My precious Dad ~ 10 Years

I woke up this morning thinking and remembering my amazing dad.  10 Years Ago today my dad went to be with Jesus.  I wanted to take a minute and just love on him, especially today.  It's crazy to me that it's been 10 years, when so many times it feels like it was just last week.  I miss my daddy ALL the time!!!!  I think of him, love him, and remember SO many amazing memories we shared together and as a family.  He was always my hero, and someone I looked up to tremendously!  He was an amazing man of God, he was a great joy to SO many people, he was a WONDERFUL father, and an AMAZING couch to me in many areas of my life.  I miss his humor, his jokes, his 'teases', his hugs, his presence, I just miss my dad today!  

Dad, 

Thank you SO much for being not only my dad, friend, and coach, but for being someone that I truly admire.  Thank you for raising me the way you and Mom did.  Thank you for working SO hard for our family.  Thank you for making it a point to take us on vacations, even if it was a stretch for you(which I never knew if it was), but thank you, those memories are more than worth every penny ever spent, and a tradition and treasure I am now making a point to focus on in my own family.  Thank you for coaching me in my sports(and driving me on the bus, I truly was proud that my dad was the bus driver, it was pretty cool for me, thanks), for encouraging me, for explaining SO many things to me, for always being there for me when I needed a dad to talk to.  Thank you for laughing at me and with me, thank you for loving mom SO much, and expressing that love your entire marriage.   Thank you for showing me how a wife is supposed to be loved by her husband.  Thank you for always making our house fun/funny/filled with laughter.  Thank you for putting up with all the junk that I know I caused in your life.  Thank you for leaving a legacy behind, thank you for bringing me to church (even though for years I thought I'd forever hate you for it, of course, you knew best!).  Thank you for sharing your family with me, thank you for giving me a home that was safe, fun, and filled with love!  Thank you for not stopping with only 2 girls, but for letting me join and 'end' our family unit.  I'm SO thankful for every second I had with you, and b/c of everything you struggled through, for years with your shoulders, and cancer, I know how strong of a man you were!  Amazing!  I'm SO blessed to have had 15 years with you, and as I sit here, I cry b/c I realize how precious time is with those who you truly love.  I miss you daddy, I really really do!  A LOT!!  I wish you were still with us, but I know that you are watching down from heaven(having the time of your life), and seeing my beautiful family grow, and watching me become the woman that I hope you were trying to raise.  I'm proud of the person I am, I still have a lot of learning and growing, but I love the Lord with ALL my heart, and I know, one day we will be together again for eternity, and I treasure that moment!  Daddy, I hope I'm making you proud up there, I live my life for Jesus, and I know that without you raising me the way you did, I would never be the woman I am today, thank you!  Daddy, I have a beautiful family, oh I wish you could meet them!  Chris is an A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. husband, father, provider, worker,...he's great dad.  All those years you and mom prayed, paid off, b/c he's a gift from God, just like the meaning of my name.  He reminds me of you a lot, which is so nice.  He's got your sense of humor, and he's a very hard worker, and a determined man, and can fix anything he touches.....just like daddy.  My girls are precious dad.......precious!!  I've told them about you, and they know they have a grandpa Harry, and they forever will, b/c whether you are here on this earth with them or not, you are their grandpa, and I'm SO proud that YOU are their grandpa!!  I wish they could of met you, they would of adored you as much as I do, and their lives would be even better knowing you!  Kate learned how to spell your name, and tells me.....'mommy, harry is....h.a.r.r.y', I'm SO happy that she knows that, it's a precious thing for me to hear.  Dad, you would be SO proud of Kate, she's SO smart, and SO precious.  She's a lot like me, as far as gifts go, but she also has such a soft heart, she is very sensitive to people.  She's very caring, but adventurous all at the same time.  She LOVES to travel, again, just like me.  She's a great 1st daughter.  Hailey is truly a Joy, and she's fun to watch, she has a good imagination, and loves to play with the dogs.  She is very sensitive to people's feelings, she's also very busy.  She's great, and mom says she looks the most like me as a kid.  Hailey loves t.v. shows and movies, and I could see the two of you watching some silly movie together and laughing and loving it.  She'd soak you up dad.  Brooke is almost one, and she's almost walking, she just took 8 steps the other day.  She's by far my busiest baby we've had!  She's not so much into t.v., she's just on the go and wants to play play play.  She figured out how to climb up our stair ladder and get onto the trampoline, and she's so proud that she can, she's great!  She has a glowing smile that melts your heart every time!  She's a lot like me to, and I'm sure you look down from heaven and laugh, b/c she's not a fan of her car seat, and I know I wasn't either, you truly do reap what you sow....haha.  As far as me, you know, I'm doing good, I'm growing closer to God daily, and I'm doing my best at becoming an EXCELLENT woman!  I could go on and on and on dad, but I just wanted to write you a letter to say I miss you daddy, and even though it's been 10 years since you left us, you are still and forever will be in my heart, thoughts, mind, family, and most of all hold a special place in me that no one else will ever be able to have, my daddy!  I love you Dad!  Thanks for being such a GREAT dad for me.  

~Forever your baby girl,

~Forever missing you,

Theanna