Paige Evelyn

Yesterday, I got to meet Miss Paige Evelyn Wilson,
my new honorary niece and Mini-BFF! ❤ 

Chet sent this pic from her BIRTHday ❤

Parker's first time meeting and holding her - ADORABLE!!

She was excited to hold her again when I was there on day 2!  These sibling pics make me happy!!

Three generations. ❤

I wore pink for the occasion!

The Wonderful Wilson Fam, party of five (plus one in Heaven)! ❤

Looking forward to the shower next month (I'm helping Debbie Robinson host that) - this is our FB event pic when the name was still TBD.  They decided on Paige soon after she was born, then the middle name was officially chosen on 3-14.

She was delivered via C-section on Friday the 13th - look at her all swaddled and cozy in her floral blanket!  ...Chettles told me they had a board for me to write on, so I was practicing for a much larger chalkboard, then laughed when I saw this.  No space for calligraphy spins or fun hand lettering, but still very cute!! ❤

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Day 364

Hey friends, I hope you're having a lovely penultimate day of 2025!

Here's a random throwback pic of Rach and I icing sugar cookies 20 freaking years ago. =)

My 2025 Recap from ChatGPT was interesting... them throwing in a silver sequin gown as if that's been a big part of my daily life (bc of the popular Christmas portrait prompt) definitely made me laugh!

It's okay for you not to know.  It's not fun, but it's okay.

Christmas Eve dinner with the fam, 2021 and 2025!  I like that if the Saltgrass table were round, we'd be in the exact same spots both years. =)

This feels true and keeps me going when I feel ready to just burn it all down. lol

In other news, I had my first day at the new job yesterday!  I spent the morning in an HR Onboarding training for new hires, which meant getting our computers and ID badges and learning about the different departments in the OCC.  It was me, two Administrative Law Judges, and 3 Dept of Transportation guys.  Then Amy (the Court Admin who is also a CR) and Andrea (my manager and another CR) took me out to lunch at Ted's Tacos and Cantina, a cute mini-version of Ted's Cafe Escondido -- fun!  And we spent the afternoon getting to know each other and getting me set up with access for Zoom.gov, Teams, Outlook, Laserfiche, Workday, etc.  Other than carrying my heavy machine around all day for no real reason, it was a really great first day!  The Apple sticker over my Dell laptop from the OCC made me laugh. lol

Today = day one of working from home... yes, please!  They had assigned me a random transcript to slowly practice on, then the attorneys ended up calling and wanting it expedited today, so that was a fun first-day challenge! lol  I assumed I wouldn't be filing any transcripts for them until 2026, but it makes me happy that I made $364 in this final transcript on the 364th day of the year.  My bedroom mirror needs to be dusted ASAP, but yay for getting to be in comfy clothes all day!

Four computer monitors, two keyboards and mouses, my steno machine setup for realtime writing, headphones and a foot pedal for transcription, and all the cords organized and working properly - let's freaking go! lol

So the new job is off to a great start - I genuinely like my coworkers and think it's cool that I'll be managed by CRs who understand this work - I am loving my home office setup and believe this flexibility will be awesome - I did well and felt appreciated and made good money today - everyone in my family is generally doing well, and we had a pretty fantastic Christmas - I have a 4.0 GPA in my doctoral courses thus far and successfully co-authored a chapter of a textbook during my busiest school semester in life to date - Annie and Eddie are planning more fun shows together in 2026 - I've subscribed to Southern Living magazine for lots of fun episodes with Melanie and Sophie ahead - I'm looking forward to a Disney trip with the Wilson fam and a Dallas trip to see Mel Robbins live and an Alaska cruise with Beth Moore and her team - people who care about me have been kind - I believe my embryo adoption decision was the right one - I get to see my Tulsa friends in a couple days for Chet's Polar Bear Plunge event - and I am genuinely grateful for all of the above!!

And yet... I'm *also* feeling a vague sadness, some low-level anger, and what I'm going to call a fear-of-future-loneliness that's been hard to shake.  I watched two new-to-me movies this week that I thought would be light and cheery, but they both held some heavy scenes of grief and loss.  I'm feeling unsure about how to move forward and very tempted to believe none of it matters, (which I know to be false and dangerous ground).  I listened to John Eldredge's year-end podcast tonight advising us to pray over the past year and the year ahead, taking stock of all God has done for us and in us and through us, confessing specific sin that comes to mind, inviting Jesus into the memories that feel frozen in time, grieving our losses, praying for wisdom and counsel for the year ahead, and intentionally consecrating our hopes and all that lies ahead in 2026 to God - re-consecrating our mind, body, soul, and spirit to be submitted to His will and purpose.  So I'm planning to take that very seriously and take some quiet time to pray through all of the above tomorrow on the final day of 2025.

Happy New Year's Eve Eve, friends and fam!  I love you and believe in you, and I sincerely hope that you finish well in 2025 and have a richly beautiful, God-honoring 2026 ahead!!

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"Chet Pack" Relay Team!

This morning was the 20th Annual Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa!!

Then tonight was the 14th annual Friendsgiving dinner at the Wilsons! =)

This = our pre-race team pic (minus Evan) at Whataburger last night - YAY, relay team!

Packet pickup at the Civic Center!

Yay, new Swiftie hat... fun!!  Boo, ingrown toenail... ouch - Advil was my friend! lol

Moss fam at dinner last night! =)

Meeting these guys at the Start Line around 7:30 this morning!

Chet's Fleet Feet Coach and pacer, Meeyoun!

Their training team!

100 pounds of confetti at the Start Line!  Definitely found some that stayed with me when I got back to my hotel. lol

Pic with the blue whale mascot! lol

Chettles and JEM, Relay leg #2!  I walked in the wrong direction at least a mile trying to find Woodward Park, so I missed the exchange point with Evan, but I was so happy to catch them here!!

Next was meeting the Shoemaker fam near the next relay exchange zone!  The road closures made everything tricky, but the race day energy is pretty fun to me, and I was happy to be there for all of this!

Going strong at Mile 10!

Three of the best men I know... Mark Anthony, Jeffrey Edward, and Chet Lee!

JEM and I got a pic by the Route 66 bridge while enjoying the live saxophone music! =)

The wonderful Wilsons and Weatherfords!!  Pic by Rachel Elizabeth bc I was headed to my own Relay spot at this point!

Cutest little friends!

Made it to my spot near Tulsa University... I was about 45 minutes early, and it was super cold outside!  I had fun chatting with other relayers and watching the runners and the water stop girls, though!

Daniel and Chettles, just past Mile Marker 21!

We ran and smiled for the official race photographer right as my portion got started, then Chet saw this sign and quickly volunteered himself for this photo op. LOL

Chet's fam there to cheer us on between Mile 22 and 23 (same mile where they met me in OKC).  Love all the signs!

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Chet dealing with the pebble in his shoe; me being happy to sit down. lol

Chettles "leaning in" and embracing the delightful hills of Tulsa! lol

This one makes me happy! ❤

We (especially Chettles) were thrilled to see this sign marking the last .2 miles of the journey!!

We did it - huzzah - it feels very in character that I'm in a hoodie and pants while Chet's in shorts and a t-shirt!!

Celebration pic with the Shoemakers, Comers, Wilsons, and Weatherfords!!

Ran back to my hotel room to shower and change, DoorDashed H-Tea-O to the Wilson home, and got there at 5pm for a delicious Italian Friendsgiving feast!

Loved the conversations tonight -- love this group and super thankful for them!!

Today was really fun for me from start to finish!!  Chet so appreciated the relay team support, and I think all of us really enjoyed being a part of it.  I was thrilled to have the final leg with more photos and less running.  But seriously, round of applause for Chettles, who showed remarkable grit in finishing the marathon after being sick all week... then hosting everyone (27 people this year) for dinner a few hours later!

I wish him a well-deserved rest and recovery day tomorrow and a peaceful Thanksgiving week ahead!!  

(And better health pre-Disney Marathon on 1-11!)

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With Hope & Expectancy

Day 23:  What is one quote or verse that has deeply shaped how you live or think?

Love these verses (written here on the floor of my tornado shelter).

Every phrase is powerful.  What stands out right now is waiting with hope and expectancy.  We don't always know what is best for us, but God does, and He enjoys giving good things to His children! ❤

In other news, I saw Elf the musical at the OKC Civic Center last night - a last-minute decision when I realized there were tickets available for $35... fun!

See you all tomorrow!

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