All About Dad

Troy came home from work one day last week with an article he saved from the Wall Street Journal. It featured the differences between how mothers and fathers parent and the benefits that result from each parenting style.

The article described verbatim how Troy and I each respond to parenting situations. He is the one who distracts and I am the one who identifies feelings.

According to this article, both styles are needed to develop different sets of skills in children. The influence of a father is monumental.

I am so grateful for the father of my children who sacrifices so much for us. For the good example his father was and is to him. And for my own father who taught me to be hard working and confident.

Blake and I made cards to show our appreciation to the three wonderful fathers in our lives.

Blake answered some questions about his dad and his grandpas like he did for me on Mother's Day. I love three year old responses.

The biggest undertaking of Father's Day festivities was making individual pies for all of the fathers at church. Our Primary Presidency was in charge of coming up with a gift, and we were crazy enough to get together and assemble 70 individual pies. We each baked a tray right before church so that we could serve them warm during the third hour.

We baked apple, peach, blueberry, and cherry pies, and the color of the lids corresponded to what type of pie was in each jar. Talk about a treat!

It was worth the effort; to celebrate the influence and the dedication that fathers relentlessly give.

I couldn't think of a better dad for our sweet boys. We adore him.

(April 2010)

Dada's a Troy

I love capturing sweet moments like these. Our boys sure love and relish the time with their dad.

We have been trying to teach Blake to distinguish between boys and girls. When we go through the list of people for him to identify as a boy or a girl, he states:

"Blake's a boy. Nash is a boy. Mama's a girl. Dada's a Troy."

Two Became Four

I'm not referring to our growing family. Two was the number of weeks that Troy was supposed to be in New York for work and now his trip has been extended to four weeks. One whole month without a husband/dad. I shouldn't complain because a month is really insignificant compared to those who are without family members for months at a time. We just miss him! I haven't mentioned Troy's work much due to confidentiality within his company. I can finally say that he was recently promoted to be the team lead for credit derivative settlements, which is a high honor considering the short length of time he has been with Goldman Sachs. That is what brought him to New York, so that he could receive additional training.

He would never toot his own horn about his work ethic, but I will for him. Troy has done really well with his company in the last two years; becoming a go-to man for many team members seeking direction and expertise. He has enjoyed being on the panel of interviewers on several occasions. He never ever complains about his alarm clock going off at 5am each morning so that he can be to work by 6am. He puts in long hours and still somehow has energy for us at the end of the day. We are so grateful for his hard work and the stability he provides for us, even if it means extended trips away from time to time.