Summer 2025

We had another amazing summer…or at least that is the part we are dwelling on!

It started with Olive turning 2! She is such a funny, energetic, independent, feisty little girl. She talks up a storm, is very close to keeping up with her brother, and absolutely loves being in the water. She is our risk-taker and the one who will keep us on our toes. 

Zion is growing up way too fast. He is full of energy and fun, and so badly needs a brother to wrestle with. He loves sports, exploring outside (especially with daddy), and playing with his sister, or, should I say, telling his sister how to play. He is still my sweet little buddy, and it has been so fun to see his imagination take off recently. 

Our house is rarely quiet, but we wouldn’t want it any other way. Our kids bring us so much joy, especially now that they are really starting to play together, building, imagining, and creating memories apart from us. They are also one of the main sources of refinement and growth.

We loved our Friday adventures with Daddy exploring the beautiful state (and nearby state) we live in. If the weather was even a little warm, you would find us by a river. We loved having Nick working from home and sometimes taking half days off to spend time as a family or get a project done.

A highlight of the summer was when my whole entire family came to visit. Nick and I spent a few weeks getting our house in order, updating our deck, and checking off so many projects from our list. I went full Jessica mode with a detailed itinerary and meal planning. It was such a great weekend, minus some flight issues for everyone, but we made the most of it and had a wonderful time together. It was so special to have them all here and to show them pieces of our lives and why we love living here. It is so hard not to live close to my family anymore, but it was nice to see that distance in location doesn’t mean distance in relationships. The cousins all had a blast together, and we are already excited for the next time they are all willing to make the trip up again!

Like I said at the beginning, we are choosing to focus on the positive moments of summer, but it would be silly of me not to share the moments that helped us grow. I got really sick after my family left, and it lingered for almost two weeks. The kids and Nick got it too, but not as badly. As you can imagine or know from experience, any time the mom of the house gets sick, things just aren’t great. It was a huge struggle for me, especially mentally, but obviously we survived! There has been a lot of work happening at the church, both physically and spiritually, over the last three months. Our new building is coming together so beautifully, and now we just pray God fills it with people who are hungry for Him. We faced a lot of different types of trials, criticisms, miscommunications, and obstacles from all angles in regards to the church that really challenged Nick and me as a couple. Most of it, we just move past and do our best to stay focused on the Lord and the work that He is doing. The real kicker, no pun intended, was Nick’s foot, or should I say feet. As we headed into August, Nick randomly started having pain in his right foot with no rhyme or reason of where it came from. He was in so much pain, he could barely walk. It took about a week to heal, but then his left foot started hurting because it was overcompensating for the right foot. The doctor took X-rays of both feet, which came back to show nothing was broken or wrong. He spent the next few weeks in a boot and hobbling around. For those that may not know the comedy in this, back at the beginning of 2023, when I was pregnant with Olive, we were starting a church, bought/updated/moved into a new house, all while Nick was in a boot due to a broken bone, which we have no idea how he broke. History just seems to have a way of repeating itself! I don’t know why it is, but God likes to do things all at once in our lives. 2024 was a great year, and nothing major happened. Hello 2025! I’m pregnant, our church moves into a new building that we have to fix, decorate, pay for, etc…. and Nick is in a boot again!. Through all of this, God has been faithful. Faithful to refine us to be more like Him (Romans 8:29/Isaiah 48:10). 

I would be lying if I said that this summer was all sunshine and rivers! This summer has been wonderful, but there have been some very hard moments. Nick being in major pain and having to spend hours and sometimes a whole day resting his foot was so challenging for me in months 8 and 9 of my pregnancy. I wasn’t feeling well and felt that it was unfair. Oh, how important it has been to hold every thought captive. My mind would spiral as I'm waddling around in my own pain, trying to take care of everything. But God humbled me pretty quickly. As I ran through the list of what I was feeling and what I was actually mad at, I realized that I ultimately was mad at God. If God’s providential hand is really over all, then He has allowed all these things to happen in our lives. So when you start to feel yourself complaining about your circumstances and you're trying to find someone to blame…you might be like me and come to the realization that God is to blame. But whoa, that’s a nice slap in the face. Who am I to blame God?! And honestly, I don’t want to blame Him, for I deserve nothing from Him but am blessed with so much. Talk about a quick attitude change. 

“The One forming light and creating darkness, producing peace and creating calamity; I am Yahweh who does all these.”

Isaiah 45:7

My Grandma Betty, my mom’s mom, went to be with Jesus in mid-August. She lived a long and beautiful life. She celebrated her 92nd birthday right before she passed. We are sad, but it really was the best-case scenario. She got to pass peacefully in her home, not in pain, with my mom right by her side. This was the first time that I got to experience more joy than sadness when it came to death. I felt the beautiful redeeming hope that the Lord gives us when a true believer leaves this earth and is welcomed home by their loving Savior. I think I’m more jealous than sad! But, I am encouraged by her life and desire to carry on her legacy of living a quiet, hardworking, faithful life devoted to loving the Lord, her family, and anyone that she came in contact with. I love you Grandma Betty. Thank you for your love and example this side of heaven. I know you and Grandpa are dancing together as you worship the Lord in heaven!

Nick and I were challenged through these hardships to count it all joy and rejoice in our sufferings. But this verse was the real winner. The one that not only convicted us but also encouraged us to rejoice and praise God for these light and momentary afflictions, for we know, as stated in the book of James, that the testing of our faith produces perseverance. We haven’t mastered it, but we are in a place of thankfulness.

“Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions and hardships, for the sake of Christ, for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

2 Corinthians 12: 7-10

I have so much to say about this verse, but I’ll leave that to my husband from the pulpit. But I encourage anyone who feels challenged with the mundane things of life to the heartbreaking tragedies that come, meditate on this verse. Analyze it and break it down. And I pray that your eyes and heart will be changed to rejoice in your pain and to praise God that He is sovereign and allowing these trials to bring you to a place of weakness so that you will be victorious in His mighty strength. For when YOU are weak, YOU are strong.” Not HE is strong. No. At your weakest, you are strongest. Thank you Lord!

The last amazing end to our summer was some surprise birthday guests. My wonderful sister in law and friend decided to surprise me on my birthday! Jake, Sarah, and the kids made a quick trip up here to see everyone and spend a few days with us, of course, by the river. It came at the perfect time to get me through another week of pregnancy. Sarah and I got to spend a few hours together on my birthday, sitting by a beautiful river, eating lunch, and catching up. It was perfect! I felt so special and loved. And of course, the cousins had so much fun playing together. 

And now we just wait…This has, by far, been my hardest pregnancy. I’ve gotten all the symptoms that apparently are normal, but seem very unusual to me. I’ve been uncomfortable for months, and this is the first time that I feel over it and just want to be done being pregnant. But through the Lord’s grace, I am learning patience, endurance, and trusting Him with His perfect timing. We are anxiously waiting to meet this boy or girl. I think not knowing what or who this little human is, is also playing a factor into it. This is the first time we are leaving it a surprise until the end. I’m pretty convinced it’s a girl so we have a girl name ready. But it could totally be a boy and that boy may not be named right away! Zion is beyond thrilled for the new baby. He is really grasping the concept and trying to encourage his sister to be excited too. She doesn’t quite get it and I think will go through a short jealousy phase but I know soon enough she will adore this new sibling. We are excited for the challenges adding a new addition to our family will bring but we are overjoyed with the thought of another child to love, another sibling to play with, and just growing our family the way God desires. It’s all so exciting. I am not looking forward to the newborn phase because I’ve never been a fan. But, I will say I think this time might be different. I have seen Olive’s first two years of life flash before my eyes and I have a feeling I’m going to hold on to this baby a little tighter as I know it won’t last forever. 

“The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.”

Psalm 127:3-4

Summer is our absolute favorite. But as it wraps up we are already excited about our second favorite season, Fall. We have the firewood ready, the sweaters out, and all the plans for hiking to see the beautiful trees changing. Oh! and of course the pumpkin patch and fun fall farm festivities in October.

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Jess T.

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Prayer requests

• Healing for Nick’s foot

• Smooth labor and delivery and healthy baby

• Smooth transition for all into a family of 5

• Health and strength to fly and a beautiful memorial for my Grandmother

• That Nick would be able to manage everything from family, church, and teaching