Having 4 children in just under 3 years was an intense introduction to fatherhood. Sarah and I were just learning to feel confident with raising our daughter when we discovered we were pregnant with twin boys. Following the birth of the twins, our third son followed 19 months later. 35 months from start to finish. We made it through with the help of our families, but with one big exception.

When our daughter was only 4 months old, I suddenly lost my own father. While navigating all this foreign parenting territory, I have been grieving the absence of the man I had always turned to in times of uncertainty and times of joy. The man who openly talked about the importance of family and of making God the center of my life. My father gave me a way of looking at the world as an opportunity to serve others and now I had these little ones who needed serving and needed for me to lead them the way my father led my sisters and me. My father set the bar really high and I am so thankful for that.

God has honored me with 4 amazing children to raise and lead into life. Not a day goes by that I don’t remember what a blessing they are and rejoice in the gift that Sarah and I have been given. It is my honor to be the father to my four children. And it is my ultimate honor to pass down to them the teachings of my father, my grandfathers, and my great grandfathers: Faith, Love and especially Honor.