House on the Rock

It was a blustery Upland February in 2018. Little college-freshman Cali sat in the padded dorm chair of Bergwall Hall desperate to process everything that had just happened on a life-changing study abroad excursion throughout the entire land of Israel. The result was a blog.

That blog became a storehouse for many sentiments throughout many seasons, but some spam-risk site blockers deemed my website often unsharable. Thus, in January of this year, I moved here — WordPress, where we find ourselves today 🙂

I say this mostly to let you know that for the past FIVE (!!) years, I have been blogging these yearly recaps. I’m going to try linking them here, knowing full well that, again, the links are often unsharable. And that you probably have no interest in reading them. But it’s kind of a nice consolidation process for me — putting everything together in one place. And maybe you’re bored enough to read one or two 😉

I bring you: RECAPS | 2019 / 2020 / 2021 / 2022 / 2023 / and now, for 2024!

January: The month started with a heartbreak and ended with a home. I endured a D&C to remove the remnants of unborn baby from my uterus, but Westfield’s admin team graciously gave us a full week off to rest and recover. The days were full of movies, coloring, journaling, healing, and celebrating the birth of not a baby, but this blog! Five college friends also flew in from three different states for a girls’ weekend full of belly laughs and budget-blowing. Finally, we made a spur-of-the-moment decision to build a house in the sweet little town of Sheridan.

February was full of family dinners, friendship building with folks from The Fields, and ringing in the blissful engagement of our dear friends Cole and Riley, who we not-so-subtly set up the year prior through a casual invitation to our family Easter. Joe and I celebrated Valentine’s Day at Bdub’s and visited little Pips in her firehouse abode. My hubby finalized his decision to step away from teaching and pursue full-time ministry thanks to a pastoral assistant position at our beloved church.

March brought blue skies and Easter excitement. I highlighted my hair (which is always, admittedly, a highlight of my year), and we made after-school trips up to Sheridan to watch a little plot of land slowly morph into our home. Joe and I left from church on Easter Sunday to head south for a much-needed vacation, graciously gifted to us by our generous church family. It was on this trip that we decided we might be ready to think about trying for children again.

April started seaside and was sprinkled with many sweet celebrations all throughout. We ventured back to Panama City despite many memories of moments with Mama, moved Cam and Riley into their first home, and attended bridal and baby showers for soul sisters stepping into new seasons of life. Joe and I co-taught a class, took them on a college visit, and enjoyed the final months of working together at Westfield. I also got to be part of a weekly Bible study with four sweet sisters from church, and to this day, it’s a highlight of my week.

It was the first of May when a pregnancy test confirmed I had once again conceived, and we clung to cautious optimism as we desperately (yet anxiously) prayed for this little one to live. Dad got to throw out the first pitch at a baseball game in honor of our mama, and we began announcing our joyous pregnancy news to friends and family far and wide. Joe packed up his classroom for good as we simultaneously began shoving our entire apartment into cardboard boxes.

June was a flood of big expenses, courtesy of my little Chevy Equinox biting the dust the same week we signed for our house. Joe got to spend his 27th birthday buying a new car, but an army of church family enabled us to be moved out of our apartment in seventeen minutes flat that very same week. We dropped a pin on Pinebark Lane and became abundantly grateful homeowners in a neighborhood we adore. We also tore up the dance floor (and the CityBBQ buffet) at Cole and Riley’s wedding, carted our youth group to summer camp, and attended a rich but rigorous Biblical Counseling training.

July brought a beautiful breath of fresh air in the form of a South Carolina vacation, complete with carriage rides, boogie boarding, and Cam-coordinated competitions ranging from Pictionary to Pickleball. I also got to be part of a summer book study with our youth group girls, which we affectionally dubbed Walkin’ and Wilkin. The hot month brought healing, home decorating, and hoping the little flutters in my belly would bring a baby we’d get to hold.

August was a bit blue as I had to drive to school solo for the first time, but Joe found his groove with The Fields and we couldn’t be more sure that this path to ministry was the right move. The Bannons built a beautiful deck in our backyard; we attended the State Fair and a Colts game with Dad; and we got to sit in that blissful ultrasound seat for, finally, some good news in a hospital. A nurse stepped into the hallway and called Christen with the gender, so we enjoyed a blue-powdered surprise reveal with all our dearest family.

In September, we navigated nursery-building, baby naming, and getting settled into life with our new small group. We met the nicest of neighbors and enjoyed long driveway conversations with several who surround us. Joe moved from beginner to expert on the grill and I blitzed up to Chi-town for a girls weekend with my favorite accountant, Maggie Anderson. We passed the one-year anniversary of some of the worst days of our lives, but God in his kindness drew near with deep comfort.

October was full of pumpkin-painting, dorky Halloween costumes, and passing out candy to eager trick-or-treaters. Joe and I went west for a woodsy White Oak getaway at the Bannon’s beautiful cabin oasis. We worked hard on puzzles, pigging out, and planning how in the world to be parents.

November brought baby showers, newborn classes, and adding those finishing touches to the nursery of Luke Thomas. We passed the one-year anniversary of Mom’s heavenly homecoming, and while tears were abundant, so was the joy of knowing she’s with Jesus. We also gutted out a frosty 5k on Thanksgiving morning and basked in the bliss of family togetherness. I rang in year 26 over St. Elmo’s shrimp cocktail and decorated for Christmas for the first time in our home.

Finally, December was its typical whirlwind of Christmas parties and get-togethers galore. I shoved four years of teaching into a tote and passed the baton to my maternity leave coverage, saying goodbye with teary eyes to the best (and only) career I’ve ever known. All our family Christmases were full of abundant light and laughter, and we ended the year with day after day of nothingness and nesting.

This recap, being mostly a highlight reel, doesn’t necessarily account for the hours spent crying over missing Mom, the grief of walking with friends through infertility and miscarriage, the panic of plummeting heart rates on fetal dopplers, or the stress, sorrow, and I-can’t-do-this-anymore feelings that come in this earthly tent. But we celebrate God’s blessings as we groan every day for Heaven, trusting that His providence alone has brought us through another year.

Praying you all have a sweet and sanctifying new year, clinging to Jesus through every hill and every valley! Cheers to 2024; here’s to 2025!