Red Carpet Treatment

About a month ago, John mentioned that he had never ridden in a limousine and thought it would be fun to do so, and an idea formed in my head. However, because my brain is so filled it took a while to get my idea in motion, and at the last minute I got some friends to join me in surprising our husbands with a fun evening out in honor of Father's Day. On Monday I presented John with this card,

(We made the red carpet out of felt, and it rolled out at them once they opened the card. So cute.)

So, yesterday we meet at one of our friends houses, and our husbands still don't know what is going on. We said we were waiting on one more person. A few minutes later, John was looking out of the window and said, "Are they coming in a limo?" It was fun to watch their faces as they figured out that it was for us.

We bought some sparkling cider to have in the limo, and we made some appetizers to eat in there too. I made one of my new favorite appetizers, a different kind of bruschette. We then ate dinner at Carrabas.

It was a fun evening with friends and good food, and fun to surprise John with something like this. I love giving experiences instead of gifts.

The outing ended with us in the back of a police car, but not because of the picture below...

(Sorry, I couldn't resist) (We did also have glasses to use in the limo. Just in case you were wondering...)

We came home, got our kids from the neighbors house (thank you!) and put Mallary to bed and snuggled with Trevan for a little while. Then John went and put him to bed. A little while later I went to find John, and found him asleep next to Trevan who had fallen asleep with his arm around his dad.

An appropriate ending to an evening celebrating fathers.

Superdaddy

Dear Trevan and Mallary,

You are so lucky to have such a great Dad! He was so excited for you to come join our family. When I carried you in my belly, he would sing to you and talk to you.

I'm so thankful for all that he does for you and for me. He works really hard to help take care of you, and loves to come home from work and see you. You make him laugh because you are so silly, and I think that is one of his favorite things. Later on you might not remember all that you do with your daddy, so here are some things that he does for you:

Trevan's first bath

He gives you baths, and fills the water deeper than I would to let you have more fun playing in the water.

He snuggles with you. I think this is one of his favorite things.

He reads to you, and tells you bed time stories. His stories are longer than mine are.

He set the example for you that you can work hard and finish the things you start.

He helps feed you. He also would wake up and get you in the middle of the night when you were babies and wanted to eat. He would bring you to me, and then take you back to bed. He is such a good daddy.

He plays with you. A lot.


He takes you to the playground.


He helps you try new things, and makes you try new foods.


He'll always be there if you need him to hold your hand, or help you. He loves you A WHOLE LOT!

He thinks you guys are pretty great. I can tell because of how he looks at you...


and that is one of my most favorite things!


Happy Father's Day, John! You are such a good dad, I couldn't have asked for a better father for my children. I'm so lucky!

Friday Family Feature

Words really are inadequate to express how I feel about my father. This could be my hardest post yet.

My dad is Superman. Seriously, Larry J. (That's what we call him sometimes) is Superman. (Did you know Mallary is named after my mom and my dad's name combined? Now you do. Mary and Larry make Mallary. Hence the 'ary.' In high school I used to be silly and call my parents 'Malaria,' a different combination of their names.) Anyway, my dad is the greatest.

My Dad is a retired engineer. He was able to retire the year before I got married (I think that is when it was) so that he could take care of my mom. He may have been an engineer but he is seriously a Jack of all trades. Someone asked me why my Dad retired so early, and wasn't he bored? I laughed at them. My dad is crazy busy. He can also work circles around most people. Being as talented as he is, his skills are in high demand from his children. He could really start his own business doing contracting, carpentry, whatever, and he would have plenty of clients lined up to use him. I always assumed that when I got married I would marry someone like my dad who could fix everything. Well, you know what they say about assuming… I thought every dad was like my dad. Little did I know…

That's my dad, the Jack of all trades. He built his house, he cooks, he bakes (his current masterpiece: chocolate haupia pie, oh if you could taste it…), he makes great bread (it’s healthy too!), and he even cuts his own hair! (hee hee) I was trying to think of what some of my family's favorite things are of his to cook, and I know everyone would say pancakes because he makes the best in the world (but that is one food I do not enjoy, no matter who makes them, unless there are chocolate chips in them), and my niece would say crepes, and those are delicious too, but just look at this list that I came up with that I know are some of my siblings and my favorites:

Chipped beef and gravy
Biscuits and gravy
Turkey gravy for Thanksgiving
A different turkey gravy the next morning for breakfast.

I guess we like gravy, and he is the Master Gravy Maker.

My dad is also a safe driver. You may think it funny that I mention this, but if you know what kind of anxiety I suffer when I ride with my husband, you'd know how much I appreciate feeling comfortable in a car I am riding in. I can relax and rest easy if I am riding in the car with my dad driving. Maybe it is from all those years of observing him drive, he earned my trust or something. On long car rides on vacation, everyone would usually be asleep except dad and I. I don't know if I felt it my duty to help him stay awake (which he always did), but I would occasionally glance at the rear view mirror to make sure he was still awake and alert. I was giving him moral support even if he wasn't aware of it.

I was a real stinker of a kid and didn't get along with my mom until sometime while I was in high school, but I always had a close relationship with my dad. I know I'm his favorite (sorry siblings), and I even got a pendant for Christmas one year that said "I am Daddy's Girl," and I cherished it always. I even still have it. We have a special connection, and a while ago it seemed he was saying to me, "get out of my head," pretty often.

People will tell me I look like my father, and it makes me proud. Kind of like that country song by Jodi Messina with the lyrics, "I am Rose Marie's granddaughter, the spitting image of my father, and when the day is done my mama's still my biggest fan..." When I sing along to those lyrics I think of how proud I am to be my father's daughter. He is seriously the greatest, and there are just no words to describe how I feel about it.

My dad is pretty funny. At my wedding someone came up to me and said, "what a good idea to have food for the little kids." I responded with, "oh, I thought it would be fun," thinking she was talking about the otter pops that were supposed to be on the food table in champagne buckets. (We got married in August, and it was HOT and HUMID, I thought the kids would like them and they would be fun. I like them too...) A little while later, someone told me that the otter pops had been forgotten and left in the freezer at home, so there were empty champagne buckets on the table. "What was she talking about then, food for the kids?" I finally got to the food table and just laughed. There on the table was a nice soup tureen filled with fruit loops. My dad's little joke. (We call each other fruit loops in our family to let you know we think you're crazy) I think it's funny that someone thought that I would put a bowl of fruit loops on the table. My dad is so funny...

One of my main memories from family vacations are swimming in the pools at campgrounds or hotels. Isn't that funny? All the places we went and the things we did on vacations, and the pool memories stand out the most to me. Honestly, it seemed like most of those times my family practically had those pools to ourselves. What I remember most is being with my dad in the pools. We would hang around his neck, we would jump off of the edge into his arms, and he would wait for us in the deep end for when we wanted to jump off of the diving board. I knew I could trust him to catch me. I know he is still there to catch me if I need him too.

My mom once told me, "your father would do anything for his children or grandchildren," and he does. He helped me with my business and built my displays, even sat at shows for me selling hair bows. I know he would help us anyway he can. I wish I didn't have to share him with my brothers and sisters...

Here he is before Marianne's wedding reception helping with the food (that he mostly cooked) before he put on his tux. He says what he does are labors of love, and he shows us he loves us a lot. He will do almost anything for us, except maybe change a diaper... He will in "an emergency" though...

He is so wonderful and helps us all with our kids. He is a great grandpa (or Papa as he is called by our kids) and helps take care of them when he is around.

My dad with his first grandchild, Laurajane.

Dad holding baby Trevan

One of my most special memories is when Dad flew in after we had brought Trevan home from the hospital after he was born. My dad knocked on the door, I hugged him, walked him into the living room where Trevan was asleep on the couch and introduced him to his newest grand baby. The very moment dad looked at him, Trevan smiled in his sleep. My heart soared. It was such a touching moment for me to introduce the newest love in my life to one of the first loves in my life. It was a really sweet moment for me. After I had Trevan, my parents were there for almost three weeks taking care of me. I was so spoiled. My dad cooked all the delicious meals, and a lot of the new recipes he tried during that time are still some of my favorites.

Mom, Dad, & Mallary

Here's another one. I was scheduled to be induced, and my mom happened to be in the hospital at the same time. My dad was planning on coming down to help with the kids, and leaving her there (my sister and brothers and sister-in-laws were there to stay with my mom), and my brother called and told I me I should call and tell my dad not to come because he needed to be there with mom. So, I did., but he said he was going to come anyway. Being pregnant makes someone really emotional anyway, but my mom being in the hospital made me more emotional, and the thought of my mom not being in the delivery room with me made me even more emotional, and the thought of her not being here at all made me that much more emotional. I called and broke down on the phone asking my older sister to come. I probably cried for two days over this. My dad called and said he was coming, and that's final. So, the night he was supposed to come, I heard him pull up and I opened my door and saw someone sitting in the front seat with him. I didn't have my glasses on, so I couldn't see who it was, and as I got closer I realized it was my mom. I was so surprised, shocked would be a better word. Had I not been crying for two days straight I probably would have sobbed myself silly, but I don't think I had any water left in me, except the stuff my baby was floating around in. The doctors and nurses worked so hard to help my mom be here for when I had my baby. They let her come, and dad just gave her her medicine stuff through her IV. She did have to go back to the hospital after she got back a few days later. My parents have continuously shown me that we sacrifice things for those we love, and try our best to be there for each other to show them we love them.

I talk to my dad almost every day on the phone. That started when I went to college I think. Actually, it started before then, because we used to call dad at work all the time, especially when we were home in the summer. He is one of my very bestest friends.

He has been an amazing example to me my whole life. I have watched him serve and help others so willingly. He is the greatest example of what a husband and father should be like. There are no gifts, and words that I can give him that even compare to what he has done for me, or that can show him how much he means to me. I hate it, because everything seems so inadequate in describing how I feel, or showing him how much I care. The only thing that can come close, I guess, is telling him I hope I can be more like him, and that I want to teach my children to be like him.

Thank you Dad, for being who you are. Thank you for the unconditional love that you give. Thank you for being such a great father and example to me and our family. The world is a better place because you are in it.

I love you! You are the best! Seriously.

Happy Father's Day!

He cut my pancakes

will post pictures later...

I think I was three when my Grandaddy (my mom's dad) died. In honor of my blogging week being dedicated to fathers, here's a little bit about him.

My family used to do a newsletter (well, I did it, they participated occasionally), and the last issue had a piece about my grandaddy. All this information comes from me interviewing my mom for that newsletter.

My Grandaddy had a very active role in the upbringing of his children. It's funny how my mom married someone that also took an active roll, and I followed that example and married someone like that too. (To Mallary and my nieces: It would be wise to follow suit!)

My Grandfather managed a liquor store, so he was an employee of the state. He always wore a white shirt, tie, and hat to work. He was a Democrat and when the Republicans got in office, he lost his job and worked for the board of education in the summer, painting schools, etc. My Grandmother was a teacher and left earlier in the mornings, so my Grandaddy did a lot of cooking, and he always made breakfast. Some things he made for breakfast were, fried hog brains, gizzards, liver, and pork chops. (Yummmm... the breakfast of champions...)He would wake my mom up at six or six thirty in the morning and teach her how to make biscuits. He cooked from scratch and made the best pot of soup from leftovers (something that my mom did too). Granddaddy served in WWII, but he couldn't fight because he lost his eye in a game called Pig's Eye (someone threw a knife in his eye so he had a glass eye). When the army found out he could cook, he ended up cooking for all the high ranking officers in the army. I think we have my Grandaddy to thank for my family's passion for seafood. He loved shrimp cocktail, and oyster stew. We would have fried oysters for holidays sometimes. (Eat them dipped in mustard... divine!) He also loved my dad's favorite brown beans and cornbread.

Grandaddy took care of bath time, and washed the kids in big tubs in the basement with Tide. (Did you know they had that back then?) He was also the disciplinarian and whipped with a strap. My mom said she learned to be honest from him. He had a sense of humor and was a very congenial person. She said it bugged him that people cared about the color of other people's skin. She also learned her bargain hunting skills from him. He would call his daughter in laws and tell them what the bargains were from the stores that week. (I'm glad I can carry on at least one of his legacies.) He didn't throw his money away. When my mom got married she said he would collect things for her like spatulas or pitchers.

My Grandaddy loved every sport, but he really loved baseball. When he was younger he played in a local semi-professional league. When I was younger at all of my mom's family gatherings there was usually a family game of baseball or softball up in the field. At night after everyone had gone to bed, my grandfather would sit in the dark beside the radio and listen to a game until it was over, sometimes until eleven at night or one in the morning.

He loved the summertime! He would plow every one's garden up and down the road. They had a garden every year, but didn't start canning until after my grandmother retired. They froze stuff though, and he did can with my Great Aunt Ruth after he retired. He always took the family on vacations to Indian Creek, Myrtle Beach, Harper's Ferry, or to visit family.

Grandaddy loved little kids, and he liked feeding them their bottles. "Mom was his favorite child." Even as an adult she would sit on his lap, and say, "I am your favorite daughter," and he'd respond, "because you are my only daughter." He would pay her to pull out the white hairs on his nose, ears and eyebrows.

He was very good to my Grandmother. They usually left in the morning together, and there was always a goodbye kiss. He liked to be punctual, and really liked to be early, not just on time, and was always saying, "hurry up!" He was very organized and everything had a place. (Those traits of being punctual and organized must have skipped a generation...) My Grandaddy died at the age of 72.

I don't remember much about my Grandaddy. I remember sitting on his lap in his recliner. He called me Stink Pot Polecat. I remember sitting at their kitchen table and he would cut my pancakes for me. I also remember seeing him in his casket.

My mother loved her father very much. When I picture my memories of him from when I was so young, I feel like I can feel how I felt when I was around him, it's hard to explain. It's like I can feel the smiles or the laughter in the air...

"The one with the white hair"

I'm lucky enough to have a really great father-in-law. I couldn't have asked for a better Grandpa for my kids. He is so sweet and enjoys being around his grandkids. When Trevan was smaller he called Spencer his Grandpa with the white hair.

Mallary and her Grandpa Hamilton

Anyone that knows Trevan knows that he will play with you to death. Seriously. Morning to night and longer if you'd let him. Spencer has always been so great when he comes to visit. Literally playing with Trevan ALL DAY. You occasionally hear him tell Trevan he is going to go rest, or take a break, but Trevan always talks him into playing longer. It is the cutest thing.

On this particular visit, Trevan and Spencer sat at the table for half the day. I don't think I have ever seen Trevan sit in one place that long in his whole life. They played a lot of our games. Spencer would let Trevan make up the rules to the game they were playing. It was so funny, and adorable.

John's parents have nine children, so you often see Spencer holding more than one grandchild at a time.

Spencer and his grandson that is named after him, and Mallary

Spencer with Trevan and his cousin, Leah

Spencer and Gerri with Trevan and Leah in both pictures above.

Spencer holding Mallary

He helps out with the kids so much when he comes to visit, he deserves all the naps he can take!

Gerri and Spencer with Trevan

I'm really thankful that my husband had such a wonderful example of a father in his life. John is such a great dad, and I know that I can thank his dad for a lot of that. John is willing to help out, and play with his kids, and I know he learned that from watching his great father. John talks about the wheat pancakes his dad always made on weekends, and so it was natural for John to make breakfast on the weekends, because that is what his dad did (and my dad did too, so it was also my expectation).

Thanks Spencer for being such a great father to create another great father, and for being such a wonderful Grandfather! Happy Father's Day! We love you!

The cutest old man in the world

Well... maybe not in that picture.

Meet my Grandpa, James, Jim, or Jimmy

My grandpa and grandma with their first grand-daughter, Laurajane

My Grandpa is a funny man. He taught me the right way to make a fist, and offer with one fist, "two years in the hospital?" then offer the other clenched fist, "or sudden death?" (Actually, now I'm not sure if he taught me that, but I think so. He did teach me how to make a fist and the right place to put my thumb. But, I do offer up those questions to him with my fists though.) I used to skip with my Grandpa, and finally when I was in college, we skipped together, and he got hurt. He won't skip with me anymore. Sometimes, I go up to him and slip my hand in his and ask him if he wants to skip. He now jerks his hand away quickly, and growls, "I don't think so." It is fun to get him to scare the little grandkids by taking out his dentures and showing them. Jenna, my neice, was frightened so bad, I really have to talk him into it now. My grandpa really thinks he is funny when he offers me his coffee. Once, when I was in college, he asked me if I wanted some of his coffee (I don't drink coffee, and he knew that) and he was joking around and was like, "oh, just try it, you know you want to," and he spilled it down the front of my brand new white shirt (literally, the first day I had ever worn it). I think that was the only time I was ever even remotely upset with my Grandpa. So, he thinks he is pretty funny.

This is my favorite picture of me and my Grandpa. I always thought my Grandpa was a handsome old man. I always tell him I know I'm his favorite. I seriously love this man to death. He has a heart of gold. When I was in highschool, I was with one of my uncles once (one of my mother's brothers) and he was telling me about my Granddaddy (my mom's dad who died when I was very little), and then he said, "You know what? Both of your grandfathers were/are really good men." When he said that he emphasized it a little more, and it really stood out to me, and I remember feeling so proud that my Grandfathers were so great. I still feel like that.

All the Grandkids love Great Grandpa. He sings to them, and plays with them.

Mallary playing catch with her Great Grandpa

Grandpa is always willing to hold a baby.

Grandpa holding Trevan for the first time.

He gave his smile of approval

My grandpa has had the same haircut for as long as I've known him, and I love rubbing his spikey head, I think a lot of us do. My grandpa loves me even though I call him "Pampers" sometimes. He really doesn't like it, but he still likes me. He doesn't wear them, (just to clear that up), but it derived from all the other nicknames I use, "Grandpappy, Gramps," etc.

I love being around my Grandpa. It makes me happy. I love sitting around and listening to him play his guitar and sing. It is a very "at home" feeling. He is the greatest Grandpa in the world.

I want to skip with him forever!