December seems to be the time when people typically give a review of their year, or at the very least mail a card with the best family photo the year produced. In the past, I believe I have attempted both (though not in the same year. That would be crazy, and I’m nothing if not normal and sane!). This blog has been the most helpful for the former method, but finding clever ways to share the highlights usually feels like too much work and one needs to be clever to, well, be clever about it.
Therefore, I will just give a brief summary of the year of our Lord, 2025.
January. February. March. April. May. June. July. August. September. October. November. December.
Okay, okay. If that isn’t enough for you, I suppose I could pull out every last capable cell I have to expound on the year in slightly more detail. Here, in picture book format, is a story of our year.
Firsts and Lasts
January was the month that Danny last grew a beard. It came in colors that matched the snow, and like the snow, it didn’t last long.
February was the last time Anna asked me to do her hair for basketball. I don’t know why.
March was the first time I snapped a photo of some intruders that came into my room one night.
April was no fool. There were two firsts that month. Anna decorated a cake and James “finally” got to play tennis with me.
Just kidding, that’s not all. It was also the first time in April I snapped a photo of those same intruders.
May brought some of everything. The first time any of our children mowed the lawn happened this month, but hopefully it will not be the last time they do so. However, it also brought the first time a bird flew into the house. Unlike the lawn mowing, I do hope this is the last time it happens!
May was also the month that my kitchen looked like a math problem. “If Mom brings home 29 tomatoes, 12 pears, onions, two bags of apples, one bag of peppers, six peaches, a carton of strawberries, and a Coffee Crisp, how long should the kids stay out of her way?”
June wasn’t the kindest month as it brought the last time I would use my real name at Chick-fil-A and our last moments with our beloved dog.
July was a little sweeter. Rainbows and motorcycle rides were the stuff of summer days.
August was more confusing than most other months. It brought the last goodbye to Jake as he made his way down to Florida for his last first day of moving in to a dorm at school.
August also brought Isaac’s last year as a teen and hopefully the last time he’ll ever have to have a cake like this again!
As long as we’re speaking of confusing and “hopefully”s, this August should be the last time for whatever this is as well.
September added many firsts to the year, starting with the first time that month I snapped a picture of the three-peat nighttime intruders.
Daytime firsts included going the zoo with the boys and seeing my newest nephew in person.
This September was also the month that Caleb attended his first boat show. He took to it like a barnacle to a hull.
October brought us to the beach on the first unusually warm day of the month. This was the last time any of us would swim in the Atlantic this year.
November brought noise, fur, and nighttime beauty, though thankfully not all at once. James has begun cello lessons, bringing our home orchestra one step closer to being a true quartet. Vika joined our family (as you know from the previous post) and plays us like a fiddle sometimes, it seems. One bright spot was up in the sky. It was my first time seeing the aurora borealis thanks to my phone camera’s night mode.
December brings up the rear. I only have some ‘firsts’ to share but they all pertain to the puppy. She enjoyed her first snow, endured her first bath, and survived her first strangulation. Her New Year’s resolution is to make it to the new year.
The End.
That was it. That was the #5 Allans 2025 Wrapped. May we all soar into next year as easily as this kid cleared the jump!
Hearken unto me…I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. Isaiah 48: 12
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Hebrews 13: 8
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last…He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Revelation 22: 13, 20
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