This crew has made another round around the sun! 2025 was a huge year of growth for all of us, especially for our babes. Some of them are on a bullet train out of little-kid land, some are in a happy little tug-boat, and all of it is so exciting. Let me give you everybody’s run-down…
OLIVIA
Christmas song of 2025: It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year
Favorite color: Blue. All shades.
Cool talent: Braiding hair
A place she’d travel to this second: back to Hawaii
Olivia is tall. She is 5’6″ and chugging right along to 5’7″. We’ve reached the stage that I warned her of years ago — the time of life where I’d be getting on my step stool to be taller than her if I ever need to show her who’s still the boss. Amazingly independent, we’ve also reached the stage where she pretty much needs me for three things: my car, my listening ear and a little bit of my money. Olivia is brilliant, crazy observant, and beautiful. Dance fills her life with so much joy. And her friends! And her family. Teenager Olivia still gives her family a solid 1/3 of her time, which thrills me…I don’t want to know a life without a heavy dose of my Olivia in my every single day.
CLAIRE
Christmas song of 2025: Santa Baby
Favorite color: Light blue. And navy.
Cool talent: Fixing broken things
A place she’d travel to this second: Paris
Olivia taught me that 5th grade is a big one for growth spurts in girls, and it’s been so to be true for my Claire. Sis is a full tween! Her mascara is a daily staple, her hair (always done by herself) is almost always curled, and her cute shoe collection is steadily growing. Claire keeps pushing herself with tumbling and dance, but give her four hours of free time and watch something magically appear that wasn’t there before: warm, homemade pretzels, a painting of a European landscape, and/or an immaculate manicure. Claire is the girl who can do it all, and how she does it all so well amazes me. Claire is beautiful, driven and kind. I cherish her calming, creative soul!
EMMY
Christmas song of 2025: All I Want For Christmas Is You!
Favorite color: Hot pink
Cool talent: Memorizing movie quotes
A place she’d travel to this second: Maine (where my sister lives!)
Emmy’s height has hit her mama’s shoulders! I can’t do her hair anymore without her needing to sit down, which is a telling marker in this girl house. Emmy, my empath, will cry if you’re crying and cheer if you’re cheering, which makes everybody love Emmy. Emmy danced and played soccer this year, and the combo spoke to her little soul — the stage gave her space to actually shine, and the soccer team gave her room to run and to lead. And then came the piano! Emmy met the ivories this year and made a new best friend. Her musical soul is shining and it is magical to watch. My beautiful Emmy, sweet as honey, is a light beam my life!
CHLOE
Christmas song of 2025: Cozy Little Christmas
Favorite color: Hot pink, too!
Cool talent: Organizing messy things
A place she’d travel to this second: Disneyland
Chloe’s growth rate was the slowest of the bunch this year, but never the girl to be left out, Sister still grew! Chloe is a bop. The room lights up when Chloe walks in, especially since she’s usually singing a song and dancing as she goes. She wears makeup like she’s 12, and even though I say “It’s just for the stage, Chlo!” somehow she ends up with pink lips and long lashes on the way to school, and I can’t help but eat my words because she just loves the glam life so much. Chloe is a fast learner, an awesome reader, a precise dancer, a fast runner – she was born a go-getter. Chloe glows! She will always be the beautiful baby of my girls, and watching her grow up tears at my heart, if I’m being honest. Every time she crosses a little-girl milestone, I ache that there is no going back. Watching our pink caboose move this train along is both bitter and so, so sweet.
DUKE
Christmas song of 2025: You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch
Favorite color: Blue!
Cool talent: being Andy from Toy Story in real life
A place he’d travel to this second: Disneyland, too!
Duke pretend plays impressively, loves to read, and can’t get enough of his Toy Story friends. “Duke of Hazard” (his most used nickname) is our charming wrecking ball. The only thing more terrifying than the sound of a boom! slash! crash! from wherever Duke is is the sound of his silence. I have an army-general call around here – “All eyes on Duke!” – when my hands are tied and he’s not within my sight and I can’t hear him playing. When the call sounds, the girls know to find their brother and to report back ASAP about whatever he ruined during the 10 seconds he was out of our sight. Thank heaven for his redemptive smile and laugh and cuddles and cute phrases. He is as sweet as he is silly and sly, and we have no idea what we would do without him.
All five! Thick as thieves, stuck like glue…they’re each other’s worlds and I adore them for it.
My girls! We will forever be a girl family with our one blue bonus.
Alright, I’ll wrap up with a quick update on Ryan and me!
Christmas song of the season: Ryan doesn’t even know, ha! Under The Tree for me
Fave colors: Pink (me), Blue (him)
Cool talents: dare I say that Ry can almost read my mind?! I still make him laugh more than anyone else
A place we’d travel to this second: Costa Rica (him), Switzerland (me)
2025 gave us both awesome growth, too. We each cleared some physical, spiritual and emotional hurdles that we’ve been working on for a while, and making progress in our whole souls felt so good. We traveled!! We were abroad for almost three-weeks straight and holy, we had fun. From London to Croatia to Mexico City, we globe-trotted with interlocked hands and super light hearts. Ryan golfed at least one round per week; I fell in love with weighted pilates. We ran the STG half-marathon together! We fought and repaired – typical relationship stuff – but this year, we truly gave each other deep grace when our weaknesses roared. We’re nearly 15 years into this love, and truly, our 2025 growth happened in our hearts. We know what it’s like to be hard on each other but “been there, done that” – practice in 2025 proved to us both that it’s so much nicer (and easier, honestly) to give the grace.
Thank you for the growth, 2025!! Our sweet Savior – the sturdy vine that He is! – enabled us to do all that we did. Life is good and we’re grateful for it all.
