Tied for First Place...

Man, oh man. God outdone himself on this one! My prayer, for a godly man to help me raise my girls. A man like my Daddy.

Now, as anyone who knows me, knows...it takes quite a man to hold up to the Dennis Roaten standard. I'm sure there are those who will argue, but my Daddy is it. He is the man. That man pretty much brainwashed me into believing I'm the smartest, most beautiful, most talented, and generally the best at anything and everything. So, if you privately think I'm cocky, or boastful, or anything like that (and trust me, I know some of you do, and I know who you are) - it is purely his fault. And, it's okay. I mean, seriously. If you knew me as a pre-teen, redheaded, bucktoothed, anorexic looking little freckled face child - you would be amazed I came out of it with any self-esteem at all. I would like to introduce Exhibit A:

For those of you who have emailed and thanked me for being vulnerable - well, this is the toughest one yet! I'd pretty much rather be stung by a million wasps than to let anyone see this pic, and well, dang it. I just put it on the internet! Yikes.

Anyway, back to my Daddy. You see, I think when he looked at this little girl, he truly believed I was the most beautiful thing on the planet next to my mom. And, he still looks at her "that way" - you know that makes us kids wanna gag. Somewhere between my first and second marriage, I think I started to see that I may not be this ugly little girl anymore. Enter, Charlie Jay.

When I logged on to christianmingle.com, on February 16th, 2006, I had been on for 10 measley seconds. I barely had my profile finished before I got that email. That sweet, amazing, family tree-changing, email. At first, I thought great, already got a weirdo emailing me. But, whoa. When I saw that picture of him, my heart started pounding. (I'm fanning myself even at this moment.) What I didn't know right then, was how wonderful that moment was - that moment when God said, "Kim, meet Charlie. Charlie, meet Kim. You both have been praying for each other for years, and today is the day!"

I won't bore you with all the romantic-ness that ensued - although I seriously could write a book! But, I will tell you that this man and our story is as close to the story of Christ's love for all of us that you can get. You see, I was a single mom, not exactly swimming in money, not exactly Miss America, not exactly a brain surgeon. Charlie, well he was well-educated, single for 42 years, let's face it - he is HOT, and had a very successful career in IT (Information Technology - not the word "it".) We came from two very different worlds. Somehow, someway, he seemed to have seen something in me and my girls that he wanted in his life. He fell in love with me, fast! And, he even told me so before we even met in person! Now, if you know him - that is NOT like him. He's not the mushy-gushy type. He proposed to me and my girls one year later. Took on my children (two girls, both in the thick of hormonal discard), my debt, my "baggage", my past. All, for nothing in return. Seriously, he never asks anything of us for himself. Well, except for the occasional tv to turn off, or shoes to pick up.

I kept wondering as we dated, "Why on earth is this guy so goo-goo over ME?" I thought surely there had to be a catch. There must be some seriously scary skeletons somewhere. Nope. He adores my girls. He did from the minute he met them. So much so, that every time he heard them call their dad, he was so jealous. He wanted that for himself. Then came Peanut. I cannot imagine life without that child. I often wonder what in the world I would have ever done without her in my life! I couldn't imagine loving her as much as Morgan and Bradyn. I'm so glad Charlie gave me this wonder of a baby.

He is the absolute best father for my girls you could imagine. He spends an inordinate amount of time explaining things to them. Like, if it were me on whatever subject, I would have said those words, "Because I said so!" way before he would. He teaches them. He is on teaching mode nearly 99.9% of the time. Anything. He enjoys seeing them understand how the world works, such as money, business, relationships, anything!

Okay, I guess I should stop the gushing. It is getting gross. But, it is all true. And, I guess the moral to this love story is, no matter where you are in life - no matter how low you think you are - how much you have given up on love, or family, or faith, or whatever it is you are desperate for - God is there. He is ready and waiting to give you the best. You may just not be ready for it. I mean, I had to suffer through years of marital storms, a divorce, singlemomhood, before I was ready for Charlie. I'm glad I waited. Or, I'm glad God kept my gift a surprise!

Tied for first place in the best Daddy competition: Charlie Jay and Dennis Roaten. Happy Father's Day, Charlie and Daddy. I love you more than words could blog. You are my world and my best friends.

Kim