The One Who Makes A Difference...

Just a few recent pictures of Mr. M for Father's Day. :-) I'm not going to get super sappy or anything like that - I'm going to hold myself back!  Haha.

 Needless to say - the best decision I ever made was marrying this guy.  He is the best person I've ever known.




He loves teaching the girls about science.  Here he is showing Paprika all about vinegar and baking soda and how they react.  (He did major in Chemistry in college). 



There are always wacky, fun science experiments happening in our house.  I usually try to steer clear and stay out of their way!  Paprika always says how much she loves science, and I have a good idea why:




Even though Mr. M works more hours than five people combined - he still takes the time to be super involved with Paprika's school.  He volunteers regularly in the classroom, and he is very present for all that is going on at her school. 

One thing he did recently was film the Three Piggie Opera for her class.  He had a three camera set-up, and then edited the whole thing in Avid.  Then he burned DVDs for everyone in the class and even did the special labels and cases for the discs (even though I said I could do that part!)

I think it took him over 40 hours of work to shoot, edit, sound mix, output, and make the discs for everyone.  He did it in time for the Open House at her school - and stayed up until 5:30am finishing it because of a computer crash.

He has taught our girls all about filmmaking and editing.  Here he is in Paprika's office, editing the Three Piggie Opera, and teaching 3 year old Ginger all about how to use Avid:





I could go on and on and on and on - but I won't because that would probably embarrass Mr. M.  I am just really so grateful for him, and I know his girls are, too!:



He is definitely "The Fun One"  - can you tell?  Oh wait, we are both the Fun Ones! Haha!



So last night, I booked Miss Christina to come babysit so we could have a peaceful Father's Day dinner.

First we went to the beach and walked for miles.  We had the best conversations and he even let me take these selfies:



Beach at sunset.  After three and a half years here, this town is starting to feel like home:



Another sunset pic:



After this, we went to a new Indian Restaurant for dinner and both got sick to our stomachs!  Haha.  Well - it still was an awesome date night.




Wishing all the Fathers out there (including my awesome and amazing Dad!) - a wonderful and happy day today. 

I wish Mr. M's dad were still alive to see how great a dad Mr. M is to our girls.  I know that Mr. M is a wonderful father in part because of the fantastic role model he had in his own dad growing up.  Ron is very missed and we were all thinking about him even more than usual today. 

I was also thinking a lot about my Grandpa, who I love so dearly and miss greatly.  And of course, also for Robbie at the passing of his dad, Eric, (my stepad) just a year ago...

One thing that is pretty great is that all of these men had a lasting positive impact on their children (and grandchildren!) - and so even though they are no longer with us in body, they never leave us in spirit.

Happy Father's Day to All Men Who Make A Positive Difference In the Lives of Children!