A Party in Heaven

A few years ago for Christmas Matt got me a frame painted with the words...

"There are souls in this world which have the gift of finding joy everywhere and leaving it behind when they leave."

In the middle of the frame is a picture of me sitting on my dad's lap while he reads me a book.

This frame hangs on the wall at the very top of our staircase. I pass it every day when I get up in the morning and smile at it every night as I walk up to bed. Some nights when I'm going to lay Charlotte down we stop and talk about "Papa Paul." I tell her how much he loves her. I tell her how proud he is of her. I tell her that he is always with her, watching over her and keeping her safe....her very own guardian angel. Every once in a while when we get to the top of the steps Charlotte will reach her arm out toward the frame and get the biggest smile on her face. While I know that she is too young to really understand, I can tell that she knows there is something special about that picture...

I have so many wonderful memories of the time that I got to spend with my Dad and I do my best to pass those memories on to both Matt and Charlotte. We talk about his love for the Yankees, listening to Buddy Holly records, playing Jeopardy on the computer....The list goes on and on. Dad's memory is alive in our house and we feel his love every day.

Happy Birthday, Dad! I hope that you are doing something 100% awesome today--maybe an afternoon Yankee game with the Mick?? If so....maybe you could help Jeter out a little bit?? =)