Today's beautiful thing is bittersweet.
Today is the one year anniversary since my father-in-law's death.
So many things to grieve, yet so many things to celebrate.
I'm going to highlight a few of the things I miss most about him.
How much he cared for his sons and daughters-in-law (daughters in his book). He showed his love in so many ways. Phone calls, gifts, trips up to visit, spending money on vacation, quality time, help with anything if we ever needed it. He helped us so much when Scout got attacked by the pit bull and never asked for anything in return.
He was a servant. Not only did he spend his days meeting with clients and finding out how he could best serve them, he would then do so for his family and church family. We can all learn a lot from him.
His patriotism. He loved our country and would get teary-eyed when praying for service men and women.
His soft heart. He wouldn't want anyone in the courtroom to know it, but he was a man who wasn't afraid to show his emotions. I really respected him for that and it made us all closer as a family to be able to share in that way.
His story-telling. He had a few key stories that he told over and over and over again! Even if I told him I'd already heard it, he proceeded to tell it all over again. We always pretended to be so put out by having to hear a story again, but secretly (or not so secretly) we just loved hearing him tell it again.
His sense of humor. Craig had such a great sense of humor. He made us laugh so hard at his jokes, sarcasm, or doing things to try to get us to laugh (like acting drunk!). He was hilarious, I remember laughing until I cried many times in his presence.
His love for the Utes! He was a die-hard Utes fan and was even a male cheerleader at the U! His squad painted the cougar outside Lavell Edwards stadium red.. a story he loved to tell! I loved going to Utes games with him and singing the fight song side-by-side!
His love for coins and old books. He loved to collect things and was extremely knowledgeable about coins and rare books from the Civil War era. I never got bored listening to him talk about these things.
His love for his wife. He was so devoted to his wife and just adored her. He never put her down, always built her up, and most importantly, let their boys know how much he loved her.
He loved the Lord. His faith was always evident, but became very demonstrative in his last days. There are some amazing stories I will never forget that made me see the Lord in a whole new light. Compassionate, concerned with every little detail of our lives, and so so loving and gracious.
Craig, we miss you. We miss your laugh, your smile, your stories, and even your temper. :) I hope you are able to peek in and see that. I wish you could have met Baby J, but know that someday you'll meet and have lots of stories to tell him about his dad.
To read Craig's obituary, you can click here. A fitting tribute to a wonderful man!
Rest in peace, Craig :)
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