Dave's

Wednesday was Dave's birthday and, once again, he was away from home on his special day but he was stateside and that's all that really matters sometimes.

Dave is our 4th child and 2nd son.  Our first child and first son came about 10 minutes earlier.

Dave is an important part of this core family,

this large, extended family,

and, of course, this beautiful family.

I wrote about Dave for his birthday last year in this post and clicking on that link will take you to links to all his previous posts with lots of pictures and stories that tell how he's changed through the years so I'll just include a few pictures here.

and talk about what's been going on in his life during the past year.  He's been very involved in scouting - attending Raven Knob with his oldest two in June

and working with Webelo Zachary as he works his way through the ranks of scouting and builds his own District Champion Pinewood Derby car with just a little guidance from Dad.

Dave also spent a lot of time on his house this year.  There was the new roof,

new siding,

and most exciting of all, new 3 season room which they love!

And the new 3 season room required re-working the sprinkler system in the back yard and while he was at it, he installed a new smart sprinkler system that senses exactly what his grass needs!  But the three projects that took up most of his time were Harvey, Irma, and Maria.  It was a record-setting year for the Corps of Engineers as far as hurricanes go and Dave was heavily involved with each one.  At one point he worked 64 days in a row until he was ordered to take a day off.  Responsibility for recovery fell heavily on the Corps of Engineers.  They were assigned responsibility for temporary emergency power installations, temporary roofing, debris removal, and infrastructure assessment including completely restoring Puerto Rico's entire power grid; and everyone in the Corps was directly involved and worked tirelessly to help affected lives return to normal as quickly as possible.

But despite such a demanding schedule and so much going on about the house, Dave didn't lose sight of prioritizing what was most important to him and that's his family.  They attended their first pro football game in December,

spent a few weekends in Pennsylvania where his oldest son plays varsity volleyball, and attended as many of Matthew's football and basketball games and Zachary's baseball and basketball games as possible.  In addition, the family spent a week in Gulf Shores with Dave's extended family over the holidays.

So it's been a busy and exciting year for Dave but there's lots more to say about him than just what he's been doing.  He's kind, just, honest, and straightforward which makes him a natural leader.  He's an exceptional speaker and conscientious with his facts.  And he's a hard worker, and like his brother, I don't think there's anything he couldn't do.

He has a great sense of humor and is an awesome father, husband, and son.

He's a wonderful person who's done amazing things and we could not be more proud of him.  For these reasons and so many others, we're wishing him the happiest birthday ever (which he'll celebrate when he gets home this next week) and a year that surpasses all others but is only half as great as the many more to come!