Happy 24th Birthday, Mick!

Dan gave each of us a star for our birthday this year.... I just now thought that I should have been posting this to my blog. So I will start with Mick since today is his day of days. This blog post is in his honor. He graces our life with his humor, his love for each of us, his love for God! We are proud of him and the life he is leading. This 25th year should be a big one for him to finish college and start work on his own.... we are praying and cheering you on, Sweetheart!

From Dan:

Happy 24th birthday tomorrow. You're getting up there for sure. When I was 24, I was living in Cheyenne and had just started working with InterVarsity the first of my five years. One day you will look back on this fall in Sioux Falls and it will seem a long time ago.

I gave everyone a star for their birthdays this year and now only you and Ben remain. The idea was to have a link to remind us of one another that would span the miles (even Afghanistan) and the years. I told Charlie star gazing is like holding a cat in your lap. It allows you to rest in your smallness and wonder in God's vastness and eternity,

Now on to the grand unveiling.

Your star is Aldebaran, the right eye of the constellation Taurus the Bull. Taurus is most recognizable in the winter sky up in the vicinity of our old friend Orion. I figured Taurus fits you because you are "strong like bull". Aldebaran is the brightest star in the constellation with a .9 magnitude. It is a red giant whose color is clearly apperent to the eye and about 65 light years away. That means you recall that the glow we see when Aldebaran shines on us originated there in 1945. I love the time machine aspects of star gazing. So get to know Aldebaran, enjoy it and we'll think of each other over the decades ahead when we see it.

Happy Birthday Mickey B!!!