A Love Letter to the Best Dada I Know

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I know people always say it was love at first sight. When I think about it, I never would have said that about my husband, but when I retell the story of how we met, I realize it was love at first sight. I love that about us. I never doubted what God has in store for us.

Our story spans ten years this October but these past 15 months have been my favorite.

Fifteen months ago we became parents. PARENTS. It still sounds like a foreign word that only belongs to people who have teenagers, but lo and behold we are parents and we will one day have teenagers. {stomach turn NOW.} Parenting is hard. Parenting is exhausting. Parenting brings out the very worst and best. Parenting is fun. Parenting with my husband has been the best adventure yet.

I remember it like it was yesterday, sitting in the sonogram room with my specialist. {I was a high risk pregnancy due to a past blood clot} and waiting for the tech to tell us what gender our baby would be.

If we are going to be honest, we both wanted a boy. I am an only child, and I really wanted my future kids to have that big brother. My husband, being the outdoorsman that he, is wanted a lifelong fishing and hunting partner.

Yet, it was very clear we were having a girl.

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(Our friends thought we were having a boy too.)

As time went on and my belly grew, so did my husband’s heart. He grew in patience with me and sympathy as I inserted a needle into my very tight side every night and cried in pain. He grew in love for our baby, who I had the privilege to carry full term, with hiccups along the way, as we would talk of what was to come. His excitement helped me through the tough times. Anytime we thought she may be making a very early appearance I saw him mentally start preparing himself. And as she came, I didn’t know MY heart could grow any more as I totally fell in love with my Ryan all over again as I saw him love our girl.

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I do not have a good relationship with my father, so I yearned for that in my prayer life through the years for the man I would marry to be a great dad. Boy, oh boy, did God provide. With seeing Ryan as a dad it makes up for that non existent relationship.

Not having that relationship myself has really given me so much appreciation for Ryan. Walking alongside him raising our little girl has been such a treat. The way he can always stay calm when I get flustered, how he always knows when I am at my breaking point, how he is okay with plans changing because “she’s a baby” as he always reminds me, how he keeps focused when times get tough and the smile he gets when he comes home to us after a day at work.

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These past fifteen months have been challenging to say the least. On top of having a baby, we have bought and sold a house, bought and sold a jeep, bought a truck, and MOVED. I quit my job. He lost his job and fought fearlessly for another one, despite a horrible economy, and found another one in a month. We had so many people over, pool days, drove 11 hours to Amarillo, 8 Hours to Dallas, numerous trips to San Antonio, and through ALL of this he has kept us solid.

My husband is the glue that holds our family together.

I did not know such a patient, calm, loving, funny, caring man existed. And seeing him as a dad has exemplified these qualities even more.

You are a true find, my love.

This Father’s Day I hope you truly know how grateful we are for you. Thank you for leading this family so well and not only being an incredible dad, but husband as well.