My Sweet Daddy

This has been an ahhhh-mazing weekend.  As you know, we all played hooky from school (and work!) on Friday so that we could go to the zoo.  And I am so glad we did it that way...because it rained here all day yesterday.  We had a wonderful time together at the zoo...cold as it was!  I actually prefer it that way.  It beats getting hot and sweating to death. 

Anyway, our trip there lasted all day long and we didn't leave until almost 4:00.  We just went straight to my Dad's house afterward.  Before we sat down to eat dinner, my dad wanted to make a speech.  He's not a speech-maker, so he pulled out a letter he'd written to us all.  OH MY GOODNESS.  He read the title and started to cry.  Needless to say, Daddy doesn't really cry, so the fact that he started doing just that made us all join him.  Thank Heavens my sister in law Teresa had the good sense to bring out the boxes of tissue.  This that he was reading was his life story, starting at birth. 

I know, right?  Priceless.  I don't have words to describe just how precious this is to me.  He even had copies made and gave them to each of us.  And the way he signed it was so precious...Dave/Dad/Daddy/Pappaw/Grandpa Lloyd.  How he signed it for each of us was determined from what we each call him.  I am telling you...this is priceless to me.

We ate dinner and then presented him with his birthday gift.  Paul came up with the idea of giving him a scrapbook as his gift.  We loved the idea, so we each sent Terri letters to Daddy and pictures from our childhood.  Terri put the whole thing together and did a beautiful job.  The grandkids were included in it, and then we all signed the last page. 

It was a tear-jerker kind of a night.  For all of us. 

But it was so special...just like my Daddy.  Yesterday we all stayed home until later in the afternoon, then we all met again at his house for dinner.  This morning we're missing church and going back to his house at 10:30 for one last visit with Terri, Wes and Marty.  They're all leaving at noon to head back home.  Amanda, Mike and Claire are leaving tomorrow, and Paul, Teresa and William are here until Tuesday. 

So...that's about it.  It's been a great weekend.  Graham and Drew are going to be thrilled that their Lacrosse game is on today...after all the rain yesterday, we thought for sure that it would have been canceled. 

Alright, well, laundry is calling my name, plus I have to start getting dressed.  I hope you all have a wonderful day.  Love to all!