Dear Mama and Daddy (yes we still call them that- and always will:),
I could never begin to thank you for being the parents you have been for me and Kelly. You have raised us to be women who seek the Lord first, and who have been taught truth from HIS Word both from all you have told us, and from constantly keeping us surrounded by positive, Godly influences. You have made sacrifice after sacrifice to send us to a Christian school, send us on mission trips all over the world (literally), and paid for more medical bills than I will ever even know about!
Daddy,
Thank you for waking me up EVERY day growing up and putting up with my horrible moods in the morning:). Thank you for following us around unplugging curling irons, hair dryers, chi's, etc. Thank you for spending a LONG time tying the perfect bows on our dresses when we were little, and occasionally attempting to fix our hair! Thank you for ALWAYS reading our morning devotional to us during breakfast, and for taking me to breakfast with you on the weekends and to run your errands while I was growing up.
Thank you for letting me watch you shave when I was VERY little, and for teaching me to ride my bike- and drive a car too- much later of course! I LOVED your bedtime stories, and loved that you prayed with Kelly and I together every night. I remember multiple mornings when I would have to go to the back of the house to iron, I could hear you praying out loud for Kelly and I in your office with the door closed. You would pray for us, our future husbands, future children, etc....and many many days it brought tears to my eyes to hear that. You have taught me what it means to have a real and intimate relationship with my Heavenly Father by watching your life. You have also been an example to me through your unconditional love of how He loves me!
Mama,
Thank you for putting me to bed every night, even some in college when I would be crying from broken hearts! Thank you for always cooking such wonderful healthy meals for our family and taking care of us so well physically. You were ALWAYS there to help us with ANYTHING...I remember countless nights when you would stay up with me to put together a science fair project or help me remember things for tests by singing songs about the information I was learning! I also remember you even DOING my homework some for a history class! haha! Thank you for dropping everything and driving to Conway so many times when I would be broken hearted over a boy, and for taking me to TJ Maxx for retail therapy to get what are still my favorite shoes! :) I can't thank you enough for always doing my laundry- even in college when I came home. Now that I do our laundry, I KNOW what a task this is! You taught me everything I know about cooking, cleaning, folding fitted sheets (which i need a lesson on again), NOT putting pasta down the garbage disposal (which I had to learn the hard way), and BARGAIN SHOPPING! :) I will also never forget during our basketball days in high school (neither of us were even a little athletic) you would always tell us (even if we sat on the bench the whole game) that it didn't matter how we played because we looked pretty! haha. You truly are one of my best friends and I Love that I can talk to you about EVERYTHING. Some of my favorite memories are when I would wake up at 2 or 3 am and find you in the dining room with your Bible, Dictionary, Greek and Hebrew Concordance, and multiple other references just studying and searching in God's Word because you loved it so much! I also loved that when you would drive to Conway to see me, you listened to the hispanic stations for fun and would text me the songs you were hearing! hahaha. Not to mention you can do the "mashed potato" better than ANYONE I know! Oh, and the Roger Rabbit! ;)
And how could I forget- you staying with me night after night in the ER or the hospital in Dallas during my jaw surgeries, and driving me to and from Dallas SO many times to see the Dr. I will also always be grateful for how well you took care of me that month at the Mayo Clinic- cooking for me and putting up with how AWEFUL I was while going through everything there. You are such a servant!!!
Thank you BOTH for believing in me when I wanted to give up on life completely. For always giving me hope in what GOD has for me in my future; for sacrificing SO much to get me out of pain from my jaw, and for going through that whole frustrating battle right next to me! Thank you for putting up with all the boyfriends, and drama that went a long with them and for comforting me countless times when they didnt work out. Thank you for believing in me and TRUSTING GOD (mainly) when I came home one night and said I wanted to marry Ryan in 6 days (After dating 3 weeks). Daddy I KNOW that scared you to death!;) Thank you for accepting him into our family so quickly and for literally being life savers for us this past year with all we went through. Without your prayers, support, and financial help we wouldn't have made it! WE love you both more than you will ever know and are eternally grateful to have you as parents.
Many years ago, Kelly and I were asked to sing the song below on Father's Day in front of our entire church. We both barely made it through the song because of the tears, and it was a complete surprise to our dad that we were doing this, so there were lots of tears throughout the room! This song sums up how I feel about BOTH of my parents.....it's called "It was your life that led me to Him."
Before I took a breath,
Before I took a step
Unnumbered prayers were spoken–
Were spoken just for me.
And as I rested peacefully
There in your loving arms,
You dreamed of what my future would bring
And what tomorrow would bring.
Before I took a step
Unnumbered prayers were spoken–
Were spoken just for me.
And as I rested peacefully
There in your loving arms,
You dreamed of what my future would bring
And what tomorrow would bring.
My childhood days are gone,
And time keeps moving on.
It seems as though the months, the years
Quickly slip away.
The life of faith you offered,
Examples of God’s love,
Is the life I long to share
With my children someday.
And time keeps moving on.
It seems as though the months, the years
Quickly slip away.
The life of faith you offered,
Examples of God’s love,
Is the life I long to share
With my children someday.
You watched me as each tiny step grew stronger,
You guided me through choices I would make.
And though I didn’t know the road that I would walk,
Your prayers would always light the path I take.
Your arms reached down to lift me when I’d fallen,
Your arms would hold me when I felt afraid.
Your eyes could see right through the dark and stormy clouds
And point me to a brighter day.
Your steps would set the path that I would follow,
Your words of hope my broken dreams could mend.
Your heart of love would always show me Jesus,
But it was your life that led me to Him.(“It Was Your Life”)
You guided me through choices I would make.
And though I didn’t know the road that I would walk,
Your prayers would always light the path I take.
Your arms reached down to lift me when I’d fallen,
Your arms would hold me when I felt afraid.
Your eyes could see right through the dark and stormy clouds
And point me to a brighter day.
Your steps would set the path that I would follow,
Your words of hope my broken dreams could mend.
Your heart of love would always show me Jesus,
But it was your life that led me to Him.(“It Was Your Life”)
This picture sums up my dad so well. One arm around me (before going into a 7 hour surgery), and his Bible in the other hand. Just looking at this picture makes me cry still....most incredible dad ever.
SO SO thankful....
Most GIVING woman I've ever known. She put our beautiful wedding together in 6 days- made dinner for everyone, found my dress for me the night before, made flower arrangements herself that wer GORGEOUS, and made our day PERFECT. She truly is my role model!
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