Happy New Year!
Happy Valentine’s Day?
Okay, this is probably the latest
recap of a year ever, but let’s ignore that, shall we? The truth is this has been
sitting in my drafts since New Year’s Day and I’ve just been too lazy to finish
it. But I’m determined to post it, even though it’s February now. Shhh. Just
don’t look at the date.
We’re also gonna skip writing a good
intro and just go straight into the recap. Here we go. XD
~~~~~~
JANUARY
I had a little photoshoot in the
snow with some wintery books, got some really nice pictures, and then only
posted like two of them on Instagram. (I always do this.) Oh, and I built a
snowman.
MARCH
I turned 27 and Sunrise on the
Reaping came out. Which was the WORST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER, thanks,
Suzanne Collins. *faint strains of “happy birthday, Haymitch!” go echoing
through my mind and I drift off into the heartbreaking abyss* Anyway, this was
the month that this book and the entire Hunger Games series officially took
over my life and shattered my heart over and over and over.
~~~~~~
APRIL
I went to a gospel concert featuring
three great artists—Gold City, Michael Booth, and the Erwins (who are one of my
favorite groups and it was wonderful to FINALLY see them in concert).
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| The Erwins |
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| Michael Booth |
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| Gold City |
Michael Booth is part of my
favorite gospel group, the Booth Brothers, but he was appearing as a soloist here.
I’ve seen the Booth Brothers live many times, but even though I have (and love)
all his solo albums, it was really special to finally see him perform solo. I
listened to his first solo album over and over when I was fifteen, during one
of the most pivotal times of my life when I was coming out of some pretty tough
darkness. I had Michael sign that album and was able to briefly tell him about
why it’s so special to me, and he was so, so kind, caring, and appreciative. Each
time I’ve had the opportunity to talk to him has been so lovely, and I really
wish I would have gotten a picture this time in particular because it was one
of my very favorite moments of the year.
Later that month a small tornado
hit my town (roughly a mile away from where I was currently at work :P), did
some damage to the elementary school, tore the roof off my friend’s family’s shop,
and brought with it some INSANE flash flooding. Oh, and this was the second tornado we had that
month (the first one being EF-3). Fun times. Welcome to spring in Missouri.
~~~~~~~
MAY
Long story short, while my car was
parked at work, a rock flew from a weedwhacker and hit my passenger window.
Which was mostly amusing to me, especially when I watched the security camera
footage of the glass suddenly cracking all over and then just giving up and
shattering a couple minutes later. XD (What’s even funnier is that this is the
second time that car has been damaged in that same parking lot.)
~~~~~~~
JULY
We got a new addition to our
family—a yellow Lab puppy we named Mack. After this guy.
Since our chocolate Lab passed away
last year, my dog had been a bit lonely, so (among other reasons) we wanted to
get him another companion. And these guys are the best of friends.
Realm Makers happened! It was a
quieter year for me conference-wise, but I still had a great time, learned a
lot, cosplayed as Lenore Dove from Sunrise on the Reaping, visited a new
city, and marked off my 25th-visited state. A great time all around. (full recap of that HERE!)
~~~~~~~
AUGUST
More gospel concerts! This time it
was a multiple-day event that brought in a bunch of different groups—some I’d
seen before, plus a few new ones. It was wonderful.
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| Greater Vision |
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| The Whisnants |
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| Jim and Melissa Brady |
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| Mark Trammell Quartet |
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| The Hoppers |
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| Gold City |
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| Tribute Quartet |
~~~~~~~
OCTOBER
I saw the Jonas Brothers for the
first time in concert on their Jonas 20 tour!
I always liked the Jonas Brothers
growing up, of course (Camp Rock, DUH, plus their TV show on Disney Channel was
hysterical), but I never really ventured into their music past what I knew from
Disney Channel. But since I’m an adult now with money and a brother who will
drive me places (XD), I thought it would be fun to finally see them live, and I
was RIGHT. They were awesome, and it was so fun and nostalgic to hear some of
their songs from my childhood. It was also fun to see Franklin the bonus Jonas perform
as one of their openers (the other opener was a bad experience and we don’t
talk about them), and Natasha Bedingfield appear as their special guest for the
night. I’ve heard a total of two Natasha Bedingfield songs in my life (one of
them was from Tinker Bell XD), but hearing her perform Unwritten live was another
nostalgic highlight.
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| Frankin Jonas! |
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| Natasha Bedingfield! |
~~~~~~~
NOVEMBER
The Northern Lights appeared over
Missouri again, and man, was it breathtaking. I was able to see them last
October, I believe, and never in my life did I think I would have the
opportunity to see them not once but TWICE from my own front yard. My parents
thought I was crazy standing outside in the dark and cold, but they were so
captivating and just overtook me with awe for God and His creation.
I painted a Christmas picture on
the window at my job again—this is the fourth or fifth year running, and I
always enjoy doing it.
The first Sunrise on the Reaping
teaser trailer came out, and, um, well, I’ll just drop some screenshots of
the texts I sent my sister after watching it to give you a hint at how I felt
about that.
I met John Schneider! This was so incredibly unexpected because I found out about it days before, and he was appearing at a little shop in a tiny town very, very near where I live. But he’s always been a favorite in our house, and growing up I saw him in more shows and movies than just about any other actor, it was wonderful to finally get to meet him. (incidentally, Felicity: An American Girl Adventure just happened to fall in me and my sisters’ yearly American Girl movie rotation the night before, so we prepared accordingly. XD)
(that's my sister on the left.)
I started a new position on the
Havok volunteer team! For the past year or so, I’d been a proofreader, which I
enjoyed for its ease and flexibility. But I wanted to stretch myself and try
something new should the opportunity arise. And, well, it did, and now I’m one
of the daily theme editors!
When approached with the prospect,
I ALMOST said no, almost stayed settled back in my comfy little proofreading
position. But I told myself, no, silly, this is the perfect opportunity to go
beyond your comfort zone, try something new, grow yourself and your skills. And
honestly, it’s been wonderful so far. I’m very excited to be learning more and
improving my skills and getting to know new people, and I can’t wait to see
where it takes me in the future.
~~~~~~~
DECEMBER
I saw For King + Country live
again, this time on their A Drummer Boy Christmas tour! A little backstory:
several years ago, back before I was super into them, I almost got to see them
on their Christmas tour, but it didn’t work out. Last year I was finally able
to see them on their Unsung Hero tour, which was absolutely amazing and got me 100%
hooked on their music, but I still hoped to see a Christmas show sometime. Then
they announced they weren’t going to be touring regularly in 2025, which bummed
me out because I’d JUST gotten to see them for the first time and now I didn’t
know when I’d next get the chance.
So, I was so very pleasantly
surprised and excited when they announced a limited Christmas tour and St.
Louis was on the list of cities. It was the most beautiful show, possibly even
better than the first one, and I just love them so much. (another shoutout to
my brother who drives me places. XD) It was super cool to be among the first to hear their newest song live. Also, I got to hear Fix My Eyes live again,
which is one of my all-time favorite songs and inspired my phrase for 2025
(more on that later). Another one of the best moments of the year.
I went to a Jubilee Christmas
concert in Branson, Missouri—more gospel music! This isn’t something that comes
up here on the blog much, but Southern gospel music has had a huge impact on my
life, and it started back in 2013 when I went to my first Jubilee concerts
(featuring Greater Vision, the Booth Brothers, and Legacy Five). The Christmas
one I went to with my family on December 15th, 2013, was truly one
of the best days of my life, and had an impact on me like not many things have.
It was the real start of my personal journey with God (maybe I’ll talk more
about that sometime), and one of the fondest memories I’ve ever made. I was
able to attend one more Jubilee Christmas a few years later in 2016, which was
also wonderful; but since then, the Jubilee thing has sort of faded, first with
one group unable to participate anymore, until eventually they never toured
together at all, and just thinking about it made me sad, because it was such a
high point in my life.
Anyway, I found out that they were
reuniting for ONE show in Branson, and was basically willing to move heaven and
earth to find a way to go, even though it was several hours away. It wasn’t
quite the same as Jubilees past—Michael Booth wasn’t there, which was a huge
disappointment for me, and it was just a different type of concert because it was
a small part of a bigger event—but, oh, I’m so glad I went. What a beautiful
time to be able to experience a Jubilee Christmas again in any capacity. Those
singers and those Christmas songs will always be so incredibly special to me.
Also, the venue was breathtaking,
and now I want to go back to Branson and explore.
Now for some other recaps from the
year!
READING
This was probably the best reading year I’ve had in a while—in quality AND quantity. I still didn’t read as much as I would have liked, but compared to the pathetic number of books I’ve read the past year or two (purely laziness, mind you), I’m quite happy with how it turned out, and I reached my Reading Challenge goal for the first time in a few years!
Some notable reading moments:
Darkend by Crystal D. Grant—book 3 in the
Gateway Trilogy by Crystal D. Grant (who also happens to be my sister). Guys,
I’m not exaggerating or being partial when I say that this book was by far my
favorite in the series—unheard of for me, because it takes a LOT to impress me
on the final book in a series!! But, well, I’m not gonna try to go into
unspoilerish detail. Just go read the whole series, mmkay? Mmkay.
The Hunger Games—after I read Sunrise on the
Reaping, I just had to reread the original Hunger Games trilogy,
thus beginning a Hunger Games/dystopian-obsessed era that I didn’t quite see
coming. (I’ve loved THG since I watched/read them for the first time a few
years ago, but I never loved them THIS much until SOTR. It changed how I saw
Haymitch and basically the whole story and now I feel like I’ve gained
Swiftie-level conspiracy theorizing skills.) Then I finally read The Ballad
of Songbirds and Snakes, which I’d been avoiding for a while but ended up
enjoying (as much as one can enjoy over 500 pages of nothing but Coriolanus
Snow -_-)… and then I read Sunrise on the Reaping again. Whoops.
Divergent—mind you, I said notable reading
MOMENTS, not favorites! Because, wow, I read these for the first time after THG
set off a dystopian mood and, haha, I hated them! :D I’m usually not a harsh
critic, and especially knowing that the sequels weren’t especially favored by
its fans, I wasn’t expecting to super love it. But I also wasn’t expecting to
come out of it having discovered possibly my least favorite series,
protagonist, romantic relationship, and basically EVERYTHING ELSE ABOUT THE
BOOK of all time. Like… it was bad, guys. I don’t often straight-up say
something was bad, but it was so bad. And now I have to stop talking about it
because if I don’t I’ll ramble on and on and on about how atrocious 99% of this
series was to me and I’ve already exhausted myself doing that to anybody who
will listen.
If you love this series, well, good
for you. I could never. XD (And if you hate it… hit me up so we can rant
together. Lol. Kidding. But not really.)
Echo Nova by Clint Hall—woohoo, one of my
most unexpected favorites of the year!! This was a thrilling time travel story
that grabbed me from the very beginning and didn’t let go until it was the end
and I was going “NO DON’T BE OVER YET”. One of my favorite Enclave books this
year, possibly ever!
The City Between—okay, I first read about these on Christine’s blog, and this year I read the first three books and LOVED them. They are nooot
my chosen genre at all, and honestly they confuse me and I pretty highly
dislike the three psychos most of the time and there’s some weird stuff about
them that I’m not sure about, but they’re so… fun?? And addicting? And I love
the vines? And I’m very much looking forward to finishing the series this year,
because YES. (as of posting this, I’ve currently just started book 4 and am
very much enjoying being back with these guys again.)
Harry Potter—I started reading Harry Potter
for the first time on September 1st, and finished up in January! I thoroughly
enjoyed them—more than I thought I would, honestly. I enjoyed the movies, which
I watched for the first time a few years ago, but they weren’t necessarily favorites.
Well, for once I can confidently say the books are better than the movies.
Shocker, I know! (I’ll never forgive The Order of the Phoenix movie for
all the emotional stuff they left out from the book. SHAME.) Anyway, it’s been
so lovely and cozy reading these through these chillier months, and it’s nice
to finally have the whole series under my belt. (I also read Harry Potter
and the Cursed Child, which I actually quite enjoyed as well!)
WATCHING
Agents of SHIELD—After rewatching the first few
seasons and finally getting around to watching the rest, I finished watching Agents
of SHIELD (with my brother and parents). That show truly takes you on a
rollercoaster of emotions, character development, plot twists, and a heck of a
lot of other stuff from beginning to end. Also, it was because we’d just
watched this that I encouraged my mom to name her dog Mack. But the most important
thing is bounty hunter Fitz.
You’re welcome.
Harry Potter—I rewatched these as I was reading
the books, which was really fun because I was able to finish reading and then
almost immediately judge the book against the movie. And that’s how I discovered
that (in my opinion) the movies truly are not as good as the books. They’re
wonderful, yes, but my goodness, they leave SO MUCH out of the books that you
really miss once you’ve read them. (Just to name one, the Weasley family’s
whole falling out with Percy and how that turns out. It was so good and they
just ignored it completely in the movies and it makes me so sad. : ()
The Hunger Games—like I said, after reading SOTR
(how many times have I mentioned SOTR in this post?) I wanted to watch the
movies again, and somehow I loved them even more this time. Even though the
whole time watching them I was in pain thinking about Haymitch and everything
he went through. Ugh, Suzanne Collins, you monster. (I want to be you when I
grow up.)
This was also one of my sisters’
first time watching the movies, and she could never remember anybody’s names so
she kept calling Haymitch Sammich. -_-
Oh, AND I watched The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes for the first time. A good movie, but definitely my least favorite because... over two hours of nothing but Coriolanus Snow. -_- (but also SEJANUUUUS)
WRITING
Still plugging away at Look for
the Flares! The climax has been giving me major problems and tempting me to
throw my laptop out the window, but I have refrained! Currently I’m taking a
bit of a break from rewriting said climax and 1-cleaning up a chapter at a time
for my sisters to read, and 2-trying to nail down some worldbuilding (not one
of my strengths!). So much has changed about this story over the past few years
and even months, and it’s hard to keep up with my own writing sometimes.
~~~~~~~~~
I thought 2025 was going to be a
year of change—the year I finally buckled down and did some things I’d been putting
off, made some big life choices and some scary steps. Actually, it was none of
that. Turns out, 2025 was the year I needed to realize just how much work I
needed God to do in me. Like I mentioned earlier, my phrase for the year was “fix
my eyes”—to turn away from absolutely everything that made me doubt, struggle,
or question, and fix my eyes on Jesus and nothing else. And in doing that,
somehow He gave me a look inside myself, too, and revealed to me just how much growth
I needed. How many parts of myself I needed to be absolutely ripped to shreds
and replaced with pieces of Him.
I look back at 2025 and see all the
time and opportunities I wasted, that I could have spent seeking more closeness
to God. I feel like the amount of growth in my relationship with Him over the
past year was a joke—it could have been so much better, so much deeper, I could
have shown so much more faith. But that’s the kind of thing I need to turn away
from and fix my eyes back on Jesus, and that’s what I’ve been practicing.
Because no matter how I feel, how the world looks, how people around me act,
Jesus doesn’t change. Seeking His love and peace and light in the middle of a
dark, chaotic world, in the middle of all my messy feelings and doubts, is really
all that matters.
I hope you all had a blessed 2025, and pray that your 2026 will be full of great things—big or small. Thank you for reading this monster of a post—maybe I’ll start doing monthly recaps again so I don’t break my brain (and yours) packing everything from a whole year into one post. XD
