Happy Fathers' Day!

Because we lost Daddy at an early age, Fathers' Day was a tough holiday for me growing up. In my thirties I found the most wonderful statement in the Bible, for which I am forever grateful - God is described, among His many characteristice, as "father to the fatherless". I had known that because He had made His presence known to me all along, but it was gratifying to see it in writing! God is good, and He is always with us with loving open arms and the biggest heart of all!

So Happy Fathers' Day to all the fathers in the family! First of all to Paul, the number one father in my book. You have helped me raise three great kids, and I am singularly grateful for your commitment to us as a family. Thank you and I love you.

To my brothers Gene, who took being a great big brother to it's logical next step and became a great dad; and Chuck, who took one of the bravest jumps of all and became stepfather to two grown children!

To my sons Scott, who has taken on a lot of huge responsibilities starting even before he was old enough to graduate from high school; and Pobby, who isn't even positive that he is a father yet because everything is so new. To my son-in-law Phil who has been such a blessing to Terri and Kayla with his huge and loving heart.

To Chuck Breit, who helped my sister Judy raise three of the most responsible and fun kids I've ever known.

To Paul's brother Larry who, along with his wife Debbie, has raised his two girls to almost the end of the truly parental part of the job and is about to embark on having two daughters with lives of their own.

To all my nephews: Shawn, who has the two luckiest kids I know because their dad works at home and has all kinds of time to go fishing, swimming, and play with his boys; John, who is making one of the biggest sacrifices of all - to leave his family for long periods in order to keep this country and our world a safer place to raise all these much loved children (thank you from all of us, John); Mike Atkins, who has made great efforts to allow his mom to get to know her two grandchildren who live so far away, Alan Gorski, who kept his kids closer to Grandma and is the father of twin boys!; and Joe, who helped Tammy blend what I think is the most widely spaced bunch of kids into a cohesive family unit.

To my cousins: Buzz, who is almost done with all the hard work and can now sit back and wait for grandkids; Chris, whose two beautiful daughters I have yet to meet; Jonathon, who I haven't even seen since he became a dad (next family reunion, OK, Chirs & Jonathon?); Lee, who has been so loving and caring the few times I've seen him; Brian, who (lucky for us!) just moved Leah and their two little ones to Reno; and Kim, another proud grandaddy who is so family oriented, fun, and generous.

I love each of you and hope that being a father has rewarded you all in very special ways. Being a dad takes so much time, sacrifice, and money! From my heart, thank you for being great dads and bringing all these kids and their kids into this ever-growing family.

Finally, the bittersweet part of Fathers' Day is remembering those who we no longer get to hug, to thank, or to talk to anymore. Paul's dad, who always had kind words for me, my Dad, several grandfathers - Spud, Grandpa, and Paul's Grandpa Larry, who are always in my heart; Phil and Henry, whose hearts were so big and used so much that they just wore out too soon; Bill Hargrove, who loved to laugh; and Clarence, who took a bunch of little kids through some very trying times and then did not get to reap the rewards of seeing this big family that he helped raise. We miss you all, and are grateful for God's promise that we will all be together again some day for that great Family Reunion in the Sky!