It seems only weeks ago that I made a daily to-do list in an attempt to instill better habits. It feels so recent that I had to check whether that attempt perhaps was from this summer. It wasn’t. And so it serves as another reminder of how quickly time passes: last January surely is no more than 6 months ago?
We tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in an hour, yet underestimate what we can achieve over a lifetime.
In any case: this year, Christmas arrived before I even had started on the annual summary you’re reading now, so what follows is the quick and convenient version of 2025.
The year began with a generous amount of snow. We travelled to the Netherlands to celebrate the 60th wedding anniversary of Maria’s father and Herbert’s mother-in-law. A few months later, our grandson Oliver took his first steps, only weeks before celebrating his very first birthday. Notably, he insisted on eating his cake with a fork and succeeded admirably. Maria also celebrated her 50th birthday, with friends and family flying in from many directions to mark the occasion.
May turned out to be the sunniest month of the year, at least according to our solar panel statistics. It also marked Krister’s return from his time at Folkehøyskolen Danvik. During that same month, Maria participated in several photo shoots, bringing along Bente and Herbert for two of them. If you’re curious, you might even spot us here: https://rodne.no/en/fjord-experiences/stavanger/fjordcruise-lysefjord-preikestolen/
Just before summer, we prepared the apartment to host guests through Booking.com. One of our closest friends shared valuable hospitality advice, which proved helpful. So far, the result has been a steady rating of 9.8 out of 10.
July saw Maria guiding trips in and around Stavanger. In August, Krister and Bente once again attended OM’s TeenStreet in Germany, an experience that continues to be worthwhile. Just after that, Bente embarked on an exchange year after careful research, ultimately choosing Canada through the Rotary Club. In return, we welcomed Declan, who has been staying with us for the remainder of 2025.
In September, Per Torbjørn and Herbert organized a “Rock Service” at church. Nearly a hundred kids showed up to experience oil drums, rock music, and the message of forgiveness presented in an unconventional way. This was followed by an Alpha course, which we recently completed, with plans to continue through a home-grown discipleship program starting in 2026. Church LAN parties also made a clear comeback: we helped organize three of them. Some participants came fully prepared for gaming marathons, while others were more focused on food, drinks, and the all-night atmosphere. For us, it highlighted the strength of teamwork: when responsibilities align with individual strengths, things tend to run smoothly.
At the beginning of October, we travelled to the Netherlands once more and experienced a flat tire for the very first time.
Towards the end of the year, Maria discovered a talent for “alchemy”: mixing natural ingredients, including various bee products. She has been selling these creations for some time and is now preparing to take the next step online.
If you read between the lines, we hope you’ll understand that we feel sincerely blessed. Not only by all we get to engage in and experience, but most of all by our relationships with family and friends.
We hope you are doing well and sincerely hope to see you – or at least hear from you – sometime in the new year.