March Madness!

Can you imagine a sporting event any better than the NCAA basketball tournament? I can't. The all day affair of college basketball games just brings a smile to my face to even think about. I can vividly remember coming home from school as a young man (and even an adult coming home from college) and running to the basement to sit and watch game after game, all without ever taking off my backpack. My dear sweet mother would usually make sure I was properly nourished during these times and my dad and brothers would watch by my side (though in recent years my mother has become quite the sports fan). I can remember my dad waking me up one night from my sleep to watch Chris Webber call a timeout he did not have in a championship game,  Homer Drew setting up a game winning shot for his son Bryce during a Valpo game, who can forget Northwestern State hitting a three from the corner to beat Iowa, and The Jimmer (no need to say any more). The only way to describe this is pure madness and I love it.


This year there will be a new reason why March is the most wonderful time of the year, I am going to be a DAD! Yes that is right the madness that is March is going to take on a whole new meaning this year. I do not know what to expect but I do have the benefit of observing many wonderful parents in my life. I am reading parenting books, studying the scriptures to try and find ways to be a good parent and mostly I just watch in awe at the strength of my wonderful wife. She gets up every morning (except Wednesday because we sleep in that day) at 5:30 to go to an exercise class, she comes home and gets ready to march off to school to spend the entire day with 20 second graders and she does not complain. I am lucky that she is the women carrying my baby boy and I am sure he will be blessed because of her physical strength but more importantly her spiritual strength. Many people have asked me if I am worried about being a dad, I always respond that I am not because I am married to Ashley. She is so skilled with children and I just have to follow her lead. Ashley will deliver in March, take her maternity leave and I will be in charge of sole care of baby boy Standifird when she returns after my graduation. I am excited for this time and hope we can find a jogger stroller for the little fella so I can hit the provo trails in April! We are so excited to be parents and hope we can follow in the footsteps of our amazing brother and sisters and parents, we are only worried about where he will fit in our 500 square foot apartment, its a good thing he has small parents!