Thanks, Dad, for your sacrifices, loyalty, forgiveness, patience, for your neverending love and support, but most importantly for just being the person you are.

Thanks, Dad, for being my very best friend in life. For being the person I can always go to without fear or judgment. Thanks for listening to my problems and trying to fix them by making them your own, for always teaching me a lesson, but still forgiving me after my mistakes without making me feel like less of a person. Thank you for always being a phone call away, and for always making every day a better one by just listening and talking to me. There is no one else in the world I love to hear tell old stories, karaoke in the car with, watch Hee-Haw with, and enjoy staying up until two in the morning with just to talk about life, The Lord, and the good ol' days, more than you.

Thanks, Dad, for being my biggest fan through every stage of my life. You were my little league coach, the rope holder in my lead line pony days, my videographer at every dance recital and class play, the loudest in the crowd at every game, and you happily burned up all of your off days to make sure you never missed a Friday night to watch me on the sidelines. You always pushed me to be the best I could be at everything I did and to always give my all. I have never had to worry about not having someone to support, and push, me in everything I do, because you always so selflessly have.

Thanks, Dad, for always putting your family before yourself. Thank you for working multiple hard jobs at one time to make sure there was food on our table and clothes on our backs. For going without the things you needed to give us more of what we wanted. For never leaving or giving up when life got tough, because you have always loved us more than you love yourself. Thank you for doing everything you possibly could to give us the best of everything in life, for always ensuring that we were happy as happy as we could be, and for constantly reminding us how much you loved us.

Thanks, Dad, for making God the center of our family's life. Thank you for always answering, "I'll be praying about it, babe" or "God will take care of it" when I tell you about something I am worried about. Thank you for reading the Bible to me, for taking me to church and for always knowing just which verse to send me when I am struggling. Thank you for always praying for me, and for telling me more about God day in and day out. Thank you for being the God-fearing man you are, and for teaching me that nothing else matters in this life if God isn't in it.

Thanks, Dad, for rocking me to sleep when I was little, holding me when I was scared, trying to protect me from all of the bad things in this world, for never losing your temper when I was a "know it all" teenager, for never letting me face things alone, for hurting as much as I did every time something went wrong in my life, and for being the absolute best Dad in the world.

Thanks, Dad, for molding me into the person I am today. I would have never made it this many years without you. You have taught me how to be a friend, a giver, an obedient child of God, a listening, non-judgmental ear, and a more loving person.

I love you more than all the mailboxes in the world, Dad, and I will never be able to repay you for all of your loving sacrifices.