With Sunday being Father’s Day, I wanted to do a special post to honor Brent. He is not as vocal as I am and hates writing even more than me, but he is in this same journey right beside me the whole way.

Also I need to give my dad, my step-father and my father-in-law a little praise too. They are all pretty great!

But back to Brent…To the man who brought me back into my walk with God by being the first real example of someone who did what they said they would do. I can’t thank you enough for that but I also know that God has some pretty amazing plans for us. While I don’t know what all they will be I do know I couldn’t imagine trying to find my path with anyone else.

I also know that no matter what I never have to fear your lack of commitment. You have shown me what I want for the boys, to be men of their words and of The Word.

To the man who went to his knees right beside me when there was nothing left for us to do but acknowledge that we were turning Cade over to God’s care. I still can vividly recall walking into the kitchen and just collapsing in your arms. And we both knew that it was out of our control.

But we also both knew who was in control and what we needed to do about that. And we have both prayed more than we ever thought we would or could. I pray that we will always be an example of faith for any other couple out their faces difficult situations.

To the man who isn’t the one to come up with the great things to say when having deep conversations but who leads by amazing example. Most of the hard conversations with the boys are led by me. But even though that is true the boys still know exactly where your beliefs and values lie by your constant example. Whether or not you believe it, you are a strong leader.

To the man who lovingly created raised garden beds and even came up with the idea of putting cinder blocks under them so we could make them the perfect height for Cade. I offered you the out of having someone else make these but you wanted to make them yourself. Looking back, I now realize that you needed to make them.

This was a contribution to Cade’s care that was completely doable by you. While Cade wants me for other things like piggy back rides, this was going to be something he will forever remember that you did for him.

To the man who is willing to go through twice the amount of work in order to show our boys how to have a great work ethic. While I sometimes wish for you to be home more and able to help with the daily chores I also know that our boys will know how to complete a job and do it well. I know they will learn to sacrifice pleasure for a job that needs to be done. I also know they will learn the joy that comes from completing a job that you love and doing it to the fullest and the best of their abilities.

To the man who best exemplifies the description of love in 1 Corinthians 13 so that I can tell them boys without hesitation that these are the same traits that they should seek in their future wives. One of the best things that I can say about our relationship is that we are setting a great example for what our boys should look for in a spouse. I also know that when I am talking to them about the character of the girl they like I can list off things from 1 Corinthians 13 and know that I can give them real world and probably real time examples from you.

To the man who has come along for the ride of having chickens because the boys love it (we did agree that a milk cow would push it too far). I know chickens were not on your wish list. In fact, as the coop game and plans were starting to be made, I am pretty sure you were hoping this desire would fizzle out. But I also know that you spent a fair amount of time helping me get the coop and pen ready for the chickens. (And I have seen you smile when the boys get excited about the chickens!)

To the man who is forever patient with me and my moodiness and weird quirks but loves me even still.

I can’t believe I found this many pictures of you!!

I love the man you are and the great example and leader you are to our family. While this journey is not the one we would have picked for ourselves, you have leaned on God and by doing that have helped me to lean on God too.

Blessings. Lynnette