A Partridge in a Pear Tree

1.  4th Row Seats for Wicked on Broadway!

2.  Red Rock with the Wilsons and Fultons!

3.  Final Meeting with Abby for her Senior Thesis!

4.  Tman and I by the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree!

5.  Mom and I on her Birthday - Ludger's cake from the Wilsons!

6.  Judge Golden's Retirement Party!

7.  Jace and Kyndal dressed for Camo Day in Spirit Week! lol

8.  Flix movie day (Mufasa) with the Parrishes!

9.  Group pic for Mom's 70th Birthday Party!

Today marks 12 days until Christmas.  Instead of cramming it all into one long post, this will begin the 12 Days of Recaps with a few blog quotes and my top nine photos from each month of 2025! ❤

JANUARY:

"I don't know all that God has in store, and I'm not taking this as any sort of promise from Him that I'll become a mom.  But I AM taking seriously the responsibility to heal and be free from labels that are not aligned with God's viewpoint and design for me."

~Epiphany on Epiphany, 1-6-2025

"I prayed over our trip and intentionally looked for good and kind people, and I found SO MANY OF THEM.  Sincerely, this was the least aggressive NYC has ever felt to me, so my comfort level there has gone up a lot!"

~NYC 2025, 1-7-25

"Life always seems to slow down a bit in January - enough to hear the whispers over the whirlwind!  Having some extra time to reflect, pray, and process lately has helped me realize I don’t have God-given peace about moving for this [school counseling] job, as much as I wish I did...

Deep breaths.

We can do hard things.

No one is doing life perfectly.

We are all figuring things out as we go!"

~Marathon Monday #5, 1-10-25

"I am reminding myself (and you) to choose life in big and small ways, to draw near to God, to engage and be present with others, to set and work toward goals that mean something to you, to dwell on the ways you belong and how you can add value to the lives around you (rather than dwelling on how you don't fit in or don't really matter to others).  The enemy is always speaking, but so is Jesus, and we get to choose which voice we listen to and get to know and prioritize."

~Choosing Belonging, 1-14-25

"Happy 70th Birthday to my wonderful Mom today!! ❤  I'm excited to celebrate her with the fam and the Wilsons later tonight!  Just checked my phone, and Mom and I have had 13 phone calls in the past 3 days, and that's probably fairly average for us..."

~God's Faithfulness, 1-18-25 

"It's been absurd and ridiculous and expensive and frustrating... The long-awaited board approval will allow me to pay a fee and take the OLERE test (the Oklahoma jurisprudence exam about state laws regarding counseling)... passing that allows me to await the next board approval for being an LPCC... then I can start my 3000 supervised hours... then pay another fee, I'm sure... THEN become a freaking LPC.  I very sincerely hope and believe it will be worth all the hassle."
~Fingerprints, 1-22-25

"I was his court reporter from January 2007 to April of 2022.  In spite of some rough jury trials, boring pleas, crazy bailiffs, and often seeking work that would give me a greater sense of purpose, that job was easily my favorite and the cushiest and longest-running CR job I have had (and it will remain so, as my court reporting career will likely end for good this year).  Judge Golden was always kind to me, and I feel very grateful for my time working with him!!"
~The Golden Years, 1-26-25

❤ ❤ ❤