A Christmas Blessing
Glory to God!
I open this letter by echoing the words I chose for the front of this card, because it really is the best thing I can say about our 2025. Tommy and I celebrate our 31st anniversary this month, and of this past year of ours, I’ve often said that I feel like surely I’m going to wake up and realize I’ve just had the wildest dream!
You might find one clue about why that’s true based on the number of humans pictured on this card! Clearly, a lot has changed in our family since you received last year’s version of this letter! …And in more blessed ways than we ever could have hoped or imagined. Which, I guess, explains a lot about why it still at times feels hard for me to believe. …But the truth is that when I wrote last year’s letter; we were living with a quiet hope about a few things that, over the course of this past year, we’ve seen unfold in the most beautiful ways…
First, in a simple but beautiful little wedding this past winter, we officially gained Emma as a new daughter! We could not be more grateful that, for Ian, she turned out to be “the one”. From the very beginning, this mama could see the good young man he already was becoming even better with her. And it’s funny: Up till then, I’d spent pretty much Ian’s whole life dreading the day when I’d have to watch him get married. I imagined I’d feel like I was “losing” my boy, who I love so very much. But when the time came, that’s not how I felt at all. As cliché as it sounds, I really did feel like we were gaining a daughter; and that our family was gaining exactly who God had planned, perfectly, for Ian. In fact, it all led to something else I really never imagined: I not only got to see our son get married, but I also got to perform the ceremony! It was an experience I will treasure forever. I wonder when I’ll ever learn that, in the things I worry about and even dread, God’s invisible hand is always at work - and able to do so much more and better than I can imagine…
He would go on to do a whole lot more of that this year:
No words can describe what He did for us on April 4. That’s when Jett Flynn Triplett entered not only this world – but also our lives and our very hearts. When I speak of those quiet hopes we had last Christmas, this precious baby boy was one. Brandi and Cody had literally rendered me speechless (not easy to do!) when, on her birthday last year, she casually dropped an ultrasound photo into my lap! For more reasons than I can fit into a paragraph of this letter, I cannot overstate how much I had not seen that coming! It didn’t take long for this wonderfully surprising news to morph into one of the most exciting, most hope-filled times of our lives. Evidently, Jett was as eager to receive all the love awaiting him as we all were to give it, because kind of out of the blue, he decided to arrive 6 weeks early! His consequent stay in the NICU forever marked us all. It was such a very hard thing for Brandi and Cody to go home and leave that tiny, precious baby behind. From the very beginning, they have both been selfless, devoted parents; a true blessing to witness. As was the opportunity to be with them when Jett was born, as they graciously invited me to do. Everything about the entire experience formed bonds I cannot possibly explain; between us all - and between each of us and Jett. Oh, how we love him! With his huge blue eyes and sweet, dimpled smile, he draws a person right in! From the very start, he’s been perceptive and contemplative: He misses nothing! His “thinking face” is our favorite, and good thing! Because it’s one we see often! He has also earned from me the title of “World’s Best Hugger.” The way he cuddles up and melts into my shoulder is the purest sweetness. His “Tommy” (because, yep, that’s his chosen grandfather name!) is completely enamored with him and based on the smile that becomes seemingly frozen on Jett’s face when he looks at his Tommy, the feeling seems to be mutual! Our baby boy is a blessing we never expected, and until we knew him, one we never could have properly or fully imagined. He is a precious miracle.
…Speaking of blessings we never expected or imagined, God had even more up His sleeve this year than just our precious baby boy: Can you believe that just a few months later, He also gave us the most beautiful baby girl!? Ian and Emma welcomed Oakleigh Rose Flynn on July 24, and I got to be there for her very first breath, too! Emma endured an extremely difficult labor (more than 36-hours) with uncommon grace and strength. The way Ian supported and encouraged her through it all was also exceptional and made me so proud of him. When we finally saw our sweet, tiny little girl – head full of surprisingly dark hair and making it quite clear that she had not enjoyed the ordeal she’d just been through – I could not stop crying right along with her! Our little girl! It didn’t even feel real. In some ways, it still doesn’t. …The way her parents walked together through the challenging process of her arrival was just the beginning of how well they would love her. Their devotion to her is the sweetest thing to watch. She is one very loved little girl! …And the fact that God gave us not one, but two babies with those blue eyes is just amazing! Hers are the liveliest, most sparkling I’ve ever seen on a little baby. She truly lights up when she sees her Mama, her Daddy… and Jett! “Adoration” is word I think of when looks at them. And her smile… oh, that smile! …She wraps her “Tommy” around her tiny (yet long and graceful!) little finger a little more tightly each day. And her “Leigh Leigh” (that’s me!) has a heart full of dreams about all the things she and I will spend a lifetime doing together. We already have meaningful conversations and so much fun doing things like dancing around the kitchen to “Let it Go!” …She is pure and miraculous sweetness, sunshine, and joy.
Jett and Oakleigh have both - and each - brought us such unique and special joy. For me, though, the greatest joy is that, from the very beginning, we’ve all kept very much in focus the truth that these babies – like every child – are truly precious gifts from God. They’ve heard from even before they were born that Jesus loves them even more than we do! In September, we had a beautiful little riverfront service here at our house to dedicate them both, together, to the Lord. And to add blessing to blessing, I also got to perform that service. …Truly one of the most meaningful things I’ve ever had the privilege of doing.
…Believe it or not, other things happened in our year, too! We did some traveling! We sold a business! We spent as much time as we could on boats! Along with the small group I lead, I read and studied the entire New Testament of the Bible - and wrote for our group nearly every day in the process. …We didn’t do some of the things we thought we would; and we did other things we never imagined we would. In almost every area of our lives, we experienced highs and lows. When it feels so hard to believe that another year has already passed, we need only look back and realize just how much has happened and changed in 2025. Then, it feels hard to believe that it’s only been a year…
And in all of it, yes: Glory to God! …It’s what the angels proclaimed on the very first Christmas when baby Jesus arrived to save this world. Then they said, “Peace to those on whom His favor rests.” …We arrive at this Christmas feeling God’s favor and goodness in our lives more tangibly than ever before. I believe and am continuing to learn that walking through life trusting Him with everything really is the way to true peace. When we put our hope in Him, He really can and will – in His perfect time and in His perfect way - do better things than we can ask or imagine! That was true and perfectly evidenced on the first Christmas when He gave us Jesus. And this Christmas, it’s true and evident in our lives, too.
So, may this simple greeting - from our family (and the precious new lives in it!) to yours - give Him glory and offer you His peace…
