2025: A year in review

The title of this post is not in error – it seems that I'm running a good two months behind on blog posts these days. That said, in all it's belatedness, it's still of value (to me, anyway!) to share my recap of the big and little things in our life from last year. So, I wrote this post, much as I have other years, chipping away at it a bit at a time in the evenings. So much life happens in a year! I've grouped this post topically, linking to previous posts that I wrote during the year, in case there's something you'd like to revisit. Coincidentally, these are posts I that frequently reference when I try to remember the details of our life in a given year. So without further ado...

Knitting

I've already shared my 2025 Knitting year-in-review, which goes into much more detail. But overall, it was a year of many small projects, a few unsuccessful sweaters for myself that I unraveled, and some really successful sweater projects for family members. I loved knitting with Knitting for Olive Heavy Merino and The Fibre Company's Amble, and I found myself reaching more for hard-wearing, more rustic-feeling yarns that stand the test of time (and wear). I knit during homeschool lessons, on car rides, which watching TV, while visiting with family, and at parks and friends' houses. It was a wonderful creative outlet and a beneficial balm to my soul to have a productive, rhythmic pastime for my hands. Looking back at my creative plans for 2025 blog post, I did not complete many of the projects that I included there. And that's okay. I love to jot down projects that catch my eye and then look back and see which ones I completed and which spontaneous projects were sprinkled into the mix.

Sewing

Per usual, I went months between touching my sewing machine, followed by short bursts of creativity. I sewed a skirt for myself that I absolutely love, using fabric that I bought several years ago when we lived in Austin. In March, in the mood for a quilt project, but unable to commit to a large quilt, I sewed a quilted pillow cover. It was a small project, but it satisfied my desire to do a little bit quilting and it makes me smile whenever I see it. I also sewed a Wax and Wool Tote for my mom for Christmas, and I was so pleased with how it turned out. I probably sewed less than other years, since it feels trickier to find time to set up a sewing station and actually sew at it with a curious, crawling baby. I do hope to do more sewing in 2026!

Work

This was another full year of being a full-time stay-at-home mom. I love it. Obviously, there are days that feel more challenging than others, but it is a gift to get to stay home with my three boys, teach Cooper, parent, and tend to our home. One of the most significant changes I made to one of my home workflows this year was to "put the kitchen to bed" 99% of the time after dinner. While it initially felt cumbersome, I found that it brought a new freedom to my evenings and I felt more able to relax after the boys were in bed. And I noticed significantly less overwhelm in the mornings when I woke up to clear, clean counters.

In the kitchen

Adjacently, I did a lot of cooking and baking this year (of course)! We don't mind repeats or revisiting favorite recipes and we eat 99% of our meals at home, so I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Breakfast almost always consists of eggs and sausage for Nicholas and I and baked peanut butter oatmeal for the boys. Some favorite, frequently-repeated dinners this year were Greek Chicken and (sourdough) naan, sausage risotto, Chicken Wild Rice soup (I add about two pounds of chicken thighs at the beginning and remove and shred before adding the carrots), Chicken enchiladas, grass-fed beef tacos, Friday night sourdough pizza, hamburgers on sourdough buns, and breakfast for dinner. We tend to do leftovers for lunches, reheated on the stovetop or in the toaster oven.

I discovered sourdough focaccia this year (so easy, so good), and I made many batches of sourdough hamburger buns, sourdough cinnamon rolls, cardamom bread, and dinner rolls.

In coffee-related news, Nicholas gave me several components of a new coffee brewing setup for my brithday. We have an electric kettle that we absolutely love (it holds whatever temperature you set it to, reboiling, if necessary, so I can walk away if I need to), a stainless steel V60 and a beautiful hand grinder. I've used this setup daily and I can confirm that I love the coffee we make and I find the brewing process so enjoyable, as well. For mother's day, Nicholas gave me a subscription to Purity coffee, something else we enjoy immensely, especially since we prefer to brew our coffee at home almost always.

Come summertime, there was lots berry picking (black raspberries and blackberries from our yard). And from the garden harvests, there were tomatoes needing to be made into homemade salsa, cucumbers needed to be made into pickles, and zucchini to sauté or to shred and make into zucchini bread or freeze. After so many rounds of canning and baking and prep work and dishes, we ended up with several jars of refridgerator pickles, 28 jars of salsa, and over a dozen loaves of sourdough zucchini bread (I omit the walnuts, personally).

And I made (sourdough) donuts for the first time this year, fried in tallow, and they were delicious.

Beauty

I invested in some new makeup and skincare this year, and I actually wrote a blog post about it (skincare and makeup in my mid-thirties). I wanted to refresh my collection prior to my SIL, Katelyn's wedding, since I was a bridesmaid. And I still really enjoy all the products I mention in that post.

My hair grew longer than ever, but only because I just didn't prioritize going to a hairdresser (whoops). And honestly, I find it cumbersome at this length, which is why I wear it in a braid so often to keep sticky baby hands from pulling.

Favorite music

I listened to a lot of instrumental music this year, namely, piano music by Gibran Alcocer, as well as lots of quiet jazz music. Vocalists I especially enjoyed last year include Ethan Nathaniel, Gregory Alan Isakov, Mudhouse, Zach Winters, Laura Veirs, Nick Mulvey, Manchester Orchestra, Noah Kahan, and Fleet Foxes.

Favorite reads

Yet again, it was another year of not a lot of reading. I did have a few favorite non-fiction reads that were excellent, including the Lift Your Eyes devotional from Whitney Newby, and The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer. I finished the remaining two books in the Anne of Green Gables series, Anne's House of Dreams and Anne of Ingleside. I also very much enjoyed reading Susan Branch's Christmas From the Heart of the Home.

Movies, TV, and other things we watched

My favorite TV shows we watched this year include a few perennial favorites: All Creatures Great and Small (for a feel-good show), Slow Horses and Hijack (faster-paced action picks), Severed (eerie and fascinating), and the Great British Bake Off (our only "reality" TV pick). And we really enjoyed season 2 of Andor.

Nicholas took the boys to see Zootopia 2 in theaters on the same day as a blizzard, and they really enjoyed it (the movie, not the driving conditions).

As had been the case for several years, we do tend to watch YouTube more than other TV shows. Our favorite channel continues to be Simple Living Alaska. The whole family (boys included) enjoys watching M. Bjoernstroem's channel, which is a mixture of repairing large machinery and videos of him building his shop in Northern Sweden. I also really enjoy "slow TV" and the likes of Talasbaun.

In the evenings, I very regularly watch knitting- or sewing-focused YouTube channels. I find I love videos that are beautifully filmed vlogs, longer-format video "podcasts," with lots of specifics about projects, or fun pattern round up videos. Some of my favorites in 2025 were:

Traveling

Since we had a baby in December of 2024 (hello, Arlo!), we spent the vast majority of this year close-to-home. But we did manage a few shorter road trips in 2025.

In May, we drove down to Indy to celebrate the wedding of Katelyn (my SIL) and Devin (our new BIL). It was a much anticipated event, of course, and such a beautiful celebration. We also got to see my parents and brother (who share an anniversary with Katelyn and Devin)!

In August, I drove up to Michigan with Arlo to visit my friend Clara and then to attend a baby shower for my friend, Lauren. I wrote about the gift of friendships that span decades, friends who encouraged and made me laugh at 16 and still encourage me and make me laugh at 35.

We did our "second annual" family camping trip in September, and this year, we all had the best time. I felt more prepared with packing lists and streamlined meals. And physically, I definitely felt more comfortable than I did in September 2024, in my third trimester. It was hot during the day, but delightful sweatshirt weather at night, and we basically had the campground to ourselves.

We visited my SIL, Katelyn, and BIL, Devin in October. On the weekend trip, we visited a pumpkin patch and the neatest outdoor kids play area, had a fire, visited a coffee shop and park, went for a walk, and enjoyed meals together. So much fun!

Locally

Since we didn't do a lot of driving far from home, we had a lot of fun, local adventures. Here are a few (this is of course, a non-exhaustive list) :

We had many, many trips to our local arboretum. And we attended a local Maple Syrup festival for the second year in a row. The boys really enjoy seeing the trees with taps, the maple syrup being made in the sugar shack, and the experience of tasting it. And we enjoy meandering around as a family.
In May, my friend Kathleen, and I took our six(!) boys with us for our second annual outing to a semi-local yarn shop, Whole Foods, and a picnic at a very fun park. It was rather chaotic this year, but what a fun tradition that I hope we continue in years to come.
In early September, the two older boys ran a race at a local festival and we visited Grandpa DeVries and Aunt Brenda at the farm. Katelyn and Devin were also in town that weekend and we hosted them for dinner.
A little later in September, we went to a local apple orchard as a family.
We spent an impromptu day in Chicago, "seeing [some of] the sights" with the boys for the first time, namely Millennium Park. We also went out for lunch and did a huge amount of walking. It was a very hot, but fun day.
We had family hikes and a winter picnic on a mild December day.

Visitors

In January, my family came down to celebrate a belated Christmas with us, and of course, to meet Arlo.

In February, my friend Maeve came to visit for a few hours one afternoon. She met Arlo, and we had sourdough cinnamon rolls and Low Tech lattes and it was so wonderful to catch up in person.

My family drove down to Indiana for Katelyn and Devin's wedding, and then stopped by our house for a short visit on their way home.

In August, my family visited and we toured some local botanical gardens, went for a hike at our local arboretum, visited our local farm store, ate sourdough cardamom bread, I opened some early birthday gifts from my parents.

My family visited again the week of Thanksgiving and we had a little early thanksgiving meal together. There was a fall hike, sharing meals together, lots of books read to the boys, help from my parents around the house, and sweet time spent together.

Finances, practical things, and home projects

2025 was our second full year in our home! In the spring, Nicholas designed and built a raised bed out of untreated cedar. Cooper was a big help with the process. Cooper also helped me plant the garden with tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, and zinnias.

We cut some trails through our tiny "woods" that would prove to be incredibly valuable for outdoor play for the boys. There are so many thorns and brambles, but the boys don't seem to mind (and many of the thorns are from wild blackberry bushes, so I can't complain about all of them).

Nicholas finished painting the entire basement, and we said "bye, forever" to that strange light pink color.

Nicholas designed and built a beautiful outdoor cedar work table for the boys. We have it in the pea gravel play area under our deck and it has played a role in countless hours of play.

Nicholas built a beautiful built in bench for our mudroom with hooks. We tucked baskets underneath in cubbies and the entire setup has completely streamlined the process of getting outside with the kids. We are so happy with it! Beauty and functionality.

And later in the year, we made a large payment towards the principal on our mortgage and that feels really good.

We still need to paint the walls in the mudroom/laundry room, but otherwise, it's done!

Big life events

My SIL, Katelyn got married to (our now BIL), Devin in May! That was this year's biggest event, overall.

And I turned thirty-five, and felt so celebrated that week by cards made by Cooper, a beautiful (and fun! and functional!) coffee setup from Nicholas, a heart-filling girls' night, and calls and texts from friends and family.

Living in light of the seasons

Towards the beginning of the year, I wrote a post about how "Bright" was my word of the year. There were a few rationale behind that, but we started the year very intentional about spending as much time outside as possible, and I kept track of that time as part of the 1000 hours outside challenge. Ultimately, I stopped keeping track of our hours once we got to 700 or 800. But the practice did encourage us to get outside as much as we could, in all sorts of weather. I'm thankful for the sunshine, for the rainy play, and for bundling up and teaching our kids to be hardy and flexible and resilient.

Spring: Robins made a nest on the tire of a neighbors car and we got a close look at their bright blue eggs, and then(!) their baby chicks.
Summer: I wrote about our first raised garden bed at this house (what we planted, how it was going, etc). On those long, sticky summer days, there were beach trips, hikes with my boys, berry picking in the yard, working in the garden, harvesting tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumbers nearly every day, watching for fireflies, and having friends over for the fourth of July.
Fall: We visited an apple orchard and a Harvest festival. We visited a pumpkin patch on a weekend trip to Indy to see Katelyn and Devin. There were fall playdates with crisp air and picnics with friends, leaf crafts, and pumpkin decor. My family visited for any early Thanksgiving, and then we hosted my father-in-law and his girlfriend, Kate at our house on Thanksgiving.
Winter: I wrote about my winter favorites, the bright spots in our coldest months. Finn learned how to make snow angels, and there were visits with friends who had hot coffee, a snack, or homemade cookies ready for us which makes me feel so loved. We had fires in the wood stove, plenty of cozy afternoon fika, and everyone in the family wore handknit sweaters at least a few times. I wrote about the wonder of advent, balanced with the need to slow things down in December (and choose my "yes" deliberately). We celebrated our first round of Christmas with my father-in-law, Bob, and Katelyn and Devin on the actual day. And then we celebrated a belated Christmas with my family in January (2026).

Motherhood

2025 marked my sixth full year of motherhood. It was a big one – with three growing little boys, a more robust homeschool agenda for kindergarten with Cooper, and trying to keep the house somewhat put together/the clothes washed and folded/the meals prepared. It's amazing how much time those things require! I held Arlo waiting for grocery pickup and wore him for countless contact naps. I cuddled with Cooper and Finn for read aloud books and for early mornings. We went on hikes and playdates with friends. And it was a very refining and humbling year, as a mother. There were many, many opportunities to apologize to my kids for my impatience, ask for forgiveness, and display my need for Christ.

I wrote about how "I find I enjoy my children so much in a setting where they can run and play unhindered, we can all move our bodies and breathe fresh air and admire God's creation together. Unlike a trip to Costco with all three boys, this is the type of outing that leaves us all feeling a little tired, but also refreshed."
Finn turned three! And what a joy he is. He is hilarious and spunky, loving, and bright. He absolutely adores Arlo and when I lay with Arlo next to him as Finn falls asleep, he still loves to have his hand rest on Arlo, much like he did with my pregnant belly before Arlo was born.
We visited friends and while the kids busied themselves outside, deep in play, we drank coffee and had the best conversation. (I can't link just one instance of this, because it happened a lot :)
I wrote about the holy repetition of motherhood, the requests for "Wipe my tears, mommy," and the repetitive mundane that accompanies parenting small children. And despite the difficult days, it so often brought me to tears this year, the preciousness of laying with my kids as they fall asleep, or being the person they turn to when they're hurt in one way or another. In that same post, wrote about the gift of a few local friends (also mamas) who are wildly encouraging to my heart in motherhood.
Cooper turned six! We celebrated his birthday with a beach day and that night Cooper had the final day of VBS. His big birthday gift from us was helping Nicholas with a work station/play table for the pea gravel play area under our deck. It turned out so well and has provided countless hours of play. This year was the first time we had a "friends" birthday party for Cooper, which was very fun. Cooper is so clever and observational. He notices everything and remembers details well, loves to help Nicholas with any and every project or help me in the kitchen. He is a sweetheart, he still loves to cuddle, and he is an avid encourager to me and his brothers. What a gift he is to our family!
Knowing that I am largely responsible for the schedule and rountine of our days and how we fill our family calendar, I wrote about being intentional about what I said "yes" to this advent season, trying to find the balance between embracing the wonder and also (trying to) skip the excess consumerism and chaos.
Arlo turned one! And I could hardly believe it. He is pure joy and I can't imagine our family without him.
And I just really love some of the photos of me and the boys in this post.

Love & marriage

I wrote my annual love letter to Nicholas for his birthday.

In August, we celebrated 12 years of marriage ! Arlo tagged along for a lunch date out and a very hot hike together at our local arboretum. I am always eager for the mostly uninterrupted conversation and the chance to linger over a meal together. That evening brought severe thunderstorms and power outages and more opportunities to problem solve and work together as a husband and wife (and as parents) :)

And this past year felt like an extra fun year in our marriage. We don't have a lot of free time and our conversations are nearly always interrupted, but I really enjoy being with my husband and I am so grateful I can say that after 12 years of marriage. I love you so much, Nicholas.

Heart lessons

"The mundane and the repetition is refining for me, in my role as a wife and a mom. And I can redirect the temptation of a carefree life into joy for the day and the people who are in front of me. The same tasks, done faithfully (albeit imperfectly), result in a softening of my heart, like the covers of a well-read paperback book, opened and closed and carried around, a little worn and lived-in."
"And on those sorts of days, when I finish the day, feeling (knowing) it could have gone better, but it didn't, I lay in bed and look for the blurry fireflies outside our window."
"I feel most content when I have good boundaries with my phone, when I am reading my Bible consistently, when I am feeding myself nourishing meals, when I go with the boys when they are playing outside, and when I sit down and do one task at a time (eat, chat with Nicholas at the end of the day, etc)." (from my birthday post)
"My ability to truly enjoy the season at hand, rather than rushing to the next, is heavily correlated to my contentment with my current life." (from my post about savoring the joys of fall)

Whew. If you've made it to the end of this novel, and you want to read previous "year-in-review" posts, here is a link to all my previous Year-in-Review posts since 2015.