Today is my dad's birthday. My dad is great, I really like him.

I know that everyone has to say this, at least on a genetic level, but I wouldn't be the person that I am and have the life that I do without him. In more ways than he or I even know, he has been the most influential person in my life. Not growing up with him around everyday, or even every month made me cherish the time that I had with him even more.

He is honest and expects the absolute truth from everyone. He has forced me to learn how to communicate well, no matter how stubborn I am or painful the situation may be. He loves Jesus and has passed that love onto his children, even though it took some of us longer than others to replicate. ;) He LOVES his kids and his grandkids and they love, love, LOVE DaddyO. Even though he made mistakes... he has taught me through his relationship with Taryn, what a great Christ-centered marriage looks like. And he is hilarious! What more could a girl want from a dad? Maybe a giant trust fund, that would be good. Maybe you could work on that, dad.

This weekend we had a very wonderful blanket of white stuff cover Durham and surrounding areas. We have played and enjoyed our winter thoroughly. I don't know how long it will last, I am hoping that it will be here through today, but with Durham, you never know.

Here are some pictures that I took Saturday morning while it was still snowing:

Yes, that is 7 inches of snow! I love it!

Saturday we went out trying to find something to stave off our cabin fever, and we ended up helping three people get their vehicles back on the road. When we turned onto our road, headed home, Halleigh said, "I don't want to go home, I want to keep driving around looking for people off the road to help."  So sweet that she realized what was happening and so sweet that she enjoys "helping" others. 

One of my goals for raising my children is that I raise children with hearts for service who honor and place the focus on Jesus with their servant's hearts. I hope that the tiny, seemingly insignificant act of pushing people back on the road helped to develop that in Halleigh.  And I really hope that we continue to be good examples of this, actions speak louder than words after all!
***Note: I actually stayed in the car with the kids while Miles pushed people out. I was just the driver who pulled over. he he he