Merry Christmas, friends and family! Another year has gone by, and we’d love to share what’s been happening in our family throughout 2025. Spoiler alert: God has been so good to us, and our year was filled with His grace and mercy; learning to trust more in the hard and be more grateful for all the good!
Amelia Grace (25)~ I have to lead with the biggest news: our Mia is engaged! We adore our future son-in-law, Evan! We’re very excited for them and have already welcomed him into our family, but it will be cool to make it “official!” But that’s not the only great thing Amelia has had going on this year! She was a speaker at both the Ohio Environmental Health Association and the Ohio Association for Food Protection conferences. She has read over 40 books (that’s my girl!), started baking sourdough, and taught herself to crochet. She also hosted her brothers a few times, which she loves. (And they do, too!) She also made a move this summer, from Dublin to Worthington and she’s enjoying her new place. We’re so proud of her! Amelia, my mom, and I also took a long weekend trip to Niagara Falls in Canada this fall and it was a lot of fun.
Owen Dempsey (23)~ Owen finished his 4th year at AU with flying colors! The last 6 months are his story to tell, but what I do want to express is that we are endlessly grateful that he is here with us and that he is well. It is only by our God’s great grace and mercy. This holiday season has only deepened our thankfulness for Owen and all his many talents and gifts. Speaking of which, he has been creating and playing amazing music, both on his own and with a band. Owen also is still playing for worship at our church. He loves to read and study things that are way over my head, but I love his unique take on life, Faith, and Huxtable sweaters he finds at the thrift store.
Haven William (21st year in Heaven)~ Check out his travels on the back! We continue to be soooo thankful for every single person who thinks of him and takes the time to let us know he is remembered. There is no greater gift to parents of loss than to know their child is remembered!
Wilson Beck (20)~ Wils is living his best life these days! He’s a junior at BGSU and this summer, he and 3 of his good friends, moved into a really cool house off campus. Like, really cool. He doesn’t come home as much as he used to, due to the fact that his sweet girlfriend Makala also went away to school, but we still see him fairly frequently. He really enjoys his art classes, but also likes the classes for his Geography major. He has been really into reading comic books the last year or so and says he loves to read if the book has pictures. I’ll take it - it’s still reading! We’re looking forward to him being home for break because we miss him so.
Mark and Andi~ Mark turned 50 this year! To celebrate, he and I went to Nashville to see some bands that he loves. Of course, we took the back roads and also found some abandoned things to take pictures of! It was a really fun trip. We celebrated 27 years of marriage in July with a weekend in Little Italy/exploring Cleveland. Mark still enjoys his work at HDC and has enjoyed taking some senior pics this year, too. He had a couple photos on display at Ashland University for their alumni art show, and some of his photos have been featured on NBC4’s (Columbus) news and social media pages, which is very cool! I have had a big change in my responsibilities at school. I don’t teach Computer anymore, but I still love teaching Bible. I won’t list all the new things I’m doing, but some highlights are being the Yearbook advisor, taking care of the library, and coordinating our school Chapels. All the changes have given me many opportunities to lean on Jesus for His strength! Haha! I truly do enjoy most of the new things I’m doing, and I still think middle schoolers are just so fun.
None of the goodness of our year would have been possible without the love of Jesus that surrounded us in every venture. We also couldn’t have survived some of the deepest valleys this year brought. If you don’t know Him, any of us would love to tell you about His love for YOU!
With many prayers for a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year and much love,
The Soergels
(Psalm 107:28-30)
Haven’s 2025 Travels
- Disney World, Epcot, Florida
- Sumter, South Carolina
- Orlando, Florida
- Ada Bojana, Montenegro
- Naples, Florida
- Mt. Gilead, Ohio
- Barbados
- Condado, San Juan
- Honeymoon Island Beach, Florida
- Safety Harbor, Florida
- Te Amo Beach, Bonaire
- Bachelor’s Beach, Bonaire
- Smyrna Beach, Florida
- Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands
- Eleuthra, Bahamas
- Fort Walton Beach, Florida
- Cinderella’s Castle, Disney World, Florida
- New York Public Library, New York City
- 9/11 Museum, New York City, NY
- Gulfport, Mississippi
- Princess Cays Island, Bahamas
- Nokomis Beach, Florida
- White Sands National Park, New Mexico
- Lakeview Park, Lorain, Ohio
- Punta Cana (x2!)
- Galapagos Islands
- Pathos, Cyprus
- A turtle nesting site, south coast of Cyprus
- Prestayn, Wales, UK
- Lakeside, Ohio
- Ocean City, Maryland
- Grand Cayman Starfish Point
- Fort Morgan, Alabama
- Lipoa St. Beach, Maui, Hawaii
- Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- West Palm Beach, Florida
- Perdido Key Beach, Florida
- Abergele, Wales, UK
- Ormskirk, UK
- Nickel Plate Beach, Huron, Ohio
- Cedar Point Beach, Sandusky, Ohio
- Dry Tortugas National Park, Key West, Florida
- Loch Ness and Loch Lomond, Scottish Highlands
- Mexico
- Virginai Beach, Virginia
- Clayton Beach, Scarborough, UK
- Bamburgh Northumberland, UK
- Lindisfarne (Holy Island), UK
- Nags Head, North Carolina
- Blackenberg, Belgium
- Haugesand, Norway
- Lakeville, Minnesota
- Disney World, Florida
- Niagara Parks Botanical Garden, Niagara, Canada
- Ocean Cay Marine Reserve, Bahamas
- Marco Island, Florida
12 states, 16 countries, 4 continents, written 57 times! Thank you for taking Haven around the world!!
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