Father's Day Tribute 2021

To Eli: I feel like a broken record, but it's true! Eli is practically perfect in every way... like Mary Poppins! I appreciate how he keeps the household running with handling many of the meals and dishes, doing laundry, cleaning, and making it a hobby to make our yard nice and improve our home. He's definitely a do-er, and you can see his good works all around.

I am in awe, and grateful for his gift/talent that he has developed to be good at time management. He is a well-oiled machine. He gets up, gets work done efficiently and well, and then gives himself a chance to relax in the evening. It's a beautiful thing for me to watch as my personality can be quite opposite of that in some ways.

I also appreciate over the last year or so with the pandemic, and our children being older, that Eli takes the time to listen to me, validate me, and encourage me to develop as a person, not just in the roles of wife and mother. It's nice to go on dates more often with our awesome babysitter Avey in charge, and remember the things we have in common, and why we got married in the first place.

I appreciate and love you Eli. And I am grateful for how you appreciate and love me in return.

With love, Kira To My (Kira's) Dad, Terry Cope

Dear Dad, You've been gone for about 2.5 years now. In some ways that time feels long, in other ways very short. I miss you. I miss talking to you, getting hugs and encouragement from you, listening to you sing, calling you for help with fixing things or cars, water skiing with you, getting priesthood blessings from you. One benefit of getting older, and having you gone for a while, is that I see your entire life in a different light. I see your struggles, your setbacks, your efforts to overcome, to learn, and grow into a more humble, spiritual, well-rounded person. From your life experiences I can learn about mistakes, repentance, recovery, forgiveness and reconciliation, healing, and love. I have the opportunity to view your life in its entirety, and learn from it as I might from the scriptures. It's a unique and precious gift that I'm grateful for.

Thank you for doing your best to love me, protect and provide for me, and teach me. I love you, and miss you, and smile at when we will meet again.

With love, Kira