James Van Der Beek Poses for Celebratory Photos With All 6 Kids

The actor commemorated his 46th birthday with his family.

James Van Der Beek is ringing in his 46th year in the best way: with his big family. The Dawson's Creek actor shared a bunch of adorable photos of himself posing with his six kids, Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn, and Jeremiah.

The actor shared the photos to Instagram, adding a sweet, heartfelt message that began, "46 trips around the sun…"

In the photos, Van Der Beek holds his youngest, Jeremiah, while the rest of his children stand with their arms around each other looking at the camera.

Van Der Beek also included a few cute outtakes with the kids making silly faces and running off with too much energy.

The actor's wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, is not in the photos, but the actor tagged her in the post.

The actor's poignant message continues in the caption, with Van Der Beek explaining his new perspective on time, noting, "I’ve been feeling into a new relationship with time, lately...I’ve found myself happier the more I’m in touch with reverence, and deference to time. Yes, it CAN be stretched. It can fly…"

"But this planet, this dimension, is governed by time: Trees grow at their pace. The earth spins at a near constant. And the more reverence I can find for all of it, the more life becomes a living prayer of appreciation," Van Der Beek said. "For life. For nature. For the great cosmic mystery of which we can sometimes can catch the edges."

He ended the message by saying, "And the more I deference I can summon to the lessons earned only in time… the healthier relationship I have with miracles. And the easier it becomes to root in the present, open to the perfection of a process I was never meant to control.Which is all really just a long-winded way of saying:Middle-age rocks 🫶."

Many friends and fans wished the 46-year-old a happy birthday in the comments, with fellow actress Nikki Reed writing, "You beautiful poet you. Hugs to your gorgeous tribe. Happy birthday dear friend ❤️."

Rumer Willis also wrote, "Happy birthday my friend ❤️."

Van Der Beek hasn't acted in anything for the past couple of years, and in 2020, his family made a big change, moving from Los Angeles, California, to somewhere in Texas.

But fans can rest assured that Van Der Beek is not done acting, as it was just announced that he is in talks to join a project with Rebel Wilson and Leslie Mann, which he posted about on Instagram, outright saying, "I’m not retiring 😎."

The actor appears to be very excited about the new project, a comedy called Rock the Boat, which could start shooting this spring.