Happy First Birthday, Andrew!

It is truly hard to believe that Andrew turned 1 today! It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. Yet here we are one year later. A lot has transpired in 365 days.

For new followers to the blog, you can relive all the excitement of his delivery and birthday here:

He’s Here!

He didn’t go to bed any later than normal last night, but he slept longer than Ella today, which is not the norm. Ella was up and playing in her crib and I got up to get her. We came back to my room where Andrew was still sleeping. As much as she tries to whisper, every now and then she forgets and just gets loud. When I reminded her that it was his birthday, she screamed with excitement … and of course, woke him up.

When Sam got home from work, we whipped up some breakfast and had some well deserved family time. We snapped a few first birthday photos and then got ready for a day at the park. It was just beautiful today with temperatures up near 70. The sun made it feel a whole lot warmer.

We drove through and grabbed lunch and brought it to the park for a picnic lunch. There is a small park about 20 minutes away and it was just perfect. There was a playground with playscape and swings and a pavilion with picnic tables where we ate. There is a trail that you can walk with a small creek and fall colors.

Sam and Andrew explored the tennis courts and playground while I sat with Ella as she finished her lunch. When she was finished, we walked over to them. Sam asked if Ella wanted to show me where she had seen some ducks the last time they were there. She said she’d rather play on the playground, so Andrew and I took a walk over.

There is a little bridge that overlooks the creek and he loved just walking on it and looking down at the creek.

We were at the park for quite a while enjoying the day. We didn’t leave until it was close to nap time. Andrew wound up falling asleep in the car, which worked out because Sam wanted to stop and pick up some balloons for him. When we got home, Sam wanted to take a short nap before dinner.

Her mom stopped by to drop off Andrew’s birthday gift and brought their dog Toodles! We all love that dog! The kids loved that she was here and we all went outside and ran around with her. I wish I had gotten some pictures of that!

We had planned on making a chicken and rice dish for dinner, but I neglected to pull chicken out to thaw, so I wound up running to the store and picking up a rotisserie chicken. We made some green beans and mac and cheese to go with it.

After dinner, Andrew opened his birthday gifts and played with his new Little People School Bus before it was time for cake. We sang Happy Birthday and we gave him his cake.

Unlike the day of his cake smash pictures, this time, Andrew REALLY chowed down on this cake!!

It was very fun to watch. He just kept grabbing chunks of cake and stuffing his face. I swear, he ate 3/4 of that cake! I’m surprised he fell asleep tonight after eating all that sugar!!

He snuggled up with mommy and fell asleep on her tonight. It was just beautiful. Sam mentioned to me last night, she never really understood just how different it is in regard to the mother/son bond. She loved them both the same, but that bond is a little different. I explained that I totally understood what she was saying because I feel the same way with Ella. That daddy/daughter bond is really special.

Sam, Ella, and the birthday boy are all asleep as I write this. I think back over the last year and remember so many wonderful memories. He certainly has given us a run for our money. Plenty of after hours urgent care visits, a few months with his helmet, fracture of his foot, and all kinds of other things.

His sleep study showed he had sever sleep apnea. He was diagnosed with Laryngomalacia, which is some extra tissue on the larynx which can cause apnea and other issues. He goes in for surgery on Thursday to correct this. His sleep doc is also worried about whether or not the apnea caused some heart issues, so next week we have to go for an echocardiogram for him. We’re praying that all goes well with the surgery and the echo.

Before he has surgery, he had to get a COVID test. I had to take him in for it and I was totally prepared for a lot of crying. I just knew that it was going to be awful for him to be swabbed. The nurse came in, swabbed him, he made a face and there were no tears! I literally snapped this picture like 20 seconds after the swab.

What a blessing he is to us. As I said on Facebook today:

One year. 365 days. What an amazing trip around the sun it has been for our Andrew Joseph! He is unique and wonderful in so many ways!

This amazing little guy has brought even more happiness to our home. His bright blue eyes light up the room. His smile is contagious. His laughter is joyful noise.

His happy dance makes us all giggle with delight. He is a good little brother, even though Ella has said that he “drives me crazy!”. I have no doubt these two will be best friends. Thank you, God, for allowing me to be “dad” to these two amazing kids!!

Happy birthday, AJ! Thank you for a wonderful year of memories and milestones. We can’t wait to see what the years ahead will bring….

I love you, son.

Sam posted this:

Andrew Joseph-

Today you are ONE! This momma might be in a bit of denial that you aren’t my tiny baby anymore. Even though you are my second baby, you have definitely taught me how to be a momma in a whole new way. You taught me to listen to my momma gut when something isn’t right. You have taught me to fight for answers and pray harder then ever.

Andrew you are fierce and determined! You will not let anything stop you. Your sister might be bigger but you have no issues pulling her to the floor by her hair if it means getting your toy back. You will find a way to get to whatever you want. Even if it isn’t always the safest. There is a reason we call you Bamm Bamm.

You are brilliant! There is not a single gate, or baby proof tab or lock that you haven’t mastered. All it takes is one time of you watching and you know how to do it.

You are so loving! You have always been busy, but you are the first to always snuggle your momma. You still have yet to ever nap somewhere that isn’t in my arms and 99% of the time that is where you are all night too. You fall asleep with my lips on your forehead every single night. And it is secretly my favorite part of the day.

You have the best smile and the brightest eyes and we love you more than you know! Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

I have said it before, but it is worth repeating – I am a truly blessed man.

Happy Birthday, AJ! You are so special to us.

I love you,

Daddy

Chilly Bedtime Prayers

Ella Story #1

My wife texted me about this earlier tonight and then posted it on Facebook:

We say prayers every single day before nap time and bedtime. Saying prayers tonight, Ella stopped me mid prayer and told me we needed to pray for Elsa and Anna (the princesses from the movie Frozen)

Me: why do we need to pray for Elsa and Anna?

Ella: Mommy, we always say thank you for the sunshine days, and daddy playing with us. I need to say thank you for Elsa and Anna making me so happy!

So we prayed for the Disney Princesses tonight.

It is always interesting to see who is on her heart when we pray. My co-worker Amy invited Ella to her daughter Maddie’s birthday party earlier this month. So we pray for them a few times a week now. Earlier this week, she prayed for Toodles – Nana and Papa’s dog! She is such a sweet soul.

Ella Story #2

I have no idea how to post video on here that isn’t a YouTube video, but I shared one on Facebook earlier this week. When I woke up, I had read a few chapters of Romans in my Bible before she woke up. I had set the Bible on the back of the couch. When I saw that she was awake in the monitor, I went to go get her.

As usual, she brought out her favorite “Nana blanket” and crawled up next to me on the couch. She saw the Bible and read the cover. She said, “B – I – B- L – E.” Something clicked and she began to sing, “The B I B L E, yes that’s the book for me!” It was the cutest thing. I had to get it on video, so I prompted her again as she was flipping pages. It really made me smile.

This Little Piggy Likes to Rock and Roll

When Sam and I started dating, my wardrobe consisted of many “band” shirts. I had shirts from the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, and many more. At one point she started wearing my shirts, so I made sure to get her a couple for her birthday. Band shirts has been an inside joke since almost the beginning of our relationship.

Last week, we went to the store to get some clothes for the kids. Ella and Andrew are outgrowing things SO fast. Sam has always been the one who buys clothes and outfits for the kids. She coordinates everything for family photos and more. However, as I was walking through the store, I found the coolest little outfit for Andrew. I held it up and said, “Come on! We have to buy this. It’s his first “band shirt!”

How cool is that?! A band shirt with matching pants!! He pulls it off pretty good.

***

Today, Sam asked me to run up to the store to grab a few things for dinner. Ella went with me. The list consisted of: chicken, potatoes, mac and cheese, and milk. I figured we’d be in and out pretty quickly. I am learning that this is not always the case with Ella.

As we walked through the small, she kept spying things that she wanted. I told her that we were going to do a big shopping trip tomorrow, so we could add the request to mommy’s list. With food items like cookies and fruit, it was no big deal. She was ok with that. Then she saw something at the end of one of the aisles.

There was a big basket of children’s hat/scarf combos that looked like animals. There were wolves, monkeys, bears, and more. She spotted a pig hat and said she wanted to put it on. I began to tell her no, and she looked me in the eyes with the “Oh, please, father. It would make me so very happy if you would purchase this hat that I really don’t need. You are the most wonderful man in the world and I know you wouldn’t want to break your daughter’s heart” look.

I said we couldn’t get it and the tears started. I had to avoid the 2 year old melt down as we hadn’t even gotten half of what we came in for. I let her wear the hat, thinking that I’d be able to get it off her and stash it on a shelf somewhere and she’d forget all about it. Nope. She wore it the rest of the time we were in the store and in the car all the way home.

I am adapting the nursery rhyme ….

This SPOILED little piggy went to market …

On the way out, some woman said, “I like your hat” to her. She responded, “I know! It’s just perfect!”

Christmas in September

To say that the past few days have been stressful is an understatement. There have been some very good moments and I tried to just take them all in. However, something was on my mind all weekend.

I’m not going to get into detail on that. I could, but I won’t. Let me just state that it is stress related to things outside of my home life. Read into that however you wish.

At any rate, after a particularly emotional and crappy Monday that was the culmination of all the things on my mind, I needed something – anything! My Monday evening walk with the kids helped. I was out in the neighborhood, counting squirrels, saying hello to our “puppy friends” and listening to AJ babble and Ella sing.

Sam knew the weekend and Monday had taken a toll on me. She never said it was her plan, but she suggested taking a trip to Bronner’s in Frankenmuth to look for our annual “ornament hunt.” Bronner’s is “The World’s Largest Christmas Store” and I have blogged about it before. You can read about that here:

“Christmastown”

We packed the family up in the car after Sam got home and we made the short drive there. It was the perfect day to go. Tuesday morning in September. Sure, there were people there, but not the normal crowd that is there. The sounds of Christmas music were playing through the outside speakers as we walked in.

(Johnny Mathis’ version of Marshmallow World was playing as I walked in. I found myself thinking that the Dean Martin version is FAR superior to this version. As a bonus, Dean’s version played before we left!)

I hadn’t thought about it but this was Andrew’s first trip to Bronner’s. He was in awe of all the lights and him and Ella were anxious to touch everything!!

Every year, we get an ornament that marks some big event that happened in the past year. We have an engagement ornament, a marriage ornament, a mother-to-be ornament, and two “Baby’s First Christmas” ornaments. So what big event could we commemorate this year?

Neither one of us changed jobs. We didn’t get a new house or new car. Now that I think about it, the only big thing that happened this year was my vasectomy! I doubt they had an ornament for that, but then again, they have thousands of ornaments for just about every thing! They probably DO have something for that!!! Maybe I will call and ask …

Instead of an ornament, we got a snowman family plaque. You have probably seen what I am talking about. It has mom, dad, and snow-kids.

The one above is not the one we got, but it is similar. So we had them put our family name on it and then each of the snow kids had their name written on them. It came out really cute and we’ll either put it on the mantel or hang it on the main entry door.

Next year, Sam has said that she wants the kids to go and each pick out their own ornaments. I think that is a great idea and a good way to make it a tradition. We want them to have that experience and then every year when the holiday rolls around, they can look back on the ornaments and relive memories.

The kids were both getting a bit antsy, so as soon as the plaque was personalized, we headed out. We stopped for photo ops and walked outside. As we exited the building, there was a huge Santa Claus. Andrew saw it and began to point to it. It was a perfect (and frame worthy) photo.

It was just want I needed to get my mind off all that transpired over the past few days. A welcome distraction with those that I love.

One thing is for sure. Despite all the feelings that are churning around inside me, especially as I think about things, I think on the reasons why I keep going. The people who mean the most to me. I think of my wife and her never ending support and love. I think of my two older sons, and of course, the two little blessings who accompanied me on our trip to “Christmas in September” …

THEY are why I continue to do what I do. THEY are the reason I need to focus on getting healthy. THEY are the reason I am happy.

Where Am I Going?!

Yesterday I took the kids to a birthday party for a co-worker’s daughter. She lives about 40-45 minutes from me. I punched the address into the GPS and it told me where to go.

My co-worker sent me a text saying to look for the pink and purple balloons on the mailbox on the side of the road. As we got closer, I saw a sign with “Summer’s Birthday” at the side of the road. This was not my co-worker’s daughters name, so I ignored it.

Immediately after the sign, I saw a mailbox with pink and purple balloons. I looked at the GPS and it said I still had a 1/4 mile before I’d reach her house. I kept driving. When I got to where the GPS said the house was….there were no balloons and the address was way off.

I turned around and sure enough the pink and purple balloons were her house. And the other party? It was next door. My co-worker and I laughed about the GPS and she said in some cases, when you get to the wrong destination, the GPS shows a picture of an ATM!

Ella and AJ had a blast at the party and made new friends. Sam had asked to for us to be home before she left for work so she could see them. As I walked to the car, it started to pour rain. I rushed the kids to the car and strapped them in their car seats as the rain soaked me to the bone.

Once inside, I wiped the rain off my face and punched in the home address into the GPS. As I drove, the rain was so hard I had the wipers on high. I could barely see where I was going.

I called Sam, who had texted to see how things were, and told her we’d be there before she left because of the ETA on the GPS. I hung up and tried to see the on ramp to the expressway.

I followed the GPS instructions and when I got on the expressway the GPS lost signal. Bad area, obviously. So I kept driving. When the GPS kicked back in it kept telling me it was rerouting. The ETA also changed. I figured maybe an accident was causing us to get home later.

I texted Sam and said that’s a GPS was now saying I would be home much later than it did originally and for her not to wait for us. I continued driving and the GPS continued to reroute.

Finally, about 30 minutes later I was looking at the exit signs and thought, “What road is this?!” “Where am I?!” It was then that I noticed the Interstate sign said I was going East instead of West!

I had literally driven 40-50 miles in the wrong direction! What an idiot!!!

I should have been home by 5:30, but didn’t pull in the driveway until 6:40! Every time that GPS told me to turn around, I should have listened. I was sure it was wrong…

That’s what I get for being so stubborn.

A Typical Dad Day

(I’ve never read this book, but I may have to …)

Sam worked last night, so it was my day with the kids. What does a typical day with dad look like?

The day starts with Andrew up first. We take the baby monitor out into the living room so we can see when Ella wakes up. I make him a bottle and take care of diaper change number one. Within 5 minutes of finishing the bottle diaper change number 2 is in order, because he poops like clockwork.

We usually go to get Ella together when she wakes up. He thinks its funny to push open her door. I then have to grab whatever Ella wants to bring with her out of the crib. This usually consists of a nana blanket, maybe a book, maybe a stuffed animal, maybe a pillow, or maybe all of the above.

She gets a diaper change and it is time for breakfast. Somedays we eat eggs, others waffles, another day pancakes, and sometimes a smorgasbord of fruits and other things. Sam usually arrives home around breakfast time. Today she brought donuts for them. Ella loves pink dipped donuts, not that she ever eats the donut. She loves the frosting, though.

Depending on the day, we either read books, turn on the TV or play with her toys. This is when I usually make myself and Sam something to eat. I made us scrambled eggs and had to make extra because the kids were eating all of Sam’s!

Sam almost always brings out an outfit for the kids to wear. We ventured out on our morning walk and looked for our puppy friends. She now knows just about every dog in the neighborhood’s name!

When we returned home, she began to read books. Most of the time they are books off her shelf.

After reading one of her favorites, she told me to sit down so she could read me a book. The book? The Weight Watcher’s Cookbook!

She kept calling the sandwich in the book (shown above) a cheeseburger!

While she is reading to be, my daredevil son continues to find ways to hurt himself. He’s been climbing, so Sam thought it was time to bring the swing/slide thing we got for Ella a few years ago back upstairs. Well he can climb it, he just hasn’t really figured out how to slide down yet. So he gets up there and starts shaking the one wall of it and eventually steps on the slide and falls off.

He truly has no fear. Today alone, he busted open his lip three times. None of those were from falling off the slide! He just tripped over stuff and fell on his face. I swear if we have to go to urgent care again, they will have to put in a window just for him.

Comedy continues to ensue with Ella. Today she grabbed her winter coat and winter hat and asked to wear them. She had me help zip up the coat and said, “I’m already for winter and then asked to watch Frozen.

We watched it like 7 times today. I will be singing “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” and “Let it Go” in my sleep tonight!

Lunchtime this week has brought the same answer to question, “What would you like for lunch today?” “Grilled cheese and crackers!” That answer has also been offered up to “What would you like for dinner?” and “What would you like for breakfast?” I’m glad that Andrew isn’t able to answer that question yet. When they both start asking for different meals, it’s gonna drive me crazy!

After lunch, it is nap time. Today, thanks to the neighborhood dogs and open windows, the nap was cut short. Shortly after wake ups, Sam woke up for work. She said some packages she ordered were on the porch and Ella went with her to get them.

They were the Halloween costumes they are wearing this year. I won’t say what they are here, but hers involves a dress. She wanted to wear it. Sam told her she had to wait until Halloween. This was not what she wanted to hear, so Sam offered up another dress for her. My friend from work gifted us some dresses that her daughter has grown out of. They are going to be perfect for holidays or family photos. Anyway, she spent the rest of the evening wearing one of those dresses.

Earlier I had thrown some chicken in the crock pot for dinner. Sam cooked up some buttered noodles to go with it for the kids. I took the chicken out and started cutting it up. I tried a piece to make sure it had cooled down enough and it tasted funny. I can’t even really descibe what it tasted like – but you know how they always say, “it tastes like chicken?” This didn’t. I wound up throwing it away.

After Sam left for work, Ella said she wanted a snack. So she handed me one of those applesauce pouches. Andrew got one, too. They both had like three of them! Ella kept asking for more and when I got her one, he wanted one, as well.

After playing with toys for awhile, more diaper changes were needed and it was pajama time. I was lucky enough to be able to get pajamas on her tonight. I really thought that she was going to want to wear the dress to bed! I’m sure I would have let her…

She took a book to bed with her, we said prayers and I closed her door. I brought Andrew with me and tried to rock him and sing him to sleep. He had the funniest case of the giggles and it took him forever to fall asleep. Once he was asleep, I put him in his crib and took a shower.

Reflecting back on the day:

7 outfit changes. 5 poop diapers. An unknown amount of pee diapers. 3 times sweeping the floor. 2 times picking up the same toys and putting the in the toybox. 2 times vacuuming. 7 viewings of Frozen. 3 busted lips. 8 bumps on the head. 12 crying fits. 2 bad pieces of chicken. 3 cheese omelets, 2 grilled cheese sandwiches. 3 video chats. 7,953 times I heard, “Daddy!” 2 sleeping kids.

Add it all up and it equals one amazing day for a very blessed Dad!

May I Have This Dance?

I posted this on Facebook the other day, but I wanted to post it here, too. I post it here because it is a memory that I do not want to forget. It is one of those moments that a father will treasure forever.

Ella has been watching Disney’s The Princess and the Frog. She loves Princess Tiana. When Tiana and the prince kiss and change from frogs to humans once again, there is quite the celebration. In true Disney fashion, there is a big musical number at the end and they all start dancing.

Ella comes up to me and says, “You wanna dance with me, Daddy?!” No answer was necessary as I took her in my arms and did just that! The music that was playing was a jazzy Dixieland number, but that didn’t matter at all. I stood on my knees and held her and we danced. I hugged her, danced, twirled her around, and wiped away tears as she hugged me.

As we danced, I fished my phone out of my pocket to catch this …

I didn’t think I snapped this picture, but I did get it. I didn’t realize until after I went back to look at my phone. Originally, I thought I only caught one picture, this one:

I love them both! The first one I was probably fumbling around with the camera. The second one, I held the phone in my other hand and caught her swaying with me. THIS in itself was a wonderful moment!

As the music ended, I wiped tears away. She said, “Are you sad, Daddy?” I told her she made my heart very happy and they were happy tears. She looked at me and shook her head and said, “No. Daddy, you look sad.”

I only hope she knows just how happy she made me…. THAT is why I had to make sure this made it into a blog. Because, as I said on Facebook, just when I thought I have felt it all….she warms my heart in a way I have never experienced before!

Through tears, I promised her that I would dance with her whenever she wanted to.

Ella, my sweet baby girl, you are so special to me. Thank you for making our dance such a special one. I can’t wait to share more with you.

Time Well Spent

Sometimes, you have to MAKE time. That is what I did the last time my boss asked for all of our “time off requests.” I chose one day a month and took it off to be sure that my wife and I get some “us” time. Last Friday, was the first of those days.

By the end of Wednesday night, I was ready to have that day off! Wednesday was a real mess. Everybody had really difficult patients. It was like someone deliberately put all of them on the same night to create the “Perfect Crapstorm!” I could hear Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy in 30 Rock’s fantastic line, “What is your contingency plan for a crapstorm of this magnitude?” running through my head all night.

Thursday, I came home and was able to get some sleep. I was up at my normal time, and about to get ready for work when I received a text message that there were patients who cancelled and it was my turn to stay home. I cannot even begin to tell you how overjoyed I was to have a bonus night off!

I told my wife that after dinner, we were going to get ice cream! It certainly was not on my diet, but all that mattered was that I was going to have the night with the family. We all packed into the car and went to a local ice cream place about 8 miles from us. I tried to get a family picture while we were there, but neither of the kids knew we were taking the picture …

It was a perfect night. It wasn’t too hot, but there was plenty of sunshine. One of the best moments of the evening was watching Ella willingly share her ice cream with Andrew. It was so sweet to watch.

Then came Friday. Knowing that we were planning on having dinner out somewhere, Sam and I began to discuss where to go to eat. Why is trying to decide where to eat such a chore for couples? It’s crazy. Sam said she’d be happy going to Applebee’s, which I really didn’t want to do. So we looked at the internet and our “lists.” We have a list of places that we would love to try and a list of places that we like. We decided to stay close to home and go to one of our favorite Mexican places.

Prior to us dating, we used to go to this place with one of our teachers. The food is excellent. Once we began dating, we’d go there often. Now, there is one close to our house and we eat there frequently. We dropped the kids off at Sam’s sister’s house and we went to the restaurant that was close to the college.

They brought us their homemade chips and salsa, which is something I should have avoided because of how many points the chips are on Weight Watchers, but I didn’t. Instead, I made the healthy choice of avoiding the chimichangas I usually order, and opted for the chicken fajita, which is basically all free. I ate loads of veggies and chicken. I avoided the tortilla shells and the sour cream. It was delicious.

I also did something I hadn’t done in some time – I had a beer. I made sure to get a light beer and I counted the points for it. While I enjoyed it, I realized that I really have not missed it. There was a time where I was drinking beer almost every night. It was emotionally driven and brought on by stress. Today, I don’t feel the need to drink at all. I’m happy with my coffee or water.

After dinner, Sam and I drove to Target and walked through the store. We were looking for a couple things, but mostly just browsing. We got a few ideas for the kids for Christmas and enjoyed just walking – with no real hurry to get stuff done. It was wonderful.

The time together was much needed. It was a perfect evening. Driving home to get the kids, we talked, held hands and just enjoyed “us.” I am already looking forward to next month’s date day!!

Outdoor “Nutty” Discovery

I posted this on my Facebook page earlier, but wanted to be sure it made the blog.

I took Ella and Andrew out for a walk this morning. We walked a different way than we normally do and I took a small detour. There is a church at the end of our street that has some baseball diamonds and a park. The weather was perfect, so I decided to check out the park.

When we first got there, the kids ran on the wood chips and played on a few of the playground items. Surprisingly, neither one wanted to swing on the swings (which is their “go to” park thing). They were more interested in the wood chips and other things.

On the other side of the fence, there was an oak tree. Ella was looking at the ground and picked up something and said, “Daddy, what is this?!”

I looked on the ground to see a wee bit of green among the brown and tan wood chips.

I told her that she had found an acorn. This led to a search for more of them. She found fresh ones, like the green one above, and a few that had been on the ground for a while. We also found some that the squirrels had enjoyed for lunch or dinner. The more she found, the more she handed me. “I wanna show mommy my acorns!” So, we began throwing acorns of all kinds into the stroller.

There were plenty of acorn “tops” (or “hats” as one of my Facebook friends called them) on the ground.

I remembered a friend showing me that you could use them to whistle. You basically take your two thumbs and place the first knuckles together to form a “V” and blow into it. Ta da! A whistle! Ella was pretty amazed by that and kept asking me to do it. It was such a silly little thing, but I loved every second of it.

Before leaving the park, I took one more picture – because it was the one thing that really stood out …

With a playground behind them, my two kids decided to embrace nature instead of playing on it. We found leaves, acorns, watched squirrels, picked up sticks and more! What a tremendous bonding time for us. As we walked back home, I couldn’t help but notice how much shade was under the trees. I told them that we needed to come back and have a picnic on the grass in the shade before summer was over.

Celebrating My Children!

In the Bible, in Psalm 127:3-5, it reads:

“(3) Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. (4) As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. (5) Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them”

My quiver has been blessed four times! I am certainly a lucky man to have been chosen by God to be a father to my children. Each of them, different in their own special way, fill my heart and soul.

Dante’

My first born. He’s the one who made me “dad” for the first time. He is probably the most like me. He has a love for old music, old movies, and loves information on older celebrities. He is loud and boisterous at times, but is also a gentle soul who loves to help people. His random acts of kindness make me so proud of him. He’s a hard worker who loves to have fun and loves to be surrounded by friends. In a sense, he is my “Mini-Me.” He is currently studying hard with college and continues to thrive!

Dimitri

My second born. He is also a bit like me, but in another way. Now a high schooler, I see him mimicking many of my study “habits,” which is probably not good. I was the same way – waiting till the last minute to do homework or projects, forgetting to do things I need to and only doing the things that I WANTED to do, and never really studying like I should. I try to use those things as “teaching opportunities” with him. He is, however, a typical teenager right now. He is learning how to golf, so I cannot wait to go play a round (and rounds) with him. He has a bright future and in the years ahead, I know he will do great things!

Not unless there is a miracle

After some tests, I was asked if I was done having children. At the time, I was. The doctor said this was good, because based on the test results, I only had about a 4% chance of ever having more children.

After my divorce, and after I remarried, my wife and I discussed children. She is younger than me and wanted children. Knowing what I knew, it would take a miracle to have more. We discussed adoption at one point and even looked into other methods of getting pregnant. Then the miracle came ….

Ella

I will never forget the day Sam told me that we were having a baby. I will never forget they day we found out that our miracle was going to be a girl! I will never forget the day that she was born. For some reason, God decided that I would once again be a daddy and he sent me this beautiful little girl. What a joy it was to relive the first tooth, the first steps, the first words, and all the things that come with having a baby. She is so smart!! She excels at so many things! She her laughter is music to my ears. When she breaks out in song, I could listen all day. I love our moments playing Little People, reading books, and watching Bluey together. She is my sweet princess and I look forward to those special daddy/daughter moments.

Andrew

Another miracle! Ella was about a year old when we found out that Sam was once again expecting. It was truly a huge surprise to both of us! He is the opposite of Ella in so many ways. We never had to baby proof anything with her, but he is always into something. He is WAY ahead of where he should be. He was walking early and no doubt will be talking early. He is doing all he can to keep up with his sister. He is one of the happiest babies. There is something about his smile that just makes everything better. His laughter is just as musical as Ella’s. His first year is flying by and I look forward to teaching him to throw a baseball and those great father/son things.

My dear children –

Thank you for each being so special to me. I am so honored to be your father. I love you with every ounce of my being. I hope that I will live up to the responsibility that God has given me to teach you, to raise you, and to prepare you for life. In the time ahead, I will be happy to listen to you, to help you, or to give advice. I promise to be here for you till the end of my days.

Love always,

Dad