happy birthday papa!!!

today is my (our) beloved grandfather's birthday...he's my (kirsten's) dad's dad...


the overwhelming amount of feelings i have for my grandfather don't have words to contain them. he's the nicest man ever. he has the sweetest quiet compassion that i've ever known. he's absolutely precious, and if you ever get a chance to meet him you're incredibly fortunate. he's a great person to have conversations with, he's extremely loving and he's over-the-top helpful...

there's a story about my grandfather that may be true or may be some figment of my imagination, but regardless. my grandparents (and essentially all of my extended family) live in texas and i used to spend a month or so each summer visiting with them. i remember (or i think i remember) going to the grocery store with my grandfather when i was younger and he would always (and I assume still does when he can) walk through the parking lot picking up the shopping carts and walking them back to the store to help out. but this time, as we were driving away and on the road passing once again by the grocery store, he saw more carts that he had missed. he actually stopped, turned back into the parking lot, gathered the carts and brought them back to where they belonged. he's that helpful.


anyway, i absolutely adore my grandfather and have an enormous amount of respect and admiration for him. and i hope he has a wonderful birthday! we get to see him (and all of our family on my side) next month, and we're already extremely excited about it. and i feel like i've used a ton of adverbs in this post, but trust me. if you know my grandfather you know why.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA!

(p.s. i'm pretty sure my cousin spells it pawpaw and he's older, so he got to make it up, so that has to be right. i don't know when or how i started spelling papa, but i think i always have.)