#1 Grandpa

A few weeks ago when I went back home to visit my mom for the weekend, I finally had the chance to go out to my dad's grave site and hang up the flag I got for him. 

I miss my dad all of the time, but when I think about actually getting to hold our baby in my hands, it's very easy for me to think about how I'll never get to see my dad hold our baby in his big, strong hands. I imagine that my dad would be to my kids (and Kellsey and Jared's) like Grandpa Kock was to us. He'd be fun and goofy and play off his toughness to "scare" them, just to make them laugh about it afterwards. Of course, he'd tell them lots of inappropriate (but clean) jokes - like "How do you know that the flat cat had blue eyes? Because when it got run over, one blew one way and one blew the other" (Grandpa Kock will have to correct me on that one if I'm telling that wrong!) He'd love to play with them and watch them grow up and he'd be there for all the fun activities in their lives! I can just imagine all the basketball advice they would have gotten at a very young age! Most importantly, I know he would have done anything for them, just like he did for us growing up, and would have loved them so very much!!

There's so much that our kids could learn from him. Now it will be up to all of us who knew him to pass on what we know of him to his grandkids and teach them all about the wonderful man he was! I know he'll be watching over all his little ones and will be proud of the people they become!