These 3 Things

If we could get you girls to remember and live by 3 things, it it would be these:

1 - Love and put God first

2 - Love people and help bless their lives

3 - Reach for the stars

Life is full of ups and downs.  Seek God to know how to live right, how to live a life abundantly and full of joy, and to model for others how great living right is.  When you live for God, you are ready for anything and appreciate everything.  You are ready to take on the world because you have good intentions and have God on your side, you appreciate your wins and losses.  The wins are easy, and with the right perspective, the losses are wins because they teach you real lessons.

Life is about people - help people.  Be a light.  Find ways to bless others through encouragement and love and empathy and respect. 

Help make the lives of everyone you come in contact with a little more meaningful and special.

Just imagine if somebody - or groups of people - did that for you ...

Finally, reach for the stars.  You can be anything and do anything.  Have positive thoughts.  You have to feed your mind.  An idle mind will get filled, and it usually gets filled with negative thoughts.  Be proactive with your thoughts so that you remain in control.  It starts each morning with feeding your mind good, positive, productive thoughts - then work hard throughout the day to control your thoughts and win the day.  Over the course of time, you will have more days won than loss and you will look up and love the life you live.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full and abundantly. 

Daddy Daughter Dance 2018 | Always Come Back To Daddy

Another fun Daddy Daughter dance.  Another night with my big girl.  Another night with just us two, bonding away.  I love these nights.  I love these nights because no matter how old you get, no matter how many goals your score or how many baskets you make, you are still my little, pretty, baby girl, and I know how much you love spending time with your Daddy.

It’s always interesting seeing how you act around your friends – especially with me around.  The night started slow – it started like this might be one of the last Daddy Daughter dances for us.  You didn’t want to hold my hand, and you walked with a lot of separation between us.  I did what Daddy does – I bumped into, tried to hype you up, get you excited, and even tried to embarrass you.  Nothing worked.

What did work was you setting me up for the Dance-Off.  What you will learn very soon is your Daddy is actually very shy – I don’t do Dance-Offs lol.  Well, not normally – but I will always do them for my girls.  I will do Dance-Offs, and pretty much everything else, for you. 

I had to do my best impression of Michael Jackson for 30 seconds – which would feel like an eternity – until I saw you right there next to me, dancing to Michael Jackson right along with me.

The rest of the night was GREAT!  You had your friends to hang out with, and I willingly allowed you too.  The most special part of the night was how you would leave me to go hangout with your friends and then return back to me.  You would say, “Ok Daddy, I’m going to go with my friends now.  I’ll be right back,” assuring me that you wouldn’t leave me, or that you would, at the least, always come back to me.  And within 5 to 10 minutes, you would come back with your arms stretched out reach for me, guiding me to the dance floor, or the photo booth, or the cookies/cake/pizza bar.  We would hang out for 5 to 10 minutes, then you would go back to your friends – always to come back to Daddy.

I hope and pray that you have great friends around you that you like hanging out with and who treat you well.  But please, always come back to Daddy.

Daddy loves you, Big Girl.

Alexa's 7th Birthday at Great Wolf Lodge

For her 7th Birthday, Lex wanted to go to Great Wolf Lodge.  Here is what we did:

Part 1

Part 2

Full Video 1

Full Video 2

Alexa Wins Her First Talent Show

So you entered and won your first talent show!  For about the past week, your mom and I have been happily enjoying your success, in partial disbelief that you actually made and won the show!  

Your are talented, but as your classmates are chanting your name when you get back to class, as your friends are asking you for your autograph after your performance, and as everyone is congratulating you on how you did - don't forget two things:

1 - Don't forget how much work you have put into having your succes
2 - Stay humble and thank God for without Him nothing is possible, yet everything is possible through Him.

When you kids get up and do anything - especially get up in front of your entire student body - your parents get nervous.  I love this pic of you.  Nervous but brave; courageous and ready to take on the world!

When you got going, you bounced that ball off of your feet, it rolled into the crowd, and a kindergartener was able to throw it back to you.  From there you took off.  It was perfect, and we have seen you do better - but it was GREAT.

You have had so much success so early in life, I pray that when you do come across adversity, you are able to handle it gracefully and with grit.  If this is any indication - you will be more than okay.

Continue to be brave, continue to take on new challenges and new adventures.  Continue to love life and be a light in this world.  Continue to shine your light bright!!!

Daddy loves you and Daddy is proud of you.

Lil Lon-Lon | Daddy's Girl

This week, we got the phone call that you have tested into the Dual Language Program!  It is a huge accomplishment, and I am very proud of you.  You are a smart, special, creative, free-spirited little girl who is also fierce, strong, and full of potential.

I’m super excited for you for 2 main reasons:

1 – You were originally Daddy’s Girl

2 – Everybody is going to see how gifted, talented, and special you are

When we first brought you home, you were originally a big-time Daddy's girl.  My earliest memories of my Lil Lon-Lon was of you waiting for me to get home from work so that I could hold you, rock you, play with your cheeks and belly, and feed you to put you to sleep.  When someone would try to pull you away from me to hold you, you would just cry your Daddy.  

But, by far you were by far our best baby and within your first month, you were able to sleep through the night so well that others were willing and OFFERING to babysit you earlier than your sisters.  I call this the Gift and the Curse.  It was great having a newborn slept through the night so early, but because you always had someone wanting to babysit you, I had to share you with the world.  Now as an almost 5 year old, you are such a Mommy's girl, and that is great.  You and your Mommy have a very special bond, and you will always be Daddy's Lil Girl.  

With you being the middle child, I definitely see how you can get lost in the shuffle.  Lex is Lex and Zoe is Zoe - they both demand attention at times.  Though you have just enough reason to keep all eyes on yourself like your sisters, you have a quietness and a shyness that the other two don't have.  You seem content in your spot, happy to have your growth and success shine in the shadows, but I also see a slight yearning for some recognition, and I am excited that this will give us more opportunities to celebrate you!  

You have always made life look so effortless - The way you run, the way you color, the way you match up your clothes that you are already picking out for yourself... It might be part of the reason why you might not always get the recognition from us that you have earned and deserved.   You know Lex is always pushing, grinding, and she doesn't have a problem letting everybody know.  Zoe just has to be seen and is always asking me to, 'Look at me Daddy.'  You sometimes request the spotlight and jump on stage, but just as often as I've seen you say, ' Look at Daddy,' or your line, 'Watch this ________," I see you shy away from extra attention.  

Always know that Daddy sees you. Daddy saw you first, Daddy never stopped believing in you, and Daddy knows and has always known that you are special.

Daddy Loves you Little Lon-Lon.