Marathon

 

About 25 years ago I ran a marathon. It was on my bucket list and after we moved to Houston with our new baby girl in 1999, I decided it was time to check it off my list. I trained for about 5 months and my only goal was to finish and run the whole time.

During the marathon, there were cheerleaders along the way – strangers and family met me at different mile points and gave me lots of encouragement. Hydration and refueling stations were strategically placed on the course and even a beer station at mile 21.

There were also small stretches that felt really long when I ran alone. I couldn’t see anyone in front of me nor behind me. I finished in just over 5 hours and when I crossed the finish line I felt relief, pride, joy and weakness. I was dehydrated and hungry but I couldn’t eat with feeling so sick.

I’ve been a parent for almost 26 years now. It has felt much like that marathon…lots of cheerleaders, hydrating and refueling stations, and even some beer stops along the way. There have been times I felt very alone and times when I didn’t feel like I had enough…enough love, energy, resources, care, hope.

There’s no finish line in sight. But I am still moving forward and I am not alone. Where are you in this race?

Merry Christmas 2024

 

When I look at our photos from this past year, our lives could look very much like a fairytale. Most fairytales begin with "Once upon a time..." and end with "Happily ever after." I am not sure this year could fit in between those two lines but we do have so much to thank God for!

 

We welcomed new beginnings--new life stages for Emily and Wesley...

  

Omar and Saimon launched...

Marian moved to College Station...

Katerin opened up to new possibilities...

and renewed health for Savannah...

We celebrated 3 graduations--Savannah completed high school a year early, Omar graduated from THS, and Wesley from College of the Ozarks...

The biggest family celebrations included 2 weddings less than 3 months apart!

And in between those two weddings Omar pulled off a sweet surprise proposal for his now fiancé, Savannah. (Yes we will have two Savannahs!)

Wesley and Sarah's Spring wedding took place in Bentonville, Arkansas and was likely the most beautiful wedding in all of Arkansas! No kidding--their wedding made the pages of Arkansas Bride magazine this past month. What made it an even more special union was that it was the first family reunion where all nine of us were together since July 2023. The day of the rehearsal dinner was filled with storms and tornado warnings, which made the next day's plans for an outdoor wedding look pretty bleak. But thankfully the torrential weather moved out and their wedding day was dreamy. Rain and shine, we soaked in every beautiful moment. 

 

Emily and Zach's Summer wedding took place right here close to home. It was everything we hoped it would be--a true glimpse of God's glory as family and friends shared the weekend, and what this couple meant to them, with us. Their wedding provided a second family reunion for us. Emily had her 3 sisters in the bridal party, along with 4 sweet friends, and Savannah shared a lovely tribute to the couple in her Maid of Honor speech. I replay the photos and memories in my mind and heart and continue to be amazed at what God has done.

 

With all of these changes, we traveled over 41,000 miles in 2024. But what is more than the miles, accomplishments and life changes, is how we have grown in number and in relationships as a family. If I picked a word to describe 2024, it would be GROWTH. God restores our weary, tender hearts. He is still working, and I think because He is who He says He is, one day we will have a happily ever after.

 

Merry Christmas!

The Evermons

Wesley & Sarah's Wedding Photography: Emily May Photography

Emily & Zach's Wedding Photography: Shutterup Photography

Cheers to Zach & Emily

 

 

One of Emily's bridesmaids shared a speech at the reception, and she gave me permission to share it with you. It is a beautiful description of the love between Emily and Zach and the friendships they have with others.  

 

Hello, my name is Paige and I have had the privilege of being friends with both Zach and Emily for the past 5 years.

 

Emily is a beautiful, tender soul, a hopeless romantic in most aspects of life. She holds on to joy wherever possible. She is honest and open and direct, but such an honest person. She loves with a depth and genuine nature--to be loved by her is a true privilege.

Zach is such an incredible friend. He is full of wisdom, he is smart, generous, faithful and diligent. With a fierce heart, thirst for adventure and a relentless perseverance of the things he cares about. Especially Emily.

 

You may not know that Emily's favorite movie as a kid was Peter Pan and that she had a crush on Peter growing up. Ironically, she herself is much like Wendy, a responsible big sister who cares deeply for those around her and loves to read and dream of wonderland.

It's fitting then, that Zach is much like Peter. A thirst for adventure with a troop of friends who would go anywhere with him. A natural born leader who will rise against any forces who would threaten what he holds dear. He has such integrity, even his shadow knows what he is about. He would stare down a crocodile-fearing pirate captain, challenge his friends, and even say hard things to the one he loves if life calls for it.

 

Emily, like Wendy calls others higher. She calls shots as she sees them, and will not be left out of the adventure. She loves deeply, and creates a safe space for those around her.

Together, these two have truly built something that seems like it belongs in a kid's book for the pure love that it holds. Like the story in Neverland, it's not been perfect, there have been arguments, and moments when the faith in the magic almost faded. But they fought for it and it came back stronger and brighter than ever.

 

 Zach, I couldn’t have hoped for a better man to pursue this sweet friend. In your love, Emily has found the peace her heart longed for, it is clear how you hold her in equal parts gentleness and fierceness and she has become more of the beautiful girl that I have had the privilege of knowing privately, in public.

Emily, thank you for loving Zach. Two weeks into dating, I remember you looking me in the eyes and saying, "I am going to marry Zach." Thank you for contending for him in the hard things, for choosing the narrow path, and always fighting for your relationship. Zach is clearly so secure in your love, and that has been a joy to see. He has become more joyful, vibrant and gentle. And you were right! Here you are, marrying Zach.

 The only thing I could now hope to say is… Zach I lost the game…. Also, congratulations, for this day and all the days to come. And never forget the secret to life is the live with love, faith, trust, and pixie dust…. CHEERS!

 

(Thank you Natasha Miley and Arin Love with @Shutterupphotographers (Instagram) or @ShutterUpPhotographyTexas (Facebook) for not just amazing photos, but a wonderful experience!)

 

Christmas 2023

My social media posts highlight the happy moments of 2023 and we certainly have much to be thankful for. But 2023 has also been one of the hardest years for our family. We are walking through a really difficult season and honestly, some days we have had only an ounce of hope. 

But God gives us good gifts even in the most difficult times.

Katerin has been with Heartlight Ministries for almost a year and it gives us great pride and joy to see how God uses her to minister to the girls in her care. She has learned so much and we love every minute we get to catch up with her, whether it’s a couple of days or just a phone call.

Emily and her boyfriend, Zach, are celebrating a year together and have just transitioned into a long-distance relationship as Zach took a job in Arlington. We have enjoyed getting to know Zach this past year. Emily moved to a new apartment this past summer and has roommates again. They have been so kind to take care of Daisy on the weekends Emily goes to Arlington.

Marian is in her 3^rd year of caring for an elderly client. She has enjoyed some travel this year—Las Vegas for her birthday, Alabama for a wedding, Thanksgiving in Oklahoma, and she is headed to Mexico for NYE! We love having Marian close and enjoy our time together when she is not working or off having fun.

You can see from our family photo below that we are excited to announce Wesley’s engagement to Sarah! The wedding planning is in full swing as we look ahead to April 27^th. We could not be more thrilled to welcome Sarah into our family! Wesley is finishing college this month and walking the stage in May! He is studying hard for the CPA exams and he and Sarah plan to move to Dallas where he will start a job with Mazars next summer.

Omar is in his Senior year at Tomball High School. He is in class half days and then works at Houston Oaks the other half as a ranch hand. He loves to work, which comes in handy since he bought a truck last Spring! He is planning to study Agriculture at SFA next Fall—go Lumberjacks!

Saimon and Savannah are both Juniors and both are going to high school out of state. Saimon’s school has 8-man football and his team was undefeated and took the State Championship! Savannah is just getting settled at her new school and we look forward to seeing her soon!

Going to high school out of state was not what we planned for or wanted. But for different reasons, and with heavy hearts, we made the decision in effort to help meet our kids’ crucial needs during this time. Together is where we want to be. Even though we cannot be together every night right now, we are trusting the Lord to hold us all close, even closer to Him.  And we try to make the most of the times we do get to see each other.

We hope you have a beautiful Christmas with loved ones and pray that in whatever path you are on, you may know the Lord more deeply and feel His amazing love and goodness every single day!

With love, The Evermons