The last little bit of January and the beginning of February have been anything but regular – snow and ice have thrown our schedules into disarray, canceling plans, constricting work time, harrying normal rhythms. But, as is so often the case, these challenges have come with obvious bright sides: hours of sledding, neighbor connection, cozy domino games, and extra chapters of Goblet of Fire. I know enough to expect more glimmers and more challenges as we finish out the month – but maybe with a little less wild weather :)
On my calendar: — The Olympics! I anticipate having it on in the background for much of the month and turning up the volume when figure skating is on. I’m especially excited to watch this guy. (gift link!) — Valentine’s Day! It’s on a Saturday, but I’m planning to welcome the kids home from school the day before with a little surprise tea spread laid out on the table (likely store-bought, no shame there). Any excuse to use all those Southern Weddings cake stands ;) And the mailbox is still going strong! — My birthday! I’ll be coming off a weekday work trip to Texas and so want to give some thought as to how I can help it feel special and restful amidst the chaos of travel and returning home.
What I’m loving right now: — You’ve probably seen me mention jump roping a few times recently. I am attempting to get into it as a cardio option, and it’s been fun to do it alongside the kids! We have this rope for me, this rope for June, this rope for Shep, and this rope for double dutch. — I shared these tiny gold hoop earrings on my Christmas wish list and ended up getting them for myself after trying them on in person at the Gorjana store in California. I LOVE THEM. I didn’t think anything could replace my beloved pearl studs (which I still wear!) but these just look so good with everything. — Some friends recommended the podcast Dogood Detectives and our kids are obsessed. We listened to every episode on a long drive recently and all three were locked in.
As a reminder, you can find allll the things I’ve loved over the last few years neatly organized right here!
What you’re loving right now:
This is where I highlight a few items here that have been popular in the last month with fellow readers, based on my analytics. Here’s hoping this will help you find something you’ll love!
— This navy sweater jacket, my new favorite thing to wear. Sometimes I’ll layer a white tee underneath, but it can also be worn as-is, buttoned up. Ladylike but also somehow casual enough for weekday mom life? — This eucalyptus + rosemary counter spray that continues to bring us all joy. — The Amazing Generation, once again. No surprise, it’s a no. 1 NYT bestseller (YAY!!!). — These very fun, very colorful shadow text notepads. I love a new notepad to start off the year. — My beloved window candles. They’re a great weight and the dusk-to-dawn sensor works perfectly. Ours are still up in every window even though John thinks I’m a loon :)
What I read in January: — My Oxford Year| Good not great. My biggest takeaway was that I’d like to visit Oxford! — Wild Dark Shore | Now this one – wow. “A novel of breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty, and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us disappears.” I will be thinking about these characters – each so exquisitely drawn, including the landscape, which seems a character of its own – for quite some time. — Romney: A Reckoning | This book which, among other things, is a walk through the last two decades of politics, was moving and so, so sad.
Revisiting my January goals: Finalize details and selections for our master bathroom and built-in projects (Made a lot of progress here! I have a meeting this week to make a few final decisions.) Set up our 2026 budget (Done! We are trying out Monarch Money. It has been a learning curve, but I am committed to giving it a fair shake.) Print 2024 + 2025 Instagram photos and photos for our Christmas album Finalize the itinerary for June’s tenth birthday trip (A tiny bit of progress but mostly rolling over into February) Brainstorm my affirmations and phrases for each family member Learn all of the first jump rope routine (Learned half!) Register Annie for kindergarten Buy new glasses Attend to the first clutter spot: the piles in our bedroom Finish going through my phone screenshots (Some progress but not done yet.)
February goals: — Finalize the itinerary for June’s tenth birthday trip — Finish learning the jump rope routine — Diligently complete daily exercises to help with my knee pain — Record June’s birthday interview — Finish going through my phone screenshots — Attend to February’s clutter spot: our “library” on the first floor — Enjoy celebrating my birthday — Prepare well for my very first TCF podcast interview. I AM TERRIFIED. I have been practicing answering questions with John on our daily walks and it is so easy to feel discouraged. I prefer to write rather than talk, you know? I am believing I can get better with practice, however, so practice, I shall.
This, below, is one of my new favorite views. There’s something about our larger, lower kitchen island (peninsula?) that draws the kids in, and I reliably field one, if not two or three, requests for an assignment while cooking dinner each night. On this evening, Annie was trimming green beans while Shep minced garlic and I pulled together the rest of the chicken piccata meatballs. (Shep was so proud of himself for learning a new task and using a “big knife” that he had me take a video to show John later.) More of this in January, please.
On my calendar: — June’s tenth birthday. I love her so. — At least five meals with friends, at our home or theirs. Starting strong with our hospitality goal despite raging illness on the East Coast. — Seeing the Charlotte Hornets play. This was John’s big Christmas gift; we’re both excited to attend our first NBA game and see Duke favorite Kon Knueppel in action.
What I’m loving right now: — We saw David in theatres with friends and loved it! The kids have been asking to listen to the soundtrack ever since. — We bought our first smart plug after realizing it was nearly impossible to plug and unplug our Christmas tree lights in our new set-up and — wow. Saying “Alexa, please turn off the tree lights” feels like magic. My kind of technology :) — John gave me this navy sweater jacket for Christmas and it’s my new favorite thing to wear. Sometimes I’ll layer a white tee underneath, but it can also be worn as-is, buttoned up. Ladylike but also somehow casual enough for weekday mom life?
As a reminder, you can find allll the things I’ve loved over the last few years neatly organized right here!
What you’re loving right now:
This is where I highlight a few items here that have been popular in the last month with fellow readers, based on my analytics. Here’s hoping this will help you find something you’ll love!
— Once again the Brick was far and away the bestseller of everything I shared last month! I am so, so grateful that so many of you took the leap and feel confident you won’t regret it. If you need a refresher on what the Brick is, I’ve got you. Get 10% off with this link! — I feel like we all must be wearing matching undergarments at this point?! The Eby Relief bra has been a hit with friends of all shapes and sizes and is what I exclusively wear right now. — This eucalyptus + rosemary counter spray continues to bring all of us joy. — The Amazing Generation. No surprise, it’s a no. 1 NYT bestseller (YAY!!!). — My favorite new Christmas decoration, our beloved window candles! They’re a great weight and the dusk-to-dawn sensor works perfectly. I plan to keep mine up until my birthday, at the end of February!
What I read in December: — Code Name Helene | World War II books can feel a dime a dozen (and rightly so), but I hadn’t read in this genre for a bit and Code Name Helene was a great return. I love that Ariel Lawhon uses her books to elevate the stories of incredible real women from history and Nancy Wake, a daring socialite spy, is no exception. (I do think I preferred The Frozen River just a bit because of its less-common time period!) — Confronting Christianity | Combining research, personal stories, and careful biblical study, Rebecca McLaughlin’s apologetics offering explores 12 of the questions that keep people from considering faith in Christ. As Christians, we are meant to “be prepared to give a defense to explain the hope that we have” and I do think this book helped me to do that. — Real Americans | This novel, an “exhilarating exploration of American identity” that spans three generations, reminded me of one of my favorite novels from last year, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. If you enjoy twisting narratives that expose a bit more with each loop, this one’s for you.
Reading list for 2026 coming very soon!
Revisiting my December goals: Edit Sheptember, Volume 7 (No! Very bummed about this but I am forging on. I have now chosen a song, which is often the hardest part!) Finish the kids’ book ornaments Send care packages to our college gals Finalize plans for June’s tenth birthday Make progress on a big birthday project for June Carry out our gifting plans with joy Prepare well in advance for our post-Christmas travel, so that Christmas Eve and Day can be languorous and peaceful Execute our end-of-year generosity plans Savor the Christmas season
January goals: — Finalize details and selections for our master bathroom and built-in projects — Set up our 2026 budget. We are considering doing something other than the Google Doc set up we’ve used for the last 16 years – will report back if we like it! — Print 2024 + 2025 Instagram photos and photos for our Christmas album — Finalize the itinerary for June’s tenth birthday trip — Brainstorm my affirmations and phrases for each family member — Learn all of the first jump rope routine — Register Annie for kindergarten — Buy new glasses — Attend to the first clutter spot: the piles in our bedroom — Finish going through my phone screenshots. I kept up with this daily practice for most of the year but dropped off in the last quarter; I want to finish strong because it was so helpful!
“To George Bailey, the richest man in the world!” This quote is how I intended to begin my 2025 Year in Review post, a staple of Em for Marvelous for over a decade. I’ve actually never missed recapping a year since I began, in 2012, the year John and I were married. But alas, here we are, and between Christmas magic, traveling to California to be with family, hosting family at our home, and weathering the flu, it simply did not happen.
No matter. The year itself happened, and I am grateful for it. I am rich in every measurement that matters — my faith, my family, my community, my health — and several more besides: my home, my work, my passions. I am so grateful for the opportunity to dream about a new year, to make a few plans for it, and to live them forward day by day. And even more, to hold fast to the Christian faith that promises that the fullest life is found when we lay down our own vision for our life and agree with God’s vision, which may look similar and may look wildly different. In that spirit, here are a few of my goals for 2026.
1. Speak words of affirmation over John and my children. The power of life and death is in the tongue; I have seen how everyone around me can bloom with loving words and wilt in their absence. This is a hard one to measure or track and I don’t really intend to; instead, I want to spend a few minutes brainstorming what messages feel most important to communicate to each of my children and write a little list somewhere I’ll see it every day. I know keeping it in sight will help it flow from desire to action.
2. Pray more often for the ones I love. Specifically, my first step will be to bring a simple notebook to small group each week and to write down prayer requests that are shared. In between, I’ll keep it on my bedside table to prompt me to spend a few minutes with it each evening before diving into my current book. I trust God will tell me where to head from there!
3. Deepen my knowledge of and love for God’s Word. No surprise — I’m a woman who loves a plan. Therefore, I plan to do the Bible Recap again alongside John, as well as listen to the weekly sermons, lectures, and messages Tim Mackie is rereleasing on his Exploring My Strange Bible podcast. I’ve listened to the first two so far and they have been as illuminating and encouraging as everything else he creates.
4. Celebrate June’s tenth birthday in a meaningful way. Our precious girl turns ten this month. This feels like a big milestone, and we want to mark it in a meaningful way. The current plan is for the three of us to spend 36-ish hours in Charlotte (the littles can stay with my sister, who lives nearby) having fun and lavishing her with love and encouragement. I am actively trying to quell my desires to go overboard and make this more complicated than it needs to be and praying we can strike the right balance of meaningful, celebratory, and doable.
5. Create our next five-year photo book. I’ve chosen to make five-year albums for our family photo memories, and we’re now ready for the next installment (2020-2024). Annie, especially, loves looking at these; she will be so excited to finally be in one! :)
6. Improve my bloodwork results. I’m sure you all are tired of hearing about last year’s less-than-ideal bloodwork results, but I’m trying to keep them top of mind :) This is an umbrella goal that will lump in several objectives, all pointed as seeing better results in June:
— Make brisk, 30-minute daily walks a habit year-round. I’ll tackle this in two ways: committing to when I’ll walk each day the night before, and posting up a yearlong tracker to see my adherence at a glance. I’d also like to take a 10-minute walk after each meal, whenever feasible.
— Add jumping rope to my thrice-weekly strength training sessions — starting with just 30 seconds to one minute!
— Add a protein drink to my afternoon snack.
And likely more to come!
7. Invite others into our home. Our new home, with its bigger backyard, flat cul-de-sac, generous island, and third-floor playroom, is much better suited to welcoming in families. Plus, in just the few months we’ve been here, some of the happiest moments have been when we’ve had other people in it. Sunday nights seem to work well for us and others (it’s easier to match-up schedules since there don’t tend to be as many commitments), but I don’t feel the need to commit to a certain metric here. The five of us brainstormed a list of invitees, and we’ll just work our way through the list over the year. The kids also really want to host a backyard movie night at some point :)
8. Make our home our own — with a long-term mindset. I’m thankful to have shaken off my initial compulsion to make a million changes right away in our new home, but there are still plenty of things I’d like to do! While the list is long, I want to move through it slowly and thoughtfully, with the mindset of someone who plans to be here for many years: making choices that will serve our family well now and hopefully into the future.
We have already paid the deposit to refresh our master bathroom and add built-ins around our fireplace. We have also purchased a few light fixtures that need to be installed, and we have art that needs to be hung. I’m not sure what else will be on the docket this year — possibly some kitchen tweaks (backsplash??), hopefully stools that are the right height for our kitchen island — but I feel relaxed and excited to stay attuned to what we need as we go.
9. Tend to clutter spots. Though we are now pretty well unpacked and settled in, there are a few spots where we just dumped items after the move and never returned to consider where they should go or what function the space should serve. I’ll make a list and address them one at a time, month by month.
10. Celebrate milestones. Annie starts kindergarten and June begins her last year of elementary school in the fall. I want to honor both in thoughtful ways.
Also adding here for posterity: buying new Warby Parker glasses, hosting a summer backyard movie night for all our friends, and beginning the tradition of Jólabókaflóðið in December, once Annie can hopefully read :)
Finally, earlier this week, I shared five tech-related goals on The Connected Family:
1. FaceTime parents each Sunday.
2. Post on Instagram each Sunday.
3. Install a protective router.
4. Continue my in-school book club with June’s classmates and start one with Shep’s.
Thank you, friends. Sharing my goals here, year after year and month after month, is quite possibly the most potent factor in any progress I’ve made, so thank you, as always, for being kind, listening ears! :)
On that note, I’ll be back with my January goals post and my 2026 book list over the next few weeks. Please feel free to join in on anything I’ve written here, or let me know if there’s one of my goals that you’d love to hear more about as the year goes on! OR, tell me what YOU have planned for 2026! Have you set goals yet? I’d love to cheer you on.
Over the last few weeks, my perspective on our new home has steadily shifted: from a feeling of dislocation (and frenetic energy to make it less so) to a feeling of almost total peace and contentment. Yes, there are still things I’d like to do over time, and there is still artwork leaning against the wall and a bin of things to give away, but in the midst of it all I feel at home.
While it’s tempting to attribute this cozy, settled feeling to the familiar Christmas decorations that now surround us, this shift predated them all. Time, and the way it makes space for rational sense to take root, definitely played a role. What made the biggest difference, however, was two things: the gentle encouragement from those around us to embrace this in-between stage (including many of you in the comments – truly, it made an impact!) and welcoming loved ones into our home. In November alone we hosted three families for dinner, a pair of pals for post-kid-bedtime chatting, and the inaugural Articles Club at our new address (not to mention neighborhood friends crashing in and out on a regular basis).
While these gatherings revealed a few gaps (fitting ten in our dining room was a tight squeeze!), they much more so shone a spotlight on all the best parts of our new home: the kitchen island it’s so easy to gather around, the flat cul-de-sac and big backyard that so safely allow kids to run and play, the aerie-like loft that so generously houses our kids as they stretch out and create.
Our friends’ presence and encouragement allowed me to see our home through their eyes — to see what I couldn’t quite yet see on my own — and I am so grateful.
The mountaintop rental where my family spent Thanksgiving!
On my calendar: — Caroling with June’s elementary school chorus through our neighborhood. Perks of living right across from the school! — Our church small group’s Christmas party. We’re doing a Yankee Swap like always, but this year with the caveat that all the gifts have to be handmade. I am loving this twist and think I’m going to attempt some hand-painted taper candles. — Dinner out with John for our 2025 review and celebration. We’re returning to an old favorite – Jujube! — A post-Christmas California trip to see John’s family. Disneyland awaits!
What I’m loving right now: — I’ve had a pointelle henley on my shopping wish list for months now, but the option I was considering was quite spendy. Somehow, I landed on Everlane’s henleys last week, and though not pointelle, they scratched the same itch. I bought this one (in port royale, note that it is cropped but an acceptable look to me with high-waist jeans) and this one (in bone, chic when tucked in!) on super sale and they are easily my favorite things to wear right now. They read a bit like cardigans to me and therefore are a dressier look than I was expecting! — This is more of a recommendation for the men among us, but John often forwards me Jon Tyson’s emails and gosh, he is a good writer. And a good thinker. I love learning from him about faith and family discipleship and think you (or your favorite guy) might, too. Just scroll down to the bottom of his site here to sign up. — Another man-friendly recommendation! I have been listening to the Walk in Love podcast for years (probably almost a decade!) and always enjoy catching up with Brooke and TJ. Recently I’ve shared a few episodes with John, and he’s enjoyed them, too – particularly how TJ, in his usual raw, honest, and funny way, gives voice to things that John has also felt as a father, husband, and provider as we approach midlife.
As a reminder, you can find allll the things I’ve loved over the last few years neatly organized right here!
What you’re loving right now:
This is where I highlight a few items here that have been popular in the last month with fellow readers, based on my analytics. Here’s hoping this will help you find something you’ll love!
— The Brick was far and away the bestseller of everything I shared last month! I am so, so grateful that so many of you took the leap and feel confident you won’t regret it. If you need a refresher on what the Brick is, I’ve got you. While their BFCM sale has ended, you can still get 10% off with this link. I think it’s a deal at any price. — Right behind the Brick was Camp Snap cameras, with so many of you snapping up the original or CS Pro for your families. This link gives you at least $5 off! — Continuing with the low-screen fun, Yoto Minis slid into third place. All three of our kids use theirs daily. (Would an updated post on their favorite cards be helpful? The options are so many now!) — John’s favorite comfortable-but-suit-appropriate shoes were quite popular. — Finally, all three of the kid gift guides were hits: shop picks for a nine-year-old girl (these lilac sneakers), a seven-year-old boy (this light-up soccer ball), and a four-year-old girl (these clickable markers).
What I read in November: I spent the majority of my month reading through an absolutely massive Atlantic issue (the Revolutionary War one, which I thoroughly enjoyed). I also finished a novel, but would not recommend so am not listing here. I’m a few pages into Code Name Helene and will report back next month. Also excited that Wild Dark Shore and My Oxford Year have finally arrived as library holds for me – picking them up tomorrow!
Revisiting myNovember goals: Lovingly hand off our first home well, equipping the new owner as I’d want to be equipped Finalize plans for June’s tenth birthday (Getting there! Made progress!) Begin painting the kids’ 2025 book ornaments Buy window candles, a Christmas tradition I’m so delighted our new home allows us to partake in (Yes! Mostly these plug-in ones plus a few of these battery ones where cords couldn’t reach.) Choose and order sconces for two spots in our home Help my Dad get his Storyworth off to print (Yes! This felt so good! We were able to gift everyone their copies at Thanksgiving.) Edit Sheptember Practice my Christmas recital song Send care packages to our college gals Finish designing, order, and send our Christmas cards (Done! Never done this so early!)
December goals: — Edit Sheptember, Volume 7 — Finish the kids’ book ornaments — Send care packages to our college gals — Finalize plans for June’s tenth birthday — Make progress on a big birthday project for June — Carry out our gifting plans with joy — Prepare well in advance for our post-Christmas travel, so that Christmas Eve and Day can be languorous and peaceful — Execute our end-of-year generosity plans — Savor the Christmas season by focusing on loving the ones I love most, and loving those who need it the most. Even to me this sounds somewhat trite, but also the best way I know to celebrate the arrival of a tiny baby king who did the same.
I’d love to hear: What have you read and loved recently? I’m working on my 2026 reading list and would love to hear your suggestions for what should make it on!!
