Happy Valentine's Day 2026.

 Happy Valentine's Day from our three loves! :)

Winter sports 2026.

We are enjoying lots of fun sports moments this winter! Lucy and Ellory are playing winter rec basketball and Norah is old enough for AAU volleyball this year! We are entering the world of Saturday tournaments. So fun to watch them get older and get out there and participate in things! Norah, Lucy, and Ellory- we'll always be your biggest cheerleaders!

Go Ellory!

Go Norah!

They even get their names on the back- so cool! I went to a tiny high school and we never got our names on the back of things.

Go Lucy!

January happenings 2026.

Norah had her 5th grade choir concert at school and it was fun to watch! It was a mix of holiday songs and a few others too. Fun to watch all their practicing come to fruition!

We got to celebrate Kley's grandma Shirley's 90th birthday!

And also celebrated our nephew Will's 7th birthday with a bowling party! It's so special that they live so close to us now and we can see them more often.

It was a very fun night! And somehow I also shockingly bowled the best game of my life- I beat Kley and got four strikes in one game!

Happy birthday Shirley and Will- glad we could celebrate you!

Recent reads.

The Woman They Wanted: Shattering the Illusion of the Good Christian Wife by Shannon Harris- Wow, what to say about this book? This was a wild read. Once I heard about it, I knew I had to read it. It was written by Shannon Harris, ex wife of Joshua Harris, who used to be a pastor/in leadership with Sovereign Grace Ministries. Joshua was the author of the "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" book that was very popular in purity culture in the 90s- he has since recanted his beliefs in this book and it's no longer being published. They are no longer married and both claim to no longer believe in Jesus. This book was about her perspectives being married- in the church environment she was in and the views on women. It was an interesting read- very sad in parts and I don't agree with many things she said, but interesting to read because Kley and I attended a Sovereign Grace church in the Twin Cities during our first year of marriage. We had a great experience there- unfortunately there have been some very sad stories within the Sovereign Grace churches, but thankful to hear some are still doing well today. Very sad that both Joshua and Shannon no longer claim to believe in Jesus, but very interesting to hear about her experiences.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett- This story is about twin sisters- some about their growing up, but a lot about how they separated as adults and the different lives they both led and how they intertwined. It involved their daughters, race, how the past affects you, and the events that follow different choices you make. It was pretty good but not amazing.

The Worry Free Parent: Living In Confidence So Your Kids Can Too by Sissy Goff- This book was so good- I would highly recommend to anyone who even slightly struggles with worry. I cried several times reading this, it a good way of it spoke right to me. Sissy writes in such an honest, informative, encouraging way and I felt so seen. She is a Christian therapist in Nashville that has worked with many young girls. She talks about how worry can affect us and in turn affect our children, and about different ways we can work through our worry and trust in Him. 

Happy New Year 2026!

Happy New Year! We had a fun night away as a family. We stayed in a hotel in our closest bigger town- always fun to see how excited kids get about a hotel! We went to a tubing hill and all loved it!

We had brunch at IHOP.

Hotel pool and hot tub time.

The hotel had a bowling alley- so fun!

Olive Garden for supper. We have gone to OG before for New Years several times and we joke that the best way to ring in the new year is with breadsticks!

Happy New Year! On NYE, we had our annual party with friends and Kley made his 2025 trivia and we prayed/toasted with an early ball drop. Thank you, God, for your many blessings in 2025!

After Christmas in Des Moines.

The girls and I headed to Des Moines for a few days after Christmas! Kley stayed home to work and paint our basement storeroom. We had already done our big Christmas celebration with my family over Thanksgiving, so we just hung out and did some fun things because the girls were off of school. We had a great time!

I got to hold our new nephew Stuart again! So so sweet.

We went to a few stores (Dollar Tree for cards, Target for many things, and Scheel's for sports things for the girls), and went out for ice cream!

We looked at some fun Christmas lights!

We got to celebrate Brooks' 3rd birthday!

What a cutie!

The best cousin shot I could get.

We got to hang out with Aunt Kayla on Sunday before she worked on Monday (she's a PICU nurse). We also played the old Disney Scene It game and watched the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory for the first time for the girls! We got to meet my childhood friend, Lauren, and her family for lunch one day. It was a fun and relaxed few days!