2017 Tribute to Dad at Festival of Trees

Mom and Dad loved the Festival of Trees and had a tradition to visit together every year. They even bought a tree one year, which came with the infamous Bear that sat on Mom and Dad’s porch for years. So it seemed like a proper tribute to create a tree in his honor to raise money for those in need. Mom, Nikole, Ashlyn and Lindsey spent so much time coming up with the perfect theme and perfect decorations to represent Dad and many of the things he loved.

As kids, our favorite part of Christmas was always Dad’s Christmas surprise. Each year, Dad would secretly wrap a few presents for Mom and hide them in the tree. The anticipation of spying the hidden gifts became the highlight of Christmas morning. So we called our tree “I Spy Christmas” and hid the following items in the tree.

• 10 golf balls because Dad was always in need of golf balls since he lost so many each round

• 9 presents because he was a generous and giving person

• 8 army men because of his time serving in the Army and Army Reserves

• 7 helicopters representing his time as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam

• 6 iceberg cups with ice cream overflowing reminding us of the many trips we took to iceberg as a family and Dad licking down each one of our shakes

• 5 ladders for his years working as a roofing contractor

• 4 golf clubs because it was one of his favorite hobbies

• 3 luminaries of the first Christmas night because of his testimony of the Gospel that always lit the way for others

• 2 Coke cans because it was his preferred drink

• 1 Temple representing the blessing that we have been sealed as a family for all eternity

Ashlyn wrote on her Instagram, “Memories, tributes, and love in a 7X9 foot space … I can’t pick one favorite thing because the whole of it represents my dad, my rock, my hero.”