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Happy life-aversary to my sweet husband! šŸ¤

18 years ago today, Preston’s life was nearly taken when at only 16 years old, he was the victim of a drive-by, gang-initiation shooting.

The bullet broke his jaw, went through his tongue, and exploded in his mouth, knocking out three molars by its impact. Because two arteries were cut, he lost almost half the blood in his body.

But God turned the horror of that day into a testimony of His power and purpose over Preston’s life. Today, you can barely see the scar.

The bullet went directly through his mouth—the very place he would one day use to speak, teach, sing, and share God’s Word. 

We could look back on September 14th every year and only be horrified by what happened. But instead, we choose to look at this day with overwhelming gratitude for the life God graciously allowed him to keep.

And wow… look at the life that came after. 🄹

Since we last posted about this story 7 years ago, God has made a way for Preston to earn his master’s degree from @dukeuniversity , write and release his first Christian music album ā€œSaints & Sinners,ā€ begin his Doctoral program at @tkuniversity —and, best of all, build a home full of sweet children who get to call him Dada.

That part gets me more than anything this year. Eighteen years ago, none of this existed yet. And we’re just getting started.

So today we don’t celebrate what happened on that horrific day. We celebrate LIFE. We celebrate God’s mercy. We celebrate the calling on Preston’s life and all that God has allowed to come after.

Thank You, Lord, for saving my husband’s life and for every year we’ve been given with him since. šŸ¤

Now let’s eat cake… because Preston basically gets two birthdays around here. šŸ˜‚šŸŽ‚

Happy life-aversary, babe. We are really, really glad you’re here.
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Zoey’s first day of Kindergarten šŸ˜­šŸ’–

Our Zoey is the kindest, most caring little human. She loves people deeply—whether she’s known them forever or just met them—they’re immediately her best friend (and she’ll let you know it too). In fact, she carefully values every little life around her (even the bug that needs saving or befriendingšŸ˜‚).

She is funny, bold, smart, witty, curious, and always the life of the party. She loves to be silly, loves reading and learning about the Bible, loves God, and values prayer. She is the sweetest big sister and cousin, and she brings an overflowing life giving joy to our lives. Her name means ā€œlife,ā€ which is exactly why we chose it—and somehow it fits her more perfectly with every year. šŸ’–

I’m so proud of who she is becoming, even if I’m not quite ready for how quickly she’s growing up. It’s true what they say about blinking. 😭

Happy first day of Kindergarten, Zoey girl. We love you more than you’ll ever know.
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Happy 4th y’all!! šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø Grateful for our little American dream ā¤ļøšŸ¤šŸ’™
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