One of my joys is watching Stephen as a daddy. Seeing him become.

Stephen’s always been very involved in the practical, emotional, and spiritual care-taking of our family, but this season has deepened that. With my pregnancy taking such a toll on me, Stephen has jumped right in to the shoes of a stay-at-home dad although he’s also working full-time. He’s cooked, cleaned, shopped, disciplined, played with, and cared for three kids all on his own many days.

On top of the daily tasks, it’s made me so happy that Stephen was able to go with both Cooper and Silas on their school field trips.

Cooper’s kindergarten field trip was to go see a play in Portland’s downtown children’s theater. Cooper quivered with excitement when he told me, “I can’t wait to sit next to Dad on the bus!” My heart melted. One day this little boy won’t think sitting next to Daddy is so thrilling, but for now, we’re soaking it up!

Silas’ 2nd grade field trip was an all-day-er to the Bonneville Dam and fish hatchery. It was super cool that Stephen got to hang with Silas and some of his best buds for the day.

Another day, Stephen and Silas worked side-by-side shoveling and raking mulch all around our property. Silas was such a hard worker that Stephen took him out for a special ice cream treat!

Brynn decided to teach Stephen how to run fast–one of her many skills. So, she took Daddy out in the cul-de-sac for a little running practice.

There has been a lot of baseball practice in the park behind our house, and even a Nerf gun battle that was pretty epic. Brynn said, “Daddy, I’m going to cheer for you!” She was the “spy” in the game, but her allegiance was clearly known.

Stephen inspires our little crew to be creative, goofy, willing to learn, hard-working, and responsible.