A Sweet Valentine’s Day

by Steph // Wednesday, May 20, 2026 // No Comments

This year for Valentine’s Day, Blake and I had the pleasure of traveling to a marriage retreat that our friends invited us to!

We only had a 3 1/2 hour drive to get to Iowa City, and did not need to be there until noon on a Friday, which was nice.

I usually do not enjoy sitting still in a vehicle!

But these days I am starting to enjoy it more and more – especially when my hubby is in the seat next to me!

The weekend of the retreat we had the MOST beautiful weather!

It made traveling easy and packing a lot lighter!

The conference was being held at the Hyatt Regency, which was a very nice hotel.

The conference started at noon with lunch and then a speaker.

I could not believe how very well cared for I was over this two day event!

This place sure knew how to handle food allergies – and I am here to tell you I ate like a queen!!

Lunch was DELICIOUS.

After the first speaking session, we had the rest of the afternoon free to be with our spouse.

Blake and I enjoyed getting some coffee and going for a walk outside because the weather was so beautiful!

As we walked around town, of course we saw things that the children would love and ended up talking about them the whole time!

It was a really nice place to take a walk.

The Valentine Banquet was that evening, and we had to be ready for it at 5:30.

I was very excited to get to eat “out” again!

Before we had our meal though, we played some games as a group – they were really fun!!

I think our favorite was the selfie game.

It was a wild scramble of finding the right people to get the selfie you needed!!

There were 225 people there!

I am not sure it helped us get to really know the other couples there – it was a competitive group – and everyone was running around!

Oh my goodness, our selfie skills are so on point, aren’t they??

Dinner was fantastic, by the way!!

Tate had set my girlfriend and I up with some chocolates he had made for our dessert.

They brought everyone else a giant piece of “tuxedo” cake that looked like a stomach ache, or maybe a heart attack, ha, ha!

No one at our table hardly ate it.

But then they brought my girlfriend and I a fruit dessert and we were the envy of the couples at our table!!

It was delicious!

And I even got a photo with my very best bestie!!

The next morning we had a buffet breakfast before the speakers started.

I found plenty to eat and it was perfect!!

Before we left our room to go down and check out, Blake and I watched the trees out of our room window.

We were right on the river where we were staying and there were SO MANY EAGLES!!

I have never seen so many eagles in one place!!

We counted 36 eagles in those trees!!

It felt like a hug from the Lord.

Of course once the retreat was over, we headed right to Costco!

How can you be five minutes from a Costco and not go??

Our friends went there too so we shopped together.

It was a great way to end our couples Valentine get-away!

Then it was time to head back home to our kiddos!!

That was the most wonderful retreat!

Blake and I could not even talk about all we heard without tears!

We are SO grateful to everyone who made that retreat possible – they really believe that strong marriages and strong families are what this country needs – and we AGREE.

Our friend’s invited us to join them again next year!!

Time will tell, but I am sure hoping we can make that happen!

Blake and I NEED time away alone, with each other, where we can focus on our marriage.

Thanks, babe, for taking off work and making this very special Valentine get-away happen.

You are one in a billion, Blake Moschel!!

Catching Up!! January Stuff

by Steph // Monday, May 18, 2026 // 2 Comments

We always end the holidays and start the new year with several birthdays!

We celebrated Blake’s 60th and also Kamryn and Aspen’s birthday during our family day lunch on a Sunday after church.

We really laughed at Kayla’s creative gift!

My poor hubby has lots going on with his teeth right now, and is wearing an appliance to cover some teeth that had to be removed.

We thought Kayla’s case for his appliance was adorable!!

We enjoy celebrating birthdays!!

Sundays are our all time favorite day of the week when we can set aside the time to just be all together.

Brings such a big smile to my face as I look back on these photos.

Aspen got to have a sleep over at NaiNai’s house for her birthday too and I cannot wait to continue that tradition throughout the rest of this year!

We ate a lot of food in January.

I spend A LOT of time in the kitchen!

I still have a dinner party of six every evening for dinner and we are up to twenty-two of us on Sundays!!

I LOVE cooking and baking!

I LOVE tending to my kitchen!!

I just don’t love the grocery shopping.

That’s ok though because we buy in bulk with anything that we can!

Sometimes I have a plan for all of this food preparation.

But then sometimes I say to myself, “Just make ANYTHING!”

They eat it all no matter what, ha, ha!

When we have afternoon activities, I do try to plan ahead so that when we finally walk back in the door dinner is ready to bake!

Family Sundays are the biggest meal I prepare each week.

Winter is easiest, honestly, because soup is in season, in one pot, and delicious!

We also have some form of tacos often on family day!

If anyone is even reading this besides us, you know there are a lot of predictable things here at Twin Oaks for me.

My morning quiet time, my love for coffee with frothed coconut milk and for chunky monkey, my love of Pilates and meeting with my trainer twice a week, my love for the kitchen, my love for our pups….

I like routine, what can I say?

I LOVE my birds!

We have a feeder on the corner of our deck all winter long, and it brings us SO much joy!

This winter there were 23 red cardinals visiting here AT ONE TIME.

It was majestic!!

God is so kind!!

I enjoy the views and sunshine off of our deck all winter long.

We are thankful for how many big windows we have here at Twin Oaks!

Of course the children have their own interests too!

I do not think there is anything better than watching them pursue the things they are interested in!

I am in less of a hand holding season these days, and in more of cheerleading season!

It is FUN!

And they all are SO talented at so many things!

Speaking of those kiddos…Tate got a new job in January and got glasses!

He took Lane’s spot at the library and currently works there two afternoons a week.

He loves it!

And now he can SEE!

That stinker – the eye doctor could not believe how bad his eyes were!

He had never said anything to us.

The eye doctor said to me, “Well, you think his teacher would have noticed!”

To which I said, “Yes, you would think SO!!”

SIGH.

Aren’t his glasses cute though??

Addie and Scottie went to Florida in January.

When they dropped their dog off to us, I pretended I was packed and ready to go with them!

SO RUDE – they did not take me!!!!

Kayla sent me a photo later that day showing me that the kiddos were praying for me, because I had my tongue tie released that afternoon.

I had my first early graduate in December!!

Lane Stevan has an amazing job currently, and we are enjoying watching the Lord work out his next steps!!

He is our giant – even taller than Chad now!

Blake had the second of several more surgeries on his mouth in January.

This one really had him down for several days – it was ROUGH.

It wasn’t long until he was back doing all the things though.

He is our resident kombucha maker, and fixer of all things!

His wife gave him a new Keurig coffee machine for his 60th birthday that has a water line that runs to it!!!!!

I promise I was thinking of him when I bought it, ha, ha!

He had that coffee maker hooked up quick and efficiently and we ALL love it!

No more filling the Keurig with water all day long!

We put up so much from our gardens last fall.

You can read about it all here.

I was very pleasantly surprised at how long the things we preserved in the refrigerator downstairs lasted!

We had leeks and cabbage just bagged up and stored in the fridge and they were fresh all winter long!!

How’s that for keeping some memories from January?

My little scrapbook here is a joy for us to look back on!!

And I would like to say that I have a girlfriend who will be thrilled that I finally figured out how to collage my photos!

It’s a labor of love, friends!

Lots has changed around here this last month – so here is hoping I will be able to meet this goal I have about this lil’ ole blog of mine.

I miss keeping our memories here!

If you are out there and reading along – until next time!!

February memories coming up next!!

Our Most FAVORITE Trip to Illinois and Indy

by Steph // Saturday, February 7, 2026 // Comments off

October of last year brought a family trip to Illinois and Indianapolis!

And when I say family trip – I mean our ENTIRE family!!

It was the BEST family day ever that lasted three days!

There were twenty-one of us on this trip in five different vehicles.

Looking back at these photos to download for this post has me smiling SO big and wanting to do it ALL again!

The first photo was in our driveway as we got ready to head out.

It was fun to meet up with each other on our long drive – especially when your daughter gives you cookies to snack on that she made for you!!

Our first stop was in Morton, Illinois, to see Blake’s Mom.

Of course we started at our favorite coffee shop – Four30 Scones!!

Goodness, I just love this photo!!

After having our treats, we walked up the road to a little park so we could let the children run around and play.

The weather was SO nice for the middle of October!

We were thankful for that since we were such a big crowd!

Blake and I met in the summer of 1985 in this town, right near this park in the Dairy Queen parking lot, which is behind us in the photo below.

Isn’t that CRAZY??!!

Look what 40 years can do!!

We got a photo of everyone with Blake’s Mom, but we were just missing Chad and Kailey who were meeting up with us in Indy later that evening.

What a fun afternoon that was!

After our visit was over, we all got on the road to head to Indy to our hotel there.

We had about a three and a half hour drive that evening.

Our hotel was BEAUTIFUL and we all had rooms close to each other there.

Of course I started the morning Saturday in God’s Word with a hot cup of coffee!

We have a travel Keurig, well, because we are old and think we deserve it, ha, ha!

The best part of the morning was heading down to the breakfast area and being there when everyone came down for breakfast!

I WAS HAVING THE BEST DAY EVER!!

And I do not have one photo of that part, drats.

We headed to my Mom’s place as soon as we were all ready.

We were having brunch there – I prepared half of it and my brother did the rest!

It was SO fun to be there all together enjoying my Mom and my brother.

My brother was HAVING THE BEST DAY EVER TOO!!

We took an opportunity to get some photos with my Mom.

She too, by the way, was having a great day!

She told my brother “it is SO nice having the house full!”

Yes, I cried!

These photos are precious to us all and I am so glad to have them.

Around one o’clock we all headed to Tuttle’s Apple Orchard for a fun afternoon in the beautiful weather!

We had been there before with my brother – but we usually visit the first week of November and the weather isn’t quite as warm sometimes.

Little did we know how absolutely CRAZY it would be there!

When we started getting close and saw two police cars directing traffic we were on the family chat wondering if we should even try it.

I am SO glad we did!

It was busy, but mostly by the food area, and we had already eaten.

I mean, look at this sky – and now you can see why so many people were there!

We got checked in and then made a buddy plan for all of the grand children.

They were NOT allowed to let go of their buddy’s hand when we were walking!

It worked well and Kayla and I both felt confident with this plan!

There was SO much to do and it was all SO fun!!!

After we played for awhile we decided to get some slushies.

This was the WHOLE reason I was there, just so you know!!

They have apple cider slushies and they are so so good.

My brother and Chad went to wait in line for them, while we all waited at a picnic table under a big tree in the shade.

Everyone gave these slushies a huge thumbs up, and they were very refreshing on such a warm day!

Even Miss Goldie Hayes loved it!!

I want another one!

We then decided to go on the hay ride and do the corn maze.

The hay ride was covered so we were in the shade for that too, which was nice!

Once we were wore out, hungry and hot, we headed back to the hotel.

We had reserved the conference room for the evening so there would be space for us all to eat together and hang out together.

We got Chipotle for dinner and also had snacks that everyone brought.

It was perfect!!

Next up was swimming!!

I am here to tell you – that pool was ffrreeeeezzzzinnnngggg.

Not one of those crazy kids cared!

Even the biggest kids of all – I will let you decide who they are, ha, ha!

Some of us were smart and stayed on dry land.

Well, kind of dry land!

I am so so glad someone took a photo of my brother and I!!

The only photo I have of him the whole trip, what in the world.

You know what Sunday brought.

We had to go back home.

We hung out in the hotel all morning, sitting outside by a fire and enjoying everyone SO much.

Then we all headed out – not all at the exact same time, but close.

We did manage to hook up with Scottie and Addie that evening, back in Morton, Illinois, in a parking lot for some snacks.

Home Sweet Home.

And honestly no place I would rather be!

Look how green and beautiful everything still was in mid October!!

So much in my heart I could say about the abundant blessing of family.

Having a large family is certainly not for the faint of heart – it is busy!!!

But Blake and I are literally living out our prayers all those years ago when we first got married – God has been SO KIND to say YES to our prayers.

Being able to see my Mom and my brother also fills my heart so full.

Being able to take this trip to see my Mom and brother with everyone literally made my heart burst.

Just reliving this through these few photos and typing these words has complete gratitude bubbling up inside of me!

I have dreams, as you know!!

Dreams turned into prayers.

Time will tell how the Lord chooses to answer, but it is my hope that we will take more trips like this together and make many more memories to last a lifetime!

Thank you, Jesus, for it all!!

Our Wonderful Weekend

by Steph // Tuesday, January 27, 2026 // Comments off

Blake and I had a wonderful weekend away in the middle of August last year.

We usually take a trip together sometime in February, March or April.

Since we went to Florida with the children in March last year, we never took a trip for just the two of us.

We TREASURE time away together – and it is SO important for our marriage!

We left on a Friday evening (after Blake got home from work) and headed to Rochester, Minnesota, which is under two hours away from home.

We made a pit stop along the way to have some dinner too.

We had a suite to stay in at Staybridge Suites.

It was a nice place!

Fall temperatures had arrived that weekend, and it was chilly!

We still took a Saturday morning walk together – my morning habits travel with me – Bible time and long walks!

We decided to visit the farmer’s market that morning as well, and then do some shopping.

It was blustery and got cloudy, which made it even more cold!

It was so relaxing to just wander through the farmers market, talk to the vendors, and enjoy purchasing a few things.

After the farmers market, I asked Blake if he could take me to a thrift store that Addie Mae had told me about.

We went there and it was VERY nice!

I found a few treasures for our newly painted home, and even found a rocking chair for Kayla!

Yes, this is me sitting in that chair until I heard back from Kayla to see if she wanted it.

She had been looking for one, and this one was in perfect condition for only ten dollars!

Or course she said yes.

We stopped and got a light lunch and then headed back to our room to get ready.

Having NO plans, NO pressure, NO timeline was so wonderful – now I am wanting to do this again!!!

We did some more shopping after getting ready for the day, and then had a planning meeting of sorts.

Blake LOVES when I bring my lists and planner and pens and lists upon lists, ha, ha!!

At least I bought cookies for our planning meeting – I mean, how thoughtful!

That evening we had reservations at a restaurant that Kamryn’s family had told us about.

I could eat safely there, which you know is a BIG deal!

I WAS SO EXCITED!!!

We were seated outside, even in the chilly temperatures, but right by a fire and it was nice and toasty warm.

THE FOOD.

Oh I can still taste it if I close my eyes.

It was SO good.

So very good!!

I could have eaten three plates of this salad and had been done.

You just cannot make salad taste like a salad someone makes for you!

We had a fired brick dinner and cooked our own meat.

It was relaxing, delicious, and very enjoyable!

We did not want to leave!!

So we ordered decaf coffee and lingered by that fire.

We both kept saying that we needed to do this more often.

I think we need to say that again, because it just does not happen very often in this season of life right now!

Sunday morning we took another walk.

It was colder!!

But we had fun and Blake managed to keep up, as he kept saying, ha, ha.

I like to walk fast.

We got ready for the day and packed our bags up.

And then we went and found a church to attend.

It is always wonderful to attend different churches when traveling!

I love doing that!

It was a beautiful service and a challenging message.

You guys know that any trip to a big city would not be complete without a trip to Costco.

We had brought two huge coolers to stock up!!

That’s why that rocking chair was in the back seat!

Blake is a great Costco buddy because he does all the heavy lifting.

Thank you, honey!!

Couldn’t believe it, but it was time to go back home.

We stopped for a coffee on our way out of town.

It was good coffee too!

We are already talking here and there about vacation plans for this year.

And we are talking about a trip for just Blake and I too.

It is not as simple in this season as it has been in the past!!

But we NEED to make time together happen – even if we do not go somewhere away from home.

I have plans for getting old with my hubby, Lord willing, and we need to be close and connected to make those plans come to fruition!!

I really thought finding time together would get easier the older we and the children got – but this has not been so!

In the end, all good things take intention.

Time away together takes intention.

Here’s hoping we stick with these trips away together!

They reconnect and refuel us!

I wouldn’t mind going back to the restaurant Twigs either – it was SO good.

Time will tell!!!

Hopefully I will be writing a post soon about some intentional time away with my awesome hubby.

We are attending a weekend retreat in February with some friends – and I think that will count!

Stay tuned to hear all about it.

« Older posts

Strengthen My Hands

"…Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands." Nehemiah 6:9

A Sweet Valentine’s Day

Catching Up!! January Stuff

Our Most FAVORITE Trip to Illinois and Indy

Our Wonderful Weekend