Pate The Great's Papa

These were taken the same day as the last post... We were chillin' at the lake when Linds caught these great shots of Pate and I on a nature walk...

The other half of this picture is missing... Lindsey and Gilly-bean were on the outside of the tunnel playing with Pate - laughing - having a blast - none of us wanted the moment to end!

There are a great many things about myself that I really don't want to transfer to my children... But a love of Basketball is not one of those things :) Ever since we got the goal I hear, "Daddy, want to play basketball" and "want to slamma-jamma"...

I know I'm partial, but I think he's got a future in it... He certainly knows how to throw it down with authority...

Good times!

The little man just can't get enough hang time these days... It's always, "want to fly"... And then it's "fly one more"... My back says no... but his smile and laughter typically win out... Good times!

One of my favorite times of the day, comes each evening like clockwork... Pate absolutely loves books... Generally, we curl up in chair or on a bed... but this reading was a special one... it likely won't be repeated, because climbing in and out of that little "house" is difficult to say the least... but it was fun for pate to welcome me into his home and share a story... And I was honored to be his guest... Okay, on second thought, if he invited me to do it again, I would... I hope he always loves to read!

It's great to see Patriot get excited about going to church...



I know that in part it has to do with the play ground... the mound of cheerios used as bribes for sitting still... the toys... and the teachers that express a great deal of love and concern for him...



Ultimately, its a time of planting seeds... I know he is being exposed to God's story... and learning his part in it.

My prayer is that in the years ahead Patriot finds himself deeply committed to God, and that he will seek to be a great expression of God's love for His people.

This was a toy that was purchased for me by my grandparents. It stayed at their home for visits, and was ultimately used by all the cousins... but I was the 1st and so it has come back to me.








My parents just recently brought it down when Gillian was born. I can't really describe how cool it is to see Patriot rolling around the house on it. Ask him if his horse can jump - he'll show you what a mighty steed it is :)

When Pate was born and the grandparents were picking names someone (and I think it was him) jokingly suggested that "Sponge Bob" would be a good candidate (my dad's name is Bob). Well, joke or not it stuck... at least until Pate had something to say about it... As is often the case with toddlers his pronunciation was slightly off and so it is with great fondness that Patriot's grandfather is now referred to as "Fun Bob"!