Daddy Day

I still pretty much felt like we were recovering from our overnight trip, but we had to be sure to do our best for Father's Day. I wanted to show Spenser the way that Mother's Day should really be done! Thomas wanted to start the day off with french toast. In looking at the realmomkitchen blog that I like to look at from time to time I found a great recipe for strawberry stuffed french toast and since we still had a bunch of strawberries from picking the other day I gave it a go. Of course none of my children were especially interested in helping me make the food, but Thomas did at least agree to set the table. 

Strawberry filled french toast

Zach enjoyed his breakfast

The toast was pretty yummy, but we decided that next time I would use a thinner bread so that the cream cheese filling could warm up a little bit more. Spense then looked at the few presents he had. He was especially excited at the low calorie root beer I managed to find.  He said that he would be willing to make Saturday night runs to the store whenever I want from now on! His main gift was a gift certificate to South Sound Running to buy a new pair of running shoes that he has wanted forever now that he's got back into running. 

The gifts. 

I even managed to buy a red rose (surprising!)

After breakfast we headed out to church where I spent a busy day in the nursery with a few extra visitors. Extra visitors aren't always that exciting when you already have 20 kids in your nursery! When we came home we just had an easy afternoon hanging out together. We actually decided to sit on our bed and watch a movie and we might have shut our eyes for just a few seconds!

It was then back to making dinner. I found another easy recipe from the realmomrecipes blog for tex-mex sandwiches which were super easy and very tasty. I don't have as much of a desire to cook during the summer so anything that I can put into the crockpot is always nice. 

Our Tex- Mex dinner

After dinner we went outside and played "What's the time Mr. Wolf" for a while and then we decided to race one another to determine who is the fastest person in the family. We decided that it was dad, although we let Thomas do well a couple of times to cut down on the tears. We finally came inside when it was dark and my hamstring was tight!

All in all it was a pretty good day. To end the evening Spense and I made batches and batches of strawberry jam. I am far from a domestic diva, but I have always wanted to have a go at making jam and everyone always tells me how easy freezer jam is so we had a go. We decided that we probably shouldn't wait any longer to use the strawberries and I didn't think that it would take any time at all to get it done. I always tend to underestimate how long things will take and the strawberry washing, cutting, and mashing took a little while. 

The berry bounty

Mashing them up and adding lots of 

sugar and Sure-Jell

Empty jars...

and lots of full ones. I think we have a years

supply of jam in the freezer now!

As I looked at the pictures I took today I realized that I had failed to take any of Spense with the kids. I planned on doing it when we got home from church, but by that time Zach had fallen asleep. Just imagine Spense grinning from ear to ear all day as he contemplated how blessed he is to have such wonderful children and a wife who treats him so good - not just today, but every day!

I thought that I would share a couple of things that the kids wrote about Spenser in some books that they made for him.

Thomas:

My dad likes to ... spend time with my family.

My dad's favorite TV show is ... sports.

My dad looks cool when ... he wears hats.

One thing my dad says a lot is .... I love you.

My favorite place to go with my dad is... sounders games.

I like it when my dad .... hugs me.

I would like my dad to know... I love him.

Olivia:

One thing my dad loves to do with me ... give me super squeezes.

My dad's favorite TV show is ... Jungle Book 2. Oh, there's a green snake in it! (we just got Jungle Book 2 so it is on her mind right now)

We are grateful for daddy Spense. He works hard to take care of our family and I know that he worries about our children's happiness and well being. They are lucky to have a man with so much imagination because I am sadly lacking in that area. It is so easy for Spense to sit down and play with the kids and make up stories. He loves to play with them. He gets to be the guy that's fun and they get to go do things with. I am just the boring mom who makes them run errands! He also loves to read bedtime stories with the kids and then cuddle up and ask them how their day has been, play finger puppets, and often fall asleep with them. Spenser, I know I don't give you enough credit, but I am grateful that you love our children and try so hard to be a better person because of them.

I do of course have to give a big shout out to my own dad for being one of the greatest that there is. When Father's Day comes around each year I always find myself a little emotional as I stand in the Hallmark store trying to pick out a card because I feel so very blessed to have been given a truly amazing and loving person as a dad. Growing up my dad was one of my very best friends. There were many nights that I remember him lying on my bed listening to some sob story. When I went away to BYU if I ever had a bad day I knew that once I was able to call and speak with my dad that everything would be OK. He has always been good in a crisis. If there is ever any sadness or crying mom quickly directs us to dad because she's not so good at dealing with feelings and emotions because she tends to internalize them herself too much (I can say this because my mom already knows that we all feel this way!) 

He has always been able to listen, empathize, and help me see a clear way forward. As he tells me about the members of his ward I am sometimes in awe of how much he loves the people that he serves and I think about how lucky they are to have a bishop who really loves and cares for them. Compassion is a trait that I often struggle with and I am just glad to know that I will be OK if I have only inherited some of what my dad has in the gene pool! I truly love and respect you dad and only wish that you lived closer.