Moments 12.2024

Things I’m Loving

Here are some things I’ve been loving lately. And a side note – to see a comprehensive list of my favorite things – check out my Amazon Storefront! I update it regularly.

• Silicone baking mats. I used to be a parchment paper person, but now I bake cookies exclusively on silicone baking mats. I love them.
• Trouble. The unexpected favorite present at Christmas this year was trouble. The kids played it for days. The sound of the dice popping in that little plastic bubble was so nostalgic!
• Sinus rinse. This sinus rinse is my best friend during cold season. I use it at least once a day to clean out my sinuses – a first defense against colds!
• Milk Frother. I use this every day for my coffee and love it!

Recipes I’m Making on Repeat

We celebrated a lot in the last few months. Some of our favorite recipes we made are pictured below:

• Cinnamon rolls
• Dinner Rolls
• Pumpkin pie and of course homemade pie crust (all butter).
• Peanut Butter Blossoms (Peanut Butter Cup Cookies)

Life Lately

This fall and winter were so full of important milestones that I couldn’t keep up with writing these posts. So I’m going to give you some highlights!

New Church Building

If you’re new here, my husband is a pastor. We moved from Chicago to Salt Lake City and planted a church in our living room in 2013. Well, 11 years later we accomplished a huge goal and converted a horse barn into a church!

After a 4 year journey mixed with trial and triumph, we moved into our new church building. The photo on the left is our family (with only 4 kids) at the first service in the building we met in for 7 years. The photo on the right are my 3 oldest kids helping Ritch move out of that same building!

This is the new building from the outside. It took us 3 years to find and secure the property and another 1.5 to get permits and renovate. We feel so blessed to have this place to meet, and it has been such a gift.

Here’s our family on the first Sunday in the new space. It was an incredible first day, and many of our friends from all over the valley came to support our church and family. It was a wonderful reminder that the Lord is with us and everything we’ve been through the past 11 years was preparing us for this new and hopeful season of ministry.

There is so much more I could share about this, and imagine I will in months to come!

Another Year Older

I entered my last year in my 30s and it doesn’t feel real. Wasn’t I 18 yesterday? (Answer: nope haha).

I felt so loved by my family. We went on a beautiful hike and they made me a delicious dinner featuring my favorite salad: burrata salad. Bethany decorated the kitchen too. My husband got me a beautiful gift and it was overall a perfect day!

Skiing

This is the first year all 8 of us have Ikon passes. We got the two littles up before Thanksgiving in a lesson and they did great. Look at these squishy little skiers!

Then we spent 3 days up in Park City to get the kids in lessons and get all us back on the mountain. The first day, we put all 6 kids in ski school so Ritch and I got to ski together! It was so nice.

The second day, we only put the two littles in ski school, and by the end of the day Keilah was skiing greens with the family! It’s going to be a great year!

We enjoyed our family getaway so much. It was a much needed break from our routine and felt so nice to be outside and enjoy the mountains.

Christmas

We had a lovely Christmas as a family. We went to a friends house in the afternoon, then to our first Christmas Eve service in the new building. Afterwards, we got Chinese takeout (has been our tradition for 10 years) and watched home alone!

We keep Christmas simple in our house. The kids do a secret Santa with each other – which is always the best part because they get so excited to give their gifts to the sibling they shopped for.

Then, we gift each kid one present and fill their stockings with necessities. It really makes the day so nice and keeps the focus more on family time and enjoying each other than opening presents.

Snapshots

Thanksgiving is actually my favorite holiday. As always, we ran a 5K on Thanksgiving morning and it was our best one yet. Not ONE tear was shed in the running of 3 miles which is a huge win! 😉

Ritch and I attended a fundraiser for the SLC pregnancy resource center. Basically everyone we know in the valley was there. It was one of my favorite nights of the entire year. Plus, we got to get all dressed up which is always fun!

Just my little pumpkins – who aren’t so little anymore.

For my birthday I told Ritch all I wanted to do was go on a double date with our friends! We went to my favorite UT restaurant (Communal) and it was such a nice night.

We had a great season of cross country, and Bethany learned that she loves volleyball. After a rec league season, we signed her up for a club team and we hope she loves it!

Halloween was amazing this year. We had almost 100 people over and the kids ran all around the neighborhood looking so stinking cute. It’s a holiday I don’t necessarily love – so we choose to “flood it with fellowship” and because of that – it has become a day we all look forward to so much!

Our family’s costumes – cowboy, cowgirl, hippie, Aragorn, police officer, grumpy granny, dinosaur and angel!

Some of our dear friends from our church in Illinois came out to visit for a weekend. It was so nice spending time with people we’ve known and loved for so long.

A snap of Keilah I had to share.

Z has learned all his letters and is officially on his way to learning to read. He’s just the cutest!

We ended the year at our favorite place – the beach!

Goodbye 2024!

Overall, 2024 was a growing year for me in so many ways. Maybe it’s because of the things our family has been through, or maybe it’s because I’m almost 40, but healing was my focus in 2024.

I can’t say I’ve arrived, but who can right? But I have learned so many things I will carry with me forever…

• Forgiveness doesn’t mean restored relationship.
• My children are my favorite people.
• I’m not for everyone – and that’s ok.
• Discernment is a gift – there’s a difference between a Peter and a Judas.
• Healing often means letting go. If a snake bites you, let it slither away. Focus on healing from it’s poison, not trying to understand why it bit you.

If you’ve made it this far, leave a comment and let me know how your 2024 was! I love hearing from you!