When Daddy Comes Visiting

My father came for the weekend on his way home to the States from Ukraine with his wife. After spending three days with him I now see where a lot of my personality comes from. You see, my father is outgoing and fun loving. He enjoys the thrills of life, good food, and less work. Well... that's me! I'm also learning to invite God into my personality and let Him change me from the inside out because every personality needs Jesus' love to mold them into a better person. What I'm saying about myself is that I am very selfish at my core and need Jesus.

Anyways, my dad's coming was such a blessing! Because his stay ended up being SO short we did a lot of exploring, shopping and eating in very little amount of time. It was a whole lot of fun to get to spend that time with him and my step-mom! The first day we spend it in Bratislava shopping until they were falling asleep every moment they sat down. It turns out they drove all night to get to the airport from one side of Ukraine all the way to Kiev. They blessed Tín with a new coat and loads of legos. It was beautiful to watch him receive the gifts with grace and not ask for more and more. He chose thoughtfully and carefully while being very thankful and happy. I don't know why, but in that moment I was proud of my little man for the way he handled all the lavish gifts he received.

The next day was spent doing even more shopping. My dad loved visiting our local market to see how we do our grocery shopping, comparing prices and checking out the vendors. Because he's so friendly an outgoing it took a while. Everybody loved my dad, you can't help resist his good looks and charm. I get that from him too, right? Kidding, kidding. We bought so much food and ate it as fast as it was purchased. Oh! He really enjoyed the cheese stall at the mall and walked away with less money and lots of cheese, lol. You should have seen the excited look on the tellers face as my dad ohh-ed and ahh-ed over the yummy cheese. You should have seen my step-moms beautiful face as she covered her face in embarrassment. I remember being in her shoes when I was a teenager. I've now learned my dad is a cheese lover. That evening we cooked up a delicious dinner with Momma Alla (my step-mom). She makes the BEST mashed potatoes too and I admire her love for a clean home. We had my in-loves over for dinner and enjoyed some fun games.

On Saturday we all woke up early, but didn't manage to leave early enough for a day in Vienna. It was another whirlwind of a day filled with food, markets, beautiful buildings of Vienna and long walks through the city. Vienna never gets old and it was so great to see it with my dad. Turns out when we migrated to America from Estonia we stopped over in Vienna for 11 days. I have very little memories of it as Italy left a bigger impression on my. My dad told me some stories about those days as we strolled through the market. 

My father's stay was filled with love, gifts and a beautiful time filled with so many great memories. I'm already missing him!