I hope I'm just like him -
It's my Daddy's birthday today!!! :) and due to tradition, no, I cannot tell you how many years, or else I won't get birthday presents. for years. hahaha. ;)
We've had such a beautiful day as a family....working on home projects (what a special guy to do that on his birthday!), and eating delicious food, and just spending joyful time together. It has been like a mini vacation from yesterday through today. It gives me a lot more joy thinking about retirement. :) I mean, his retirement. Hahahaha. :)
I'm so blessed to have him as my Daddy.
I thought I'd make a list of things I've inherited from him.
Freckles. As you can see, I inherited his freckles, his hair (color and curls), his eyes, and his hands.
When I would go to family functions, they would all look at Daddy, look at me, and say "Well, you must be Eddie's girl!!". It gave both of us lots of joy when that happened. ;)
I also inherited his grandmother's nose. Interestingly, the grandmother I was named for. :) Of course, my nose is broken in two places, but if you don't look too closely, and I don't smile way too hard, then you won't notice. :)
His love for music. We will spend hours upon hours listening to and sharing music. I know he is always up for being introduced to new things I've found, and gets a kick out of me when I walk around singing the songs from his era, and trying to do the twist on the kitchen floor in my socks. We can both be easily moved to tears over music, because it touches such a special place in our hearts.
His love for planes, flying, space, science, rockets, NASA, and exploration. I know I inherited all this love from Daddy, because flying is not Mama's favorite, but I always laugh when we get that huge thrust before taking off and landing, and imagine what it'd be like going up in a shuttle instead. :) I can listen to him talk about planes for hours, and ask basically any question about planes, and he will know the answer. We both love NASA, and we both love space. It amazes us that God has allowed us to know and learn so much, and given us the ability to build the amazing things to get us into space! We are both so very thankful for all the years of NASA and our life here, and hope that private space companies thrust the dream of exploration into new hearts and thrive again in our home state.
His love for the outdoors. We'd both rather spend time outside, in the quiet, in the woods, at the beach, with a camera or a book, or just a good walking stick and knife....walking Indian style like he taught me when I was little. We love working together around the yard, and to this day I love sawing and chopping trees and limbs so much I beg to do it anytime there is a need. haha. :) He has taught me how to do it all correctly, how to shape things and prune them correctly, I know it will remain in my memory and be a great help if I marry and have a yard of my own!
His love for learning and books. I think I might be happy if someone would pay me to read books. I love to discover and memorize facts and medical details, and when I find something of interest, I look it up and learn as much as possible about it. One time, I was really interested in Airforce planes, so I watched hours and hours of documentaries on planes refueling in the air, and how to maneuver the tanking probe and boom. I was fascinated. And then I watched hours of documentaries of fighter jets taking off and landing on aircraft carriers in choppy sea, and learned never to do it right before bed, because I get so tense that I can barely sleep. 70 seconds of terror, my friends. :) And it all makes Daddy laugh, because he loves that I love it. :)
His love for friends, and socializing. What people don't realize is that I'm really not this child that just got thrown into my unsuspecting family. I'm my parents daughter. Both my parents are outgoing and hilarious, so it's not really that strange that I turned out to be a slightly hyped up version of them both. ;) My dad has a huge heart for missions, and he will spend as many hours as he can, talking with them and encouraging them the best he can. I'm on the Missions board as well, and it makes my heart smile to watch him so deeply interested not only in the mission work, but also in the missionaries hearts. I've seen missionaries sort of blink in wonder that Daddy so wants to know things about how they are, that they are scrambling through all their normal "work update" to find things about how they are doing. :)
His love for the little things. Like biscuits that remind us of his parents, and flowers that smell like the South. Like sunrises and sunsets and all the glorious moon rises and stars. The way the breeze moves in the pines and oaks, and the way cool water from a hose tastes better when you are sweaty and hot. Paying 5 dollars to go to a deserted wildlife refuge or park is worth it when you enjoy it. Going out to eat and ordering what you want so you are happy, and then sitting there for an hour eating it, and talking to each other, and not caring about the time at all. Relaxing and enjoying life. Taking time off of whatever you are doing just to tell someone you love them, or help out, or listen.
Long, loving hugs. The only time you get a short hug from either of us is when we are too excited to give a long one, but have to give a short one, so we can pop back and see the other person's face and exclaim our delight. I would say it's a Southern thing, or a Fambrough thing, and maybe it's both, but Dad meets you once, and you are either friend or family, or at least worth a wave, or a good manly handshake and a slap on the back for saying hello. I'm convinced that long, loving hugs are the best way to show how much I love and treasure and cherish others, and believe me, I think it's my love language. Hugging. haha. I find it very easy to hug others, because I am hugged so often in my own home. Daddy is always up for close time with his girls. Hugs are our favorite. :) That, and naps on Sundays on the couch with the puppy in between.
His love for photography and creation. Almost everything I learned about photography when I was little was from Dad. He taught me how to frame pictures, how to get better light, and how to take pictures of whatever I wanted. This was back in film days. :) He never complained once about the cost of developing rolls and rolls of film that were just about hawks and sunsets and birds. He always praised my "work", and told me how good I was. He still does that. :) He loves flowers and all things of creation. He will pet animals and cuddle Lucy Mae and pluck jasmine blossoms and azaleas just to inhale their scent a little longer, and put them in a little vase in the kitchen.
His love for family and legacy. I love the legacies of both my parents, and how they are so special and intertwined in God's grace. We love reading back, and looking at old pictures, our whole family loves learning more about our extended families, and I see this in him when we talk with others, and he will patiently listen to any story they have to tell about their families. He will laugh and say "that's great!", or he will tell them how special that is. I think I have more memories about watching him like this than I actually remember what the stories were about.
My Daddy has such a heart for God. He is so moved by grace. He is so overwhelmed by mercy. He is so thankful for daily communion with our Lord. He spends much time in prayer and the Bible, and reading more about holiness than anything else he reads about. He prays with his whole heart, and is often moved to tears by just thinking and dwelling upon the Savior who loves us so well. He loves the Lord deeply, and trusts Him wholly. He is such a tenderhearted man. Tenderhearted, compassionate, caring, and sweet, and I know that much of this is because of the Lord's work to make Him more like Christ. It has never been a struggle for me to think of God as my Heavenly Father, because I have such a loving and precious one for here on Earth.
His heart for God .... I hope I inherit all of that. I hope I'm just like him.
I hope it will be easy to always tell by looking at me that I'm "Eddie's girl."
I love you so so much, Daddy. I'm thankful for every day with you. Happy Birthday!
Love, your little redhead girl,
~ Jean Marie ~
The day the last shuttle lifted off, July 7th, 2011. Before he left to go to work.
We've had such a beautiful day as a family....working on home projects (what a special guy to do that on his birthday!), and eating delicious food, and just spending joyful time together. It has been like a mini vacation from yesterday through today. It gives me a lot more joy thinking about retirement. :) I mean, his retirement. Hahahaha. :)
I'm so blessed to have him as my Daddy.
I thought I'd make a list of things I've inherited from him.
Freckles. As you can see, I inherited his freckles, his hair (color and curls), his eyes, and his hands.
When I would go to family functions, they would all look at Daddy, look at me, and say "Well, you must be Eddie's girl!!". It gave both of us lots of joy when that happened. ;)
I also inherited his grandmother's nose. Interestingly, the grandmother I was named for. :) Of course, my nose is broken in two places, but if you don't look too closely, and I don't smile way too hard, then you won't notice. :)
His love for music. We will spend hours upon hours listening to and sharing music. I know he is always up for being introduced to new things I've found, and gets a kick out of me when I walk around singing the songs from his era, and trying to do the twist on the kitchen floor in my socks. We can both be easily moved to tears over music, because it touches such a special place in our hearts.
His love for planes, flying, space, science, rockets, NASA, and exploration. I know I inherited all this love from Daddy, because flying is not Mama's favorite, but I always laugh when we get that huge thrust before taking off and landing, and imagine what it'd be like going up in a shuttle instead. :) I can listen to him talk about planes for hours, and ask basically any question about planes, and he will know the answer. We both love NASA, and we both love space. It amazes us that God has allowed us to know and learn so much, and given us the ability to build the amazing things to get us into space! We are both so very thankful for all the years of NASA and our life here, and hope that private space companies thrust the dream of exploration into new hearts and thrive again in our home state.
His love for the outdoors. We'd both rather spend time outside, in the quiet, in the woods, at the beach, with a camera or a book, or just a good walking stick and knife....walking Indian style like he taught me when I was little. We love working together around the yard, and to this day I love sawing and chopping trees and limbs so much I beg to do it anytime there is a need. haha. :) He has taught me how to do it all correctly, how to shape things and prune them correctly, I know it will remain in my memory and be a great help if I marry and have a yard of my own!
His love for learning and books. I think I might be happy if someone would pay me to read books. I love to discover and memorize facts and medical details, and when I find something of interest, I look it up and learn as much as possible about it. One time, I was really interested in Airforce planes, so I watched hours and hours of documentaries on planes refueling in the air, and how to maneuver the tanking probe and boom. I was fascinated. And then I watched hours of documentaries of fighter jets taking off and landing on aircraft carriers in choppy sea, and learned never to do it right before bed, because I get so tense that I can barely sleep. 70 seconds of terror, my friends. :) And it all makes Daddy laugh, because he loves that I love it. :)
His love for friends, and socializing. What people don't realize is that I'm really not this child that just got thrown into my unsuspecting family. I'm my parents daughter. Both my parents are outgoing and hilarious, so it's not really that strange that I turned out to be a slightly hyped up version of them both. ;) My dad has a huge heart for missions, and he will spend as many hours as he can, talking with them and encouraging them the best he can. I'm on the Missions board as well, and it makes my heart smile to watch him so deeply interested not only in the mission work, but also in the missionaries hearts. I've seen missionaries sort of blink in wonder that Daddy so wants to know things about how they are, that they are scrambling through all their normal "work update" to find things about how they are doing. :)
His love for the little things. Like biscuits that remind us of his parents, and flowers that smell like the South. Like sunrises and sunsets and all the glorious moon rises and stars. The way the breeze moves in the pines and oaks, and the way cool water from a hose tastes better when you are sweaty and hot. Paying 5 dollars to go to a deserted wildlife refuge or park is worth it when you enjoy it. Going out to eat and ordering what you want so you are happy, and then sitting there for an hour eating it, and talking to each other, and not caring about the time at all. Relaxing and enjoying life. Taking time off of whatever you are doing just to tell someone you love them, or help out, or listen.
Long, loving hugs. The only time you get a short hug from either of us is when we are too excited to give a long one, but have to give a short one, so we can pop back and see the other person's face and exclaim our delight. I would say it's a Southern thing, or a Fambrough thing, and maybe it's both, but Dad meets you once, and you are either friend or family, or at least worth a wave, or a good manly handshake and a slap on the back for saying hello. I'm convinced that long, loving hugs are the best way to show how much I love and treasure and cherish others, and believe me, I think it's my love language. Hugging. haha. I find it very easy to hug others, because I am hugged so often in my own home. Daddy is always up for close time with his girls. Hugs are our favorite. :) That, and naps on Sundays on the couch with the puppy in between.
His love for photography and creation. Almost everything I learned about photography when I was little was from Dad. He taught me how to frame pictures, how to get better light, and how to take pictures of whatever I wanted. This was back in film days. :) He never complained once about the cost of developing rolls and rolls of film that were just about hawks and sunsets and birds. He always praised my "work", and told me how good I was. He still does that. :) He loves flowers and all things of creation. He will pet animals and cuddle Lucy Mae and pluck jasmine blossoms and azaleas just to inhale their scent a little longer, and put them in a little vase in the kitchen.
His love for family and legacy. I love the legacies of both my parents, and how they are so special and intertwined in God's grace. We love reading back, and looking at old pictures, our whole family loves learning more about our extended families, and I see this in him when we talk with others, and he will patiently listen to any story they have to tell about their families. He will laugh and say "that's great!", or he will tell them how special that is. I think I have more memories about watching him like this than I actually remember what the stories were about.
My Daddy has such a heart for God. He is so moved by grace. He is so overwhelmed by mercy. He is so thankful for daily communion with our Lord. He spends much time in prayer and the Bible, and reading more about holiness than anything else he reads about. He prays with his whole heart, and is often moved to tears by just thinking and dwelling upon the Savior who loves us so well. He loves the Lord deeply, and trusts Him wholly. He is such a tenderhearted man. Tenderhearted, compassionate, caring, and sweet, and I know that much of this is because of the Lord's work to make Him more like Christ. It has never been a struggle for me to think of God as my Heavenly Father, because I have such a loving and precious one for here on Earth.
His heart for God .... I hope I inherit all of that. I hope I'm just like him.
I hope it will be easy to always tell by looking at me that I'm "Eddie's girl."
I love you so so much, Daddy. I'm thankful for every day with you. Happy Birthday!
Love, your little redhead girl,
~ Jean Marie ~
The day the last shuttle lifted off, July 7th, 2011. Before he left to go to work.
Love this, dear Jean! And I know your Daddy will, too! Happy Birthday to you, Ed--a man with a beautiful heart.
ReplyDeleteLove to all, mcd
Beautiful words Jean Marie....
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet post, Jean Marie! You have such a way with words, and I am sure this post means a lot to your daddy.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Mr. Fambrough!
Love In Christ,
Jenna
Happy Birthday, Mr. Fambrough! I hope that it's a wonderful one.
ReplyDeleteWith love,
Lauren
Happy birthday, dear Mr Fambrough!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to giving you a big hug in just over a month!
Sadie Beth xxx