Our first boy was born a month early weighing in at just over 5 pounds. He was the first grandchild on both sides of our families, so needless to say, grandparents were eager to come visit! My husband's family arrived at the hospital to meet their first grandchild, where my husband made everybody wash their hands and SIT DOWN to hold the baby! He made his mother sit down...It was funny, but it had me nervous. How overprotective and crazy was this man going to be?!

Here we are, twelve years and three more boys later and now HE is the one that has to dial down my crazy. I tend to look at how hard life is and how cruel kids can be. Dad reminds me that I can't protect their little hearts forever. They will fight with friends...and each other. They will get teased. They will have a girl break up with them. But they will be okay, It is our job to teach them to deal with the hurt, to deal with their their feelings, and for them to be kind. But we can't keep them from LIFE.

I am also not very good at taking time off or being spontaneous. I think we can not go on vacation or have people over unless our house is clean. Daddy reminds us that it doesn't matter. We can still take a time out for fun even if all the chores are not done. That doesn't mean he doesn't help enforce chores or responsibilities from time to time; he's just better at taking a time out for fun.

Daddy also teaches us the importance of humor. He teaches us to laugh at ourselves...and each other. Sometimes we make mistakes and it's okay to laugh at them instead of crying over them. When I start to lose it or stress, daddy is normally the one who can tone down my crazy and remind us to all laugh and have fun! He's come a long way from the daddy who made everyone sit down to hold his firstborn.