Halftime Pep Talk!

Today marks the official halfway point of 2025, so this is my mid-year check in post.  

It's been a pretty full and amazing year so far.... starting with a New Years trip to NYC with Triston where we saw the big Christmas tree, the 9-11 Memorial Museum, and Wicked on Broadway!  We celebrated Mom's 70th birthday with family and friends at Firebirds, with a special poster by Rach and an awesome Ludger's cake from the Wilsons.  I came to Kellyville for Judge Golden's Retirement Party, pushed myself to complete the PhD program application, supported Abby as she finalized her CHA Senior Thesis, enjoyed fam dinners and fun movies with Rach and the kids, and a Red Rock dinner with the Wilsons and Fultons! ❤

February was full of birthday fun and lots of great parties, as per usual!  I had fun celebrating the Jaceman, Tate Haywood, Wesson and Nash, Rach, and my own birthday!  It was the party I'd originally planned for my 40th, pre-OKC surprise party (dinner at Los Cabos + Marble Slab dessert with the Tulsa crew).  Other highlights were fun family dinners, marathon training runs, cheering for Kyndal in club volleyball tournaments, and helping Rach and Kyn with her class Valentines cards during Mom and Dad's Super Bowl party! ❤

Lots of good long training runs at Central Park through the weekends in March - they gave me time to pray over various job interviews and applications + accepting my place in CCU's PhD program!  There were more volleyball tournaments, family dinners, walks with Kristin, lunch with her and the boys, fish talk with Jace, my first Segway ride, seeing the Wilsons and Fosters in OKC, and seeing the Wilsons and Fultons in Tulsa! ❤

April brought a random minor foot injury at the Tulsa outlet mall, but in the end, I reached my long-held goal of finishing the 26.2 whilst being cheered on by my awesome family and friends!!  We celebrated Triston's 18th, Carter's 17th, and Parker Elizabeth's 4th birthdays!  I caught a 3rd Tulsa PAC play with Chet and Karli, and they hosted an Easter dinner where I grabbed some cap and gown pics with the friend group! And Mom and I came to the Myriad Gardens to take JSB photos for Triston! ❤

May was graduation month for me and Jace Michael.  Mom and I traveled to Colorado where I officially walked the stage for my Master's diploma, and Jace rocked a purple suit for his 6th Grade Graduation at CHA!  He also won a character award and did confetti poppers in the awards assembly, so he ended his elementary years with style! =)  I loved watching Parker Elizabeth's ballet recital, praying together in what turned out to be my last conversation with Kristen Harriss, taking graduation pics in the backyard with the fam, cheering for K's summer volleyball team, attending Abby's senior graduation, celebrating Mom and Rach on Mother's Day, a memorable outdoor CF brunch with Mom and Dad, a bloody-entertaining ER trip and going to a Thunder playoff game with Rach, and spending a fun day in Tulsa for Chet Lee's block party! ❤

And finally, June included lots of summer 5k walks, swimming with J&K, Beth's summer Bible study, Thunder finals game 5 with Dad and Rach and Kyn, celebrating Dad on Father's Day, seeing the Fulton fam in OKC and again in SS for Kate's early bday party, and lunch with the Wilson fam after attending Kristen's funeral service!  After several job interviews that didn't work for one reason or another, I interviewed and accepted a flexible part-time LPC-Candidate job with Integrated Therapy Solutions, interviewed a few supervisors and found one I really like, and started the process of moving forward with all of that!  And last but not least was getting an embryo adoption match email during my Colorado trip to start my doctoral program, then starting week one of my Leadership class with Dr. Burkhart - all FANTASTIC!! ❤

Happy 4th Birthday to Miss Katherine Claire today! ❤

There have been new challenges and struggles, but God is showing up and growing me up in new ways in my 41st year!!  You know when a player lobs the basketball from half-court as the buzzer goes off, and the shot goes in?  Well, in light of knowing it was the final day of the first half of 2025, yesterday felt kinda like that! lol

...I received an email from Dallas IVF approving the embryo match, so that's big news and further than I've ever gotten before!  Dr. Ku is out for vacation this week, so he will officially sign the papers on Monday (which is 7-7, just so we're all clear!).  Then I believe the next step will be a Zoom medical consult and signing legal contracts to adopt the embryos, which is super exciting!! ❤

I also finished setting up my HIPAA-compliant business email, simplified website, and Pyschology Today page, so YAY for getting those time-consuming-but-important things done yesterday!!  It was really kind of God to give me this break week from school right now - it's been pretty productive so far, and I'm hoping for a fun-filled and semi-restful 4th of July weekend ahead!  I will be creating a schedule this afternoon to make sure I prioritize my relationships, health goals, rest, school reading and homework, clients, supervision meetings, tracking hours, court schedule, and transcripts as needed moving forward!!  Rest assured I'll make time for blogging, as it's become a lifeline and important creative outlet for me. =)

Side note: I tried approximately one million domain names and most were already taken, but Rebuilding Peace was available!  My first name means peacemaker, and that all fits with what I hope to offer as a counselor -- more peace with God, peace with yourself and your decisions, and peace in all relationships!  So my new counseling email is lindsey@rebuildingpeace.com.  I thought for a bit yesterday about what images convey peace for me, and I freaking LOVE that I decided to use my pink tree-bridge pic for the website - it comes off best on a full computer screen - it feels very me, and I'm happy about that!!  I may add a counseling blog/vlog to that site in the future, but keeping it sweet and simple for now.  ❤

And now for the halftime pep talk - I'll keep it brief:

God is with you and for you, directing your steps.  He will not fail you or give up on you or let you go - don't fail Him or give up on Him or let go of your faith.  He knows your needs and desires, and He has a good plan to give you a future and a hope.  Submit to the Holy Spirit and walk in obedience - our humility and integrity MATTER!  God has the power to open the right doors and close the wrong ones, providing the wisdom and help we need day by day.  Do your best to stay close to Him and make the most of the talents and the opportunities He gives you!  For me, that includes growing in leadership skills and decisive action; learning as much as I can from my new supervisor; reworking my health goals; and moving toward motherhood with faith, hope, and love.

Let's finish strong in 2025!!

❤ ❤ ❤