For Rob...

Father's Day 2011 - a post for Rob

Although the day did not revolve around you (as I wish it could have), it was so typical of you to make it about everyone else around you. It's why I want to take a few more moments to celebrate you, in the dwindling hours of this Father's Day. The gifts over coffee and donuts this morning were fun but I want to honor you so much more than that.

You know what it means to be a father. At the very heart of it, it requires self sacrifice. A deeper love for your others than for yourself. A patience that rarely wears thin. The commitment to providing for your family, a responsibility you have never taken lightly. The abandonment of selfish pursuits and dreams in exchange for an investment in three (for now!) precious disciples we call our children and one woman you chose to be your wife (lucky gal).

You love your own Fathers. As I think about the kind of father you are today, I realize that it speaks volumes about who you know our Heavenly Father to be. It is also to your dad's credit that you are the father that you are! Your intimate relationship with God as well as your own dad have been influential and have shaped your character in profound ways. I couldn't be more thankful for that.

You are committed to growing in your role as a father. We always talk about what as parents we should be doing differently, examining closer, taking more seriously, letting go of, etc. You never sit back and think you've got it all figured out, but instead always look ahead to what's down the road, and how we should be preparing for that today. You never let up or take the easy way out. You are as disciplined and constant as men come.

This is your third Father's Day. God has blessed our family in the last 3 years, and you have made the only dream I've ever really had come true. This picture is proof.

I know as women we aren't supposed to say things like this, but I love this picture of myself. And it's certainly not because I look good without makeup on (I DON'T!), or because I can rock a tank top after giving birth (I CAN'T!). It's because I remember that in this moment, as I held our brand new daughter and gathered our kids in my little hospital bed with you by my side, my heart felt so full it could burst. I was in pain, was totally overwhelmed at the thought of taking Maddie home, and did not feel like myself physically or emotionally. But I knew that this was what I was made for, and that it was what God had designed for us, together. I was right where I have always wanted to be.

So happy father's day, to the father of my precious babies. Every day with you is a gift.

We are better versions of ourselves because of you.

We love you.

XOXO,

Ashley, Robbie, Ellie and Maddie