Happy Birthday Poppy

Today is my Daddy's 75th birthday. He is a wonderful Dad and a super-duper Grandpa. Everyone calls him Poppy. Ashley, his first grandchild started it and He is called POPPY by almost everyone who knows him.
I'd like to tell you all the wonderful things about my Dad. First of all , he worked on the arsenal and came home everyday at 4:30 to his family. He loved all of us very much. He loved our mother like Jesus loved the church and he always put others before himself. He not only took us to church all my life-he worked faithfully as the sunday school secretary and in the kitchen as long as I can remember. He loved coaching my brothers ball teams and later a ladies softball team. He referreed basketball in Madison County for like 30 years. He was a USSSA ump for the last active years of his life. When I was pregnant and in labor, with Ashley his first grandchild, he beat me to the hospital and he was the first person to ever keep her alone besides me. He loves all babies, especially his 8 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. All babies love him too. He has beautiful hands and my son Chase's look just like them. When Chase was in junior high school, one day at church, they were asked to write down who was their role model and Chase put down Poppy. When Chase was little, Poppy helped him make his Pine Wood Derby cars two years in a row and they won ribbons.
On February 20th, 2002 my dad had his first major stroke. He had his second one in May of that year, just before his 50th anniversary with my Mom. We are so thankful he is still well and loving us. He showed true tenacity in his rehab efforts and still does. He was always the one doing for others and it's surely hard for him to let others do for him now. It is a blessing for all of us to still have him here and it's our turn to do for him. There will be family dinners and celebrations this weekend, but I want to say that I thank God for the best earthly Father a girl could have. I thank God for a Dad who is an inspiration, who lived as an example and who taught us to be good and loving.