James Van Der Beekis excited to leap into his 44th year of life!

In celebration of his birthday on Monday, the actor posted an Instagram video of himself leaping across the screen in slow motion.

“Creativity used to just be my joy. Then, at some point, it became the means to an end. Now… I’ve come to recognize joy as the end - and creativity as the key,” he wrote alongside the video.

The actor, who shares five children —Gwendolyn, 2½,Emilia, 5 later this month,Annabel Leah, 7,Joshua, 9 later this month, andOlivia, 10 — with wife Kimberly, said that inviting his “creative spark” into everything he does makes him a “better” husband and father.

“With my forties has come the recognition that I’m a better father, better husband, better human when I open my heart to that creative spark and invite it into everything I do,” he continued.

Added Van Der Beek: “Because it doesn’t matter the medium, the venue, or how it’s received… the magic is being in the flow.”

James and Kimberly Van Der Beek with their children.James VanDerBeek/Instagram

Kimberly VanDerBeek; James VanDerBeek

“Sometimes a fuller life begins with an empty house,” he captioned the shots. “Leaving Los Angeles incredibly grateful for all the friends and memories we’ve made here. Onto the next big adventure! ❤️😊.”

Once they’d arrived, he opened up about what led to his decision torelocate his family, saying the past year had come with some “drastic changes.”

Alongside Instagram photos of his kids exploring their new home, Van Der Beekbegan in the caption, “And… we’ve landed.”

“In the last ten months, we’ve hadtwo late-term pregnancy losses, each of which put @vanderkimberly in the hospital, we spent Christmas break thinking she had a tumor (the doctor was wrong, thank god), I was prematurelybooted off a reality dancing showI was favored to win in front of the whole world, andmy mom died,” he shared.

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“And a shut-down,” he continued, referencing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “All of that led to some drastic changes in our lives, and dreams, and priorities… and landed us here.”

“Overflowing with profound gratitude today,” Van Der Beek added.

source: people.com