hello, little ones.

i cant believe its been almost a year since i’ve written to you. what a year its been, too.

ben, you’ve gotten your second set of stitches due to running full force into a car door and literally splitting your ear.

eliza, you’ve taken your reading skills to amazing new heights and are impressing all of us constantly.

this year, we’ve seen a lot of progress, actually – societally, globally, personally, all kinds. most of it good and exciting progress, some of it not so much. globally, meh. a lot of negative headlines about war – ukraine, gaza, just seems to never end. closer to home though, we’ve had a lot of exciting progress.

your mama and i decided we would seek out a larger home for us, seeing as we’ve maxed out our current homes potential to accommodate us and have outgrown our little three bedroom oasis. its been an exciting, frustrating, and anxious process for sure- yet here we are two weeks from the lovely family buying our home taking ownership of it and us taking ownership of a home over twice the size of our current one in an amazing neighborhood. in our family’s typical overcomplicated fashion we’re buying a new house right in the middle of leaving town for our first international trip and cruise as a family and then our return to disney world for yet another trip to see the christmas parade that sparked so much hope in some of the bleakest times in our lives.

its scary, honestly. in many ways both good and bad- its a horrible time to buy a house. our mortgage rate is going from 2.1% to 6.5% and thats actually an amazing loan rate right now. our mortgage is more than doubling and me being the cheapskate, i find myself panicking at times. then, i think back and see your faces as you chose your new bedrooms among the several choices available to you instead of just whats there like where we live now.

im damned proud to be your dad. moments like that give me some hope that im even somewhat living up to being the father you deserve. its not about money – its about opportunity. opportunity for progress and growth. our current home is fine. weve remodeled and improved and customized so much to bring it into the modern era but it doesnt provide much room for progress. our new home does. ill have an office inside the house and comfortable instead of building one where i could find space. you guys will have a dedicated playroom where you can stretch out, run, and enjoy everything you have instead of being on top of one another or squished into the living room.

theres some uncertainty for sure. uncertainty doesnt feel the greatest at times, but nothing worth doing is ever fully safe. progress means stepping out into the unknown for the potential reward of positive growth and reward. ill always be there to support you in your endeavors, because the two of you have been here for me and showed nothing but faith in your mama and i through all of this. thank you. i hope my best is enough.