Happy New Year friends!!! If you are reading this then this is my Christmas card to you! You’ll get recent pictures and updates on each member of the family. There’s also a few fun questions that I like to use to reflect on the year gone by and look forward to the next!
Ok, Wow... 2025... how did we get here? I feel like I say that every year, but every year it feels true. The year flew by in a flash. I wrote in my New Year's post last year that I finally felt like through 2023 we were comfortably treading water instead of barely keeping our heads above water not to drown with everything that was going on with having a little baby and Sam going through some challenging health issues in 2021-2022. This year I do feel like we are starting to make some forward motion toward thriving instead of just surviving. There are definitely still a good amount of just surviving days, but I did notice some days that felt more like thriving in there this year too which feels really good. Of course this year came with it's own challenges as every year does. I felt like there were a good amount of events outside of my control that upended some of my plans. Just a few examples, a hurricane power outage changed my Great Homeschool Convention plans from a girls retreat to a quick 24 hour family trip with our super gracious friends hosting us all. It was still wonderful, but definitely different than I imagined. Another example was tummy bug cancelled out Great Wolf Lodge family vacation. I'm very grateful we were able to rebook for February with a much bigger room for only $10 more a night. (really praying we get to go this time) There were a few more times like this sprinkled through the year, but those two really stuck out to me. God knows better than me and yes it's ok to feel the disappointment of changed plans, but we shouldn't stay in that disappointment too long. I try to look for the bright sides. God protecting me in some way, creating a connection that wouldn't have happened if plans had stayed the same, giving up something that seems better to me, but yet what God has for us is way better than I had even planned. It doesn't mean I shouldn't have any plans, it just means that I need to trust God when they need to be changed.
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| Thanksgiving family pic |
2024 family member updates! Oldest to youngest
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Things are pretty close to the same for me this year compared to last year. Still playing the balancing act of being a mom and a wife, working and homeschooling 3 kiddos. Piper is in her 2 year old stage of getting into everything and pulling me around by my finger wanting me to play with her so I have a bit less time for myself, but that’s ok I know the time of her being this little is very short in this journey of motherhood. I bought a puzzle board with my birthday money and added in doing puzzles to my nighttime hobbies. I haven't gotten to enjoy a puzzle since becoming a mom because I had no place to store it while I worked on it. I finished my 1500 piece Christmas puzzle on Christmas Eve. I let the big kids help me when they stay up with me sometimes. When I’m not doing puzzles I still play the occasional video game, (still haven’t finished Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom) read some manga, work on my blog or draw a birthday card for the kids. Also, I am still enjoying reading audiobooks! I stayed in non-fiction but had a focus on WWII history or biographies which I really enjoyed. My favorites this year were The Hiding Place, The School that Escaped the Nazis, The self driven child, How to Think, Teaching from Rest (I've read the physical book and the audio is just as good!) ADHD is Awesome and Soundtracks. I also made time for a few physical books too. Hard is not the same thing as bad (read with together with my dear friend Mindy which made it even better), Reaching for Grace (my sister in law’s 2nd book, so good!) and Made for People which was on my audiobook favorites last year. I think it’s even better as a physical read! You should pick up a copy and tell me what you think! I have been learning a lot about community and human connection in the digital world. In my pursuit of becoming more like Jesus I want to be a better friend and a builder of strong connections. I definitely want it to be a main focus of 2025 for me. Lastly, I have really enjoyed leading our homeschool sports and book club called Brains and Brawn Club this year! Seriously, it is one of the highlights of every week! I love teaching the kids about sports (playing girls vs boys dodgeball is a favorite of mine!) and hearing what they are reading. It fills me up! <3
I don't have much of a health update for Sam this year which I guess is sort of a good thing? He's still on blood thinners and wearing a compression sock on his left leg and they are working. He's been back for a couple check ups and the blood clot in his leg is getting smaller slowly. I know we both were wanting him to be off of the blood thinners by now, but we are also grateful that the blood clot doesn't negatively affect his daily life and it's getting better. Hopeful that in my next New Year's update I will be able to say that his blood clot is all the way gone! Sam is still helping me with the dishes most nights which I sooo appreciate. It really helps take some of the pressure off the bedtime routine for me to not have to worry about the dishes. Sam is working hard at his job as a copier shop technician manager and even sold a guitar and did a some extra work with his work buddy at a fireworks stand to earn some more cash to help cover Christmas gifts. Inflation is killer y'all! In his free time he enjoys watching movies, anime and playing video games, currently into Marvel Rivals. He also watches a good amount of youtube videos on the card game Magic the Gathering to gain even more knowledge on the cards and strategy. He goes to a Card shop with his work buddies about once a month to play Magic together. He changed his work schedule a little this year by waking up an hour earlier to get to work early enough to go home an hour early too. That way traffic is better and he's home before 6pm. It's worked out great and he was able to create better sleep habits. He hopes to continue to create healthier habits in the new year, as do I!
Jane is 10 and definitely in the middle of her preteen years! I feel like she has grown up so much this past year! In height, maturity and just in the way she looks. She officially is wearing the same shoe size as I am (7 1/2 womens) and she is sure to pass me up very soon which feels very weird to me. She is a year and a half into her 2 year orthodontic treatment plan. She will more than likely have to continue longer than the original 2 years but hopefully not too much longer. Maybe by this time next year she will be close to done! She finished her first full length middle grade novel this past summer, but that type of reading is not her favorite. I feel like we haven't been able to find something she really loves since she finished all of Raina Telgemeier's graphic novels. But that's alright! Reading can more voracious at times and more mellow at others. At this point of time it's a bit more mellow. She is enjoying the Lunch Lady series of books though. Roblox or watching anime are her favorite leisure activities. She also enjoys playing Minecraft and her new Spy Family game. Animes she's enjoyed lately are Frieren, Campfire cooking in another world with my absurd skill and Mashle. Jane will also draw and write in her free time! She is currently writing a story about Milo and what he does when he escapes out the backdoor. We've taken a break from Super Friday this year, but she is enjoying Brains and Brawn club quite a bit! She has improved in dodgeball so much! She barely used to throw the ball when we started. Now she gets people out all the time and is a formidable player! Last year I wrote that Jane was starting to watch Piper for me to help with my extra work each month and she has done amazing over the past year! It has worked out wonderfully!
Atlas is 8 (almost 9) and can very rarely take a picture without a silly face. In this picture he had just finished Super Mario 64 by getting all of the stars and was pretty excited about it. Video games are definitely Atlas's favorite thing. There was a time just recently that he really got into drawing by watching Art for Kids Hub and voluntarily didn't pick up a video game controller for 3 days. (that's a long time for him) Last year he grew a lot in his reading skills by reading a bunch of branches series books, then he moved on to Bad Guys and read all of those over a month I think. Now he reads Manga. It makes my manga loving heart happy. ;) He finished the Promised Neverland series super fast(one of my favorites) and loved it. He's up to date on Kaiju #8 and now he's reading the My Hero Academia series. He just finished volume 17. There's 42 volumes in all, so he's getting close to half way! He got the My Hero Academia: One's Justice 2 for Christmas and he's been playing it almost non-stop since then. He's also enjoying watching the anime even though he's already read the manga. Other video games he's enjoyed this year are the Untitled Goose game, Mario Sunshine, Super Mario RPG, Among Us and Cuphead. He also enjoys Brains and Brawn club and just last week got me out in dodgeball for the first time. He was pretty proud, I was too. :)
Alexandria is 6 years old and is my animal loving girl! She's starting to read simple picture books and loves it. She really wants to read manga like big brother so she looks at the pages but definitely isn't ready to read them yet. I'm hoping to continue to stoke the love of reading fire in her. The rest of school is not as fun as she thought it was in Kindergarten, at the same time, she still doesn't struggle with it much at all. She is very happy to hear when we are taking a day off though! Pretending with her stuffed animals is her favorite activity. She got a couple of puppet stuffies for Christmas and she is in love with them! She enjoys playing Roblox a good amount as well! There's a Godzilla game on there she loves. Dragons and other reptilian creatures/monsters are definitely still number 1 in her eyes. When she's not pretending to be a ferocious dragon she makes friends easily and is tender hearted towards others. This sweet girl tells me I'm the best mom in the world almost daily. She's a heart melter! <3
Flynn is a fresh 5 years old! He's as energetic as ever! His fascination with natural disasters is going strong. He loves to watch videos of tornados, volcanos and tsunamis, but he will get legitimately scared if we talk about a real tornado warning in the area, so he does understand the danger of it. He still loves the weird monster siren head which I don’t love, but we roll with the silly videos and not the scary ones. We don’t do very much structured preschool. When I tried to start this fall he got very frustrated, so I decided to give it more time. We might try again this spring. Writing is what gives him trouble. He’s very good at counting and knowing letters, shapes and colors. I have realized over the last year that Flynn more than likely has ADHD which explains a lot of his behavior. As Penn Holderness says in his book ADHD is awesome, we see ADHD as an explanation, not an excuse! I'm trying to learn more in order to help him better manage the symptoms of ADHD as much as I can. Flynn made his first real friends this year and he is learning to be a good friend.
Piper is 2 and radiates joy! Conversely, She has the loudest scream of anyone I know. When she’s happy (which is the majority of the time) she is plain adorable and makes everyone smile. When she’s upset, she makes sure EVERYONE knows about it. We’re working through the 2 year old tantrums, but I know it’s just a phase. If I stay consistent with responding calmly and communicate clearly in the midst of the screaming, I know it will eventually wind down and she will grow out of it. She loves to dance and run and jump and just be active in general. She also likes to sing and watch nursery rhythm shows like Little Angel and Pinkfong. She remains very capable! I have to constantly remind myself not to underestimate her abilities. Piper’s favorite person other than me is Marmee. In fact she will choose Marmee over me about 50% of the time. I’m glad I have back up! Otherwise she doesn’t let anyone other than Jane and Sam hold her. I lost count a long time ago with how many words she knows. She speaks in complete sentences and we can understand almost everything she says. Piper started to play with other toddlers her age and it’s the cutest to watch them converse. <3
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| My Mario Trunk won 2nd place! |
I have so enjoyed the tradition of asking these 4 questions at the end of each year! I love the reflection and forward thinking it brings.
1. What are you most grateful for in 2024?
This one was the easiest for me to answer! I am so grateful for Brains and Brawn Club this year! We started in March of 2024 every other week and moved to every week this fall because we enjoyed it so much. We have so much fun together! I look forward to it every week. We've had groups of kids ranging from 15 to 42 and ages ranging from 4 to 14. I am also grateful to my mom for giving me the inspiration for this event and her help with watching my littles while I lead it and for my faithful B&B friends, especially Rachel who helps me almost every week and took both of these pictures. <3
Honorable mentions: Jane's babysitting help, Flynn's potty victory, Electricity & A/C (Beryl made that abundantly clear to me).
2. What was your favorite moment of 2024?
My favorite moment was actually very different than I thought it would be. I was supposed to have a nice 2 day weekend mom getaway to the Great Homeschool Convention with my dear friend, Kae. But hurricane Beryl knocked out power for 9 days and I couldn’t leave everyone behind with no power. James and Kae invited our whole family to stay with them. It was only a 24 hour trip because we kept waiting for the power to come back in time, but it was still amazing! I got quality time with my friend Kae. Got to meet favorite homeschool people, Steve Demme, Andrew Pudewa and Sarah Mackenzie. So yes it was different than I had planned, but definitely my favorite moment this year.
Honorable mentions: Tejas family trip and watching cousins become besties, slip and slide with the whole family during the hurricane power outage, girls beat boys in dodgeball, Mario Trunk or Treat.
3. What are you looking forward to in 2025?
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| Our packing for GWL is in the background here. |
This one is pretty simple. Our trip to Great Wolf Lodge got cancelled in December by sickness and we rescheduled for February. We've never been! So that is what we are all looking forward to!
Honorable mentions: Potentially, no more diapers! Also related to Piper getting older, Travel being easier and having a bit more freedom because it's becoming easier to leave the kids with Sam or my parents, reading chronologically through the Bible with Sam.
4. What goals do you hope to accomplish/habits to form in 2025?
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| I still did my work out in the rain! |
Once again I feel like I accomplished half of my goals from last year. I did not prioritize my blog like I wanted, but I stayed consistent from previous years. I did make better health choices! I worked out more this year than I have since Flynn was born and enjoyed it. I still need to make better meal choices though and be even more consistent with work outs. I did slow down a bit to spend quality time with the kids. I journaled daily and spent more time outside with the kids and we implemented picture books into our school for more connection. I can continue to work on all of these for this year and I have new habits to form that relate to each new goal!
Goal: Going to bed at a good time consistently to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night. This is my top goal! I feel like a lot of other habits and routines will fall into place if I prioritize this goal. - Habits: getting ready for bed when the older kids go to bed and having dinner done before 7pm to have the younger kids in bed at a better time. Sticking to a nighttime routine for myself that includes putting my phone to bed at 10:30pm.
Goal: Working out more consistently - Habit: (This builds on the last goal) getting up on time and working out as soon as I finish work in the morning.
Goal: Prioritize building a strong community group. Habit: Continue reading about community and praying each day for wisdom for God to guide me.
Goal: Teaching Piper to swim. Habit: Getting in the pool with Piper at least 3 times a week during swim season to work on swimming skills!
Kids answers 2024
Moments?
J: Montgomery County Fair rides
A: Got mom out in Dodgeball
X: Family nights
F: Special nights with mom
All: Christmas, Tejas Labor Day weekend
Grateful?
J: Lamby
A: Video games and tv
X: Cambria/Animals
F: My birthday
All: Technology
Looking forward to?
All: Great Wolf Lodge Trip
Goal?
J: Work on her Minecraft world
A: Finish Cuphead
X: Be more brave (specifically about Fireworks)
F: Get better at building Legos
Just for funzies.
Most said phrases by me this year:
No.
Go to bed
Good Job
Do your school
Get your clothes/Jammies on.
Word for 2025:
Last year my word for the year and it was Growth. Yep! Definitely experienced lots of growth! For example I feel like just this December I had to grow a lot in dealing with disappointment and trusting God. We had a few exciting things cancelled by sickness and weather. I tried to lean into the serenity prayer. "God, give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." For 2025, the word I've been thinking on a lot lately is:
Connection
Goodbye 2024!!!!! Hello 2025! Happy New Year Everybody!
Philemon 1:4-7
I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.
