The One with Snappy Pappy's Birthday

(Disclaimer: "Pappy" refers to my Dad, not to be confused with my granfather who was named Grampy. Blame my love for creating nicknames for people... when I was 16, I deemed my father "Pappy" and it stuck.)

Today is Pappy's 59th birthday. One year til I officially deem him an old man. I consider myself among a small privileged percentage of the American population who has an amazing father figure in my life. Pappy is your typical engineer- logical, straight foward, hardworking, loyal, and reliabl. Here are some things that you may not know about him:

-Though you might not see it at first, Pappy has a HUGE sense of humor and can't resist a good pracical joke. One of his favorites when I was in high school and would be grumpily getting ready in the morning was to sneak up behind me when my hands were occupied with fixing my hair and jab me in my tickelish sides. His 2nd favorite was honking while I was trying to non-chalantly get out of his scary, ugly work car so that everyone in front of the high school would turn and look at me.

-Pappy can fix anything.

-Pappy is a great square dancer.

-Pappy has volunteered and served with the organization Mercy Ships for 18 years. He and my mom have taught me the importance of being awae of what is happening in the world, generosity, and dedication.

-Pappy had several key phrases over the years. Some were full of wisdom like, "If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy," and "Loose Lips Sink Ships." When we were pouting or in a bad mood we got, "Don't smile it may break your face," which was always annoying because it really is impossible to hold your mad face after that. And finally the one that is complete nonesense, but somehow when Pappy would pull out the trusty, "How now brown cow," we mysteriously always knew the point he was getting across.

-Here's the truly secret thing about Pappy- I believe that he is a closet hopeless romantic. He would probably neer admit it, but as a fellow hopeless romantic, I can spot it a mile away. : ) I have some great stories t prove it as well!

-Pappy only has one eyebrow. AND he has to get that bad boy trimmed often! He put's Burt's unibrow to shame.

And to end this post: here is a pic of Pappy with the President of Liberia. How cool is that!?!? Happy Birthday Snappy Pappy!

I love me some Valentine’s Day. It speaks to the very core of who I am… a day to love openly and express that love. In honor of Valentine’s Day, I will share some of my truest loves that fill my soul up to its tippy top:
• Making people laugh. I love this all the time, but the greatest satisfaction comes when you
make a grumpy or solemn person first crack a smile and then you know that a laugh is going to
follow.
• Climbing into bed right after they have been freshly washed.
• Touching the people around me. If I feel comfortable around someone, I would prefer to be touching them in some way. Nestling my feet under them, burrowing my nose into their shoulder, standing close enough that some part of my body is touching theirs. Warning: if I am comfortable with you, you are going to have your space invaded.
• Asking couples to tell me how they met and fell in love. Love, love, love the look that comes over people’s faces when they tell me their loves stories.
• Sappy love songs. The sappier, the better.
• Seeing little old couples that are holding hands. Makes me alittle teary-eyed even thinking about it. So beautiful!
• Big ghetto earrings.
• Reality TV.
• Anything related to ships and the ocean. And yes, their includes an obsession with pirates. Hey, can’t blame a girl who grew up on a ship for being unable to resist pirates.
• Getting carded. This used to offend me. Then when I turned 29, my offense turned into pure joy. AT LEAST 50% of the time that I get carded, the person tells me, “Wow, I would NEVER have guessed your were that old!” It’s my fav!
• Spontaneous adventures.
• Nicknames. Hang out with me long enough and you will probably end up with one. Most are created when I am being super silly or when I jumble up words, both of which I tend to do a lot.

The One with the Beautiful Conviction

love. never. fails.

Raw truth. Love Never Fails. What a deep conviction. In order to believe this we have to be willing to risk. To be injured. To be rejected. To be vulnerable. To release the past hurts. To let go of the wounds. Love Never Fails.

Raw possibility. Love Never Fails. In order to believe this you have to be willing to believe in second chances. To believe the best in another. To be open and optimistic. To let light into the places where it feels more safe to keep hidden & dark. Love Never Fails.

To believe that love is always worth it even when we don’t see the response. To believe that love it always worth it even when it turns out differently than we thought it would. Love Never Fails.

This IS the beautiful conviction...

love. never. fails.