Happy Father's Day!

Hi there, it's Rebekah, posting as a guest blogger on the occasion of Father's Day. I'm so glad to be here! I'm sure there are women all over the globe right now writing and reminiscing about the importance of fathers. I hope you don't mind if I use our corner of the web to brag for a bit about my husband, the father of our five children.

Jason and I were married just over 14 years ago. We started our life together living in Pittsburgh - we traveled a bit, ate a lot, got a cat, enjoyed shopping, learned to cook, and (swallow your coffee so it doesn't spray out your nose) vowed that we would never have kids. I mean really, kids slow you down, right? Kids are expensive. They're noisy. They're hard work. We would never sleep in again. 

Fast forward about 14 years: God surely had other plans; here we are planning on adopting our 5th child. It was a long, twisty, crazy journey getting here, and I am SO thankful that the Lord didn't allow me to see ahead into my future. Through all of the highs and lows, I am grateful that He allowed Jason to lead our household in such a steady, strong, and Godly way. 

Above all, Jason loves the Lord. He is a worshiper at heart and a true servant.  Proverbs 14:26 says, "In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge." My husband walks this out every day. 

He is wholly devoted to me and our children. He loves his job, he works very hard during the day, and he has spent hundreds of hours after we are all asleep working on schoolwork (he earned his doctorate between 8pm and 4am for several years). But if you walk into our house, you will see this: 

Still in his school clothes, fully engaged with his kids. And within minutes of him walking in the door at the end of his school day, our oldest son is asking him to "play with me, Daddy!" And so he does:

And when there's work to be done, he ALWAYS has a kid (or four) with him: 

He reads to our kids every night before bed. He reads chapter books to the older kids and age-appropriate picture books to the younger ones. Here he is reading to our kids and some dear friends at Easter time: 

Every Saturday morning, whether he was up all night with a kid or not, he makes the biggest breakfast you've ever seen. The kids love to help, and I love that he wouldn't have it any other way. 

With only a handful of exceptions, he has given each of our kids every bath they've ever had. He gets up with them when they cry at night and he regularly paints all 40 girl toenails in the house. He is brilliantly smart, generous to a fault, and I'm so proud to be his wife. 

There is so, so much more that I could write, but I'm sure he'll be plenty horrified with this much. ( : 

Hugo, you are well loved even before you get here, and you will come to know that you have been given an exceptional gift with this Daddy. 

Happy Father's Day, Love.