Dear First name / friend,

 

At the end of every year I send an email outlining where we went, what happened, and how God moved in the 12 months prior. As I wrote this year’s, I couldn’t help but notice how full it was. In fact I got a little anxious just writing it out! Before 2025, we thought we were concluding our baby years. After six months of no positive tests, I decided to make 2025 a year of travel and took thirteen speaking engagements in the first seven months of the year. Thirteen!! Little did I know, we’d be pregnant during all of them. 

 

While I wouldn’t do the travel over (in terms of the demands it put on me and the family), I am deeply grateful for the memories and the people we met/saw during 2025. What a blessing it was to share God’s word with you this year! 

 

Below is a little glimpse of our year month-by-month, but before we get there, here are some numbers from Every Woman a Theologian’s year.

We started the year by finding out we were pregnant with Olivera! Less than a week into January, we discovered the news. Immediately afterward I left with Sarah, our shipping manager, to attend Evangelical Free’s Districts Youth Conference in Green Bay, WI. It was one of our favorite events of the year. We also said goodbye to both my grandparents, who passed away within a week of each other.

Josh and I took a quick trip to Puerto Rico with our ministry friends, Brant and Christine. I was extremely sick the entire time, but it was stunning, and we came back refreshed by their company. 

We started Lent with an Ash Wednesday service at our friends’ Anglican Church. I found out (extremely late!) that Every Home a Foundation hit the ECPA bestseller list during its launch in December 2024. I got to lead a retreat in Shipshewana, Indiana, for a group of ladies and learned so much teaching four sessions on how Christ is imaged in the Old Testament Tabernacle. 

April had a devastating start. Our tri-county area was hit by a “hundred-year” ice storm. We lost power for a week and were graciously hosted by friends during that time. We celebrated Easter, spoke at an event with one of our favorite partner churches, Sault Wesleyan, and then spent a week in Florida on vacation with friends. We ended better than we began!

We had barely returned from Florida when we turned around and drove to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, for the Teach Them Diligently Conference. This was a fun trip—the girls got to attend Dolly Parton’s Stampede and hit the Kentucky Horse Park on the way home. The next week I headed to Michigan’s homeschool convention, INCH, with two of my friends—but the event had to end early when we were hit with a tornado. It was a full month.

June held several more women’s events: a MOPS group in Gaylord, Michigan, followed by a retreat at Gull Lake Ministries. We hosted the gender reveal for Olivera and found out we were having a girl! The same week we attended my grandparents’ delayed funeral (delayed because the ground is frozen in January). This month was full of friend dates, baby bunnies, a baby shower for me and Vera, and a fun camping trip to the Upper Peninsula at the end.

After celebrating the Fourth of July, I headed down to Nashville, Tennessee, for my last trip of the year—a meeting with Lifeway about a new spiritual gifts Bible study project. We got home and settled in for a beautiful Northern Michigan summer. Our only travel was local, and we were ready for it!

August was filled with farmer’s markets, nature walks, beach days, an impromptu visit from Ann Voskamp and her daughter-in-law, and best of all—the Every Woman a Theologian Farm Day! We hosted a fantastic group of you right here at the farm on the hottest day of the year. We were roasting, but it was a blast! We did a Bible study workshop, and you got to shop in person, pet bunnies, and kiddos got face paint. Still grateful you came out!

In September we hosted our older kids’ joint birthday party (they are all born in fall) and started homeschool co-op. Only a week into the month, Olivera joined us in a whirlwind delivery. I started my two-month maternity leave and got to enjoy all the baby snuggles and rest after a long year and hard pregnancy.

The first week of October we launched our all-online Verity Conference simulcast. I got to watch the videos holding newborn Vera and interact with you in our online Q&A. It was a great break, but we are excited to come back together in person in 2026. My friend Pricelis came to visit—such a blessing and a joy. We ended the month with our annual All Saints’ Day party.

We finished out our homeschool year before Thanksgiving and spent this month going for walks, baking, studying the Middle Ages, and watching Vera grow. It was a peaceful transition into the holidays, much needed after such a busy year. I came back from maternity leave and transitioned back into the Every Woman a Theologian team. 

After starting the month with our Saint Nicholas Day celebration, we spent the rest with our usual traditions: Hallmark movies, baking cookies, attending Handel’s Messiah, doing a deep-dive unit study (this time on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), doing Narnia-themed crafts, and celebrating Advent together. As we move toward the new year, Josh and I take a whole day away to plan and pray over our vision for the next year: our “theme word” for the family, our goals, and the things we want to change and accomplish with God’s leading.

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