2025 Recap

Hello all! While I may be rather inconsistent, I actually do enjoy writing and sharing these End-Of-The-Year posts. The look back on all what the Lord has done; how He has answered prayers, well it's truly a gift and one that is definitely worth documenting. 

Grab some tea, and let us look back on all the wonderful things the Lord has done in 2025!

January: 

What a honest blessing from the Lord - He not only blessed us with another year, but He also gave us the sweet and "magical" gift of snow. In all my years of living in Florida, this was the first time I have ever seen the snow stick on the ground for more than a minute. It was truly amazing and I am SO glad I got to see it. 

So many wonderful things took place in the month of January - all gifts from God. :) 

February:

Between family birthdays, cold weather, walks on the beach with three of my lovely sisters, and sweet cards sent in the mail, February was a pretty good month. A bunch of my siblings run a 5k on the beach (which we try to do every year) and this year the weather was absolutely "perfect". Another thing I began doing was crocheting giant granny squares to eventually be sewed into a blanket. It took me a few weeks, but I eventually finished and sewed everything together.  

March:

I celebrated my birthday (another year to praise God for) and was surprised with an unexpected gift from a pretty sweet guy. Not only did he fly down a second time, but he flew in on my mom's birthday and got to meet a lot of my family as well as my church family. We walked many miles on the beach and just enjoyed one another's company. My sister also hatched out 5 healthy chicks - four hens and one rooster. I thought I had pictures of them but I guess I don't - or else I would share them. Just imagine, haha! As I type this, they are currently laying beautiful brown and light brown eggs.

April:

Each year my sister Elizabeth and I try to run at least one 5k together. This year we had our eyes set on a bigger prize - a 10k! So we signed up and began training. As if we blinked, race day came and we found ourselves waiting at the starting gate. There is always a bunch of nerves waiting in line, preparing yourself as much as possible for the long and hard trek ahead. It's of course a physical challenge, but the mental aspect of it is also very daunting. Maybe that's just me, but after I finish a race, I always feel really accomplished! What's funny about this particular race though is that it ended up being miscouculated with the distance, so I think we ran over 8 miles instead of just 7. In total, I think that day we ended up walking like 15 miles in total. It was crazy, challenging, but so much fun! We walked a good bit of the track but man was it FUN. I encourage ya'll to try it out for yourselves! Not only is it for a good cause, Heart of the Bride, but it's also a wonderful way to push yourself physically and mentally. We also got a lot of yard work done in the month of May - even renting a machine to help tare up the stubborn roots!

May:

My last year teaching gymnastics. :( The Lord opened SO many doors and gave me SO many wonderful children/parents and teachers, who enriched my life! I will never forget these amazing people that the Lord placed in this season of my life. Thank you, O Lord! Another fun thing that happened that month is that my parents and I drive out to Missouri to meet MM's family and church :) And while that was a wonderful trip, it was at the end of the month that my sister and brother in-law shared the BLESSED news that they were expecting a sweet little baby! God is SO good! Another baby for us! This makes 12 grandchildren. Just wow. I remember there was a time in my life when I never thought anything amazing like this would happen, and then I blinked. Now I am the proud aunt to 9 nieces and 3 nephews. The Lord is truly gracious and wonderful. 

June:

One thing that I wanted to do this year was to get a photo album and take most, if not all, of the pictures off of my phone. That way I have something physical to hold, if that makes any sense, lol. I didn't want to always have to revert back to my phone to stroll down memory lane. So I bought a big album and began stocking it with pictures!

My sisters and I got a lot of yard work done over the summer, sweating our brains off, lol but loving the time spent together regardless. If you know me you know that I love spending time in my garden, making it look pretty and tending to my flowers. This year, I decided to "spread the love" and scatter most of my seeds, that way I can make the world a prettier place. That being said, have any of ya'll ever read the book Miss Rumphius? It's such a precious story and one that my mother read to my siblings and I when we were little. It holds a very special place in my heart and, Lord willing, one day I will have the opportunity to read it to my own children. Anyway, in the book Miss Rumphius, she wants to make the world more beautiful and she does so by planting lupine flower seeds. I highly encourage you to grab a copy of the book - it's such a beautiful story!

July:

I fly out on my own for the very first time :) It's funny, one would think that a person my age would have flown by themselves before - not me, lol. The blessing of having a large family and being close with said family is that you always have a travel buddy. That was always the case with me. But since I have a fella in another state, the whole long distance courtship requires a bit of travel. So, I hopped on a plane and flew to Missouri! 

And while I loved my time spent in Missouri, our family dog, Max, missed me. :) He is such a sweet and protective dog, and I love getting to see his personality shine. 

My niece, the one who made me an aunt all those years ago, turns 10! Lord, how? How is it possible that little Alissa Leighanna is now 10 years old? I remember holding her as a newborn and now, I can have full-blown conversations with her (which I absolutely love!). Thank You, God. Thank You for blessing me with these beautiful nieces and nephews. I am so very grateful!

 

August:

Missouri Man's birthday month! I got to fly out and the end of the month, leading into September, and was able to spend some time with MM and his family - such a blessing! So a funny, yet not so funny story about this particular trip. While helping MM out with some yard work, I unknowingly got into some poison oak (which I'm rather allergic to). I initially thought it was a spider bite but then it kept growing and getting redder and more irritated. I ended up going to a doctor when I got home and the meds they gave me (in total it was like 5) didn't really help, which was disheartening and frustrating. How many of ya'll have ever had poison oak? It's terrible and can be VERY painful. My poor skin was so irritated that it in a few places became infected. Again, the meds they gave me didn't do much - time and natural remedies were the only things that gave me any type of relief. Then, after like 3 or 4 weeks I was well enough to feel like a human and enter back into society. Praise God it went away!

On a different note our pigs were growing beautifully and the time for butchering was growing closer!

September:

This was an emotionally challenging month for me - as well as many others. Right before my very eyes I saw an innocent man get assassinated. I was in shock and numb for days, praying ardently for this man's family and their unbelievable grief. While I know that "Precious in the sight of the LORD are the death of his saints." (Psalm 116:15), my heart was grieved and broken for our nation and this young family. As a Christian people, we lost some pretty amazing saints this year - none of whose deaths were surprised by God. He knew this would take place the moment He spoke light into the world. I take comfort in knowing that these incredible people are with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I can rejoice in that. It's still hard though. There are days when I question, but not out of anger or bitterness. I heard someone say that, as Christians, we lost a lot of saints this year. How true. 

"Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." Jeremiah 17:7-8

October:

I flew out again to Missouri and spent almost two full weeks with his family. Again, God is SO good. I got home from that trip and went right into house sitting for my sister and brother in-law while they were away celebrating their 3rd wedding anniversary. Between that, butchering my brothers pig and then planning my sisters baby shower, we were busy! A fun thing I wanted to do this month was to watch all the Star Wars films in order, which I did. Call me silly but I actually enjoyed it. Another fun thing I did was go to work with two of my brothers. I've done this before in the past, helping them with various tasks, but this time was kind of different in that I got to sit in a room with a ton of boxes, a knife, a two page list of items, and my own organizing self. Friends, I can't tell you just how much fun I have in opening up boxes of stuff! This was sooo much fun and I enjoyed the time spent with my brothers, seeing a different side to the family business. 

November:

I began this month with the plan to get back into a normal working out routine. I was ready to jump back into things, but as "luck" would have it, I ended up coming down with a terrible chest cold. After a week of bedrest, the Lord had mercy on me and healed me just in time for me to help set up for my sisters baby shower. And might I just say how thankful and grateful I am to God for His blessings upon me? As I lay in bed one night, I realize that I am living an answered prayer of mine. Long ago, I prayed dearly for good, solid friends to come into my life. Again, the Lord in His mercy and kindness has blessed me with just that and I am so very thankful. To God be the glory! Then after the baby shower, I got sick again! After that I pulled muscle or bruised a rib. There were many ups and downs BUT through it all, God was and is good. 

We finally butchered our pig as well. Wanna guess how much she weighted? 480 pounds!! Ya'll, that's one big pig! The family that came out to butcher our pig, they were so kind and respectful. They are professing Christians so it was encouraging to talk with them about their church and life. I always appreciate a family run business. 

Another fun and wonderful thing that took place this month is Missouri Man was able to come down for Thanksgiving. :) Not only did he enjoy the holiday with my family, BUT he surprised me by coming down a few days early. I was enjoying lunch at my sister and brother in-law's house one Sunday afternoon when all of the sudden the front door swung wide open and in walks a BEAMING, and super adorable fella. I was so surprised! I love to be shocked like that, and I most definitely was taken aback (in a good way). So we spent the whole week together, hanging out, going on long walks, talking, and enjoying the time in each other's company. Something else wonderful took place while Missouri Man was visiting...he got down on one knee and asked a very important question!

Can you believe it? I'm getting married! YAYHOO and all praise, and honor, and glory be to God!

December:

It's baby month!! EEEEE my sister prepares for the birth of her precious little baby! 

Another fun thing I did was I ended up cutting back all of my flowers and de-seeding them. This year, I ended up with an entire gallon bag of seeds! Some of the flowers are from seeds that I have collected years ago, too. I look forward to taking those with me when I eventually move to my new home. :)

And then on December 22, 2025, my sister gave birth to the newest member of their family, a precious baby boy, Edmund William! He is the sweetest and most precious of little ones. When I got to meet him for the first time, I couldn't help but just gaze at this beautiful child. It's amazing how and when a flash back will take place. As I held this little one, my mind raced back to the very day when I held my sister, the one who just gave birth, at the hospital. I was just a child then, but I'll never forget the day. And now, flash forward x-amount of years, here I am, holding HER baby. It's just amazes me how good God truly is. He blesses us with so many wonderful things. 

Another thing that took place was my sisters and I began attending a different church. After over 10 years at our wonderful, and faithful Bible believing church, we all felt the Lord tugging us to another sound, Bible preaching church (it's actually the same one three of my siblings attend). So with tears and heavy hearts, we made the switch. It not only felt right, but now with my time here in Florida coming to an end, I want to soak up as much time as possible with my brothers, sisters and their children!

After a month (which is hard to believe) of being engaged, I flew back up to Missouri for New Years. :) This time it was different, flying out to my future home. Part of me always knew deep down that this area of the Midwest was going to be my home, but this time it was different because it was confirmed. 

And if I had to pick a theme, or a word, to describe 2025, it would probably be the word family. Maybe the Lord placed this notion deep in my heart, but I have tried to be intentional with my family and with that, the Lord has given me opportunities to be more active with spending time with my loved ones.

So, as we head into 2026, may we all grasp even tighter onto God and His promises. 2025 was more than I ever thought it would be. It was beautiful, challenging, and surprising; God being good and faithful through it all. Let us all carry that with us into a new year.

Happy New Year, Everyone!