what a weekend: dads

We had a great weekend celebrating all the wonderful dads in our lives! Josh is the best dad that Noah & Sam could ever hope for, which makes me a very blessed mommy and wife! We're all so grateful for everything that he does. He is there for the boys in every possible way, as both a playmate and as a disciplinarian and everything in between! That is so important, and pretty rare. He is an equal partner to me in raising them--pouring milk, wiping booties, teaching letters, enforcing time-outs, reading books, and on and on. I feel beyond blessed to have him, and I KNOW that our boys are going to grow up to realize how blessed they are to have him as well. He works oh-so-hard to provide for our family and make sure that all our needs are taken care of, in every way. He works hard at the office--often working long hours--and works equally as hard once he gets home. On top of that, he takes our boys to do fun things and spends extra time with them when I need a little break after a long day. AND he sacrifices his time each week to pour into the lives of a group of junior high boys at church. Can you tell that I think he is just wonderful? I am so grateful that we have sons, because it would be a shame for such a great man to not have the chance to raise up some more great men!

Of course I can't leave out my own dad! It's a good thing I married such a hard worker, because I was raised by a hard-working dad as well! Especially now that I have my own kids and feel the pressure of making sure they are provided for, I can appreciate just how hard my dad worked for us. He has always found a way to walk the fine line of providing for all of our needs without giving us everything we wanted, which was an important lesson to learn and one that I hope to teach my kids as well. My dad likes to joke about the time when I was about 8 or so and I asked him "Daddy, why do you play golf so much?" and he told me "Well, that's just what daddies do!" And I only recently admitted that when I was younger, I was convinced that he had a second family in North Carolina because he traveled there so often for work :) But really I have great memories of all the fun times our family had together. My dad took us on family vacations every year and he would have so much fun with us--taking us out in the ocean on the big inflatable boat, racing us around The Track, and teaching everyone the rules of putt-putt. Good times! And now he is a fun and involved "Papa D" to my boys, who just adore him!

Last but not least, Josh & I are both so thankful for his dad, my father-in-law, my boys' "Papa Jim". It's a real blessing to have great in-laws, and I hit the jackpot! I'm grateful to my father-in-law for the man that he raised. It also means a lot to know that he spends time in prayer for us and our family. My boys just love their Papa Jim, and it is so clear that he loves them as well. Wow, I am beyond blessed to have so many wonderful fathers in my life!

Now on to the weekend of celebrating these great dads!

Friday night my Mama Dot took me, my brothers, and our families out to eat at a hibachi restaurant. It was so fun seeing all the kids enjoy the show! And it was great getting together with Mama Dot and all the fams. Josh & I thoroughly enjoyed the yummy sushi we shared with Scott, and Noah was asking for more rice and chicken when he woke up the next morning :) Before we headed out to dinner Noah actually asked me to take his picture, so I took full advantage since that is to rare. I'm laughing pretty hard at what I got--Noah's idea of smiling is super cheesy, and Sam is constantly on the move. The results are pretty funny!

At first I sat them right in the bright sun. Bad move

Noah attempting a cheese face, Sam just confused

Hugs for brother

Sam's cheese face is pretty funny too!

Super excited about something

I planned a "Father's Day Weekend Extravaganza" for Josh where I gave him some choices about what we would do all weekend as far as what/where we'd eat and what fun things we would do. I guess it wasn't that "extravagant", but it was fun :) Saturday morning he chose Panera for breakfast, so the boys and I went there while Josh was still sleeping and picked up his breakfast sandwich and a couple muffins for the rest of us. After breakfast, Josh and Noah headed to golf class. Josh bought Noah his very own golf hat before class, and Noah felt like a true golfer! (See what a great dad he is? Buying his son a present during "HIS" weekend!) After class Josh wanted to take Noah out on the real course to actually play a few holes. The course at First Tee was closed for classes so they headed to a different course. They had such a good time together. I love it that they share the love of golf!

For dinner Saturday night I gave Josh the choice of going out to eat all together, or grilling out at home. He chose to put his new grill (his Father's Day gift) to use at home. I grilled porterhouse steaks, garlic shrimp, and squash & zucchini. Thank goodness it all turned out great! I had never grilled steaks before so I was a little nervous.

I have to point out that this is the whole platter of food that we shared, not one individual plate! :)

Sunday morning Josh chose a breakfast sandwich and donut holes from Shipleys for breakfast, so again the boys and I headed out bright and early to pick up food. We also ran by Starbucks for his favorite coffee. (which is just black coffee, I should point out. Ew. But he says Starbucks has the best black coffee, so that's what he got!) Before church we attempted a few pictures.

We went to church and heard a sermon on friendship that made me feel extremely blessed and also challenged, then we headed over to Mimi & Papa Jim's to celebrate more fathers! I should add Papa (Josh's granddad) to the list of dads that have blessed our lives. He has been an incredible influence on Josh and is such a strong patriarch in their family. I CANNOT believe I didn't get a single picture of the Osborne Father's Day celebration. Ugh. I had every intention of taking a picture of Josh with his dad and the boys, but then I got busy and forgot. Boooo.

Josh went to the driving range while the boys napped and then we went over to my parents' house for the final celebration.

Happy Fathers Day!!!