January books

My goal is this year is to read 25 books, but I’d like them to be really intentional for my heart and mind, not just great stories. So here are the books so read this January.

This was the perfect book to kick off the year. John Mark Comer outlines and highlights tools and perspectives on slowing down in a mindful way to be more present with Christ, while enjoying the life that God has created us to have. It’s a really beautiful reminder of our wiring and how we were designed for pause and slow living. A challenge for sure but SO good! 

I reread this every January and look at notes I’ve made in the past. It’s a simple book of some of his sermons. I love reading his words. I strongly recommend it!

my view

 My usual view walking into work…

I love that there is a beautiful place at our hospital that was created for people to meet with Jesus in their darkest moments.

celebrating with sushi…

 Last week we got to celebrate one of our favorites with an obscene amount of AMAZING sushi! We love this family, we’ve nicknamed our crew the SchRAEders… Huby is such a favorite and it was so fun to celebrate him! Sushi Damu was also a HUGE hit!

snuggly carpool buddy…

 I brought one of our bunnies to get Eden from school. It was a highlight of carpool for the week!

weekend…

 Where I spent most of my weekend:

I’m so grateful for my job!

Hope and Light

 Ryder’s team asks Ryder to pray over them before every game. Then they battle. I will tell you, as a parent who has prayed for my kids each and every day of their public school experience, I praise God for how he has answered those prayers: that my kids would bring Hope and Light to the communities they encounter. God is just so good. These young men are such a gift and I love being a witness to all of it!

lazy days at home…

After the break, I’ve leaned in to being quiet at home, often cooking or crafting and throwing some cleaning in too…

Southwest Conference Cup 2025

 This last weekend, Eden and her team participated in the Southwest Conference Cup in Silver Lakes in Corona. It was battle after battle with top teams I’m so proud of our girls! 

We had special guests that took us to a special dinner after one of the games.

it happened…

 It happened. On January 17, 2025, we realized Ryder is taller than his mom. Kit snagged a photo as he headed out of the house… How?!?

MLK

 I’m incredibly grateful for this man’s life and legacy… In honor of him, these are some of my favorite quotes.

The Great Park…

 Right now, Eden’s team practices at the Great Park in Irvine, so we spend lots of time there. I walk a loop and will stop to watch my girl…

I love watching my little #16. 

Date night!

While Eden was at her team bonding night, Ryder was at a friends gathering for a postponed Christmas celebration. That meant Kit and I could have a date night! We went to Laguna and saw where we had gone on our honeymoon and it was PACKED so we headed to Corona del Mar and grabbed our favorite Mexican food and Golden Spoon. It was really sweet to have that time together!

My view was pretty spectacular…

2025 vision board bonding night

 This last Saturday, Eden’s team had a bonding night to talk about the new year and to make vision boards. She had SO much fun with her friends! We are excited for what this year holds!

Pasta!

 When Eden was with her Mia and Papa over the break, they made homemade pasta for us, and last week we got to eat it! Eden was in charge of dinner and she knocked it out of the park!

Back to our regular programing

 Last Friday Kit and I had our Friday date day. We hiked Peter’s Canyon then made a Trader Joe’s run to stock up on lunch items for killer sandwiches! 

It felt good to be back in the groove our regular week after the holiday break!

look for the helpers…

 There have been horrible fires in the Los Angeles area. There has been rallying around those affected in such a beautiful way. We got to partner as a church and Kit and our friend Steve brought the supplies and donations to the Dream Center in L.A. Our prayers are with them…

Our girl got to help…

One of my favorite quotes:

And he’s off!

 Ryder has been playing high school soccer and just loving it! Here are some photos from our last several games. 

The kickoff for their season is today and they have been playing since the summer and it’s been so fun to watch him!