A Father's Day Tribute to Russ

There were many things I loved about Russ when we were dating but I knew he truly loved me when he was by my side and helped me recover from having all four of my impacted wisdom teeth pulled. I was not a pretty sight with huge puffy cheeks. He and my oldest brother took turns removing the gross gauze that had to be removed every hour and replaced that first day since I was still heavily sedated. That's love!! Then we got married a couple of years later. I had no idea how much more my love and admiration would grow watching my best friend become a father.

Here are just a few things that make Russ such an amazing daddy...

My son and daughters are seeing a great example of how a man should treat his wife and be a wonderful father. I know they say "eww...romance" and think it's funny to crowd in between us when we are hugging or sneaking a kiss but in those moments they are witnessing their daddy flirt with their mommy and see that we love each other. They see their dad partner with their mom in maintaining our household. While we each have our strengths and weaknesses, there is no such thing in our home of tasks being Dad's job or Mom's job. My children see their dad cook, clean, do grocery/clothes shopping and care for them when well and sick just as much as their mom. Our kids have a dad who feels it's his duty to teach them how to appreciate music that spans all genres and decades. He taught them how to "rock out" at an early age to ACDC and The Killers yet slow danced with the girls to Journey and Michael Buble. They get to see a dad who works hard and can build cool things from scratch but who can also take time out to play a board game, read with them or wrestle. Most importantly, our kids get the privilege of growing up with a dad who loves God and exercises his faith. He strives to teach them to live a life filled with loving and serving others and how to give and recieve grace.

Russ is a gentle, compassionate, encouraging, goofy, loving, fair disciplinarian, patient, did I mention goofy..daddy to each of our kids. I am so blessed to have Russ as my husband and my children are so blessed to have them as their dad. I hope this Father's Day he knows what a treasure he is to us all!