What We Love about Daddy (Family Friday Series)

Daddy and kids after an evening of football on the beach

It was Sunday morning, and the eight of us were driving down the dusty desert highway in our seven-passenger van on the way to the airport. The motive for our trip was bittersweet. We were sending Pedro off for one week of meetings and training with other missionary men in Ecuador. While I was happy for him to have this very deserved time away to be sharpened and refreshed, the kids and I were going to miss him.

Silas has just woken up and missed the memo about the family picture :)

We had just completed a belated round of "What We Love about Silas" in recognition of his birthday. This is a family tradition whereby each person answers that statement as it relates to the birthday boy or girl. Silas had fallen asleep and was blissfully unaware of our sweet expressions of love, but we shared them anyway! I then suggested that - since Daddy was leaving us for a week - it might be nice to send him off with "What We Love about Daddy."

Daddy being silly for the camera on a boys'-only shopping trip

Several of the kids answered, "Because he's funny!" and "Because he makes us laugh." Owen had a list which included, among other things, "Because he makes me waffles every morning." (Owen's idea of waffles are toasted frozen waffles slathered in peanut butter and dripping with syrup!) I think somewhere in there was "Because he plays with us" - and he does, dodgeball in the front patio, football on the beach, frisbee golf on the Wii. If they had thought of it the boys should have said, "Because he reads to us," since they have spent months enjoying Daddy's voice renditions of various characters in the Redwall children's fantasy series many nights before bed. I reminded them they should love Daddy because he's the one who grills out for them - he did it two days in a row this weekend while I was at the ladies' retreat! - and they would be missing that while he was gone.

Daddy and the "Sweet Six" (baby Silas getting his eyes shaded from the sun!)

My answer was simply, "Because he takes care of us." I shared how the night before leaving, Pedro stayed up to season a roast and start slow cooking it in the crockpot so we would have lunch after church on Sunday. I told them how Daddy ground up two containers of coffee, put them in the freezer, and proceeded to give me careful instructions on how to make my coffee each morning since he wouldn't be home to do it for me. I didn't have to point out how he had sternly sat the kids down before we left the house in order to make it clear how he wanted them to help and obey Mommy while he was gone. 

thankful for a husband who makes me laugh and looks out for me

The list could go on, but maybe it should be called "How Daddy Loves Us." Long ago I learned that acts of service is his love language. He speaks it well! Thankful for the husband and father God has given us.