My "boys" and their "girls"...

"Certain is it that there is no kind of affection so purely angelic as of a father to a daughter. In love to our wives, there is desire; to our sons, ambition; but to our daughters there is something which there are no words to express." Joseph Addison

Out of all of the many pictures that the boys sent me from their recent visit....this one really touched me so deeply.

It is certainly not the 'best' photograph of the bunch by any means...but, seeing my two boys sitting on the couch together being dads to their daughters really got to me.

Wasn't it just the other day that they were my babies...sitting on my lap?

Then, before I knew it, they became toddlers full of energy and mischief...but, always so dear.

I turned around and suddenly there were two young teenagers trying to find their identity as they went through those awkward years. I wasn't quite as popular with my boys during some of those years...but we made it through with patience and love.

College, marriage....and then.....

...they both brought precious lives into this world. First, Owen, an incredible son for Adam and Jenny....followed by beautiful Audrey. A few months later came Celia, an adorable daughter for Jeffrey and Janet. They all found their way into our lives...and our hearts.

So, today, as I looked through the pictures of their 'father and daughter weekend' in Maryland I was overwhelmed with emotion. I had tears in my eyes when I looked closely at this beautiful picture of two dads and their daughters caught in a moment in time.

I saw that my two little boys had grown into remarkable young men who are happily falling in love with their two little girls...proudly nurturing them as they are watching them grow...delighting in their little triumphs...soothing them when they are crying....taking care of them through all of lifes ups and downs....being sensitive and gentle men learning about being daddies...

As I thought about the amazing experiences that they are yet to have together....I suddenly found myself smiling knowingly...

Maybe it is because I already can sense the beautiful journey they are now embarking on as parents...and I know that the joy that they have brought into my life will now be passed on to their children....

....and I feel complete.