First, there is my husband:
He's a great guy. He is so good with our kids... when they were little, he worked 4 ten hour shifts and so one or two days a week he was home with them while I worked. He goes out and plays with them in the backyard. Gabby often curls up beside him to watch the news. In fact, most nights she begs to stay up a few more minutes to "snuggle Daddy". He often takes off work to go see their performances at school.
He is also very good at things that I'm no good at. He's very organized. He's good at fixing up the house and doing home improvement projects and even decorating. He's a good friend... he often goes to help friends of his with their home improvement projects.
He is also in charge of the dog, which helps me out a lot. He is very good with Chester...feeding Chester, training Chester, picking up Chester's poop, etc. And boy does he have that dog trained. He can put food in front of Chester, tell Chester to wait and Chester will just sit there sniffing the food, but not touching it until Chester is told it is okay to eat it. Alfredo was watching some show and it said that your dog is supposed to walk behind you...because you are walking the dog, not the dog walking you...ever since, Chester walks behind him. He's trained Chester to get bones or food from up high places...Chester can climb a ladder, climb the slide or figure out how to get food up high on the deck. Pretty amazing!
He also does things to surprise me... calls up and says not to cook because he's taking us out to dinner, comes home with flowers for no reason, encourages me to go out with friends to get a break when I need it. We are leaving on a short vacation and he even reworked his schedule so we could leave a day later so I could go to my book club. It's my one night a month that I go with friends and he knew it was important to me. So sweet!
My dad:
Even as young children, my dad allowed my sisters and I to listen and participate in adult conversations. I learned a lot about politics, the economy, as well as the gospel from listening to my dad talk to my grandparents, aunts and uncles and from participating in these conversations.
My dad has worked hard and has lost a lot of weight. This has not been easy for him, but he has persisted and been dedicated.
He's a great grandpa to my girls and just adores them.
My stepdad:
I am very lucky to have not just a wonderful dad, but also a great stepdad. He loves the gospel and tries to serve the Lord with all his heart, might, mind and strength. He also loves my mom and treats her wonderfully. And he loves us as if we were his own kids...which we are, although not by birth.
He and my mom are great grandparents. They don't live nearby but they call weekly. They also send cards to my children for nearly every holiday...St. Patrick's Day, Easter, birthdays, Christmas, Halloween. My mom made Michelle a darling little album for her baptism. She and Mike also travel up here a couple of times a year to visit.
I"m so grateful for these three wonderful men.
