Happy Birthday Dad!

December 4th was my sweet Dad's 48th Birthday! I know that he is funny about revealing his age, but who cares, he looks great!

My Dad and I have always been extremely close. I am quite the "daddy's girl" and sadly, used that to my advantage all the way through high school. Though my Dad may look intimidating, he is extremely sweet and sensitive. I cannot put a number on all of the after school talks that we have had. I remember going down to his office, after having a fight with a dumb boyfriend or one of my friends, to seek his advice. My Dad has been known to ALWAYS take on WAY too much. Even with a full plate, he would always set aside what he was doing to listen to my "huge life-changing event," that occurred almost every single day. My Dad would put away all distractions and listen to me like I was the most important thing in the world. He would offer up sincere and helpful advice, even if what I was telling him was ridiculous and dramatic. It really meant so much to me that he was willing to take my problems upon himself and help me find a solution, so that it could put my mind at ease. My Dad has ALWAYS helped anyone who has had a problem.

My Dad is currently the Bishop of my home ward in Maple Valley, WA. I have never seen a Bishop, who takes their call as seriously as Dad does. When I used to watch him on the stand, I noticed that his eyes were constantly scanning the congregation as he looked for signs of ward members that were struggling. There were several times that he would receive calls in the middle of the night and would leave to attend to someone in need. I know that this is his calling, but I am amazed at how much time and hard work he has put into being the best support for the ward members that he can possibly be.

My Dad is an incredibly hard worker and has always put his all into everything that he has ever done. I remember living in Reno, NV for the first few years of my life. My Dad was the Owner/Manager of the housing development that we lived in and constantly received calls from angry home owners, commanding him to come fix something in the middle of the night. He always had the best attitude and made it a point to fix the problem right away so that the home owners were satisfied. During the time that we lived in Nevada, things were going pretty slowly, so my Dad worked all day, every single day of the week. He made so many sacrifices so that our family would always have the means necessary.

My Dad is so sweet and sentimental. For every Father's Day, my dad would ask us to do some kind of picture project or write him a letter. Several years ago, we made him a scrapbook of trips that our family had taken. To this day, he still has it on display in his office. He has also saved every single one of the "apology" notes that I have written him, from past arguments.

When Tiff and I were in Cheer, we would throw footballs to the crowd when our team would score a touchdown. We would save one, shout out my Dad's name and throw him the football that both Tiff and I had signed. I know that this meant so much to him and in times past that I have cleaned his office, I have found his collection of footballs.

My Dad often told me stories of when I was younger. When I was a baby, my parents let me sleep in their bed but finally got to a point where they decided that I needed to be in my own room. It was the first night that I was in my own room and of course, I did not like it. I first started yelling, "Mommy!" My Dad told my mom to be strong and just let me fall asleep. After a few moments of yelling for my mom, I realized that I needed to try something else. I screamed, "Daddy." My dad immediately jumped out of bed and came running into my room. He shouted to my mom that "his baby" needed him! Since that moment, I have always been a Daddy's girl. Ha.

When I was a toddler, my dad would come into my room to say good night to me when he would get home from work; and a lot of times, I was already asleep. My dad would kneel by my bed and whisper in my ear, "Always know that Daddy loves you."

My Dad has never let a day pass without telling me that he loved me. When we would be in the middle of a fight, he would melt the ice on my heart by saying, " I know that you don't like me right now, but there is nothing that you can do to make me stop loving you." My Dad was my first best friend and has been for as long as I can remember. I am so much like my dad, it is crazy. My Dad is incredibly organized and is always making lists of things that need to do for the day. I have really learned to appreciate his organization and have taken it upon myself to be more organized since I have moved away from home.

My Dad is extremely thoughtful. He calls his Grandpa weekly to make sure that he doing all right and is constantly checking up on members of the family to make sure that they are doing okay as well. He ALWAYS wants to make sure that no one is left out and that everyone feels loved and included. I love the Christmas and Thanksgiving traditions that we have adopted over the last few years of having families or individuals, that did not have plans for the holidays, over to our home. The holidays have always been packed and chaotic but I absolutely love it!

My Dad is incredibly intelligent. As I said before, he ALWAYS has WAY too much on his plate but is always willing to take on more. In addition to providing for a family and being the bishop, my dad received his MBA in business and graduated with a 4.0. That may sound like bragging but I am honestly amazed that he could do this! He has also received his counseling license and has also set a goal for himself of obtaining a PhD. What I love about my Dad is the fact that he is so well accomplished but has NEVER made it a point to shove it in someones face. I have never realized how important this is. My Mom is also, one of the most intelligent and amazing people that I know and although, she does not have a degree, my Dad has always praised my mom and noted that she knows so much more than he does. I cannot explain how beneficial it was to grow up in a home where my parents were always on the same page. My Dad never went behind my mom's back and vice versa. They always made decisions together and have acted as a team. I love the example that my mom and dad have set for how a marriage should be. I believe that they have set the bar a bit too high but I hope that in the years to come, my marriage can grow into what theirs has become.

My Dad is a hard worker, intelligent, sweet and so compassionate. He has been a wonderful provider my whole life and I am so excited for my children to be close to him and learn from his example. He is the most selfless person I know and is constantly serving others. I love his tender heart and am so grateful for the rock that he has been in my life. He has an unshakable testimony and has always put the words of the prophet first. I cannot even begin to tell him how grateful I am for him. I hope he knows how much I truly love and admire him.