from my daughter's wall post on FaceBook

"I buy ya books, and I buy ya books."

Happy Birthday, Dad!


Dad, Happy Birthday! This year for your birthday, we've all decided to write some encouraging blogs, notes, or comments to you, so that you are FLOODED with happy thoughts on your birthday.

So here goes: I can't begin to thank you for everything you've done for me-- lately, especially. So, I won't overwhelm you with a crazy list of all the amazing chances you've given me, kindness you've shown me, and belief you have in both Aaron and I.

What I will do is write out a list of Dad-ism's that we have collected over the years, in a dictionary of sorts. You are such a great leader and a wise man of God, but as a daughter, one of the things that I've always appreciated most about you is your willingness to be SILLY! Still to this day (just the other day this happened, in fact), I will say something Aaron has never heard before, and after asking me multiple times what I said, the conversation always goes to, "It's something my dad always said, you've never heard me say that before?!" WE'VE BEEN TOGETHER 6 YEARS! That said, I'm quite sure I won't get them all, but here is the best list that Shawna and I could think of:

"mean things" - n. anything negative said about a joke Dad told.
"pud-en-tain" - n. a small, cute child.
"velshkin" - Pennsylvania Dutch word for corn. Actually said in response to "thank you".
"not so much" - phrase. in another to questions that don't really make sense.
"funky lips" - phrase. lack of knowing a person's name
"pre-haps" - phrase. perhaps.
"nickels" - n. tickles
"I buy ya books, and I buy ya books" - phrase. and still you do not learn.
"come sit me" - phrase. come sit by me on the couach and...
"tell me things" - phrase. talk for a while about whatever.
"varmits" - cute and cuddly pets
"feeling lumpy today" - usually means feeling like bothering someone playfully.
"I have a river where my throat should be" - self-explanatory, but no less gross.
"more bags" - a childhood game we'd play like Hop on Pop!
"I'd be like BAM!" - Christine Perez quote from childhood.
"take a dim view of you" - the squinting look you
"Quadda's" - Kiddie cats.
"Confuzzle" - Confused.
"Praise the Lord!" - raise your hands up to be tickled!!
"think, think, think, no." - sarcastic response to a question.
"imme-get-ly" - adv. immediately
"and then some" - phrase. tacked onto the end of various questions.
"various and sundry things" - phrase. lots of different things, I guess?
"Brother Briefy" - phrase. his nickname for his briefcase, who is a very special person in his life, and takes little things, like being left behind, very seriously.
"bother-ations" - n. the act of bothering someone (I was extremely surprised to find that this one is actually IN THE DICTIONARY!).
"know what I mean, Jelly Bean?" - phrase.
"The Mudder Duck" - Mom.
"Sorry I blew up" - phrase. said when he didn't really blow up.
"Nedermind." - Never mind...this is the aforementioned phrase that Aaron had never heard before. Probably derived from something one of us said as kids, when we couldn't get the right word out.


Okay, so I know there are probably dozens more, but we'll have to add them later! The point is, through all your silly phrases and words, you've taught us that life isn't so serious, the importance of having fun, and that God definitely has a sense of humor!