Happy Father's Day, Manuel!

I want to take this opportunity to thank my husband, Manuel, for being the most unique and wonderful father and grandfather in the world! His hispanic heritage and culture make life very interesting at times, but hey, his kids love it, so what can I say? He's their father! He was the one who always was so ready to get up in the night with our kids when they were babies. He was so proud of them, and he was fine with having three little girls. He would take them with him, just like he would have taken a son around. They were all three "Daddy's girls"! Then, God sent us Noel and I will never forget how Manuel looked right after Noel was born. Just quietly holding him and with such an uplifted look on his face! The peace and love just filled the room as he hugged his little boy that he never expected to have. When Bianca was born, he said, "This is my little Bianca Nicole, isn't it?" And when Mandie was born he was proud of her, too. Dafne's sisters say that she is Daddy's pet, which she denies! He picked out little dresses for eahc of the girls to come home from the hospital in, and he got Noel a little outfit with turtles on it, as I recall. My dear husband came into my life from a totally hispanic world and did his best to fit into mine! I love him for that. When we were first married he didn't know what white gravy was and thought ketchup was a little wierd. He was always polite about whatever I cooked, but it was strange to him. Now, I believe that we have meshed both worlds and taken the best of both. Our children are comfortable in both cultures and that was our desire. My children's father might not do everything just like some think he should (he always has his own way of doing things) but he loves his children very much, including his son-in-law and our precious little grandson, Wyatt. He is very protective of his children, while believing that they need to learn to live with mistakes. Thank you, Manuel, for being the father of my children! Thank you for being my cook and helper when you have time! Thank you for doing the special things that make my life easier. And thank you for the times that you hug me and pray for me when I am really stressed and worried about something. I love you very, very much!