Day 4

Day 4: Parents


Hands down I have the best parents in the entire world. You can try to argue otherwise with me, but you will lose. First, I have to say that I am the luckiest girl in the world. I am adopted as you probably know. God knew exactly what he was doing when he placed me with my parents. We are a perfect fit. I believe I am there to create the perfect balance within our family.

My parents have always been wonderful examples for me and my sister. They taught us to be kind, generous, thoughtful, hard working and determined. I believe my parents are the most generous people on the planet, both with money and their time. A lot of people look at generosity in financial terms, but my parents are equally generous with time.

My mom is very smart, friendly and caring. She is a physical therapist by trade, but stayed at home after my sister and I came around. Lucky her! My mom is always volunteering at her church, the Blue Star Mothers or the Republican Women. If there is ever a box packing for troops she is there no matter how early it is in the morning. She helps prepare dinner for her congregation every Wednesday evening. She is one of the first to sign up to help register voters at the State Fair every year. She is always willing to let our sweet Bailey stay over if we are out of town. I'm just in awe of her kind spirit. She will do anything for the people she loves.

My dad is brilliant, focused and goofy. My dad if a very funny man, but don't tell him I said that. If you don't know him well he may seem quiet, but if you are in his circle or a small child he is the silliest person in the world. He is a pediatric surgeon and has devoted his life to making their lives better. I always loved going to the hospital with him on the weekend when I was young. He would go in to round on patients and my sister and I would play in his office with the office skeleton. It was awesome! He spends a lot of time working with children who are severely disabled. He is very involved with The Children's Center in Oklahoma City which is a fantastic place. He cares so much for those kids and I have been lucky to grow up with that example. He is also a rock star on the golf course. He has always taken a lot of interest in our activities growing up. Every weekend he would take me to the batting cage in high school and college. Despite his extremely busy schedule he always has made time for his family. Both my parents gave up their weekends for years to drive us to Tulsa, Dallas and other various places to swim, play soccer and softball...and they still like us even though I'm sure a lot of those weekend were awful.

They made sure we experienced everything we could growing up in school, family trips, sports, knowledge, entertainment...I could go on and on. They didn't let us quit when we started something. I know I got my determination and drive because of that and that is something I want to teach my kids. They taught us that good things will not be given to you, you must work for them. They let us make mistakes, but made sure we realized the consequences. They let us be individuals, but guided us through our crazy teenage years.

One of the best things about my parents is how much the love and accept our friends and loved ones. They were always willing to open their home to a big group for a watch party, slumber party or team party. So many times I would call and say "all these people are coming over" and they would just say, "great!". I love that. They have always treated Kody with respect and would do anything for him just like they would for me.

The long and short of it...my parents rock.