What Daddy's do best!

We have a book that is called What Grandma's/Grandpa's do best. It was my inspiration for this blog. I asked my children "What do you love most about Daddy?" Here were some of the responses:

*"Well, he says yes to almost everything!" This was at the top of the list of GREAT things! Ha
*" He brings us sliced apples at night when we are going to bed."
*"He's soft and nice to lay on."
*"He's a Daddy! He's a good Daddy!"

I have added to the list of what makes my husband such a great husband and father.

*He gives tractor rides.
*He will jump into ice cold water so that Nicole can take swimming lessons and Mom can watch happily from the sidelines!)
*He coaches soccer and lets Katie play "striker" (even if she hasn't earned the position) just because he loves her.
*He buys donuts.
*He likes to snuggle and watch cartoons.
*He sings the sleepytime song like no one else can.
*He knows how to dance with a princess.
*He always puts everyone else before himself.
*He is a fantastic teacher.
*He has a testimony and shares it with our children.
*He knows how to listen.
*Best of all he gives lots and lots of love.

We love you Jim a.k.a. Daddy. Happy Birthday!

Grandma and Grandpa W.

It is funny how something so simple can jog your memory and send you in a compleatly different train of thought. I ran out of our usual tub butter this morning and so I broke out the stick butter. As luck would have it the toast came out a little darker than I usually like it. As I was buttering my darkened toast I was reminded of my grandfather. For some reason memories of my grandfather are closely related to breakfast. I remember my grandfather always getting up at the crack of dawn and making breakfast. He had a "seasoned" electric skillet that I'm sure would make most mothers today cringe. My grandfather made the best sausage and scrambled eggs with that skillet. He always topped off the meal with some blackened toast w/stick butter. This was one of the many things that my grandfather loved to argue with me about. He thought that toast should be black and I did not care for the taste of burnt toast. I loved my grandfather he was a hard-working man who loved his family dearly. Thinking of grandpa also reminds me of my grandmother. Grandma W. was a great cook and probably one of the happiest people who ever lived. I was about to say that I could not ever remember her without a smile on her face but there was that one time I was mean to my sister and I'm pretty sure she wasn't smiling then. I will always remember how my grandmother served her community, friends and family tirelessly. She was always giving of her time and talents. She always had something positive to say about everyone. Grandma always found the good. I am so fortunate to have had such wonderful examples in my life.

Nicole's Princess Party

January is Birthday Month!

January is birthday month at our house. Nicole's birthday was last week and Jim's is next week. We celebrated Nicole's birthday with a princess party. For Katie's 4th birthday I attempted to make a treasure chest cake and let's just say I ended up making an emergency run to the grocery store for a birthday cake. It did not turn out well. Since then I have always ordered a birthday cake for my kids. This year for some strange reason I decided to attempt making Nicole's birthday cake. I was surprised at how easy this cake came together. Nicole was watching me put the cake together. She was not very happy with me that I had put her new doll in the cake. Thank goodness grandma was there and convinced her that it was beautiful! Nicole had a great time helping me put the sprinkles on her cake and licking the icing out of the bowl! We put 3 star candles on the cake and blew out the candles numerous times. It was a big success. I'm not sure it will work as well for Jim's birthday??? I may have to come up with something new.