Reflections and updates for 2025

Somehow the transition of TJ being gone was easy. I stayed busy helping my parents, helping the mother of a friend get to and from doctors appointments, being a lunch monitor for Sarah’s home school group on Thursday’s, and taking care of the things at home. We also starting making changes at the house to adjust for it being safer for Jon to get around and to ease maintenance for me. The first thing we did was replace the carpet in our bedroom and put in laminate flooring. It looks so much better and has no trip risk. The second thing we did was bought a new couch. This was for me…not because it helps Jon in any way, just because the old one was falling apart. The big project was our front yard. Here in AZ, a desert landscape (which means no grass), is common, so we had the grass taken out and rock laid. This saves me from mowing and saves on water as well. I then created a drip line system to keep plants watered without much thought on my part. Last, we had an automatic pool vacuum installed, so it minimized pool maintenance. These seem like small things when I write them, but they are helpful and are things I don’t have to think about anymore.

In February, Sarah turned 18! She has a friend that lives out of the city and her family offered to host a party. She has such a good group of friends and they had a great time. Two weeks later she went to her senior prom. Again, a great group of friends and a lot of fun.

Spring

March came and went without much extra going on and April brought TJ home for Easter! He was able to be home for a week which went my way too fast. On April 29th, Jon and I celebrated our 25th anniversary by going out to lunch and watching a movie at home. I realized later that we didn’t even take a picture that day.

Then came May and all the end of school and senior events! With Sarah graduating with a home school group, they had a dinner for the graduate and families.

Jon’s mom and brother came down from Idaho to celebrate Mother’s Day with us. Jim wasn’t able to stay for Sarah’s graduation, but Florence was here for all of the events. Dave and Cindi from Tennessee also came for graduation, so along with our many family and friends here, she was celebrated well!

Summer

June and July passed quickly. Sarah started working at Dutch Bros Coffee. Between that, church activities, and being with friends, she kept busy. During the last week of June, Jon had a work trip, so Sarah, my mom and I went to San Diego for two nights. We had a great time enjoying the weather, the beach, and each other. Unfortunately, Jon realized that it has become harder to travel by himself. Sitting and standing in the airplane is difficult and then the extra energy it takes to get off the airplane to the wheelchair and navigate everything is exhausting. It was most likely his last plane ride on his own.

On Monday, July 28th, TJ flew home for a two week break. It was so good having him home. He is doing so well. It makes my momma heart happy and proud to see the positive changes in him and the confidence that he has in himself again. His 22nd birthday was on August 4th. We celebrated with family and again, I didn’t take any pictures. He flew back to Columbus on the 10th. He will be done with the program with Rosedale International on December 15th. Please pray for the Lord’s direction when he gets home. He has some ideas in mind, but wants clarification and for the doors to be wide open.

Along with those things happening, we have been getting things ready for Sarah to move onto campus at GCU on August 26th. Again, prayers for her are appreciated as she navigates being a college student with a job and social activities.

Jon and I would covet your prayers as well as we become empty nesters for a few months. We also ask for prayers for Jon as his legs are become weaker and talking is getting more difficult. We have made the decision that he will go on disability in January, so there are a lot of decisions to be made this fall.

The Lord continues to prove His faithfulness to us and we are grateful that He is leading us on this journey.