Remembering Daddy... 5 years later!

Missing Daddy... Remembering him... 5 years later!
One of the hardest things this week is realizing... that while our lives are in many ways the same... it is very different without Dad. I am so sad that Megan and Jacob didn't get to meet him... sit on his lap... hold his hand... see his smile. But--- grateful that I have such a wonderful person... their grandfather... to share with them in memory. He was a great example to live by.
For those of you who knew him... here are some pictures of him... showing the face you all remember him by... and for those of you who never met him... a very small bit of who he was.

Kenneth Gordon Freas
with his father Karl Gordon Freas

When I looked back at this photo... I saw so much of Jacob in him. I wish so badly that Daddy could have met all of his grandchildren! Little Jakie would have loved getting to know him. It is amazing seeing all of the mannerisms that Jake has that remind me of his Pop.

This is Dad... between my Grandparents... Mary Elizabeth and Karl Gordon. Once again... a bit of Jake in those little eyes... cheeks... hairline.
I tried to snap a picture of Jake this morning... to capture Pop. Well... I didn't succeed as well as expected. I don't see the same similarities as I do in real life watching Jacob... but in all... they are still darn cute.

Jacob Gordon Birkett

Kenneth Gordon Freas

Jacob 8.5 months
Dad was actually a lot older in the picture and had teeth. Oh well... I thought it was cute

Jake looks a lot like his Daddy... but has some of his Pop in him too!

Jake gets his dimples from his Pop... I love those dimples!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are some pictures of My Daddy throughout the years. Some of them great... and some of them just because it captures the way I will always remember him.

Mom and Dad... at a Delt fraternity party... "The beginning"... Mom was a baby!
A high school-er... with a collage guy! hmm... Have times changed?

It is still so weird thinking of Dad being gone. He was a part of every important moment in my life... Big or small!
I love him... I respect him... I miss him...

Trying to give his tough guy face.

Dad graduated from the University of Florida...
served in the Navy... and then had a full career in the FBI!

I don't know the story behind this picture... but I'm pretty sure he was dressing up for a party of some sort.
He was a bit of a ham sometimes.

Here is our family
"The FREAS family"
I was sitting in Dad's lap!

I will always remember how it felt to hold Daddy's hands.
He had awesome hands. I've always been so proud to be part of this family... and honored to be the baby.

Daddy and Me
@ an amusement park
(holding hands again)

Dad always kept this picture sitting on his desk in the old office off the garage. He made himself a makeshift study... his own little getaway space. It made me feel good that he liked having it in there.

This was a picture from our family reunion with Dad's family. He is the oldest grandchild to my great-grandparents... who had 11 children of their own. My grandmother was the oldest of bunch. 7 girls and 4 boys.

I love being part of such a great big family... and love that we still attend "our family" reunion!


I am so thankful to have experienced a life growing up with two great parents.
My Mom and Dad were great role models.

(Dancing at my wedding December 9, 2000)

My wedding day...

(Daddy's hands)

This was us Dancing at Gregg and Michelle's wedding reception
April 7, 2001

Daddy was handsome his whole life. He had a great smile...and a great spirit. Who would have guessed that this Day... April 7th... would be the day that he would pass away... and leave us... exactly 4 years later.

Hopefully one day... Gregg and Michelle will be able to celebrate their anniversary without such a sad memory of Dad's death. He would want them to celebrate their commitment to each other... and remember Happy Times!
WE Have LOTS of them!


This is one of those photos... that may not be the greatest... but reminds me so much of Daddy! He loved hound dog (as he would call it) aka-snuggling!
Napping together in the afternoon... morning... whenever.
Steph... Emma (oldest grand-daughter)... and Pop passed out after a full Thanksgiving supper.

I see Emma sleeping there with him... and can picture Megan. This picture reminds me of her too. If he would have met her... they would be having some serious hound dog!
I enjoyed watching Dad with the first 4 grandchildren! He loved being POP!

(Pop with Zoe-#2... just relaxing in the swing together at the mountains)

This is him giving his BIG fake surprise look...
opening a Christmas present (@ Grandma's mountain home).
He hadn't even seen what was inside yet.
We converted all of his old projector tapes into a DVD of his life.
I love this old flannel shirt...


A GATOR FOR LIFE!

(Stephanie-Dad-and me at a football game)
... he inspired us all to be Gators! He really loved and supported them his entire life!

(Our Orange and Blue family... in our "Family home"-yard in Gainesville)

(The Boys)

The four of them loved playing any kind of golf together... especially REAL golf. This is a snap shot of them playing disc golf in our yard... before we completed the house we live in. They are standing in our future driveway.

(This was another Family photo of us at Dad's last Reunion. The theme brought us back to Scottish roots. My great-grandmother and great-grandfather's last name was GREGG... descendants of the McGregor's.
It was a fun theme for the reunion. The kids played jousting games... log throwing... etc. and the boys all wore kilts. It was a trip watching Dad and Kevin trying to put on skirts!
... and yes... they wore boxers underneath.
(Doug-Kristin-Gregg-and Michelle didn't make it this year...
because they just gave birth to Olivia and Lyric!)

"Our FREAS Family of 6"

Nags Head Reunion- 2000

(Michelle's first reunion)

We loved family trips up in the North Carolina mountains... still do.
This is us on a tubing trip down Deep Creek.
I grew up taking trips down the creek... and this was Kevin's first go at it.
He didn't like the COLD mountain water!
IT IS COLD!!!!
REALLY COLD!

This was a hike at "Hounds Ear"
(a great hiking spot near my great-grandparents home in NC.)

(So great to have cousin Christy with us that year!)


"MR. REPUBLICAN"

(We went out to the airport to see George Bush give a speech during his campaign. I'm glad Dad got to see him... and show us how much he really bleeds RED-WHITE and BLUE! Seeing Air Force One was a sight to see! Dad has always been so patriotic... and loved serving for our Country.
(In the Navy... and then as a Federal Agent!)
Funny---- cause he does in fact bleed orange and blue too!

"Some of Pop's happiest moments!"

Becoming a grandfather for the first time... a proud moment!
This is him with Emma #1...
notice... he always wants to grab on with his hands!

Fishing with Zoe #2!
I'll always remember he loved this picture...
He would say over and over when he saw it...
"She's holding my hand"
Lucky girl... she had an awesome POP.

Meeting Olivia... #3.
He didn't get to see her that much... but lucky her... (and him)
that he got to hold her... and play the harmonica for her.

Here he is with little Lyric... #4!
She got to see him the least time of all.
I will never forget when this was taken. He said... "Are we bonding here?"
A quote from Father of the Bride... one of his favorites!

He didn't get to meet Megan #5, Samuel #6, or Jacob #7...
but you can see a bit of him in all of them.
His only 2 grandsons... Samuel and Jacob... took his middle name- GORDON!
We will try to give them a glimpse of who their Pop was... and what he stood for.
He was a great Christian man... a husband, father, Pop, friend, and citizen!


Well... this was one of the last photos I took of Dad.
If I would have know... I would have taken a million more. It was the first week of April...
We were about to move into our new home...
and had to plant all of our landscape.
If you knew my Dad... you would remember he loved to work in the yard. Especially his.
He was impressed and excited to lay our new sod--- very green.

I enjoyed working outside with him... and transplanting outer landscape into our inner yard. One of the most important to me now... is "Pop's" Dogwood.
We planted it right outside our backyard on Sunday...
He died that Thursday.

Dad left us April 7, 2005
(1 day before his 62nd birthday... April 8th)
He will always be in our hearts... and memories.
We are grateful to be part of the legacy he left behind.
He now resides... where we hope to follow in his footsteps...
Heaven!

We will all go there together... to our family reunion in the sky!