Daddy.... I know you are with me and you already saw this. But incase you want to keep watching it, I wanted to post this to your page, so I can feel like we are watching it together anytime we want. Not having you with me to watch Bo play football (and baseball) is heartbreaking. I feel like I go home every Sunday with a broken heart and a void because I know how much you would love to watch him. He would be bringing you so much joy.  You would have gone absolutely NUTS when he made this move, I just know it!! I love you and I know you are watching him (and Aliviah) every step of the way.  xo

On March 3, 2004, I received what would become the most precious "material" gift I will ever possess.  Just a day before on March 2, 2004, I gave birth to my daughter, Aliviah... it was, like any birth, a very difficult one. Over 30 hours of 1st stage labor and some complications.  I look back on how my parents must have dealt with their baby having a baby!! So crazy!! My parents never left the waiting room. 

The next day... my parents were there bright and early to be with me... My dad walked over to my bedside...  He leaned over to me and whispered into my ear, "After what you just went through, you earned the Purple Heart".  He handed me a small black box... Inside was the most beautiful Purple Heart pendant.  It was the first gift he ever gave to my Mom when they were dating. 

I will never forgot that moment... To know that a man in my life was so caring that he took the time to think of what I had been through and give me such a gift. It wasn't about how beautiful the Purple Heart was (although it is beautiful) it was the sentiment behind what the Purple Heart represents...  It represents the respect, love and admiration that my Dad showed my Mom his whole life... and us, his daughters.  He never let a moment go by without expressing in his gentle and sincere way - just what we all mean to him.  Never lacking of compliments and sweet words... My Dad is a man I feel so lucky to have had as my guide to find my husband.  The Purple Heart will forever mean the world to me, just as my Dad will always be my world...  The gift of being able to share a small story like this of my Dad speaks volumes of what type of man my Daddy is. 

Daddy... I am so thankful I earned the Purple Heart from you on that day. You give me so many reasons to think you are just the most amazing human being I've ever known.  I thank God for everything you have instilled in me. 

The "Purple Heart" turns 47 years old on Sunday. My parents had their first date in February of 1969, and the Purple Heart pendant was a first gift from my Dad to my Mom on Valentine's Day.  I will cherish this Purple Heart for all of my life.

I love you, Daddy... You are my hero, my everything  xo