A very HAPPY NEW YEAR to you ❤️

A reflection on 2025 – a year of personal growth, detachment & learning to be still through it all.

I remember starting the year by deactivating my Instagram account. It wasn’t taking up much of my time but I wondered what I might do differently if I stopped scrolling. It turns out, reading replaced scrolling. And from reading came the desire to grow my own food. I now have a small raised bed and have just harvested my first bell peppers. They’re all tiny (still figuring things out), but there is something deeply fulfilling about nurturing life and growing food with my own hands.

We also welcomed our helper, Shayne, into our home. With help around, life became more structured. I thrive in a scheduled, orderly environment. I probably need to learn to soften that a little for my husband’s sake (he is wonderfully the opposite of me). I also landed a God-sent job. Being able to stay home, have time for the things that matter and still have an income, is a miracle. I have zero complaints.

As comforting as all this sounds, 2025 also carried moments of disappointment. I learned that a loved one had been struggling with debt, the result of gambling and years of poor decision. For a period of time, I was angry. I couldn’t make sense of it and that confusion made me bitter and more guarded especially when help was needed.

Then I remembered a story about my aunt Sally.

She once gave and not only that, she thanked God for the opportunity to help someone in need. She never spoke about it. I only know this because I stumbled upon her diary after she passed on. In it, she wrote about how she and her husband discovered that a loved one had fallen deep into debt from gambling and how they chose to give anyway. It was a large sum by the way. I don’t know many people who would be willing to do that, especially for someone whose money had been lost to addiction and poor choices. In all honesty, that would be the kind of person I would struggle most to help. And yet, they did.

This memory served as a reminder to myself. In a world where money is often prioritized, hoarded or chased relentlessly, it feels even more important to recognize the opportunities I’ve been given. Opportunities that not everyone is fortunate enough to receive. At our core, we are not so different. But circumstances, access and luck can place us on very different paths. And so when we are able, we offer help within our means. Without ego, without keeping score.

With this reminder, I was able to help within my means. And I’m deeply grateful to have a husband who stands beside me through this season — steady, supportive and willing to walk through the ups and downs with me.

These were some of the moments that shaped me most in 2025. Not to mention Iliana’s progress. She turns two in a month. TWO.

I move into the next season more rooted than before. In gratitude, in perspective, and in understanding that not everyone starts in the same place.

Thank you 2025!