Wow…it’s been quite a while since I’ve written in this space. I love this blog and so appreciate each of you that has stayed with me and followed this journey. I’ve been writing here since 2016! While my blog posts have been fewer and farer between I still really enjoy sharing with you what is happening, so I thought I would share a bit of a year in review for 2023 to hopefully give a little bit of insight as to why it’s been so hard to keep this space updated. Here are some of the highlights…

-December has been a very long and difficult month with lots of stressors and health challenges. We are hanging in and doing Ok, but definitely would appreciate prayers as things have definitely been stressful during this month. In spite of this we got to have individual date nights with each of our kids and my wife and I got away to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary!

-This fall marked Year 2 of my work with Parenting Together Washington County and the Dedicated Dads and Dads and Kids Play and Learn Groups. These in-person get-togethers for Dads and their kids have been a lot of fun and in December we had our highest attended events ever! This is really fun group for Dads to hang out and get to know each other, as well as a fun and safe space for Dads to enjoy playing with their kids.

-From 2013-2021 I had the great privilege of working for an amazing organization: SMART Reading. After I left to pursue this This is Fatherhood work full-time, I was able to contract with SMART to mentor and support new staff. In October, I was invited back to support my old office and get back into my old job a bit while a staff member was away on leave. It was great to be able to work with some of the same amazing volunteers that I worked with for years and get back into the swing of supporting programs that encourage and inspire a child’s love of reading.

-While this fall also marked the continuation of previous contracts and roles that I continue to enjoy (Parenting Now and Becoming A Super Dad with NW Parenting) I was also lucky enough to start a new connection with a Teen Parent Program at a local High School. I will be mentoring and encouraging these new Dads once a month and am really looking forward to getting to know them more and supporting their fatherhood journey.

-One of my favorite and most exhausting achievements this year was publishing a new eGuide with Daddy Boot Camp. This book was over a year and a half in the making and editing and took many hours of formatting and reformatting to get to our finished product. We’re really proud of it and think it is the absolute perfect resource for all new and expecting Dads out there.

-Finally, one of my favorite memories from 2023 is the fact that I got to rediscover my love of baseball through the eyes and passion of my son, who just discovered his love for the sport. I wrote multiple posts about this baseball season and my first real head coaching job here and here, but I just continue to enjoy how self-motivated my son is to learn about all things baseball and go out and practice and have fun. We have spent many days out in our backyard in the cold and wet hitting balls off the tee or our new fun pitching machine we got for Christmas. It’s really a blessing to share a love and passion with my son that truly tightens our bond.

That’s all for now, but before I head out I just want to wish you and yours a wonderful New Year and hope that 2023 treated you well. Thank you so much for continuing to support my dreams by reading my thoughts and passing on your encouragement. It means so much and I hope to continue to bring you more new and exciting updates and opportunities in 2024!

This is fatherhood…