My Dad

So many of y’all have checked in with me recently to see if everything was okay (due to my lack of posting). We are okay, but we have definitely had an incredibly difficult month, and family time became our only priority.

On September 30th I had a planned (medically necessary) surgery. We knew it was going to be a hard recovery, but it has definitely been harder physically than we had planned for. I’ve encountered some complications that I’m still dealing with (now 1 month out), and although I have made some really good progress in the last several days, I still have some healing to do.

In the middle of all of my surgery recovery, my precious dad went to be with Jesus on October 8th. If you’ve been a follower for a long time, then I know you’ve heard me talk about my sweet dad many times before. He was an amazing dad, an incredible person, and my goodness we miss him so much. He was my biggest cheerleader and the blog’s #1 fan. He never missed a post, and I often times received text messages from him saying “Pretty model in today’s post”. He was the absolute sweetest.

Even in the midst of all of our grief, we are so thankful that we know where he is. He is with his Saviour, pain free, and probably playing bass guitar and singing lead vocals in the angel band.

My dad was seriously the best. Always kind, always loving, always generous, and always my biggest cheerleader. And I really do mean always. My mom, sister, and I never doubted his love for us because he told us ALL. THE. TIME. I miss him terribly, but I am so thankful that he was my dad, and I’m so proud of the person he was.

His celebration of life service was held this past Friday, and I know he would have loved it. It was so special. The room was filled with people that loved and admired him, and it was wonderful to hear very personal stories from so many of how he had touched their lives. It was a beautiful day that I will never forget, and I’m so thankful to all of you who showed up for my dad and for my family. We felt the love.

Today I’m feeling grateful for the promise that I will see him again, hug him again, and get to hear him call me “sweetie”.

Love you so much, Dad. You did good.

The cute little fell on the far left on the front row is my dad. He was seriously adorable.

And that cool cat on the far right? Yep, that’s my dad. 😉 Isn’t he so handsome?

He and some friends formed a band in high school called the Guv’nors, and they played at all the high school dances and around town at different venues. In college they expanded the band and were known as The Fraternity of Soul.

When my parents first got married, he sang for a living. Even after they had me, my mom was a teacher, so my dad took care of me during the day and played gigs at night.

Look at him rocking the short shorts on vacay. 😉

When I was in high school, my dad became one of the first Nationwide Insurance Agents in Texas. He provided insurance for so many Lake Highlands residents, and he took such pride in providing impeccable service to all of his customers. I think we were on one of his award trips in the next picture.

One of my favorite pictures of the two of us…

And how cute were my mom and dad.

Carter wasn’t even a week old here. He was his first grandbaby, and my dad was so proud.

And here he is in his signature newsboy cap. I sure do hope they have newsboy caps in Heaven.

My dad had various health struggles over the last several years. He was in and out of the hospital (my mom was the best advocate!), and he was always able to kick whatever he was dealing with and get back home.

And when he was feeling good, he always made a point to get to his grandson’s games.

My dad’s birthday was November 15th and my mom’s is November 23rd, so the 4 of us would always meet at Nordstrom for lunch in November. This year just won’t be the same without him.

I’ll keep the details private, but when he went into the hospital near the end of September, we were all just sure it would be like all the times before and he would come home to us again. Sadly, his body just couldn’t endure anymore. We were all able to spend some very sweet time with him during his last 3 days, and in the end, we felt peace knowing he was pain free and with Jesus.

We sure do cherish all the memories.

I know this year there are going to be a lot of really sad and really hard times where grief is just going to come out of nowhere and smack me upside the head. I hear that’s how grief works.

We are going to miss him like crazy, but we are just so thankful that he was ours and that we know we will see him again.

I LOVE YOU, DAD! I WILL MISS YOU EVERY DAY, and I will do my best to “WORK HARD, DO GOOD, and HAVE FUN” just like you taught us.

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