Spaghetti Toes

Get your feels ready for this one!

I was recently asked to do a print for a very special Grandpa. Here is the original request and it is the sweetest thing ever. (I'm leaving the names out of this one, but it was an honor to do this for such a beautiful family)

"A little back story for our request: My husband and I lost our firstborn son when I was 20 weeks along due to preterm labor back in 2013. It was devastating. We struggled to get pregnant when we started trying again. After a couple rounds of failed IVF and three years later, we ended up getting pregnant with identical twins naturally. They’re the light of our lives, and our only kids since I’m 43 and it was a difficult pregnancy. My father is my best friend, and I know he’s delighted to finally have grandchildren from me (I’m his youngest). He recently had a dream that touched him deeply. He was kissing my boys, and one of them said: “Please continue" in between giggles. He’s almost 79, and not in the best of health so I’d love to have this dream illustrated for him. If you can somehow include our angel boy too - that would be wonderful. Thank you so much for offering custom prints. This is going to be a wonderful present for my Daddio!"

So sad to hear about Koko the gorilla today. Harper and I just watched a ton of old videos of Koko doing some absolutely incredible things with all sorts of amazing people... but nothing is as sweet as Koko and her kitten. I hope you two are cuddling extra tight tonight.

Every year from Mother's Day to Mother's Day, I keep track of all the original songs Harper sings. Whether it be in the bathtub, playing with her Barbies, or in the back seat of the car. I then make a fake 1970's looking album and give them to my wife for Mother's Day. Here is Harper Grace's fourth Studio Album... "Love Monster"

Here's the track list:

1. Pink Kryptonite

2. We are the Girls who will save America! (Duet with Harley Quinn)

3. Everything about you's so big, except your brain

4. I'll break your heart, I'll bring it home, I'll put it back together, but I won't give it back... sucka! (hahahaha)

5. I know you want to win my love (but you're a loser)

6. Frecklefart Superstar

7. You know I'm the most-hottest

8. There ain't no boys in my systerm

9. I love that you love chicken

10. It's okay, everyone has different boobies shapes

11. Did you just hate on my face, right to my face?

12. I'm a taco fairy with tortilla wings

13. Pancake band-aids would heal my heart

14. You turn me into a monster... a Love Monster

15. You make me want to throw myself into a trash can

16. Mirror mirror ghost ghost zombie zombie water water

Good luck to “The Shape of Water” tonight. Loved loved loved it!

A couple of nights ago I asked Harper who she was going to pick to be her Valentine this year.

I said: "It can be anyone in the whole wide world!"

She was quiet for a few seconds and finally said: "Can my Valentine be someone from Heaven?"

And then I got quiet for a few seconds... and finally I said: "Of course honey, I don't see why not." (I knew exactly where she was going with this)

So she thought for a few more seconds and said: "I choose Papa Tom (my dad) as my Valentine this year! Do you think he'll know I chose him?"

I think he knows you chose him Harper.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

There’s no love like Star Wars love!!!

I recently found out that October is a month dedicated to parents who have suffered the loss of a pregnancy or an infant child. It's not something that many people talk about. It's definitely not something that I like to talk about. Yet it will be something that I think about for the rest of my life. There's no good way to put it... it sucks.

I started to write out the experiences that my wife and I have had, but even that sucked. So instead I did this little drawing. Harper was the second of three pregnancies for us. As you all know, she's an only child so it's not hard to figure out we've been through this a couple of times. Once before, and once after she was born. She doesn't quite understand any of it yet, (and neither do we). But we have tried to talk about it and be open with her when she asks about why she doesn't have any brothers and sisters.  

We'll never know why things happen the way they do. We're still angry and sad and we probably always will be. But we're also insanely blessed and lucky to have our sweet "Rainbow Baby" Harper Grace. She is our life and her existence is something that we are thankful for and never take for granted, not for one day, not even for a second. You all know this kid's spirit and it is everything to us and more. (A rainbow baby is a baby born shortly after the loss of a previous baby due to miscarriage, stillbirth, or death in infancy. This term is given to these special rainbow babies because a rainbow typically follows a storm, giving us hope of what’s to come. source - thebump).

So many people deal with this in silence. It's sad and difficult and beyond painful. It's not fair and it makes no sense. It's something that we think about literally every day of our lives with great frustration and hurt. We wanted lots of babies and while it was so close, it just wasn't meant to be and we'll never understand why and we'll never be okay with it. It just... is. And again, that sucks. Everything about these losses has changed me as a person. It's not on the surface, but there is a sadness that wasn't there before, that will now never go away.

I wasn't going to do any art or anything at all about this because it is such an unspoken and private thing. The choice to even have children in the first place is so private and frankly nobody's business. Everything about the entire subject of children is personal and delicate and difficult at times. But after I asked my wife about it, we decided that if this little post and simple drawing could help just one or two people going through this, it would be worth it.

"Mama, you are my Rainbow."

This is how sweet little two-year-old Eddie expresses his love to his Mama.

This one has us feeling all the feels. Thanks Eddie and Annie!

Harper overheard us talking about some of the things going on in the world last night and eventually started asking questions. We explained a few things to her in the best way we could think of when dealing with a five-year-old. We didn't go in to details, only that a lot of people in the world are angry or sad or that some people don't like other people for some pretty silly reasons. After a while she looked at us and simply said: "Do they know that love can help?" Dear World... listen to this child!

We all need more stories of unconditional love and inspiration like this one:

"I love you to the top of the sky, to the bottom of the ocean where the sharks live. That's deep."

Kelly Driscoll recently contacted me to bring this sweet piece to life. The quote is amazing and beautiful but the story behind it is even more so.

Here's what Kelly told me:

"We have 7 kids, 2 are adopted. My 2 adopted kids have been saying this to their bio mom since they were quite young. Their bio mom has been through a lot and has made a lot of mistakes along the way. But, she has always loved Hunter and Madison. She's made a lot of changes in her life and has been sober now for over a year. Most people won't talk about how hard adoption is... we talk about how beautiful and redemptive it is... but our kids experienced a deep loss when rights were terminated. We love that their other mom gets to be a part of their lives and they get to share memories."

Thank you Driscoll family, it was a true honor to work on this for you.

Life isn't always perfect or fun or easy. Even though we always try to bring the funny, sweet and absurd things our little girl says to life, sometimes she says something that stops us in our tracks. A few weeks ago we were heading up to see my mom and Harper was so excited to see her Grandma and a few of her cousins. As we pulled into Grandma's driveway I heard a sniffle in the back of the car. I turned around and saw a tear in Harper's eye. I wasn't sure what was going on and said, "What's wrong honey? What happened?" She looked at me and simply said, "Dad, I'm just so happy. I'm lucky to have this life." I was having a bit of a hard day and she brought me out of my little funk and turned it all around in an instant. We are truly so lucky to have this life. Thank you Harper for reminding us not to take it for granted.

I shaved my beard last night for the first time in a long time and Harper's reaction was first to gasp and run out of the room, then to peek her head back in and examine my face, then to run up to me exclaiming this:

My Dad was not a large man physically, but he was a giant to me when I was growing up. Some of my most vivid memories of him are from when he would pick me up and throw me on his shoulder and I would think I was on top of the world... because I was!

As I go through the incredible journey of fatherhood with one child, I'm reminded daily of what a true giant of a man and father he was to support a family of eight! We've missed him for almost five years now but the best memories remain and I will always remember him as my giant of a dad.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the amazing Mothers out there! I hope someone gets you some donuts!!!

This insanely sweet thought comes from Sarah Duston and her then three-year-old daughter Lily. Here's the story:

My now 5 year old amazing daughter has always been a thinker. My favorite thing she has ever said is this gem when she was around 3 years old: "What kind of ship do we have? Friendship or mom ship?" Lily asked the first question and paused, watching me be completely baffled as we are definitely not the owners of any shipping vessel nor do we run in such social circles where anyone would have such a thing. But, when I responded: "We don't have a ship!" She repeated herself and asked, "Is it friendship or mom ship?" Of course, I melted immediately into a pile of mush because that is just the sweetest thing ever. I went on to tell her that a mom is someone who loves her and takes care of her and teaches her things and supports her without asking for reciprocation. So great! I love being a mom!! Thanks, Sarah

One of the very sweetest requests I've ever gotten. Thanks Briana Davies! Here's what she told me about this very special quote:

When I was a little girl I got my dad a lighthouse figurine and I meant to write, "I love you with my heart and soul," on the box it was in, but I instead wrote "I love you with my heart and soil." Ever since then that's how I sign all the gifts I give to him. It's our 'thing.'

Happy Earth Day!!! Let's love this World so we don't turn it into a poor sad Zombie World!