Papa's Day

Today being Father's Day and all,  I have been thinking all day about the special men that have been in my life. For many there are grandpa's and Biological fathers that come to mind. For me the two men that have touched my life I am not connected to by blood, instead I share a bond of love and appreciation.

The first memory that comes to mind when I think about Stan or "Papa" as we all called him, is from when I was about 8 years old. This is about the time that he stepped in to our lives and took on the role of step dad to 5 crazy kids who weren't always very kind to him. We were always fighting against the fact that he wasn't our "Real" dad and it was at first hard to accept such an age difference between he and my mom. As we all aged and matured it was evident to see that not only was Papa the only male role model we had in our lives, but he was our ONLY male support system to our family and to our mom. I realize now what an important peace and special comfort he brought to our whole family. He was there to support us all through every trial, even at times when our own mom disagreed with his decisions of support. Thank you Papa, for being there for us no matter WHAT. I love and MISS  you tons. Especially today on Father's day.

Here are a few of my favorite little memories about "Papa".

(The above picture is from our wedding in April of 2001)

• An envelope filled with lunch money and a stick of gum every morning before school.
• Playing for hours at NMSU where you worked
• The sound of your little brown car coming in and out of the driveway
• Your love for fish and animals and plants and flowers
• Your ability to fix anything!!
• One Birthday present in particular that was a bag of Cheetos decorated with Candy.I thought it was the coolest thing ever.
• You really did have a GENIUS MIND, I've never met anyone so smart! You would help me in chemistry and just automatically have the answer before even working anything out.
• Your special "staff" you used to walk with 
• Your love to "collect" anything and everything
• Andes' mints and Dark chocolate where your favorite
• Your love for Elephants
• Your Love & extreme knowledge of the Gospel
• The special calming spirit that came with you everywhere you went
• Your never wavering support of our Mom
• Your complete love & dedication to our family
• Your sweet Smile (you always smiled with your eyes too) and wanted to make sure the camera didn't reflect off your glasses ;)
• Your ability to always give us the benefit of the doubt, even when you probably knew you shouldn't
• Your fight to overcome illness time and time again to stay on Earth and support our mom 
• I always knew if I called home you would always be there to answer the Phone!! I miss that more than anything.
• Your Unconditional Love for all of us kids

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY PAPA!!

 The second special man in my life, goes without saying. It is for sure Mr David Switzer.
(Just realized I don't have a picture of Dave by himself with all 3 kids) on my to Do list!! 

I always wondered as a little girl what my married life with kids would be like and who and what my husband and the father of my kids would be like. I never could've imagined having a more wonderful or loving husband or father for my kids. Now Dave might not be the most romantic husband in the world (Baby steps), but he is the best father and supportive husband a girl could ask for. Never does he question any of my crazy decisions to buy or do crazy things. He always just tells me "I trust you". Dave has had to really play a large role in our family as " Mr Mom" to make our family work, since we both work full time. I don't know too many dads when their kids were young that would get up in the middle of the night with a crying baby to feed, bathe and care for their every need. Dave has had to help assume the role of so many things, including soccer mom, school mom, Mr mom etc. He has also had to miss out on a lot of special Holidays and celebrations due to his job, but we know that he has to make sacrifices to support our family and sacrifice he does. As I type this he is at work on Father's Day, yet again. 

Dave has stood by my side and been there for our kids no matter what. My own father left our family of 5 when I was only 2 and my mom was pregnant. So it goes without saying that the love, support and sacrifices Dave makes for our family are recognized and appreciated, even if  I'm not the best at always verbally telling him. I would like to think that he knows how much he is loved!

Here are a few of our favorite things about Dave "aka" Dad

• Your unwavering support during our pregnancy with Addyson
• Your willingness to work so hard to support our family
• Love how you love to get down and wrestle with the kids
• You take the kids on Bike rides (I really need a bike)
• You have dinner waiting on some nights when I come home from work
• You do homework with the kids
• You willingness to coach and help with kids sports and events
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• You drop anything and everything to come home from work when I call you and tell you that I NEED you home NOW!
• You don't complain when our house is messy or dinner isn't made
• You put your family before yourself!!
• Your dedication to public service over the past 10 years
• (Hadley says) He takes us swimming, he lets us stay up late sometimes because he is an awesome dad.
• (Addy says) He's is fun to play and joke with and he watches funny movies and I carly with us
• (Davin says) He plays football with me, he takes me to QT to get a drink, plays the wii with me.
• Your unconditional love for me and the kids

WE LOVE YOU!! HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!