Earlier this year, on April 13, Dad received a phone call from our cousin, Erin Patton. During their conversation, Erin mentioned an idea she'd carried with her for years, ever since she was a little girl. Then she told him, "Write this down." Dad happened to be out in his shop, and the only thing he could find to write on was a bubble mailer envelope. So he grabbed a pen and started writing down what she said. Erin told him she thought it should be a song. Dad took her idea, added to it, and eventually sent it to me to put to music. Sadly, Erin passed away at just 46 years old. What began as a little girl's idea, carried in her heart for so many years, eventually became a song. And thanks to that phone call, a pen, and an old bubble mailer envelope, a little piece of Erin's imagination lives on through music. more

I originally wrote this song in 2018, during a season of job loss, empty pockets, and children who still needed to be fed. In the middle of it all, I found peace where I always have, in the arms of my wife. Since then, the song has carried us through more than either of us could have imagined: a cancer diagnosis, a near heart attack, fear, uncertainty, and, finally, healing. Its meaning has grown alongside our marriage. What began as a song about surviving one difficult season has become a testament to every season we have survived together. I’ve never loved you more, my dear, than these last couple years.more

This song is about the heartbreak children carry when a parent steps out of their life completely, leaving behind questions, hurt, and a space that should have been filled with love. The line, “When your broken heart beats, I hope it beats for me, and the love you lost… and the love you won,” is not about replacing anyone. It’s about showing up, staying, and loving them the way they always deserved to be loved. Being a stepparent means loving through wounds you didn’t create. It means being patient when you fail, when you say the wrong thing, it touches deeper places that were already hurting. This song is for my kids — because they loved me like their dad, and gave me the gift of loving them like they had always been mine.more