75

February was a busy month. I went out of town every single weekend. I hope to blog about each weekend, but given my track record in blogging lately, I am not making any promises.

The first weekend in February my Grandma gave my Grandpa a 75th birthday party. Grandma and all their children, grandchildren, and spouses wrote letters for Grandpa...we put them all together into a scrapbook. My Grandpa is the most sensitive man I know. We put the scrapbook on his chair that morning of the party while he was out taking care of the farm. We all went to decorate for the party, so when he came back he had time to read all the letters. He said as he was reading the tears just kept flowing. I am posting my letter. I love my Grandpa...

Dear Grandpa,
I celebrate your life everyday but especially today. I praise Jesus for the way you live, the way you serve, and the way you love. I praise Him that you were born to my sweet Grandma Jean, that you married my beautiful Grandma, that you are the father of my precious mother, and that you are my my gentle and faithful Grandpa. I praise Him for all these blessings. I praise Him for the gift of you.

I have always loved your relationship with Grandma. It has inspired me, comforted me, and given me so much joy. I love the way you love each other so deeply and so purely. The way you take care of each other is very special. I love to hear your conversations with each other. I love to hear you laugh together and speak truth to each other. I love watching you dance together. I love that you go on trips together, making fun memories and strengthening your bond because of memorable experiences. I love that you go to church together and learn to love your Lord even better together. And I love the way your love grows.

Over the past almost thirty years, some of my most treasured memories are the ones spent with you. Thank you for teaching me to ski, hydro slide, and ride horses. Thank you for teaching my friends to do the same. Thank you for welcoming so many of my friends into your home and into your life, making them feel special, too. It means so much to me to know that many of my closest friends know you and Grandma. Your house and the farm are so special to me. Both places are filled with fun times and bring peace to my heart when I am there. This is because of you. You are one of the most peaceful people I know. That is one of my favorite qualities about you. Peaceful people bring peaceful memories and peaceful blessings. Thank you.

Some of the things I love most about my mom, I think she inherited or learned from you. Peacefulness. Gentleness. Integrity. Quiet Faith. Sense of humor. Wisdom. Selflessness. Self-control. Patience. Goodness. Love. Thank you for teaching these things to my mom. I am thankful that I have been given the opportunity to witness these qualities not only in my mom, but also in you. I think you and my mom are very much alike. And that is blessing to me.

There are so many things I have learned from you....just watching you live your life. And there are so many things I love about you. You have given me the example of living a life of responsibility, specifically with money. You have shown me how to live a life of patience, in EVERYTHING you do. You do not complain and in difficult times, your faith does not falter. Your faith in Jesus is strong, but it also continues to grow. You love and serve your wife in the most special way. You work hard, harder than anyone else I know. You take care of important things and people. Your sensitive heart and respectable nature show those that love you most that you are a man of integrity...a wonderful man of God. Thank you for teaching me, in the most humble way.

You are my role model. You are a source of strength in my life. A source of peace. You are one of the few men in my life that, if it be the Lord's will, I would want my husband to be like. You are my precious Grandpa. I am honored to be able to say that. I adore you. And I love you...