. I love my friends and family (some fall into both categories). However, let me tell you what I don't like about some people who claim to be friends: bad tennis calls, saying that a tennis match that I legitimately won was "given to me," and guilt trips over things out of my control. I can handle pretty much anything else...but these things make me react poorly. Usually with a flood of tears or some other such awesome, powerful response like that.

I cooked salmon last night for the first time. I decided hot dogs and chicken nuggets may be stunting my children's growth and development so I decided to try something healthy. I asked my sister for help and she is quite resourceful. However, I ended up having to look in a cookbook. Once I found the recipe, I discovered that the only thing I had in common with the recipe was the actual salmon and an oven. So here are the substitutions I made: (Please note that I tried extremely hard to at least find similar ingredients)
The recipe called for basil: I substituted garlic powder
The recipe called for dill: I substituted Lawry's season salt
The recipe called for Tarragon: I substituted pepper
The recipe called for butter: I substituted margarine (broiled for 5 minutes on each side)

The amazing thing was it was delicious. My kids even liked it. Steve actually said, "This is good." Which is huge because food is, "Not a big deal, " to him. And he doesn't just throw around compliments like he does musical ideas. So feel free to try this recipe. It was great.

I visited my grandparents in Oklahoma a week ago. I am so blessed. We had a great time together. Let me tell you, there is a lot of open space there. "Plenty of room to swing a rope...plenty of heart and plenty of hope!"