Thank You Father!

My daddy is one of my favorite people ever! Having raised five daughters, my dad is more of the "strong, silent" type and is often forced to hide in his bedroom or office when we start talking about girl stuff. But in order to counteract all our girlish tendencies, my daddy made sure to take us out to do all sorts of "boy" stuff...camping, quadding, to the lake, whatever! My daddy is a fabulous welder, having done it his whole life, and was actually named "Master of the Southwest" in metal fabrication by Phoenix Homes and Garden. In the article that was written about him, then named him the "master magician" and described him as a "tall, powerful man." Despite his powerful exterior, my daddy is truly a big ol' teddy bear. One of my favorite sights is seeing my daddy cry because it just shows how big of a softy he is! Daddy always encouraged me through school and always was there to help me when I needed him. Daddy would always talk big when it came to boys, his favorite line being "I ain't afraid of going BACK to jail" to scare the boys away...but he always just wanted me to be happy. And of course, my daddy would always do things that would help to make me a better person. Each time I would be getting beaten by him, he would refuse to stop until I said "Thank you, Father" because he knew that I needed to learn that lesson (totally kidding...kind of...all of the beatings were out of love!). Thank you, daddy, for being such a strong example to me, for always being able to exercise the priesthood in our home, for sharing your testimony for me, and for putting up with all us girls. I love you daddy!