Special night with my niece Jensen (Taken with instagram)
Tonight is the first UNC-Duke game of the year. It’s always my favorite - the 9pm start time, the build up of anticipation, and oh-so-many of the recent games have been so close. In fact, I saw this amazing stat this week - if you look at the last 75 combined games between UNC and Duke, UNC has won 38 and Duke 37. In aggregate, the combined scores in these games is Duke 5,558 - UNC 5,557. WOW!
Here’s an amazing video to get you in the mood:
We caught this great video of Charlotte giggling tonight
Makes us think of a similar video of Miller from a couple years ago (when Miller wasn’t quite 3 months old):
From the last week or so:
tiny feet
big boy
daddy/daughter // mommy/daughter
Tired little girl (Taken with instagram)
On Sunday afternoon we attended the belated (by a little more than a month) birthday party for our niece Janie Grace. We had a blast and there will be more pics to come but just got this one from Jason and loved it.
Ton of rain this morning. So play in the puddles! (Taken with instagram)
Charlotte was 3 months old as of 1/22. She’s growing up fast!
And just because it’s fun, a pic from when Miller was about the same age:
Lil’ Miss Bumbo (Taken with instagram)
Today is my brother-in-law Jason’s birthday, which makes it a great day to mention what a great dude he is and how thankful I am that we’re part of the same family.
I doubt Jason knows exactly how much I’ve gleaned from watching him over the years and looking up to him as a man a few years my elder. Jason and Tracy’s sister Jennifer married the year Tracy and I graduated from high school. One of my most vivid memories from their wedding weekend is hearing his groomsmen (predominantly buddies from college along with his brother) speak about the deep relationships they formed while at Taylor University. I was heading to UNC a couple months later and those toasts and stories were deeply ingrained in my mind. ”I want friends and relationships like that”, I thought as I went into my freshman year. I was fortunate enough to find a great group of friend very quickly at UNC - yet I doubt Jason knows exactly what a big impact he and his friends had on setting a vision for me in that regard. But I will never forget and I’m thankful for the example he set.
Jason continues to set an example in countless ways. First, it was in how to be a husband and, then, a father. One of the things I respect most with him is that what you see is what you get - by which I mean Jason is not one to be overly pedantic or to push his wise views on me (though he no doubt could and I’d be all ears!) Rather, Jason tends to lead by serving, he shows he cares by doing. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen him slaving away on the dishes after a big family meal. The man has approximately 10 million leaves that fall annually in his front yard yet he doesn’t complain about how his autumn is spent with a leaf blower on his back 90% of the time. In either case, Jason would say that the acts of service are not tasks for which he’s secretly resentful - instead, he’s has an amazing ability to show gratitude for the blessings he’s been given and to see the “big picture” without get mired in the mundane details of life.
To me, that speaks of wisdom, of which I believe Jason is blessed with amounts which far exceed his years. This has become crystal clear to me in the last couple years as he and Jennifer dealt with the news that Janie Grace would likely have some health challenges and subsequently walked through a seemingly endless array of doctors visits, procedures and general ups and downs. Jason led his family through this process with grace and dignity. Words can’t describe how much I respect him for this. And his leadership in this area will no doubt reap immense dividends in the lives of his family over the years ahead.
Happy birthday Jason! Hope you get a chance to relax tonight and sip on an ice cold beverage of your choice (most likely a Cheerwine that has been sitting on ice for just the right amount of time!)