My knight in shining armor....

My husband Dave is about as good as it gets. My son and I tease about what sale did I pick him up on and couldn't I have paid full price for a better model. But that's only because David and I are so alike and Dave is an opposite of us. There's a lot we don't understand about each other. In fact, Hannah is also like me and Emily is much like her dad with a little of me thrown in. We all share the "What is he talking about?" sensation from time to time. But that is quite okay. He has fun with it too, and it releases tension for us all when none of us are on the same page and speaking very loudly. (as if that ever helped anyone understand better!) Nevertheless, David has thanked God more than once in his lifetime for his dad and the strict way he is for teaching David the difficult lessons in life, discipline and such. We all have. Dave has kept us afloat in troubled times. We have labeled him as our family Bible scholar for all he's learned on the radio while driving on his job travels. I first fell in love with his knowledge and voice. Now that Emily is being educated at Criswell College, she's giving him a run for his money for that honor!

David and Dave have shared their sports together. Dave has never been a player, but they have both have been spectators together. David is his dad's walking baseball encyclopedia, which he always appreciates since he doesn't have time to read himself. They also shared Spiderman on Saturday mornings and cartoons on TV on summer vacation--hence this picture. Their differences have not been their demise. Now Dave is trying to mentor David in his finances. Hence the yelling. Not so much because of the decisions, but most often now just finding time to be together!

Dave's mom used to tell me that she hoped Dave was generous with me. He has always been as generous as we could afford to be. He's loving. He's made many more sacrifices for the family than I think any of us will ever realize. Even though he doesn't make as much money as he could in other jobs, he likes this job because he can do much of the work at home and works with Christians. I would never ask to take that away from him. Even though he travels, it's usually day jobs only, with occasional over-nighters. Other jobs that pay more would have him be gone often. That would be unbearable. He's tried to be ever present, if only in body, and has worked hard to be involved in all he could. When the children were children and we were homeschooling, he would even spend a week of his vacation teaching school. The kids loved his "alter ego" Mr. Throckmorton, a proper and odd little British man. Emily and Hannah had tea parties for a few birthdays and Mr. Throckmorton would serve keeping all the girls in stitches the whole time. When the children were very little we would read and act out Bible stories. For the time Jesus was in the boat with his disciples in the storm Dave would load the children on his lap and rock them hard in his rocking recliner for the storm' He'd suddenly stop when the children hollered "Be still!" It was a favorite story for us all. I love the time Dave has given us even when he didn't always feel he had it to give.

The girls have also found Dave to be their knight in shining armor. He's always been their protector----most often from unwanted boys! I felt sort of sorry for the neighborhood boys who stopped by at 8pm one Saturday back when Hannah was 13. They wanted to know if she could come out to "play." "She certainly may not!" I'm not sure what else he said, but his tone of voice in those four words were enough. They didn't bother her again!

Dave is a jewel. I'll keep him forever. Mom gave Daddy a sundial one year that had this quote from a poem, "Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be." We are growing old and it is getting better and better. Part of it is the memories of the growth through struggles and the laughs through the fun, so much of the better and better is recognizing the blessings God gives us every day. God is so faithful and because of it, life with Dave gets better every day.