Celebrations!

What an incredible month it’s been—so many milestones, transitions, and beautiful moments to be grateful for. Life has felt heavy lately, in ways that are hard to fully explain. But in the midst of the hard, there’s been so much joy—and I want to take a moment to honor that.

Let’s start at the top.

Rod and I celebrated 26 years of marriage this month. That’s more than half my life with the same person—and I couldn’t be more proud of the life we’ve built together. Marriage isn't always easy; it takes work, patience, grace, and a whole lot of growing. But through it all, Rod has stood by my side, and we’ve learned how to truly do life together. I’m so grateful for that.

Even more exciting - Camryn became a mom! Which means Rod and I also graduated... to grandparents! (That deserves its own post entirely.) We’re beyond proud of Camryn and Brantson as they step into this new chapter of parenthood with love and courage.

And speaking of Brantson—he graduated college with a Bachelor’s degree in Physics! He is seriously way smarter than I’ll ever claim to be—and worked incredibly hard to finish strong, all while preparing to become a dad during his final semester. It’s no small feat, and we couldn’t be prouder.

Carsyn had a huge month as well. She had her external fixator removed (finally!), started a new position in the ER, and absolutely killed her semester at school with amazing grades. Her trials with her foot alone would’ve been enough for most people to throw in the towel, but she kept pushing, kept showing up, and she truly amazed us with her resilience and determination. We are so proud of her!

And then there’s Tyleigh, who wrapped up her junior year at Utah State with a perfect 4.0 GPA. This was not an easy semester. The workload was intense, the classes were tough, but she stayed focused and gave it her all. We are so proud of her grit and perseverance!

In the thick of life’s heaviness, it can be so easy to focus on what’s weighing us down—to stay there, stuck. But these bright and beautiful moments remind me that joy still lives here, too. It’s not always loud or obvious, but it’s there—in the milestones, the quiet wins, the family celebrations, and the everyday courage of pushing through.

So here’s to celebrating what’s good. To noticing it. Naming it. Sharing it. Because even in the hard seasons, there’s still so much worth honoring.