Nothing but Gratitude

This year felt like one long reminder to slow down and be grateful. Not in a big dramatic way—just in those everyday moments that sneak up on you and make you realize, wow, we’re really building something good here.

When I look back, it’s a blur of busy calendars, muddy shoes, little boy laughter, wedding planning chaos, and freezer-filling Alaska days. But woven through all of it was this steady feeling of thankfulness. Even on the hard days. Even when we were tired or stretched thin. There was always something worth pausing for.

Our wedding was easily one of the biggest highlights—an entire week that felt like its own little bubble of joy. Family everywhere, kids running around in tiny dress clothes, last-minute stress that somehow turned into stories we’ll laugh about forever. It wasn’t just a ceremony. It was this huge, warm reminder of how loved we are and how supported our little family is.

And then summer rolled in with its usual magic. We spent so much time with family—camping and swimming with Aizen, boating to Naha with both sides of the family, gathering for dinners that somehow always ended in belly laughs. The boys grew like weeds. Fawkes turned six, Odin is turning five, and both of them spent the year learning new things, trying new sports, and just being their wild, wonderful selves.

Work brought a whole new circle of friendships into my life too—people who made the long days lighter and turned coworkers into lifelong friends.

This, honestly, was one of the biggest surprises this year was just how much joy, laughter, and pure unexpectedness my work circle brought into my life. Surgery is its own strange little universe—equal parts chaos, humor, intensity, and heart. It’s a weird, passionate, powerful kind of bond that only people who’ve stood shoulder-to-shoulder over an OR table at 2 a.m. can understand. The kind of friendships where you go from joking about something absolutely unhinged to working in complete silence with the smoothest teamwork you’ve ever seen. The kind where laughter shows up in the middle of intensity, where support feels instinctual, and where you walk away from even the hardest days thinking, “thank God for these people.”

This year, those coworkers became some of my favorite humans—people I trust, people who made me better, and people who turned a demanding job into a community I’m genuinely grateful for.

Somewhere in the middle of all the chaos I even managed to squeeze in a girls trip to Poulsbo to see Victoria, and it was exactly the recharge I didn’t know I needed.

And, in true Alaska fashion, we spent a lot of time stocking our pantry and freezer. Elderberry syrup simmering on the stove, homemade marinara, jars sealing on the counter, fish from long summer days, and Adam bringing home three big deer this fall. That kind of abundance hits different. It’s a comfort you can actually see and taste and feel.

I keep coming back to the verse, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” It feels like the perfect summary of our year. Because it wasn’t perfect—it was real. Busy, messy, loud, beautiful, full of growth and grace and little moments that mattered more than we realized at the time.

As we wrap up the year, I’m just really grateful. For our boys. For our marriage. For our people. For this island that feels like the only place we’re meant to be. And for the kind of everyday life that keeps proving how much goodness we’ve got right here.

If we packed this much into one year, I can’t wait to see what the next one brings.