Five for Father's Day

Here's my Friday post which I've "saved" until today.  OK, not really, but, hey, life is busy around here!  Before starting on my 5 little guys and gals, I want to talk about some of my favorite big guys - aka some important dads around here...

MY HUSBAND: What a great dad he is!  I was telling my girlfriend that I knew he had grown to love parenthood when he picked up our friend's crying baby voluntarily without being asked to comfort him.  And that was before Cinco!  (Cory, do you remember that?)  He loves all of our babies and it's so sweet to see him interact with each one: husband, daddy, provider, coach, Cub Scout den leader, Bible study leader, Prince Charming, and now a deacon in our church.  He's awesome.  I love this man! 

Dean was ordained as a deacon in our church last Sunday.
All ordained deacons were invited to come forward and pray for us. 
Beside me is his Grandpa Jerry and behind him is his dad, both
 of whom are deacons in their churches. 

MY DAD: The first awesome dad that God put in my life!  He raised us, sent us off and still thinks of us as his little girls.  All of his grandkids just love their Pop too!  I'm so thankful to have a dad who is devoted and loyal to his family!

Pop cuddling Lydia.

MY FATHER-IN-LAW: Bill is my favorite father-in-law.  OK, he's my only one, but I love him all the same!  We just had the occasion to celebrate his retirement from the Coast Guard - 38 years of service to our country!  He had a really nice ceremony attended by close friends and family - including my parents and my kids.  He's been talking about retirement for the whole time I've been a part of his family.  And 11 years later, he finally did it!  Dean and Lacey did an fantastic job speaking - the top 10 reasons to love growing up in the military. 



Yep, Eliza just wandered up to his lap in the middle of the admiral's speech.
Disclaimer: Papa invited wanted the kids there!
And I think this might have been one of his favorite moments!


1) Jacob: Here he is with Dean as a Wolf Scout now.  He and our new Tiger Cub, Zach, are with Daddy (Jacob's den leader) at a Flag Ceremony.

2) Zachary: The best news from this week was that Zachary accepted Jesus as his Savior!  We knew he was ready when his blessing for meals sounded like sermons.  So Dean lead him through a gospel presentation and he prayed to receive Christ.  He went forward in church to be a part of the "family of God" (he's been saying that all week) on Sunday.

3) Lydia is Lydia.  What can I say.  One moment she's sweeter than honey.  The next she exhibits strong leadership qualities.  And she's pretty...  Dad tells me that she's exactly like I was as a little girl.

4) Eliza: So, I may have sent the girls out to play in the rain.  But I did put rain coats on them!

5) Anna: She finally made it past her birth weight!  She weighed in at 8lb, 8oz at her weight check this week!  That was an average 1 oz/day weight gain since her last visit - great job, Anna!

Snuggling with Nana Hopper