Happy Father's Day!

I am very thankful to God for the father he gave me, and for the father he gave Jakub, and for the many wonderful fathers I know and have known in my life. My Dad, Josh, my Father-in-law, my Grandfathers, my Uncles, my Brothers, my Friends... there have been many, many examples in my life of Godly, loving, caring, intentional fathers who love their children and families very much. I hope all of you have had a very enjoyable and blessed Father's Day!

Here's one of my favorite pictures of my Dad with Jakub from last year. It was taken at Hope's wedding. Jakub and his cousin Lillian were dressed all in white and they looked like beautiful little angels. It was such a sweet time and a great memory for me.






And here's one we just took today of our family. I'm so glad Jakub has Josh for a Father.

Josh tries very hard and wants very much to be a good Father for Jakub. He's doing a good job so far! I'm so proud of him and how he wants to be someone Jakub can learn from, respect, come to at any time, and also have fun with. It's a gift to watch their relationship grow and I hope they'll have many years together filled with a lot of love. I'm so happy and thankful God gave me this family.



Here are some sweet photos of Josh and Jakub playing peek-a-boo this weekend.












Jakub loves his Daddy (a.k.a. Da-da) very much. When I go get him in the mornings, because sometimes we don't wake up until 8am or a little later, he wants to walk to our bedroom and go see Daddy. He says "Daddy" over and over and over on his walk there and often Josh is already gone to work or to teach at school, etc. So, then, Jakub wants to walk to the back office room to see if Daddy is working there. Sometimes he is, but often he's already out of the house. It's so cute and a little sad to watch him wandering around asking for Daddy. But, on the days when Josh is there in bed, or in his office, or wherever at home, and Jakub finds him... it's awesome! He lights up and screams and starts running around or jumping. The same thing happens when Josh comes home from work. When Jakub hears the keys in the door (we have a small apartment and you can hear it from everywhere) he jumps up, says "oh!", and runs to the door. When he sees Josh he starts screaming excitedly and running to get a toy to show him. I never get tired of seeing this excitement and love. Josh is just as excited to see Jakub and I appreciate that as well. There have been several occasions when, at night after Jakub has gone to bed, Josh says... I wish I could go watch him sleep for a bit, or just hold him for a while, or see him again before bed. It's so sweet and touching to see this softer, Daddy side, of Josh. He's a good Daddy! Happy Father's Day, Josh!

And to my Dad:

Thank you for being a great Daddy for me! There's no doubt in my mind how much you love me and like to take care of me. Despite the physical distance we have between us at this stage in life, we're growing closer all the time. I'm so glad for how much you want to talk with me, call me, email me, and keep up with me and what's going on in my life. I also really love the way you are a Grandfather for Jakub! Thanks for being so wonderful and special. I (we) love you very, very much! Happy Father's Day, Dad!