A friend asked me an interesting question recently. She asked, "what about how you were raised would you change?" Now, I loved how I was raised so the things I could come up with were more like adding to, rather than actually changing anything. But something I wouldn't change is how we did birthdays! 

I only have had one “birthday party” in my life.

By that I mean, what you think of as a traditional birthday party with friends at a place. And even then, it was still combined with my brothers.

I’m not sure where my parents got this idea or even if we’ve done it ever since my youngest brother was born, but in all my life that I can remember, we did one combined birthday party for all three of us. See, we are all 2.5 weeks apart, in the winter, and it was way too hard to try and find days that worked for all the family to come over three separate times. Combined just made sense. It was a family party, but each kid got to have one friend. And you know what? They were great! I loved our birthday parties and I never wanted anything else. There were many years that I got to have a sleepover with a friend for my own birthday, but otherwise we celebrated our birthdays on one day together and then did something just the five of us on our actual birthday.

Another unique thing my parents did was not get us gifts. We got enough stuff at Christmas and from our extended family that our parents would get us one “big ticket” item or experience. We’ve gone to a water park, gotten a video game, and gotten subscriptions to things. It was a good way to do something different and not have one more “thing” in the house. And we all loved it!

On our actual birthday, the birthday kid got the day off from school and chores, got to pick a restaurant for dinner, and got to pick a special dessert. We didn’t use the phrase “king or queen for the day” but the idea was there. We got to decide if we watched a movie or played games and what they were. They were always fun days.

Growing up, we got to go out to eat and go shopping with some extended family/family friends. Our one set of grandparents would take us individually to lunch or dinner and shopping (I usually went to Kohl’s and got some cute new clothes :) There were years that our aunt and uncle took us out to eat and shopping as well. I remember one year we went to the Hello Kitty store in some mall. That was a neat place that was also kind of overwhelming! And then we have some family friends who would take us out for a meal all together. That usually was a fun adventure. They are goofy friends :)

I have a lot of fond birthday memories and I’m not even that old! I’m sharing these partly because I find it fun to hear how other people celebrate things and partly because I am coming to discover that my family was kind of unique in how we did a lot of things and maybe our ideas will help out your family or spark ideas of your own! If you’ve ever felt like the way most people do birthdays is not for you, I hope my positive experience will help you know that you can change things up and your kids will still grow up with happy memories of their birthdays!


Okay, there is actually one thing I'd change and that is do summer birthday celebrations for any kid who's birthday is November through February! But even though my birthday is not far from Christmas, I still have always had great birthdays :)

Just like that, another Roundup is here! Because I am doing these on Tuesdays now as my last blog post of the month, they are a bit early, so I will also recap the end of the previous month too. I have a LOT to share because February was so good!

End of January
I ended the month with some fun friend time! There was another Barbie movie night, a fun girls' day, and I got to talk to my friend who moved to the other side of the state last summer. Also, my friend had her baby!!! My uncle was supposed to come but he had to postpone a few weeks, which leads us to...

February (so far)
It's been a very good month :) I finally did something I've been wanting to do for SIX years and that is go to Pottery Barn! I never go to the mall or ever go near the mall so going means a specialty trip. Well, I needed to make a return at a store nearby so I decided that this was the year! While my decorating style is not completely Pottery Barn, I do like their looks a lot and I tell people that if I ever have my own place, the goal will be to make it look like Pottery Barn without paying Pottery Barn prices ;) 

I've been enjoying the Olympics, though why the replays of figure skating only last a day or two sometimes is a question that is frustrating me. But I'm trying to just enjoy whatever I do get to watch and leave it at that. 

My uncle did come to visit and though it was just an overnight, it was so nice to see him and spend time with him. He also brought us some very cool family history memorabilia, including a book that belonged to my great-grandfather and is at least 100 years old and some of my great-great-aunt's artwork. She was a phenomenal artist and I love seeing things that she did. 

One of my favorite things this month was definitely going to see my friend for an afternoon and meet her new baby girl! I got to hold her almost the whole time and just soak in the snuggles of a 2-week-old baby! The older brother is talking so much more now too, not that I can understand much of what he says, but it's super cute :) And I always enjoy the conversations I have with my friend. They are so rich and refresh me!

Fun things I got to do/make this month:

• see my cousin's basketball game
• "coffee" with a Bible study friend
• Galentine's party
• valentines for my quizzers
• dark chocolate cheesecake
• mini lemon poppyseed scones
  

How was your February? Did you do anything fun for Valentine's Day? I'd love to hear what's been going on this month for you!

I've made some big decisions, for both me and my business but they are not completely out of nowhere. One has been in the back of my mind for a few years now but I didn't think I could do it. Now I don't know that I can't NOT do it.

I'm leaving Instagram and changing how I share my work in a big way. 

To be precise, my photography account is going dormant. There are a lot of factors in this decision and I'm going to try my best to lay them out here. 

When I joined Instagram in 2017, I had a great experience for several years. I found excellent community and really enjoyed being on the app. Over time, I’ve changed how frequently I am on, whether I allow notifications, and I adjusted my guidelines based on what each season needed. I enjoy following fun accounts, seeing what friends are up to, and connecting with people who don’t live near me; some I’ve never met in person! There were a lot of positive things that I experienced on Instagram.

At some point, Meta bought it and ads became huge. Now, instead of just having to contend with the algorithm, I also have to deal with ads and suggested content. I rarely see posts from the people I follow so I imagine they aren’t seeing mine either. It’s not the same place and it’s not as fun anymore, in my opinion.

Instagram made the most sense to me as the social media platform I should be on when I started my business. And if it were providing me with great traffic and bookings, then I might think longer and harder about leaving. But the fact is, Instagram takes a lot from me and my business gets nothing in return. With the algorithms and all the "rules" you have to follow (it's Reels, now it's Carousels; hashtags, now keywords...) to even have a chance of people seeing your content it gets really exhausting. I don't want to play those games which means it's next to impossible to grow. 

Don't get me wrong, there are things I really like about Instagram. I'm going to miss certain accounts and seeing things my friends who are not local are doing. But I firmly believe that tools should serve me and my business, not the other way around, and right now that is not happening. 

Another big part of this decision is AI. 

I don't know where you stand with AI, but I'm hesitant. In a perfect world, I see the benefits and uses, but we don't live in a perfect world. Our world is actually very, very dark. The more I'm learning and hearing, the more concerned I am and that has led me to make a big decision.

Starting now, I will no longer be sharing any photos of my clients where children's faces are identifiable. I'm also going to try and only share images of seniors and adults that are pulled back. I’ve always tried to respect and keep my clients’ privacy. That is why I don't share last names of my families or seniors and just generally try not to share identifiable details in my posts. and I believe that showing their photos is a privacy concern now. AI has just made the privacy concerns much bigger. This is going to severely limit what I can share on Instagram, which means I’d be posting even less than I do now.

Since I'm planning to be done with Instagram for the foreseeable feature, that is not really a factor anymore,  but AI is not just social media. So I'm going to be taking a good hard look at my website and portrait guides, to see where I can make adjustments. I don't believe in “too little, too late”. I subscribe to “better late than never”.

This may hurt my business. I'm aware of that. I've made choices in the past that work against my business but I have to do what my conscience demands. I can't run this any other way.

One final thing that I want to make very clear - I am not judging anyone for sharing photos of their kids. That is your decision. But I want it to be solely your decision and since I have a problem with AI and I would not want my children's faces online, I won't do that to your children. That is where this decision is coming from and that's as far as I'm going to take it.
I'd encourage you to do some research if you are curious as to what I'm talking about and to help you make your own informed decision.

I am also not judging anyone who is on Instagram. This is what is best for me. For my creativity. For my business. For my life. If this is making sense to you, maybe you want to sit down and think about it more for yourself. If you have more questions for me about the hows and whys of my decision, I am happy to have a discussion with you.

This may not be a forever decision. I try not to work in absolutes when it comes to things like this. But this is an open-ended departure. I may be back one day. I may pop in occasionally to post something. Only time will tell. For now, I am saying “farewell” and moving to focus on my blog and email list, which are things I have much more control over!

I'm really loving doing my emails so far! If you are not a part of the SJP email tribe and you'd like to be, you can join HERE, and if you're reading this in February of 2026, I'm running a giveaway until the end of the month. So join the list HERE and you'll be entered to win a one-year membership to Good Book Mom! I'd love to have you join me in email land :)



That's a lot!!! Please let me know in the comments if you have questions about any of this. I'd love to hear from you! 

I've been transitioning to barefoot shoes for about four years now, slowly shifting my shoes to more feet-friendly options. Until I was making this post, I didn't even realize how many I had! The biggest challenge with getting barefoot shoes is that most of them are made in Europe, which means you really can't return them. Not easily anyway. So I thought I'd share what I like and what I don't like about the shoes I have and maybe help someone else with their decision. My go-to for all things barefoot shoes is Anya's Reviews but I still want to share my real-world experiences. 

*none of the shoes in the photos above are barefoot :)

What I'm Eyeing Next

• Chelsea Boots. These are definitely a luxury. I just want to get a pair of cute boots for spring and fall. I don't need them so it may be a few years before I get any. 
• Bokyna Sandals. I'm thinking about replacing my Jessie sandals with these in the next year or two. 
  

If you're interested in working on improving your foot health, I would start with your socks. Getting toe socks or more foot-shaped socks is an easy and cheap(er) way to start this journey. If you don't go barefoot much, start working on that. And as you buy new shoes, look for shoes that have wider toe boxes, bottoms that are flat, and shoes that have more flexibility to them. If you're someone who has been wearing very supportive shoes 24/7 for years, you really can't jump to zero-drop right away. And my experience has been that as I wear barefoot shoes more, my feet have widened, meaning that my size has changed slightly over the years.

This is all my own experience and information I've learned through the years. This is not medical or physical therapy advice and should not be taken as such. 


I hope that this was interesting and maybe helpful! I'd love to hear if you have any experience with barefoot shoes or if you might be thinking about looking into it more after this. 

Everyone needs the photos where you're all posed and smiling at the camera but let's be honest, that doesn't really represent your family. Sure, it is you, but unless you spend you days doing that, it doesn't capture your essence as a family. Candids are where it's at and natural interaction gets you the photos you'll cherish for a lifetime but how do you get those kinds of photos?

I did an in-home one-year session and the mom requested that we do some photos at the piano because Dad and Baby would play piano together. That had Older Sisters wanting to play too so we let them and I shot a few photos because it was so sweet :) Maybe you don't play piano with your kids but what are things you do as a family? Can you do it, even in part, during a family session to make your photos truly unique to you? Here are just a few ideas to get you started.

1. Coloring/Doing A Craft - This would be especially great for littler kids but any age family could enjoy it. You can each work on a project, do something as a group, or have a parent and kid team up! 
   
2. Play A Game - Does your family love playing games together? Do you have a favorite game? Pull it out and start playing! 
   
3. Read A Story - Again, this one might be more geared towards younger children but not only is this building the bonds of your family, it also looks very sweet in photos :)
   
4. Bake/Cook Together - This idea is especially great for Christmas photos! 
   

Think of what makes your family unique. What do you love to do together? What bonds you? When people think of your family, what do they point to as being your "thing"? Those are the things you want to incorporate into your family session. It's going to get the most genuine smiles, elicit laughter, and it turns your photo session into a family bonding moment, rather than just "getting photos taken". 

Don't worry. We won't spend the whole time doing this and we'll still get those posed, looking-at-the-camera photos that you do need. However, I'm guessing that the photos you love when you look at your final gallery will be the ones that were a moment of interaction between you and your loved ones. 

I'd love to know, what would you pick for your family to do if you worked something into your next family session?

I decided that I wanted to do roundup posts each month still so here we are! The first monthly roundup of 2026! For those who are on my email list, some of this will be familiar but there may be some new things too. I have to pick and choose sometimes for space purposes in emails. But here, I have all the space in the world!

Personal
The moms' group at my church is a bunch of my friends so they invite me to join them in their monthly events :) This month they went bowling! I did not do very well as I am dealing with some arm/wrist issues but it was still fun. Especially as it was the third day in a row that I was seeing one of them!

My mother decided that she wants a sitting area in our basement. Well, if you could see our basement, you would know that it seems like in impossible task. So this year we started The Great Basement Reorganization. We are people who tend to save things "just in case" so we are seeing if anything can be gotten rid of but also packing better and finding new homes for things. Like, some things will be able to live in the barn soon with some storage areas being created out there. I'm still dubious that the vision she has will be completed but regardless, this is good for us, plus it's a lot of fun. I love organizing and going through memory boxes is a blast!

We went to the eye doctor and every year I have the irrational fear that this will be the year she says I need glasses 24/7. (I hate wearing glasses and do it as little as possible). But not only did she NOT say that, my eyes actually got BETTER since the last time I was in!!!!!! Lots of rejoicing you can believe me :)

My bed broke. Well, the wooden frame that is holding my mattress. See, I was given a new mattress but it's a Twin XL and my bed frame was a twin. So my brother made me a wooden slat frame that is longer than the metal frame and supports the mattress but you can't sit right on the end. Thankfully the person who did was fine and didn't get seriously hurt. But now I need to probably get a frame that actually fits my mattress. 

Business

• Got a new flash. My flash, that I've had since pretty much the beginning of my business, finally broke in December. So my first task of the new year was to get a new flash! However, I am not technical when it comes to my gear so I went to my local camera stores to get advice and counsel. I love having local, small camera stores! 
• Started diving in to email marketing. I'm on my Instagram break and pretty much planning on staying off after a quick reappearance in February. So I am taking January to get going on email marketing. We'll see how it goes. Want to come along? Sign up HERE. 
  

I hope your 2026 is off to a great start! I'd love to hear in the comments what has been going on thus far. If you are working on any rhythms or habits, how are they going? 

I'm going full book nerd in this post so if that is not your thing, you might want to pass on this post :) But if you are always looking for new books to read, then this will be your jam! I will be sharing my "25 in 25" list, my top non-fiction, and my top fiction too! To not make this forever long, I plan to do very little talking about each book but you can click the title to read my full reviews on each one. 

These lists are in no special order. The "25 in 25" is how they were written in my planner and the other two are in the order they were read this year. For any books that were in my "25 in 25" and made one of the other two lists, I won't talk about them twice. They will be discussed in the other list. 

Because I read SO. MUCH. fiction, I am only listing here my 5 star, first time reads. 

• Driftwood Dreams by T.I. Lowe (#2 in the series). I love Lowe's books for their sweetness and hope even when dealing with rough things. 
• Midnight On The Scottish Shore by Sarah Sundin. I was feeling so-so about this story but I was going to give it four stars for being very well done and set in Scotland with real Scottish talking (which I love) but then the end of the book really got to me and I had to go with five stars!
• The Burning Of Rosemont Abbey by Naomi Stephens. Delightful!!!! It feels wrong to say a murder mystery was fun but this one was. There are plenty of surprises and twists and though it’s a murder mystery it isn’t dark or spooky.
• Break My Fall by Lynn H. Blackburn (#2 in the series) This is becoming one of my favorite series! I loved how the ending was not the usual thing. No spoilers but I liked how it was done.
• Where Dreams Reside by Heidi Chiavaroli (#5 in the series). Not what I was expecting from Bronson's story but it was excellent! 
• Final Approach by Lynette Eason (#4 in the series). An absolutely wild ride and end to the series!
• Prowl by Colleen Coble (#2 in the series). Definitely have to read the first one but I'm enjoying a series that is all connected. 
• The Second Story Bookshop by Denise Hunter. A sweet summer/beachy read! I love books set in bookstores :)
  
• Secondary Target by Angela Carlisle (#1 in the series). New author knocked it out of the park!
  
• The Summer Of You & Me by Denise Hunter. Not what I think of when I think Denise Hunter and it was excellent!
  
• Every Hour Until Then by Gabrielle Meyer (#5 in the series). I will eagerly read every single book she writes in this series!
  
• Gelato At The Villa by Robin Jones Gunn. I can't recall the last time a book relaxed me so much!
  
• The Mermaid's Tale by L.E. Richmond (#1 in the duology). SO GOOD! Unfortunately the sequel disappointed me. This ends on a TERRIBLE cliff hanger. You've been warned. 
  
• Of Silver & Secrets by Michelle Griep (#2 in the series). Even better than the first one!
  
• The Way Back by Heidi Chiavaroli (#1 in the series). Deep and beautiful like everything she writes. 
  
• Love In The Castle Library by Ann Swindell. (#2 in the series) A stunning addition to this series!
• Through Each Tomorrow by Gabrielle Meyer (#6 in the series) This one had me worried for a while but she pulls it all off beautifully :)
  

• TBR goal: 10   Actual:  16
• Non-fiction goal:  10   Actual:  12
• Total books read: 188
  
• Total pages read: 56.000+
  
• Longest book: Facing The Mountain by Daniel James Brown
• Shortest book: Torn Curtains by Tara Grayce
• Most popular: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• Least popular. Compilation of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer

Below are the fun graphics that Goodreads creates but they are from mid-December so the totals aren't up to date and sometimes conflict. 

In 2026 I am continuing habits that I started a few years ago, introducing some new ones, and working on strengthening priorities. I know that some things need to change, especially after what I walked through last year, and I very curious to see how my word for 2026 might play into that. It's kind of a strange word. 

Word Of The Year
We'll start with my word for 2026.

KINGDOM

Like I said, kind of strange. It first showed up in my Bible study and we had an interesting discussion on how a king needs his citizens. How the people make the kingdom. And then talking about us being citizens of God's kingdom. It was a good discussion but I didn't think too much of it. But then over the next week or two, "kingdom" seemed to be popping up. I was thinking of some other words and toying with which of them I wanted to focus on for 2026, but "kingdom" was insisting. 

All of my past words have been something that I felt like I need to work on or pay more attention to in my life. But how does "kingdom" fit that idea? I mean, sure, as a Christian I'm called to pay attention to the kingdom of God, but that's not a super concrete idea. I guess this year I'm gonna find out.

So far, I have a few verses, the main one being Matthew 6:33. That was actually what cemented it for me. I got my new planner for Christmas and what should be inside but a small note with that verse on it! I put it above my light switch for this year. 

Here is what I plan to focus on in 2026, with "KINGDOM" as my guide word:

• having a verse to work on every week
• using my prayer jars (more on that in another post)
• writing out Scripture
• having dedicated 30 minutes of no screen time to slow myself down
• doing more study on the Kingdom of God passages in Scripture
• take one photo each day
• write one gratitude each day

Priority Shifts
One of the books I read last year talked about the idea of making your list of nonnegotiable plans and then everything else you get asked to do you should be convinced as to why you should include it into your schedule. That was profound for me, as someone who often struggles with my calendar. 

I tweaked it a little bit  to fit my needs and I made a list of my priority people. These are the people that I want to have room for in my calendar. I want to go to their events and have spontaneous days and be around to help them. They get my time first is essentially what it is. After that, I can pick and choose what I do. There are lots of "good" things and I can't do them all. I'm hoping that this will help my calendar struggles and my times of overwhelm will be fewer and shorter. 

A Year Of "MORE"
I think I got this idea from Hannah Brencher. Most people seem to make goals or resolutions that deal with "less". Maybe it's less screen time, spending less money, eating less junk food... stuff like that. Those are good things and I guess by default they mean more of other things, but I like the idea of a "more" list because it feels like I'm giving myself something rather than taking something away. In 2026, I made a list of things that I want to do or have more of. This will be a year of more:

• swinging
• baking
• crafting
• nature
• writing
• cozy evenings

I have in my planner that the second a third weeks of each month are for a craft or baking something. I can pick which thing is which week as it fits my schedule. I want to be outside more. I want to engage in writing something (my email list is going to fulfill that one for sure!). And I want to have more slow and cozy evenings with my fairy lights and candles and using my acupressure mats. 

After last year I knew things needed to change and I'm doing my best to start new practices that I hope will benefit my overall health - body, soul, and mind. 

What kinds of plans or goals or habits are you working towards in 2026? Will you join me in any of mine? I'd love to hear what you have in mind and even help cheer you on as you journey through this new year!

It was the word I didn't want and I can't help but wonder if I fought it a bit because honestly, hope scares me. I shared about this a bit on Instagram and found out that I'm not alone in this. (We never are but we can feel like we are). I wanted to flesh it out more in a blog post. 

At the end of 2024 I felt like the Lord was leading me to the word "HOPE" for 2025 and I did NOT like that. I talked about it with some close friends and they all encouraged me that, yes, that was supposed to be my word so I reluctantly said, "okay". 

I know that one problem I had was that HOPE is hard to get your hands around. Past words of mine have had an easy focus. When my word was PROVISION, I was actively seeking to see evidence of God's provision. For EMBRACE, I was working daily to embrace where I was at. Past words allowed active participation. But HOPE? The only thing I could think of was to try and see how hope could impact my daily life. Because up to now, hope as been "one day Jesus will come back and make all things new and I'll spend eternity with Him" OR it's been about things I want to see and experience. Neither of which help me when things are hard. 

This is the second year in a row that I felt like I "failed" at my word. Which is silly, I know, but all the years before I could look back at the year and see how I grew in that word or some lesson I learned from/about it. But not this year or last year. It's honestly a bit discouraging. Am I hearing the wrong word? Well, since HOPE is coming up a lot this month as the year, including one of the verses I was memorizing, I think it's safe to say that it was the word I was supposed to focus on. Still, I don't see it making a visible impact on my life. In fact, if one could objectively measure the amount of hope I had at the beginning of the year vs. now, I would have less hope. (Please don't worry about me. I'm not in any danger.)

I got to visit with a dear friend this month, whose wisdom and advice I deeply value, and I got to talk to her about this topic. She said something about hope that my heart just soaked up. Essentially she said that, for her, what hope looks like in our daily lives is the promise and knowledge that this won't last. All the hard, the hurt, the suffering, the evil... none of it will last forever. There is a day when it ends. So yes, it's still eternity based, but somehow it feels more tangible and meaningful than just "one day we'll be with Jesus". I guess maybe because it seems to address the stuff we are going through in the here and now? I'm not sure but I know it was very impactful to me and I'm very thankful to her for sharing it!

The thing about words of the year is that they aren't "one and done" things. I still need to abide, think about being whole and complete, look for God's redemption and renewal, etc. But they aren't my main focus after that year. So maybe God did something in my heart and life that I can't see yet. Or maybe this was just to introduce the idea of hope and now it will quietly grow in the background. I certainly don't know but God does. 

2025 Goals Update
This seems like as good a place as any to update you on my goals for this year too! I did end up memorizing verses. Only time will tell how many of them actually take. And this is a habit that I want to continue in some form. 

I didn't finish writing out even one book of the Bible and I did not listen to the whole Bible. I also had a devotional about hope that I intended to do and didn't even start. So a lot of unfinished things for this year, which kind of makes me sad, but there's grace. I'll finish Luke when I finish it. I'll get to the end of the Bible. And when both are done, I'll start the next book and start the Bible over again. 

Years have themes by which they are remembered. 2007 was the year my co-op started and my cousin was born. 2010 was the year I got sick. Some years are characterized by good things and others are remembered as bad. The truth is that all years have elements of both, but most tend to have a few big things in one vein or the other. Unfortunately, 2025 is going to be remembered as a not-s0-good year for me, but I'm going to do my level best to find as much good as I can to help balance out this letter/recap!

January
I don't have a Roundup post because I don't typically blog in January. A lot of the month was spent on various tasks for our family business. I did go play in the snow with some of my little friends and had dinner with a sweet friend who was in the midst of planning her wedding! I was sick twice; once was anxiety related and the other was a weird one that came on literally in just a couple of hours and lasted about 24 hours, though I was not myself for almost a week. It was a bummer because my two "big plans" for the month were canceled as a result. Kind of a rough way to start the year!

When I paged through my planner for this year, I was actually surprised at how many days I had plans with friends. Movie nights, Bible study events, one-on-ones, and even video chats! I'm truly blessed with some amazing friends and they were especially important to me this year. 

I can't neglect to mention one of the highlights of the whole year which was having my cousin spend two weeks with us in February and getting to celebrate my birthday while she was here! She has now gotten to meet pretty much all the special people in my life and that is something that means a lot to me. 

July/August
As I've shared in detail here, I spent most of July sick from an anxiety attack. So not much to share, although it was one of my busiest editing months! In August I started getting back to life with a lunch and river floating with a friend, the baptism of my friend's baby girl, and a worship night. I learned how to make bagels (not too hard just a bit complex with all the steps) and we had two days with having guests over. One family had never been here yet and the other we had not seen in almost three years! 

September/October
Wow, a lot more happened in these months than I remembered! From a friends and family perspective, my brother and I hosted friends two different times, I got to attend my cousin's horse show, and I went our local Depot Day with friends who have two young boys. They had a BLAST! These months also featured going to the zoo during Homeschool Days with my friend and her two youngest, hosting my four oldest nieces and nephews for a weekend, going to Oval Beach as a family, taking a field trip to a local cider mill with my niece's preschool class, and spending the day in Grand Rapids with my friend!

I've been meaning to photography Downtown Brighton with my camera (not just my phone) as a location option and that finally happened! I also started attending a class about prayer at a local church that helps you process things with the Lord. My "date days" with myself started happening more but are still not the regular habit that I want them to be. 

The annual banquet for our local pregnancy center was amazing! I've never seen or heard of so much action after a banquet with people saying the Lord was calling them to get involved in local government or asking how their church can join in the fight to protect life. 

Finally, one of my favorite things from this year was getting shiplap put up on one of my walls! Our neighbors gave us some boards they took out of an office and I decided that I wanted to make an accent wall with them. It still brings me a lot of joy!

November/December
These months were lighter but still held some very sweet moments. I got to see a friend in her senior play (which was absolutely hilarious!) and my cousin hosted her annual Zoom birthday party! 

A new tradition has been formed with a friend of mine and her girls where we make gingerbread cookies and watch Barbie Nutcracker :) We do it in November because December is usually packed full!

Thanksgiving was very nice and I got to go to the Bible study Friendsgiving this year! We packed around 30 people into a tiny apartment but it was so special even crammed together. 

The sad thing in November was the death of one of my dearest friend's grandfather. He was like a third grandfather to me as well. I'm so thankful my mom and I got to go for the visitation and funeral. 

So far, December has been blessedly light and slow. My Bible study has been trying to do prayer and worship nights about once a month but I haven't been able to go yet so I was very excited to make this month's event. It is a very special thing to pray and worship together. I've also been loving the snow we've had (even as I type with frozen fingers :)

I'm going to end with what is my favorite verse right now: 

"I REMAIN CONFIDENT OF THIS: I WILL SEE THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING. WAIT FOR THE LORD, BE STRONG AND TAKE HEART AND WAIT FOR THE LORD." ~ Psalm 27:13-14

May you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Blessings,
Sarah

P.S. I'd love to hear about your year! 



Read the highlights from earlier in the year!
February
March
April
May
June