Father's Day

Happy Father’s Day
This year we celebrate with 2 boys!! We are so excited and blessed. I am so very thankful my boys have such a great daddy! Father’s Day has made me think about all of the great men I have been blessed with in my life. Whether family member or friend, God has truly put some wonderful guys in my life. I am so fortunate to have such an incredible husband. He loves me more than I can really believe and way more than I deserve. I am so lucky to have a man who can cook and iron! If I did not have Joey I guess I would be living on pancakes and wearing wrinkled clothes.
Family members…………..
I have wonderful memories of things I did with Daddy as a kid. Many of my fondest memories revolve around things on the farm. I loved it when he would let us play in the cotton trailer. Jumping into a pool of fluffy cotton is a thrill beyond description. I will never forget rides on the tractors and the combine. Hopping in the truck to check cows has always been so much fun. You just never know what you might see. I love seeing my boys enjoy the farm with Pa now.
Ray has been a great dad to me too. He has the title of stepdad, but he sure acts like a Dad. He has always been there to help when I needed him. I will never forget him trying to teach me to drive a stick shift in his blue Ranger pickup. He is a great Papa to my boys too!
Of course, mentioning Papa makes me think of the original Papa, Ray’s dad Mr. Clyce. What a great man!! He was such a sweetheart to me. I have wonderful memories of him helping me at church at Grand Junction. He also helped me with a war project I did for school in 6th grade. He told me so many fascinating things he had been through during the time he served overseas. Oh I wish he were here to play with my boys! They’d sure love him too!
I now get to watch my boys play with Uncle Larry just like I did as a kid. I think all of the Sowell cousins agree that Uncle Larry has always been just plain cool! I love seeing Ethan and Jon Jon get so excited as they play with him. I can remember how I loved to play with him as a kid. I now get so much joy as I see them have fun with him too.
Mr. Joe, the greatest Camp dad. Mr. Joe has always been more than just a boss to me. Mr. Joe always treated me like one of his own children. I can truly say God has used Mr. Joe to shape my walk with Christ! Mr. Joe has always been more than happy to give me advice (and a good story to go along with it.) Mr. Joe had to convince me to marry Joey. God has used Mr. Joe to bless so many who have worked on his camp staffs throughout the years. I am so very thankful that I had the opportunity to work for him for so many summers.
Mr. Hortense was another great boss who took care of me. I loved working for him at the restaurant when I was in high school. He had such a kind heart. He was always making sure that I would stop and eat. If I told him that I had not had a chance to stop and eat anything yet, he would go in the kitchen and grill me a piece of his incredible fish. He loved to visit with people and work in his garden. Boy I wish he could see how much my little Jon Jon loves watermelon. He would be so proud!
Another great father figure God has placed in my life has been Roger Bell. He was our Nebraska dad when we were in graduate school at the University of Nebraska. Roger and Patricia truly treated us like we were their kids. I am so thankful God put them in our lives. We were so blessed by their ministry to us in our church small group. They faithfully led us by example as they ministered to all of us in our young married couples group. I will never forget the morning we left their home as we started our journey home to live in MS again. I cried so hard as I drove out of their driveway. It was so hard to leave them. I am so thankful to know that they still pray for us from far away.
Over the years, I have had great Sunday school teachers who were men. Chuck Ondo, Lynn Cox, and David Graham have been three of the very best Sunday School teachers anyone could ever have!
I know there are others who have blessed my life along the way. These are just the ones that come to mind right now as I type. I am so thankful for the ways in which God has used these men to shape me into who I am today. I am also thankful in advance for all of those who will make an impact in the life of my boys. I know God will place awesome people in the path of my boys to lead them in the direction Christ has for them.