08/09/2026
My sweet Wrenleigh,
Your fourth birthday is hitting me differently.
Maybe it’s because I’m realizing that you’re not a baby anymore. You’re becoming your own little person—with your own personality, thoughts, opinions, sense of humor, and way of seeing the world. And as proud as I am to watch that happen, there’s a part of me that wishes I could slow time down just a little bit.
Being a person in this world isn’t always easy. Growing up means finding your way, figuring out who you are, making mistakes, learning, loving, hurting, succeeding, failing, and getting back up again.
I wish I could give you a map for all of it.
But the truth is, I never had one myself.
My life never followed a perfectly clear path. A lot of the time, it was simply faith in God, constant effort, and trusting that if I kept moving forward, eventually I would find where I was supposed to be.
But there was one thing I knew from the time I was a young man.
I wanted to be a dad.
It was never a question of if. It was only a question of when.
And then you came along.
When I found out I was actually going to become a father, I was almost in shock. The thing I had thought about for so many years was finally happening. I was unbelievably excited, but I was nervous too. I wondered what kind of dad I would be and whether I would know what I was doing.
Then you were born, and somehow everything made sense.
Being your father is one of the greatest gifts God could have ever given me.
You are one of the kindest, smartest, sweetest, cutest, silliest little humans I have ever known. Watching your personality come alive over these first four years has been one of the greatest joys of my life.
And I have never taken a second of it for granted.
I have been lucky enough to spend almost every single day of your life by your side. I built my life intentionally so that my work would never control my life—my life would control my work.
Because success never meant much to me if it came at the expense of being there for you.
There will always be another phone call. Another opportunity. Another deal. Another dollar to make.
But there will never be another day when you are four years old.
There wi
