Living the Dream...

We brought Keltan home Sunday afternoon. It was much later than I desired - I wanted to leave by 11:00, Inga was apprehensive to leave, and the hospital staff was in no hurry for us to leave. Finally, at 3, we got out of there! It was time to begin our life at home with our new blessing.

For months, I have dreamed of the day I could lay in my own bed, in my own house, with my dear wife, and my own son on my chest. I did that Sunday evening. As soon as we got home, I took Keltan to the bedroom, laid on the bed with Inga, and put him on my chest. My words were "I'm living the dream right now."

This is a crazy emotional time for us. Dad looked forward to his grandson, and I looked forward to my son having a crazy granddaddy. He isn't here now, and that makes me incredibly sad. Yet, through all the sadness, there is extreme joy and blessings. My son is healthy, my wife is healthy, and we have a very supportive family. And Dad left a legacy...

I think every man in the world wants to leave a legacy to his children. The question is - what kind of legacy will we leave? In a church bulletin recently, there was a quotation about what we leave our children, and the best thing we can leave is a good name. Dad left us that good name, and now my son can carry on that name with no shame. He can proudly say to people that knew Dad "My name is Stanley Keltan Blaine Dickson, grandson of Stanley Elbert Dickson" and never have to hang his head or want to hide. Thank you, Dad, for that legacy for Keltan. It is truly the best gift any grandparent can give.

Dad also left another legacy, perhaps without realizing what he was doing at the time. Inga and I were so deeply in debt that it was affecting our marriage. He introduced us to the The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, and our world changed. We can now say we have changed our family tree. We paid off our debts and put our marriage back on track. Now we have a beautiful result. God truly does reward those that follow His will. We can now pass this way of living down to Keltan, and hopefully one day he will pass it down to his children. May he nor any of his descendants be plagued by the curse of crushing debt! Again, thank you Dad.

Inga and I are so blessed. We thank Jesus for our beautiful boy, and we pray that we will be good parents to him, and teach him to continue the legacy of Stanley Dickson.

We're just living the dream, baby!