I had to sneak adventure into the cracks of 2024, as I worked 122% of the hours and 117% of the days I worked last year. But I had many beautiful, human moments where no photos were captured that live on in my journal and heart. But here are some that did make it onto the visual record.
JAN 01
FEB 17
National Reading Day with Madi & Kennedy at their (home) school
APR 02
Showing Uncle Trace & Aunt Tammy around our beloved Lynchburg
APR 05
Playing a brand new disc golf with Nate, Nora, Mabel, and Oakley (Nate later treated me to the 2024 World Disc Golf Championship—my first time seeing pros play.)
APR 08
Watching a rare solar eclipse at the Timbrook Library with Aaron, Jill, and their girls
APR 08
Attending the Zeta Phi Beta probate organized by my daughter (who leads the Radford chapter) with Crystal and Dawn
APR 13
Attending Brant Hansen’s fantastic, counter-cultural
Followership Conference with Mitch and Jon the day after my book launched
APR 20
Reuniting with generations of relatives and all of my siblings at
my maternal grandmother’s celebration of life day and showing siblings around old haunts
APR 26
Getting to join my nephew, Judah, and his mama for activities and snacks at his preschool’s Family Day
MAY 07
Praying for and cheering on my wife while she was in a dangerous part of Ukraine (her departing train station was bombed the day after she left)
MAY 10
Chasing and enjoying aurora borealis with Mitch—seeing it for the first time in his Virginia backyard after two unsuccessful trips each to the Arctic Circle and Iceland
MAY 11
Drove up to NOVA to meet with two of my dad’s abuse victims—a beautiful, redemptive conversation
MAY 30
Live TV interview on CBN with empathetic host, Andrew Knox, and such a fun makeup and production team
JUN 17
My first solo multi-day motorcycle trip on sections 3 & 4 of the
MABDR and then gorgeous Virginia backroads home
JUN 20
The floating lantern festival with lots of little friends and their parents at Timbrook Park
JUN 28
Scavenger hunt in the woods with my middle two sisters and their kiddos
JUN 29
Awards ceremony after the last Little League game of the season for Judah and his FANTASTIC coach (his daddy)
JUL 14
Dinner in a Ukrainian refugee’s kitchen with dishes from her home country
AUG 12
Babysitting my nephews, which included their first time using power hedge trimmers (no joke) 
AUG 31
SEP 21
SEP 28
Cheering on my friend, Aaron, as he finished his first Virginia Ten Miler on its 50th-anniversary race
OCT 12
Celebrating my brother’s birthday in Monterey, CA, including 18 holes at
The Hay (Pebble Beach)
NOV 01
Meeting my daughter’s friends over dinner to celebrate her 21st birthday while Crystal was in Sierra Leone
NOV 09
Dusk birthday hike with the other birthday boy, Judah, in the woods with his mama and big brother
NOV 23
My first drive in my first truck (the first new vehicle I’ve ever purchased for anyone other than Crystal)
NOV 26
Truck + moto camping trip in the mountains of VA & WV with Curtis … a few creek crossings and SO MUCH mud everywhere
DEC 07
Headlamp night climbing at
Rise Up Climbing—my first time on rock walls in at least 18 months
DEC 15
An utterly romantic
JOHNNYSWIM concert with Crystal in North Carolina
DEC 24
Getting my nephews’ help to install my truck’s UNCL MAC license plate before giving them their new starter (electric) motocross bike
DEC 28
Exploring London with Deonnie on her first trip to Europe
