Father's Day

Thanks to everyone who has called, emailed, and commented over the last couple of weeks since we lost Garrett. You guys have been such a support and I can't tell you how much you all mean to us.

I have to say that I was dreading today a little bit. I thought it would be a really hard day but it ended up being a pretty good day. Autumn was super sweet and snuggly so we had a nice morning of donuts (thanks, Aunt Penny!) and just being comfy, as Autumn would say. We gave Mike his present which was just a card we made him and a pre-order receipt for the next Dresden Files book by Jim Butcher.

We had lunch with Mike's family. I didn't get any pictures because the day just didn't go as planned, poor Papa D. The air conditioner broke so he spent the afternoon fixing it, except for when he ate lunch and then came back in for dessert. Mike and I ended up grilling the steaks for him. Fortunately, we did a decent job. :P It was late when we got home so Miss Autumn only got to take a short nap. When she woke up she was super pitiful and just moved from her bed to sitting on the couch wrapped in a blanket.


But! Aunt Penny came to the rescue. She got a car seat for her nephew and Autumn to use and was so excited about it that she came to pick us up and take us to TCBY. Autumn perked up after that. :)


Later in the night, Mike and Autumn read together on the sofa. It's funny, I have something like 3 photos of them reading together in various places over the last week.


Anyway, happy Father's Day to all you dads out there. I'm especially thankful for all the dads in my life. Most of you know I lost my dad 5 years ago and that we had a pretty rocky relationship when he was alive. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for all the men who have stepped into the role of dad in my life and who are wonderful uncles and grandfathers to Autumn. I mean, I have Stephan who has totally been there for me through good times and bad. And Boppa who always makes me smile (if you see him ask him about his battle against the wheelbarrow, hahaha). And the super awesome Papa D who is the first person Mike and I go to for advice and the first person I think of when I read Psalm 1:1-3.



Mike, I'm super blessed to have you. I'm going to miss having you at home when you go back to work because you're my favorite person to spend time with. You're such a good papa and I see how hard you work to be your best for us.

Here's Mike helping Autumn fly a kite for the first time.




And later in the beach trip, Autumn woke up all grouchy and stuff. All she wanted was to sit next to her papa and scowl. :) He was having some alone time with his coffee so it worked out well for them both.


And so, that's Father's Day for us. Everything else is moving along. I'm healing slowly. I still hobble about and get tired after doing things like, say, walking down the hall. It's frustrating for me but I know that it'll just take some time.

And for those of you who have asked about Autumn, she's handling things as well as a four year old can. She forgets from time to time and pats my tummy and asks about Garrett but then she'll catch herself and say, "my baby is in heaven." We have a sweet little miss.


Hugs and thanks to all of you.