My Dad's Retirement

I drove to St. Augustine during our Spring Break to have a short getaway and help celebrate my dad's retirement. My dad interviewed for his job with Arnett Heating and Air when my mom was pregnant with me! He has been there since that time (with a short break to run a restaurant with my uncles and with a job in Palm Bay, FL). Needless to say, he has been there for 30 plus years and is loved by all he has worked with. Many people stopped by to wish my dad well in his retirement, including neighbors to the shop, former employees, and other local businessmen and women. 

One of Dad's former employees is one of my childhood friends, Freddy. Freddy lived in our neighborhood; we rode the bus together, played together, went to Homecoming one year together. He worked for my dad before moving on to his family's business. He told a story of learning from my dad. And how my dad never made him feel stupid when he didn't know something. Instead, my dad was patient and kind and allowed him to work the problem out for himself. There were many other stories similar in nature to this one from others that gathered that day.

I love both my parents tremendously. They are terrific individually and as a team. 

Congrats on retirement, Dad! You deserve a break. When you get tired of relaxing, I have a long list at my house. 

The Last 10 Days

The last 10 days have felt like a whirlwind! Here's a breakdown of how it's been going down at Krause Haus!

Monday night we had the Cottle's over for our weekly family night. These guys are basically family and we are so excited for Baby Dexter to arrive in October. The Cottles taught our kids about music (how to conduct hymns, reading music, etc) and made Funfetti waffles that we topped with ice cream. It was so fun and delicious despite the fact that our A/C conked out earlier in the afternoon and it was scorching in our house. We love you Brad and Rae Rae!

So the A/C was really broken and we ended up becoming refugees at my in-law's house for six days! It took our landlord six days to get a new A/C. Have I mentioned how happy I am to be moving? One day I dropped by to pick up some things and it was 94 degrees in the house!  While we were at the original Krause Haus, we were able to see about half a dozen butterflies emerge from their cocoons. Here we are releasing a Monarch and an Eastern Swallowtail with Grandma. It was pretty amazing to watch.

Grandma also had some super fun things for us to play with. The boys saw our time there as an adventure and all I could think about was all the work I wasn't getting done. In the end it all worked out and I'm so happy we got such concentrated time with Norb and Sabra. We will miss seeing them so often when we move. The boys thoroughly enjoyed playing with Lincoln Logs and learned how to play Go Fish and Checkers.

We were able to get together with one of our favorite families last week as well. We had dinner and dessert and fun times at the Pennell's home. The Pennell's are one of the things we will miss most about Orlando. We love Max, Jake, Chad and Sara!

Saturday we moved back into our home and Sunday we woke up to Father's Day! I was a little under prepared because of the crazy week we had, but I had bought gifts early so it was fine I suppose. We also were able to bless baby Weston at the Church on Father's Day. 

The baby blessing was pretty standard, but Jared was also inspired to include that Weston would be a peacemaker in our home. It was kind of hilarious that when he said that Weston let out a little wail. Jared also felt inspired to say that Weston would be an influence for good with his friends and family. We are so happy to have Weston in our family. Every time I look at him I think about how much Jared loves me!

We have loved having the Cooper's in Florida and are going to barricade them in their home so that they don't move to Idaho in the fall! Cindy is a great friend to me and Justin will always be one of Jared's best friends. Baby Cora is going to marry Weston so that's awesome too.

After church (and saying our goodbyes to our friends in Conway Ward), we headed to my sister's for Father's Day lunch! We got a photo of most of the children. Hopefully we can get all nine of them soon. I love my husband, dad, and brother-in-law. They are all terrific fathers and we are so blessed to have them in our family.  I even got to snuggle my daddy on the couch. I think that was one of the day's highlights for me. Never too old to snuggle your daddy.

Weston has started smiling and it is so fun. We all take turns trying to get one out of him. At his two month check up last week he weighed 14 lbs 8 oz and is 23 1/8 inches long! Growing like a weed!

Finally, today we closed on our new home! I almost can't believe it. I'm so proud of Jared for making this happen for our family. I'm so thankful for Will helping us with the home buying process. 

Our beautiful home with OUR car in the driveway! Can't wait to move in this weekend!

My Dad

This post is late! My dad turned 60 on his birthday in July and we had a sweet party for him. I am not creative enough to come up with 60 things to share about my dad, but I do have a few things on my mind that I feel are worth blogging about.

1. My dad is so hairy. I mean he can grow a sweet beard/stache combo. He used to sport one full time as a younger man. Now he just does so from time to time to "check the grays." Unfortunately, I did inherit this trait. Darn those three chin hairs!

2. As young girls, Stacey and I often heard this at church from people that knew my parents, "Ah, from the back they look just like you Becky. But then they turn around and they look just like Drew." My dad would promptly say, "Sorry, girls." I'm not sorry. I love that you know I am Becky AND Drew's daughter. It is certainly a privilege.

3. Some of my fondest memories of my dad are found in the car. Or, rather, the truck. He drove me to school every morning of middle school and I think that's when I started to really build a quality relationship with him. Also, fond memories of driving in the pup truck and sitting four across with him, Stacey, and Tony. Over the gear shift, where there actually wasn't a seat, was the most coveted spot. When Dad said "Go!" you got to change the gear.

4. I love that oldies songs were always playing around the house. I love that type of music and I think Dad gets credit for that one. He still loves to have music on when he's working around the house.

5. Messages of love written in icing on my Toaster Strudels in the morning. Seriously, that was awesome.

6. Receiving cards, especially when I was away at college, that were simply signed "Love, Dad." He's not a man of many words, so when he has something to say you better listen.

 

7. Again, in the car, many moments of healing came for me following my divorce while Dad and I drove all over North Florida to attend Tony's soccer games.

8. The man can cook! Nothing's better than Drew's pizzas or steak  or wings or baked ziti or lasagna or lobster tails. If you've been to our house for some of Drew's cooking you know what I'm talking about.

9. I love that Dad finds popsicle jokes funny. For a time, he'd keep the ones he liked best in a roll of duct tape in his truck. The funniest thing about Dad's humor is when he is the only one who finds something amusing. This, in and of itself, is hilarious.

10. "Think before you speak." An oft repeated phrase I heard growing up. He really was on to something there. Sometimes I put my foot in my mouth and remember this phrase a little too late.

11. This one is actually for Dad and Mom. Today (August 18) is the day I was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It has been 17 years since that day. Thank you to both of my parents for supporting me in this decision. It has changed my life and I believe it has been for the better. Although I was only 16 years old, they trusted me with this decision. I hope I can be as supportive of my children throughout their lives. The love Dad and Mom have for me and my siblings is unconditional. There is no greater gift in this life. I love you, Dad ! I love you, Mom!

In case you didn't see the video my brother-in-law, Joe made for my dad's party here is the link. http://vimeo.com/71195057

Fathers

I love the men in my life.  I have an amazing husband.  A fantastic dad.  A great father-in-law.  And my granddaddy was also awesome.  Happy Father's Day to my terrific men and to all of yours. 
I tried to make this Father's Day a little extra special for Jared.  We delivered lunch earlier in the week.  This morning we made breakfast in bed and cards.  Here are the boys helping Mommy.  We had pancakes with fruit, biscuits and gravy, and eggs.  Jared also got a new pair of shorts that he's been needing for awhile now.  I let him sleep in, even though 7:15 is still pretty early.  One day, he'll be able to sleep in until at least 8.  At Church, Ethan sang with the Primary (well, he stood there at least) and Grayson made Jared a tie to wear in his nursery class.  Overall, it was a pretty sweet day. 

Jared is a great dad and he really loves our family.  A few weeks ago we were just all sitting together and he said to me that he was so happy with our little family and our life together.  You know what?  I'm happy too.

I wanted to share a couple of things about my Granddaddy today as well.  His name was Edward William Pomar, Jr. and he served in the Army during WWII and then made a career in the railroad.  He married my sweet Nana, Grace Elizabeth Andreu, and they had 6 children together (4 boys and 2 girls).  My mom is their youngest child.  Granddaddy loved his family and worked hard to provide for them all of his life.  His and Nana's is a true love story and they adored one another for all of their lives.  Granddaddy loved baseball, buying things off of infomercials, traveling, collecting novelty hats (he and Nana had ones that read "Old Fart" and "Old Fart's Wife), and John Wayne.  A portrait of John Wayne actually hung in their dining room for a long time.   
I have fond memories of staying the night at Nana and Granddaddy's house as a child and staying up late to watch Hee Haw and The Smothers Brothers.  He would fall asleep and snore soooooooooo loud.  Granddaddy died 16 years ago on a rainy day in April.  I miss him very much and look forward to giving him a big hug up in heaven one day.  I am proud to be his granddaughter. 
Here is a photo of him hanging out at a Flagler College baseball game.  (I believe he became a devout fan the year my cousin, David, started playing ball there on a scholarship.  He remained a fan long after David no longer was on the team.)

Summer of Service

I wanted to make this summer meaningful for the boys and me.  It is our last summer before Ethan starts school.  I know it's just Pre-K, but he is going to be gone for six hours three days a week.  I am going to miss him sooooooooooo much.  The scary part is that once he starts, it will just be a blink and they'll all be in school.  I am really sad about it to be honest, but that is another post for another day. 

Back to our meaningful summer.  I was reading the Friend, a children's magazine our church publishes each month, and they had a great idea on their Bulletin Board feature: A Service Box.  Basically, you decorate a box, fill it with service ideas on slips of paper, choose a slip each day, each week, or in our case, a few times a week, and then do the service activity. 

We kicked it off on Family Night last week.  I prepared a little lesson on service and the boys decorated our service box.  We filled it with slips of ideas, ranging from simply smiling at others to running a lemonade stand and donating the proceeds to a cause. 

We've pulled four slips so far.  We drew pictures for our elderly neighbor who doesn't get out much.  She was thrilled and informed us that she hung them on her refrigerator. The boys helped me with the dishes all day on another day.  We also made an effort to say "hello" first when out and about--basically being friendly.  And, today, we drew the slip that gave us an opportunity to bring Daddy lunch.  Great timing, seeing as Father's Day is on Sunday.

 

Our Service Box.

Headed to see Daddy. 

We made this little root beer gift for Daddy (Thanks, Pinterest!) and he was just a little sad that it wasn't cold because he really wanted to drink one.

Jared loved seeing the boys in the middle of the day.  This was a very successful service field trip!

We picnicked on the hill by the little lake they have there and saw so much wildlife.  About five different kinds of birds, including the pair below.  They came very close and I was grateful they didn't try to steal our food. 

Stay tuned for additional Service adventures throughout the summer!

Happy Father's Day

Found this cute article on lds.org that tells the history of Father's Day.  Here's the link.

http://lds.org/friend/1986/06/the-mother-of-fathers-day?lang=eng&query=history+father's+day

I absolutely adore my dad!  My husband is a wonderful father to our children and I am so glad he is my partner in this life.  Happy Father's Day to all the amazing dads out there.

Father's Day

You know, I suppose most people blog about all the great things in their lives. I know that I usually tend to focus on the positive. If I don't I feel I become ungrateful and can dig a hole that really bums me out. One of the greatest things in my life is my husband, Jared. He is so good to me! And, he's so good to our children! I think they are pretty blessed to have them as their dad. On Father's Day we tried to make things extra special for Jared. We gave him the standard card (made by Ethan) and polo shirt. We also special-ordered some BYU Creamery ice cream, which all of us got to enjoy. And, I had Ethan make him a tie to wear to church today. (I saw this done by another family and made a mental note to do it once Ethan was big enough.) Jared wore it all day! You can tell he was proud of that tie.

Homemade Tie.

Sunglasses.

First try with watermelon was a success.

Brothers in coordinate jammies. Didn't even do that on purpose.

Snuggly after some swimming time.

Sweet potato explosion.

Naked pirate.

Father's Day

This has been an extremely busy week and I never got to post about Father's Day. I have an awesome father and am married to an awesome father. What a blessing! Ethan and I gave Jared a cute 1st father's day card and some socks. Yes, Stacey, socks are a privilege in our house: ) It has been fun to watch Jared grow into a great dad. I know it will only get better from here.

Us kids got my dad a hammock for Father's Day. Now that they don't have the pool it seemed appropriate to help him relax in another way. We know that is hard for him, so a hammock seemed perfect. My mom planned a fun scavenger hunt to help my dad figure out what her gift to him was. They are traveling to NYC in July to attend the MLB's Allstar Game which is being held in Yankee Stadium. A special place to my dad since he spent a lot of time there in his youth. The stadium is being torn down and rebuilt after this baseball season is over. They are also doing some fun NYC things, i.e. sightseeing, Jersey Boys (broadway) show, etc. My dad's reaction was amazing. He became very emotional and was fighting back tears. It made all of us cry too! Except Jared, he never cries.

I love the amazing men in my life.

Daddy and Me

Jared and Ethan love to play together. I caught them last night!