To My Family...

Jeff

You have survived me for 10 years
You have weathered my family, friends, career, and school
You have given me two wonderful children
and have fostered a loving family for all of us
You made me a homeowner, a college graduate, a mother, and a career woman
I wouldn’t be where I am today without you

You are my rock
You are my adventure and my courage
You give me the strength to try something new or persevere something difficult
You are my mentor, counselor, and friend
You hold my secrets and praise my successes
You handle my idiosyncrasies and manage my habits
You give and give and take and give some more

You are the man who walks on a song
You are the man who awakens to the flow of a river
and breathes deeper in his kayak or hiking boots
You share these passions with me
Better yet, you teach them to our children

You are a conscious and thoughtful father
able to make smiles out of tears and laughter out of screams
You are a loving son and brother
You are successful and personable and likeable and social
You are gorgeous inside and out even if I neglect to tell you
You are crazy to be with me this long
but I hope you never change

I love you!

Peyton

You keep reminding me that you’re almost 7-years-old.
7 seems so much older than 6.
You are a 1st grader now,
trying to gain independence.
You seem to thrive at the new experience
and I watch you work through your shyness
much better than I ever did at your age.
You ask questions and aren’t satisfied with generic answers.
You have friends, a lot of them, and never complain about enemies.
You didn’t want me to walk in to school with you on the 1st day
but you let me come for lunch and stay and play with you at recess.
You say “I love you, too” quietly when I drop you off at school
and before I go to school at night.

You still drape your arm around my neck when we snuggle together
and your hugs can’t be beat.
You are impressed with my shoe-tying ability
and ask for my help even though you’re capable—
you know I’ll keep tying your shoes
because I fear the day you will no longer want my help.

You like to do “boy” things with Daddy
and “dates” with Mommy.
You watch out for your sister and are her teacher and disciplinarian, too.
You are sweet and kind and stubborn and determined.

I love you!

Ashley

You don’t like being left alone
or loud, sudden noises.
You take to organizing our bathroom cabinet
and carefully removing all the items from my make-up bag,
placing them in precision on the floor,
lecturing them as if they are your students,
and then placing them one-by-one back where they belong.
You like the taste of Listerine
and prefer to use Mommy & Daddy toothpaste.
You love music and dancing and reading stories and making pictures.
You always offer to help do laundry, the dishes, or vacuum the floor,
but you hate getting your face washed
or your hair combed.

You are a Daddy’s girl
and a Mommy’s girl
and know which one to be when it benefits you most.
You love your Big Brother and always want to sit by him,
jump on the trampoline with him,
play Power Rangers with him,
or watch High School Musical with him.
You talk to Charley and Figaro as if they will understand you
and you always remember to include them in our prayers.
You can get Daddy to do whatever you want by saying “it makes me happy.”

You are uniquely you.
At times a princess,
at times a mischievous 3-year-old.

I love you!