2026 Start

* THIS POST CONTAINS BOTH AFFILIATE AND PRODUCT LINKS,
​ALONG WITH LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEBSITES MENTIONED IN THE POST.*

Happy New Year! 2026 is here, and we are so excited for this new year. 2025 was great. We moved, started new jobs, our kids moved, some of our kids got married, we moved again; it was a year of change and growth. It really was great. But, with all the change and transition, 2025 still felt a little unstable. 

As we step into 2026, however, we are doing so with a renewed sense of calling, purpose, and joy. From our callings to serve our church, to the new season of family life, to our new ventures, we're looking forward to what God is doing as He continues to lead us through this amazing journey. We want to jump into 2026, and share a little about what we believe God is calling us to, and what we hope, through His grace, to see happen.

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Parenting

We have been sharing a lot about the transition from being a house of 7 (2 parents and 5 kids)  to a house of 3. With all 4 boys living on their own or with their families, our once busy and active home has been become significantly quiet and less busy. As we think of our parenting, that too is changing. We are now parents of adult kids, and we learning what that means.

Adulting

Amy and I are getting older. We're both in our 50's. In some ways, that's exciting. We once looked up to folks in their 50's as mentors and coaches. We saw them as experienced, wise, and respected. They helped to shape us as, our faith, our parenting, our marriage, and our ministry. Will we now have a chance to be that for someone else? 

But, 50? We're getting older. Our bodies are changing. We have readers. We can't eat certain foods. Our knees, backs, and hands remind us that we're not as flexible or athletic as we once were. We're learning how to adapt and care for ourselves. At our church they is a ministry to "older" folks. The age to be welcomed into that group is 55. We're almost there, and we're not ready for that!

Grandparenting

Yes, we're grandparents. And, we love it! Embrace the role is something we are looking forward. But with grandparenting comes new responsibilities, expectations, hopes, and commitments. We are navigating what it looks like to be supportive, available, helpful, and encouraging, while recognizing boundaries and learning when (and how) to step in and when to step back.

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Married Life

This May we celebrate 30 years of marriage. God has been so good to us in our marriage. In so many ways we have been blessed. 30 years and we are still in love, we are still our favorite people to be with, with are still looking to be better and do better. We still want to be the best for one another. We look forward to seeing each other. And, we still get "weak in the knees" when we're around each other. 30 years of ups and downs, and yet we're still crazy in love.

Encouraging Families

We have long welcomed the idea of encouraging and supporting families. As youth workers, we recognize that serving students also means your serving the family. More than ever, we want to partner with and walk along side parents as they raise up their families. As we step into 2026, not only are we excited about the opportunities to serve families in our church, but we are also looking to expand that ministry beyond the church walls. For the longest time, our online presence has been sharing our lives as a family. From the blog to the vlog to our social media, we shared our story as we were living it. But life is different now.

This year we hope to dive a little deeper into our why? Why is family so important to us? Why do we feel called to serve students AND their families? This past fall we started our podcast called, Gathered in the Higham House. Our hope was and is to encourage and support families through sharing the story that God has given to us. The first 7 episodes are already live, with at least 8 more coming in this new year.

The blog will also continue to share what we have learned and what we are continuing to learn as husband and wife, as parents and grandparents, and as Jesus followers. We recognize that we are not experts on all family related topics, but we have a story, and we are experts at sharing our story.

We're looking forward to 2026

Where 2025 was a year of transition and change, 2026 is set to be a year growth. We're excited to see what God has in store for the new year. As always, we are inviting you to come along and join us. As the new year takes shape, we will share the things we're learning, what our family is doing, and offer encouragement and hope to your family. So here we go. Let's officially kick off the new year. 2026 is here. 

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