My daddy!

On this father's day 2010, I think it is fitting to honor the best dad in the whole wide world.

Growing up mom always joked, that I was a spitting image of my father (without the beard) but we didn't know who my mother was. (By the way momma, I have more of your characteristics than you ever realized!! I am definitely your daughter. Love ya!)

Yes I look like my father but the part that I love most about my daddy is the way that He images our heavenly Father. Dad raised Jared and I to trust in the Lord by the way he lived his life. He was the physical example of Christ to me.

What my daddy (and momma) taught me...

• love- no mess that I ever got myself into could separate me from my father's love


• strength and the value of hard work- on a 20 acre farm we all had to pitch in and help... from push mowing... to pulling weeds... to hauling firewood... to shoveling snow out of the living room... it truly takes a family to make a home work!


• fun and adventure- the Easter scavenger hunts were the best and most memorable "egg-hunts" of all time


• compassion- No matter the animal... a dove with a broken wing, a bunny that had been carried in by the cat, a ferret that needed a "new home", a dog with a bullet in its chest, an owl who had fallen out of a tree.... there was always room for another critter at the Calhoun's.


• teaching me to sing through the pain- I will never forget the time, we were out getting straw for the flower beds and I slid off the wooden trailer and filled my leg with splinters. Dad patiently took the tweezers and picked out every splinter while teaching me new songs to sing.


• creativity- our backyard was every child's dream playland... from culvert pipe tunnels, ziplines, swings, a gargantuan (sp?) sand pile, a gnome tree, a creek, a huge see-saw, and miles of bike trails


• perseverance- if you try something and you fail, pick your self up and try it again (even if you have a concusion).


• independence- Dad's motto was "if someone else can do it, so can you with some work!" ... cannot was not an acceptable word growing up


• equality- If Jared had to learn to do something... I had to learn and vice versa. At this point in life I really wish I had paid more attention when dad was working on projects like changing filters in the car or installing tile.


• quality time- the Saturday morning trips to the autopart store... just my daddy and I... followed by an icee were a highlight, Wednesday night trips on the Harley to choir practice... the discussions on the ride home from school on friendship and dating...


• the value of marriage- Mom and Dad set aside time every week (Saturday evening) that was time to build and strengthen their marriage... rarely did they go "out" on dates but every Saturday was mom and dad time... normally this meant steak dinner with corn and baked potatoes while watching Lawrence Welk... Jared and I were invited on occasion but normally it was just mom and dad. This taught me that the world didn't revolve around me and that marriages take work to build. Through thick and thin... they have made it 36 years and are a living testimony of what a godly marriage looks like!
• the love of music- from the gift of my first "oldies" cassette tape to encouraging me to sing with you at church... you are the reason I played alto saxophone because that was your favorite instrument
• perseverance- sticking with things until they were completed the correct way. I wanted to follow through on commitments (like band) even when times were not the easiest because I didn't want to let you down.

Momma and Daddy- You will never know how much you truly mean to me. I am publicly stating these thing because you two have made me into who I am today. Thanks for all of the lessons lived and taught over the years. I don't say it often enough but I am truly blessed to have you two as parents! Love ya bunches!