What is a father....

To my faithful followers, WARNING! This post is a much more "personal" one than I usually post. But hang in there, my next post will be back to normal (as normal as mine can be)!

Besides, I know you all want to see how much stuff Ashton is packing into one of our Jeeps and the back of Eric's truck for Saturday's big adventure....and how all that STUFF will fit into a little dorm room....

What is a father? In our home it means that you don't have to be the biological father but a wonderful man who came into our lives in 2001 and became the world's best stepdad to three children who were 23, almost 16 and 10 when we married in 2002. You didn't have any parenting experience, not being a parent yourself and being in the Navy and living all over the country and world for 20 years....and seeing your nieces only once in a while when home on leave. You were the uncle who could visit and wind them up and then leave them for their parents to deal with! And yes, Mark, you told me so yourself! You were willing to date a woman with three children and unconditionally loved each and every one of us. You never hesitated to include the two youngest who were still at home (the oldest was in the Coast Guard at that point in time)in anything we did, your entire family opened their hearts and arms to myself and my children and they were included in all your family events. You have a wonderful family. You never hesitated to take Ben and Ashton on fun "family" trips, to New Hampshire many times, to movies and to the base to go bowling on Saturdays, your day off. You took Ashton and her giggly friends on Saturdays to go shopping over the several years I suffered with my back problems and surgery. Many times you were both Mom and Dad. Never, ever did you do anything for yourself without asking one or the other if they would like to participate. When we eloped you felt guilty for not including the children and the first year we were married you took Ben and Ashton and myself on a weeks trip to Jamaica. You worked alot of overtime to pay for this wonderful family trip. That's a lot of on-call nights, nights you had to go into the hospital at 1 or 2 or 3 a.m. (even through blizzards)after a long day at work, then get up and go back to work at 6:30 a.m. the next day. You took them to Dunns River Falls to climb, even though you had already been there/done that while in the Navy! By the sounds of it, once would have been more than enough! You were the one who helped one of the kids out with loans when they were struggling and co-signed all the college loans. You just co-signed another bunch of college loans for your daughter. You spent hours upon hours shuttling Ashton to cheering practice from seventh grade on....you went to all the home football games these past four years that you could to stand on the sidelines in the cold, rain, wind just so you could watch Ashton cheer. You helped Ben move into his dorm at college that day 5 years ago and you were just as sad as I was to leave him there! You enjoyed all of his friends coming and going over the years. You always made sure he had money for gas. When his car got totaled you helped him get his first car loan. Courtney thanks you over and over for all you have done for me and his siblings. That speaks volumes. I will never forget our first Valentine's Day together and along with my bouquet of roses you gave Ashton a bouquet as well. And you don't bat an eye when I tell you how much "we girls" spent on our several college room/apparel buying excursions. You sat for hours beside a child that was having a very very hard time, worrying as much as I was about him. You have supported each and every one of the children with endless love and for that, I thank you. All three may not have the same last name as Mark, but they all have his love.