My daugher was born on august 21 2003 i was only 16 i was working a full time job at minum wage and we were getting some state aid to help pay bills and rent i was also tring to finish high school since my parents kicked me out. about a month after keirsten was born on my day off heather asked me to watch the baby while she ran to the store to pick up some things that was 18 months ago and i havent seen or heard from her since. one of my good friends that i have had since elementary school moved to fort drum to help me out a little. my father was in the army and we moved alot because of his MOS. i graduate in about 30 days and am leaving for basic traing and AIT on july 12 so i will miss my daughters 3rd and 4th birthdays. i joind the army to be able to provide a better life for my daghter. after AIT i am moving to Fort Cambell KY and my friend donna is going to move and bring the Keirsten to me Donna has helped me so much sice heather split Does any one have any ideas on how i can thank her for all the help she has given me. she is the same age as i am her birthday is only 5 days after mine.

Hi harlan and welcome to the forum. Sounds like you are on a great track for yourself and your daughter, and it's great that you have such a good friend helping you out. I'm sure some of the ladies here will have some great ideas for showing your appreciation to your friend.

It sounds like ur doing great w/ur daughter and for both of ur futures. As for thanking ur friend...hmmm.....I would suggest maybe bringing her out to do her fav thing or maybe fav rest. and just telling her from the bottom of ur heart how much she has helped u. How much what she has done has meant to u. Just be heartfelt and honest. I'm sure she will love that and well a nice gift for her bday would probably be nice. L

Good luck w/everything and hats off to u for standing up and taking care of ur daughter. Like the other men on this board u r a rare breed of men that take the responsibility of thier chil or children.

SPIRIT

you sound a lot like me.
(I know you PM'd me at my old username Problematic One but I lost the password to that one a long time ago..so yeah this is my new username..)
As for your friend..I'm sure she knows how much you appreciate her help. Just make sure you tell her so. A lot. lol. Friends like that are amazing aren't they..

harlan,

:welcome:

Ryan is right, friends like Donna are amazing and so are young fathers like you and Ryan.

Tell her and tell her a lot how much her friendship and support mean to you. The greatest gift of all to anyone offering support is recognition of that support and the return favor. Something tells me she loves and adores both you and Keirsten.

:welcome:

Sounds to me like she is a awesome friend you are lucky.Make sure she knows how much her help and support improves your life for you and your daughter.

I agree with everyone else harlan,you have a terrific friend.To thank her my suggestion would be to get her a really nice card,look through all the cards at the store until you find the one that best describes your feelings for her and what shes done for you and write a really heartfelt letter in it telling her what it means to you that she is there for you and your daughter.Flowers and things are nice but a heartfelt letter she can always keep and remember her times with you and your daughter.Just a little tip,the best relationships come from being friends first.Another piece of advice,and I really don't mean to go on and on,but have you done anything to prevent the babies birth mother from coming back to get her?You seem like such a nice guy and a good father that I would hate to see you have to fight to keep her.

Thank for all the great advice it really mean alot to me for the support from other single parents. And trishl I have wnent and had full coustody signed to me and have all the paperwork and Social Services have been involved and chek in to see how keirsten is doing and to make sure she is doing ok.

Hey Harlan!
You are a very good father.Most young men would've given up but you didn't.As for your friend do something really special for her something you feel she would really appreciate.Because with all the things you say she's doing for you she really deserves it.