the jims in my life...

first, there was jungle jims where my sister had her 7th birthday party. she got a sweet bedazzled hat as a present that i was totally jealous of, and threw a fit until my dad left her party to go buy me one. i know, i was such a low-maintenance kid.

then in high school, my best friend (who comes back home TODAY from spain!) and i stole jimmy bush's technicolor bath robes from his house. there were two of them and they were the craziest, psychadelic colored robes i've ever seen, wish i had a picture! why did we steal them? honestly, i can't remember...but i'm sure it was well deserved and we weren't up to any mischief-- i was a good kid, remember?

in college the office and jim halpert came into my life to enrich my thursday nights with things like this.

and through it all- the man, the myth, the legend...jim bram.

some things you should know about my dad:

- according to himself, he is the funniest person in the world. i mean, we all think he's hilarious, but he CRIES at his own jokes. i wouldn't lie to you.
- one of his favorite things to tell people is he was top 10 in his graduating class. which is true. he was #10...of 13 graduates.
- he plays the banjo like a mad finger pickin fool
- when i was in kindergarten, my teacher asked me what my dad did for a living. my response: "he talks on the phone and laughs."
- in all seriousness, him & my mom are the hardest working (and most stubborn...i had no chance) people i know - quitting is not in their vocabulary.
- he's an absolute goofball (again, this might run in the family)
- he loves college football, rootin for the underdog, golfing, frozen margs no salt, has a lead foot, immediately starts sweating when he eats spicy food, and got my whole fam hooked on project runway
- when ang & i would leave home for weeks on end to work at young life camps in high school & college, he would write us letters every day.
- he knows how lucky he is to be married to my mom (33 years!)
- he is hands down, no doubt about it, my biggest fan.

he also cries when he's really, really happy. in a tough, manly kind of way.

he's a gene-gene dancin machine...


and has had the same friends for more than 20 years.

just for kicks, let's see how long i can have this one up before he calls with a bribe...


happy father's day to the best daddio a girl could ask for.
can't wait to see you in 11 days!

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and! i can't finish a post about jims or amazing fathers without mentioning ruffin's dad. his namesake, james ruffin bailey, jr (jim) was an incredible man, son, brother, husband, and father. he sadly passed away when ruffin was 11 years old, after a very tough, year-long battle with mouth cancer. it's hard to describe the mark that he left on ruffin in the short years they had together - he loved his family and everyone around him with all his heart while he was on earth, and is now adoring his Father in heaven. i can't wait to meet him.