A Look Back at 2025

 2025 included some wonderful memories with our growing kiddos. Here's a look back.

January

We welcomed Bella into our family and soaked up the puppy snuggles

We received over six inches of snow during a storm (the most ever in the kids' lifetimes!) We thoroughly enjoyed our snow play

Our Saturdays were packed with flag football and double basketball games

February

I turned 40 and celebrated with the best evening planned by the sweetest husband surrounded by so many dear friends

March

Samuel turned 12 and celebrated at his favorite Trail Life campout of the year

We enjoyed a visit from the Flamings over Spring Break including lots of Jack Box and board games

Katherine started her third soccer season with Almighty

Matt and I got away for a long, relaxing weekend in Hot Springs, Arkansas

April

We celebrated Easter with our church family and lunch with the Shondelmyers

We ended our co-op and finished our homeschool school year

We spent a week at our favorite place, Fort Walton Beach, FL

May

We ended our beach trip with a surprise day at Six Flags over Georgia

Nathan turned 14 on our drive home from the beach

Matt and I celebrated 19 years of marriage on a super busy night but managed a drive thru ice cream date of celebrate

Elisabeth and Katherine performed in their dance recital 

We drove to Iowa to visit the Flamings for Memorial Day Weekend

June

Nathan, Samuel, and I served at Vacation Bible School while Katherine and Elisabeth attended

Nathan, Samuel, and Elisabeth attended Red River Valley Honor Camp and grew spiritually, relationally and had a ton of fun

Nathan attended FBCBA's student camp

Elisabeth played Shadrach at music camp, and Katherine sang a solo

July

We hosted our eighth annual Fourth of July party

We spent the week in Weatherford attending the Evetts' VBS and visiting family

Erica, Mindy, and I enjoyed our eighth girls' weekend trip. We stayed in Tulsa this year, and shopped, ate, and chatted all weekend long. 

We swam and soaked up the end of summer with trips to children's museums in Seminole and Bentonville, blueberry picking, a night at the Drillers stadium, and a hike at Osage Hills State Park

August

We vacationed in Colorado with the Shondelmyers for a week

Elisabeth turned 11 and celebrated with a pool party with ALL her co-op friends

We began our sixth year of homeschool with a freshman, seventh grader, sixth grader, and second grader. 

September

The boys joined an FTC robotics team and had their first competition of the season

The girls and I traveled with Grandma, Aunt Becca, and Abby to the Happiest Place on Earth for a week full of magic.

Matt, Nathan, and Samuel traveled to Ohio and spent time at the Air Force Museum, and Cedar Point

Katherine turned 8! She had a sweet party with her close friends

October

We spent a long weekend in Kansas City with the Flamings

I attended the second annual Share the Arrows Conference with dear girlfriends and was challenged, emboldened, and encouraged in my faith

Matt and I saw Nate Bargatze perform and laughed all night long

We celebrated Halloween at the Shondelmyer's new house

November

Elisabeth started her second season as a NOAH Jaguar basketball player

After more than two years, Nathan got his braces off

Nathan and I attended the Brandon Lake concert

The boys watched a Chief's win in Kansas City with Papa

We celebrated Thanksgiving in Weatherford

December

Nathan attended his first high school Winter Formal

We celebrated Christmas with all our favorite traditions including the neighborhood Christmas concert

We ended the year with the Shondelmyers, our annual tradition

I'm realizing more than ever that I'm living in the good old days, and I'm trying to soak up all these precious, fleeting moments. 

Christmas Day

 As soon as we arrived at Barry's on Christmas Day, the kids asked to open their presents. Papa has a talent of spoiling them. My mom would be proud of him!

Samuel opened first and received some markers he'd been asking for. 

Nathan got several things for his 3-D printer. I love how excited he gets about a roll of filament. 

Katherine asked for several craft kits, so she was excited to get a bracelet making kit. 

Nathan was most excited about an RC transmitter kit, so he can 3-D print parts to make his own RC airplane.

Elisabeth's Christmas from Papa was basketball themed- basketball shoes, a new bag, and basketball themed shirts. She was thrilled. She's been asking for basketball shoes since last season. 

Katherine got some new clothes and was surprised by a Pippi Longstocking book. We listened to one of the books on a car trip, and she really enjoyed it. 

I thought it was comical how excited Nathan was over getting calipers for Christmas. 

Papa gifted Katherine a moon lamp she had asked for. She has a special place picked out in her room for it. 

Samuel got his own camping chair and a few wooden puzzles to build over the break. 

For their final gift, the girls both got drawing light pads and started coloring right after the presents were opened. 

Samuel asked to have cherry pie for dessert, and he helped Papa assemble it. 

I was so impressed. It turned out beautifully. 

Katherine immediately changed into her new outfit and drew on her light pad. 

We all enjoyed a delicious Christmas lunch that afternoon. Barry knows how to grill a steak. 

We spent the afternoon playing card games and relaxing. It was a wonderful celebration of our Savior's birth.

Christmas Morning

 

These kids were very excited for Christmas morning when they went upstairs to bed on Christmas Eve. We banish them all upstairs with strict orders that they aren't allowed downstairs until we give them permission. 

The kids have always gotten up very early on Christmas morning, and although sometimes I complain about getting up so early, I really do love the excitement, anticipation, and magic of Christmas morning though a child's eyes. These years are flying by, and so I'm going to soak up the joy of children's laughter at 6:00am on Christmas morning.

I snapped a couple of pictures before we released the children.

This was our first Christmas with Bella, and she was very confused why everyone was awake so early. She barely moved all morning and slept throught all the activitiy. 

At 6:00am on the dot, we gave the go ahead, and everyone raced downstairs to their stockings. 

I usually follow the same method for stockings each year- socks, underwear, favorite candy, and a card game, puzzle or small gift. This year I also threw in some body care items.

Katherine was very excited with her joyride. 

The kids stuffed Matt's stocking with his favorite candy and also with everything that he can never find because they use it- tape, pens, lighters, etc. 

After stockings we started opening gifts. The girls bought us some  sweet thoughtful gifts. I was surprised with these earrings that I saw at the Christmas marketplace that Katherine bought for me. 

And Elisabeth bought me a silly candle that says, "Being your favorite child is a gift enough, but here's a candle."

Nathan also 3-D printed some thoughtful, cute gifts for us.

The Flamings always gift the kids books for Christmas and their birthdays. They introduced Katherine to one of her favorite series- Heidi Hecklebeck, and this year she received one of the spin-off series about Heidi's brother Henry. 

She was thrilled. 

Elisabeth and I spotted this new Junior Detective game at Target randomly, and I had to grab it for Katherine. She had been playing her other Junior Detective game all the time in the last few weeks. 

I also saw this giant pillow at WalMart and knew that Katherine would love it, and it would look really cute on her bed. 

One of the gifts I was most excited about this Christmas was Elisabeth's big gift. She always asks for experience gifts, and this year we gifted her a trip to her national basketball tournament. We went back and forth on spending the money and the time for her to go since she's still pretty young and finally landed on giving it to her for Christmas. 

Just in the last week or so, she had been asking regularly if she could go with her team. 

Her reaction was perfect! I'm excited to experience with her in March.

The kids were all grateful for new books from their cousins. They've all been introduced to some great books over the years.

We really shocked Nathan with his big gift. We got him an iphone 14. He had no idea and expressed so much gratitude. He didn't ask for it, but I had noticed him complaining about the battery life and some of the features of his current hand me down phone. 

I love his reaction. 

I also gifted Katherine a book light since she's been borrowing mine every night. 

She asked for a Stanley water bottle too. 

Her big gift was also an experience gift- a shopping day for mom (she's been asking for one since Elisabeth received one last Christmas) and an ice cream date with dad. 

Samuel's last gift was a wood burning kit. He's my crafty one, and I knew he'd like it. 

Bella was unimpressed with our Christmas morning celebrations. 

After gifts were opened, I made our traditional breakfast of waffles and bacon. Everyone looks forward to it each year. 

Katherine made a Santa waffle.

After breakfast, Katherine asked to play her new game, so we helped her with that. We also tried out a couple of the card games the kids got in their stocking- I Know, You Don't and Duck and Cover

Samuel wanted to try out his wood burner. He's pretty talented. 

We played at home for a bit and then got ready and headed over to Barry's house for more celebrating.