my favorite place to be

 

 caroline presented dan & i with a very special letter on thanksgiving day.

she read it out loud to us with a tender heart as dan and i smiled back and forth to each other over & over.

her letter listed several reasons why she was thankful we were her parents,

yet i think she was maybe unaware of the power behind one of the passages.

she wrote how thankful she was that she knew we'd never leave each other or divorce.

how loved that made her feel & the safety that gave her.

today is dan's birthday.

& caroline nailed it.

she nailed the two strongest character traits of her daddy.

his selfless love for us and his loyalty.

i have never known a more selfless person.

dan lays down his life for our family every day.

he lays down his desires, choices or preferences

and continually, joyfully, allows the other person,

who ever it may be,

to figuratively have the right of way.

whether it's his daughters

someone in traffic

people that i don't even like

anyone.

constantly giving to the other person.

 

his loyalty to me

& to our children

has created a safe haven

whether it's within his strong yet gentle hugs

or within the structure of our home.

a loyalty that fills my heart

& i know he'll never leave or long to be elsewhere.

the last couple of months we have been a continual financial issues.

we needed to do some major landscaping after the power company cut down all our trees.

very expensive.

all four cars have needed work & yesterday he paid all the emissions on each of them.

we've had extra medical bills & vet bills

the water heater was replaced yesterday

and the heater and garage door went out on the same day.

the window in my car is stuck

sorority dues, dance recital fees and cheerleading payments.

& i resigned from my "real job"

& just life.

it's been a tight month.

yet he never complains or lashes out on us.

he is my constant encourager

he makes me feel like i'm miss america whether i'm in what i affectionately refer to as
my fatty stage or i'm training for a half marathon.

he calls me "beautiful"

and never makes fun of my cooking.

he acts like he truly enjoys living in a house full of white

 never leaves dirty clothes on the floor.

& the toilet seat has only been left up a handful of times in our marriage.

he knows eating out is my love language

& gives nightly back rubs.

he is perpetually kind.

to give you an example,

i had ran by the home of owner of the dog that attacked brinkley the other day.

she had agreed to pay the vet bill.

dan had to make a few visits there before they ever connected.

one time i asked him to swing by there but he didn't want to interupt their thanksgiving weekend.

last night he wanted to wait until "after dinner hours" to 'bother' them.

always thinking of the other person.

that same gentle kind spirit is how he always answers me and the girls 

anytime we "ask" him for money or tell him about a need.

always a kind response.

after we were married he adopted savannah, madison & emily.

he treats them & caroline equally

& loves on them like Jesus.

he truly shows them what the love of our Heavenly Father

is like.

happy birthday sweet man

right beside you is my favorite place to be.

allofmylove2you

forever