And With That, the 2025 Season Comes to a Close

It feels like just yesterday, we were celebrating the end of 2024 and looking to 2025 with anticipation. Now here we are, a year later. What a year it has been, and not in a good way. Honestly, the past decade has felt so challenging, and this year was one of those years when it was just one curveball after another thrown our way. But by the grace of God, we made it through!

We look to 2026 with excitement and anxiousness, hoping and praying that this new year might be a little gentler than this past. The challenges we’ve faced this year have been many, too many to really list here. A few things we’ve faced:

Ben’s health issues have continued to get worse.
We had furnace issues, and found out we will need a new furnace.
We had plumbing issues
We had vehicle problems.
We had several appliances break, all close together.
I had dental issues and had to have a tooth pulled.
We lost Wesley in February (one of our dogs; he was 13 and we had him 12.5 years.)
We lost Chewy Christmas Day. (Our black lab; he was 16 and we had him 15.5 years)

It’s been a year where it seems like we can barely come up for air before the next challenging situation takes our breath away. Stack that on to the other years we’ve had; Ben’s health, the accident, and everything else that’s happened, and it’s no wonder we’re aching for 2026 to be gentle. Any of these situations by themselves would be challenging, sometimes even really hard to deal with on its own. Put them all together, and it’s been a year that has taken a lot out of both of us.

I’m reminded of 2 Corinthians 4:7-9.

Even though it’s been a tough year, and it feels like we are hard pressed on every side, we are not crushed. Even though we don’t understand what is happening, we trust there is a greater plan in all of this.

I think one of our biggest highlights this year was adding Gracie to our family. She has been a blessing in such dark times.

I hope in the coming year to be able to post more frequently. I wanted to this year too, and it just didn’t work out. But for now, we’ll end with a photo gallery from this past year, with some of the highs from each month, starting in January 2025.