Today would have been my dad’s 55th birthday, so in honor of his birthday (and Father’s Day coming up), I decided to share 5 of my favorite things I learned from him (in no particular order)!

1. I think the most obvious thing I learned from my dad is anything and everything photography. I started photography because of him and it grew in to a passion of mine. We use to go on photo outings together and it was honestly one of my favorite things! I still find myself admiring and wanting to pull over to the side of the road when I see a gorgeous photo opportunity, and it always makes me think of him!

2. It’s important to have fun! For anyone who knew my dad, in whatever capacity, jokes were who he was! You could always find him poking fun, playing pranks, or jumping out of nowhere to scare you! At my wedding, we did the traditional Father/Daughter dance and then surprised everyone with a fun little dance afterwards! I remember laughing so hard while we were practicing and he kept mentioning how much it was going to make the boys (my brothers) laugh!

3. He taught me to never be sorry for being nice to people. There are always going to be people who take advantage of your kindness, but don’t let that stop you from being kind.

4. Shop for bargains! Y’all, I still say this whenever I get out of my car to go shopping! It will forever be something I say and I’m sure when Hudson is old enough, he’ll say it too!

5. My pride that runs deep for my country and for the military was also learned from him. I get choked up when I hear the National Anthem, or see military homecomings (don’t we all?), and you better believe I cried when I saw him dressed in his uniform on my wedding day. He had me convinced that it just wasn’t possible, all the while scheming behind my back! It made it even more perfect when we danced to “Military Man” by Jessie James (if you haven’t heard it, look it up- it’s a beautiful song)!

Though I obviously learned a lot more from him, like working hard, giving to others, etc., these are just 5 of my favorite. I miss him every day, but I’m happy that I have such fun memories and lessons learned from him. Happy birthday, Dad!

P.S. Those beautiful wedding photos were taken by Deanna Reese Photography!