My husband is probably one of the most humble, caring, and kind people on the planet.

Need someone to entertain your kid at a mostly-adult gathering?

He’s probably already slipped away to go play games with them.

Need a piece of furniture made?

He will probably put hours and hours into it, measure everything precisely, and give it to you without charging labor.

Need the hair-clod removed from the clogged drain? Or the vacuum?

He will gag his way through the job while you’re at work and not even mention his act of extreme sacrifice.

And I do mean extreme. This man grew up in a very hair-controlled household: his brother, his dad, and his mom all had short hair. My hair, on the other hand, is long. And it tends to shed as tumbleweeds. As hard as I try to clean it up as I go, there’s just no avoiding periodic altercations with a stray hair or two.

In our earlier years of marriage, he claimed the hair being everywhere was the most trying adjustment for him.

So then we got a dog.

And had a baby girl.

And we’re still happily married. See what I mean? This guy puts up with a lot.

On top of all of that, I love how every day he is so intentional about giving his family quality time. There is no doubt of his love for us girls.

It’s funny, because once upon a time he said, “We can’t have a daughter. I don’t think I could handle having a girl.”

So all during the first half of our pregnancy, we talked about Elise like she was a boy. We even got random mail for “Duane Werner” (anyone know a Duane Werner??) and started joking that it was for our unborn child. Poor girl was called “Duane” for the first 20 weeks of her life.

(Her life in the womb of course. It never said “Duane” on her birth certificate.)

But actually, if there’s anything Tyler can’t handle, it’s the thought of her growing up. And especially: of her getting attention from boys. After our gender-reveal ultrasound, he said, “I definitely think we should home-school.”

I even bought Elise a ruffly yellow polka-dotted 2-piece swimsuit and had to take it back because it was a “bikini.” And as sad as I was to take it back, I had to smile as I stood in line to return it. I love that he is so protective of her, even now.

Elise might not love it someday… but it will be good for her. 😉

Ya know all those country songs that talk about the dad cleaning his gun while a boy comes by to pick up his daughter for a date?

Take out the country twang, and that’s going to be Tyler. He’ll probably have to buy a gun just for that.

But without a doubt Elise will always know that she is precious to him. And hopefully, it will help her to understand her worth. That she should never settle for a boy who her father wouldn’t approve.

Well, ok, that’s going to be pretty impossible…

Man, Tyler is going to have a rough time. And what if our next one is a girl too?!

We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it I suppose. For now, Tyler and Elise are two-peas-in-a-pod.

They chase each other around the house, read stacks of books, and play in the dirt. It’s so hard to leave them all day to go to work. But I love that Tyler pumps her up for my return home. As soon as I open the door, her loud toddler-steps thunder towards me, her squeaky voice giggling and exclaiming “Maamaaaa!!! Home!!!”

This man shows me so much about the love my own Father must have for me. And still greater – the love of my Heavenly Father.

So anyway, in honor of Father’s Day, here are a few photos of Tyler and Elise: