Today we close a long chapter…365 pages in the making. A couple
of days ago I looked back through every single scrapbook page for our 2023 (because
yes, I am caught up in our chronological book) and what I concluded was this: I’m
so grateful for this year. And today, in typical end-of-year fashion, I want
to reflect on the highlights of this year.
Has every day been great or perfect? Not at all. There have been
hard days and seasons woven throughout the year. There have been tears and times
of struggle. But I want to close the year by offering thanks for the year as a
whole and how it grew and shaped us.
In January – We raced against the clock to get our lake house renovations
completed, devoting our evenings and weekends to that project and the start of
packing our home. We made sure to squeeze in some dinner/coffee date nights each
week – mostly so we could see each other! I took a week of intense online
classes for work, and Lexi was so good while I sat for hours each day on Zoom calls.
And, somehow in there, we managed to host our friends for an overnight visit.
You know they’re good friends when they’re willing to come and stay when your
house is torn apart for a move!
In February – We kicked the packing into high gear and worked endlessly to do
the final (necessary) touches on the lake house. We celebrated Ryan’s Dad’s 69th
birthday, Celebrated Valentine’s Day, hosted a Super Bowl party, and attended a
Bible quizzing meet for our church kiddos – and I have no idea how we managed
to do any of the things on that list with all the packing. I took another week
of intense online classes, and that’s when Lexi reached her saturation point
with such things. Ryan left his job at Love INC, we moved into our new house,
unpacked it, patched the newly-leaking roof, and Ryan began his new job all
within a week’s time. For the shortest month in the year, we sure did pack a
lot into it!
In March – We kept settling into our new home, and Ryan kept settling into
his new job. (He powered through his first week while suffering a kidney stone,
so I think that’s pretty impressive.) We went out for some low-key date nights
and enjoyed being able to be together again every evening and weekend, rather
than dividing and conquering. My sister and brother-in-law came for a visit and
became our first overnight guests in our new home, though March in Indiana isn’t
ideal for savoring lake life. We rounded out the month with a repaired roof,
celebrating our godson’s birthday, and I spoke at a women’s retreat on a
blustery Indiana Saturday!
In April – We observed Holy Week with a Seder meal, Love Feast at our
church, Good Friday services, and Easter services. All of them were so
meaningful and I was grateful our church puts so much emphasis on this week! We
had friends over for meals and snacks, including our small group. I broke my
wedding ring (GASP!) – which we quickly repaired. And we concluded the month by
celebrating Ryan’s birthday and closing on our previous home.
In May – We started the month by keeping our godson for a few days while
his mama gave birth to her new baby. Braeya turned seventeen, which
seems like quite a milestone for a pet! We put out our first landscaping at our
new home, and it made my heart so happy! I left my job in the world of grants
and reentered the world of ministry – all within a couple of days. We
celebrated my birthday and Mother’s Day. Ryan took up paddleboarding and
realized he loved it. I planted my first full garden (thanks to the guidance of
my friend, Julie) and we ended the month hosting a garage sale!
In June – We celebrated the high school graduation of one of my college
roommate’s daughters. (It’s so weird to me that people my age have kids
graduating, getting married, and having babies.) We kept working on our house,
mostly on the outside, putting our own stamp on it. We loved the warm weather
and the chance to watch sunsets from our patio each night. The big event of the
month was participating in the Amazing Race with our friends and coming in
second! We hosted my parents for a belated Father’s Day and hosted our small
group for a cookout!
In July – We kicked off the month by helping some friends move and
enjoying a long weekend at home for the 4th of July! The garden
started thriving, and it was both fun and rewarding to see the growth! Our
godson came to spend another weekend with us and we took him to our nephew’s birthday
party. We enjoyed our birthday getaway to the Traverse City, Michigan area,
where we went to a fish boil, saw some lighthouses, did some dune hiking, and got
some really good, full nights of sleep. We went to a local parade, took Lexi to
the vet for her first sickness, and enjoyed a fun date night at the flower patch!
We survived being apart for three days while I had to travel for work. (We
still do not relish being apart.) We ended this super busy month by
participating in a parade and Ryan came in second in the brat-eating contest!
In August – I took a friend to girls’ night out at the flower patch,
which was so fun! We helped with our church’s back to school bash, we had some
visitors to the lake, and our refrigerator died! Ryan helped some of our
friends put a new roof on their house. This was also the month we took up
milling our own wheat and baking bread! Our last big event of the month was the
women’s conference in our county, where I served as the speaker.
In September – We celebrated Ryan’s dad’s retirement, closed our garden for
the year, and kept experimenting with breadmaking. We hosted our small group
for one more outdoor night, went on some fun dates, and had Ryan’s aunt and
uncle over for dinner to thank them for all the help they gave working on our house
during renovations. We participated in Faith in Action Sunday with our church
and ended the month with a day trip to our friend Jamie’s wedding! It was a beautiful
and challenging ceremony that made a lasting impact on us.
In October – We celebrated our engagementversary and had fun at our church’s
night at the corn maze. Our backyard was destroyed by raccoons, which was fun
(eyeroll), and we celebrated a year of owning our lake house. I filled in at
our church for two Sundays and enjoyed the privilege of sharing with our
congregation. I served as a presenter for a training day at work, and we had
our annual fall photos taken, which was really fun! We explored a local nature
preserve on one of the last warm weekends. We’ll be back to see more of that!
In November – We started the month by having our godson come to stay for a
weekend, and we took him to the Children’s Museum, which was really fun! Ryan
sang at the funeral of one of the residents where he worked, and I spoke at a
women’s gathering at a local church. We hosted our small group for breakfast-at-dinner,
Ryan traveled for his grandma’s 96th birthday party, AND he started
teaching boot camp classes at the gym. (This also means we both joined the gym!)
We decorated the house for Christmas, Lexi turned two, and we celebrated
Thanksgiving with my entire family gathered under one roof. We had an
unexpected night apart when I had to travel to record some training videos, and
then we traveled together to St. Louis for our 11th
anniversary trip!
In December – We started the month in St. Louis, enjoying some much-needed
rest and sight seeing (and rain), and then we returned to reality. We squeezed
in as much fun Christmassing as we could, overhauled our home office, and went
to see our friends Julie and Amos in A Christmas Story Musical. I shared
a message at a church back toward Kokomo, we had Christmas with our godson and
his mama, and then we had all the other Christmas celebrations, too! We’ve put
the house back in order, and we are ready to welcome 2024.
Thank YOU for
being part of our year as well. Thank you for reading here in this space and
for loving us with your messages and presence in our lives! Grateful for you
and looking forward to sharing more in the year to come!
Happy new year!
Ryan and Bekah
Braeya and Lexi Grae
