2025 Reflections
Oh boy… literally.
What a year it’s been. Calling 2025 “busy” feels wildly insufficient. It was packed, loud, joyful, exhausting, and somehow over before we caught our breath. Where to even start?
January — Something on the Horizon
For years, we’ve known Florida wasn’t where we were meant to stay. For reasons we couldn’t quite articulate, Tennessee kept resurfacing. From a family Thanksgiving in Winchester to several Gatlinburg trips. Every time we talked about “where” this Volunteer State lingered.
By early 2024, we felt confident that Tennessee was where we were headed for this next phase in our lives, and we know that Florida would be wrapping up by Q3 2025. The details, however, were nonexistant. To kick off the year, we took a semi-impromptu weekend road trip, just the three of us 😉 with the goal of visiting a handful of cities and getting a feel for each. Seeing them in person helped. Some places quietly fell off the list. Others stayed as possibilities.
February — Preparation Mode
By now, we were deep into preparing for The Child, the newest Stafford addition. Our bedroom began its transformation into a shared sleeping space and nursery hybrid.
A baby shower followed, complete with a gender reveal and a name reveal. Rowan Douglas!
Somewhere in the middle of all this, I decided it was finally time to evict my wisdom teeth. All four. At once. Any remaining wisdom left with them. The recovery was miserable and perfectly timed, as I wasn’t about to deal with this with a newborn.
March — Waiting, Visibly!
March arrived and so had Chrissy’s belly, making the waiting feel both real and endless. We marked the moment with a maternity photo shoot, thanks to friends who happen to also be incredible photographers.
If you’re in central Florida and need photography work done, Ying Photography comes highly recommended. Thank you, X&R. ❤️
April — The Final Countdown
April felt like a ticking clock. Any day now, we’d be welcoming a new child. At the same time, moving plans loomed, and my role as Technology Director at BCRC was nearing its end after nearly twelve years as well.
On Monday, April 7th at exactly 3:00pm, after labor that began Friday evening, Rowan was born in Bradenton. Delivery went smoothly, but his bilirubin levels were dangerously high, keeping us in the hospital for days. Thursday afternoon, we were finally cleared to head home!
Meanwhile, life didn’t slow down. I was still working two full-time jobs and training my replacement. Easter marked my final day at the church. One chapter closing as another exploded into existence.
May — Finding Our Rhythm (Sort Of)
Mother’s Day marked one of the first times Rowan and Chrissy were spotted out in the wild together. Chrissy, in a logic defying daze, chose to continue directing BCRC’s VBS one final time before we left.
Preparation ramped up quickly. Days were spent planning at church while juggling a freshly baked chaos potato. Friends and family surrounded us, helping shoulder the load.
June — Decisions Become Real
This is when things stopped being theoretical.
In what little free time we had, we’d searched for a place to land. Narrowing it down to a few options, none of which were in areas we’d initially planned on. Eventually, we settled on a quiet townhouse in Lenoir City. Small town, growing, full of history, and close enough to Knoxville without feeling swallowed by it.
Father’s Day followed, bringing Rowan’s baptism and a rare moment to pause. The next weekend delivered a surprise first for us. Two massive waterspouts just off the coast. Over thirty years in Florida and somehow we’d never seen one before.
July — The First Move
VBS week arrived in full force, always one of the busiest stretches of the year. Chrissy and her team pulled off an incredible program, and we simultaneously began packing in earnest.
We opted for a “slower” move. Multiple trips instead of one big haul. Cheaper, at least.
The Friday of VBS week, after the volunteer thank-you lunch, I picked up the largest U-Haul trailer available. That evening, Katie and I drove twelve hours to Tennessee, unloaded, then drove twelve hours back. One third of our move complete.
August — Goodbyes in Pieces
The following week was spent packing everything except baby essentials and the bare minimum to survive our final weeks in Florida. Less than a week later, another trip followed, this time with Matthew driving one of the cars. That alone made things feel manageable.
Two thirds of our life relocated.
The weekend after brought The Last Toast on the Coast, our Florida goodbye party. One week later, the final trip north. This time, everyone came! What would have been an overwhelming and exhausting venture turned into a fun moving party.
Rowan turned four months old and promptly started sprouting his first teeth. Because of course we’d have a teether that soon.
September — Settled, Yet Not Still
Logic suggested things might slow down. One job gone. Church commitments wrapped. Baby no longer brand new. Instead, September brought a week-long work trip, leaving Chrissy home solo with a rapidly changing infant.
Though we did find some breathing room exploring a nearby waterfall used in The Jungle Book remake. Toward the end of the month, Katie flew in, secured her new place, and started her final countdown to officially joining us.
October — One More Time
First weekend of the month meant it was time for yet another trailer and another drive to Florida. I kidnapped Katie and her belongings, she now belongs to Tennessee, muahahaha!
Two weeks later, we did it again… One final Florida run to bring the Vreman siblings home. Five moving treks under my belt, i75 sort of started feeling like my third home. Somewhere in there, Rowan experienced his first Halloween. He was unimpressed.
November — Filling the Space
With the moving finally done, we filled the space with family visits from the rest of the Vreman clan, an unexpectedly early snowfall, and a trip up to Look Rock mountain overlook for some perspective.
Thanksgiving rolled through and that weekend we all decided to go to a Christmas Tree farm as well and throw some Douglas in the back of the truck. He loved it! Thought it was exhilarating… The tree of course, what were you thinking I meant?
December — Full Speed to the Finish
Work deadlines collided with the holidays, because why wouldn’t we launch two massive client projects at the same time, during this time of year?
Rowan, now eight months old, learned to sit up, crawl, pull himself to stand on things, eat solids (selectively), and speak his first word. Drum roll please……..
“Mŏ mŏ.” = More. Mama. Mostly puffs. (soft O, kinda sounds like muhmuhmuh)
We celebrated our first Christmas together with this howling banshee and crossed into a new year almost as quickly as it arrived.
All in all, a good year. A lot of joy. A lot of stress. An overwhelming amount of love. We were carried by friends and family at every stage, and we wouldn’t be where we are without them.
Now the hope is simple. Slow down. Watch Rowan grow. Explore this beautiful state, and maybe beyond. And most of all, listen for where God is calling us to step in next.
For now, we’re grateful to be where we are.