2025: The Year Everything Changed

I turned 50 in April.

A couple of weeks later, life reminded us how fast everything can change.

Tonya had a stroke.

For a while, memories were scattered—some missing, some just out of reach. Time slowed down. Fear got loud. Hope had to be chosen on purpose. Slowly, patiently, most of her memories came back, reminding us just how strong she is and how much grace lives in the waiting.

Two days after she got out of the hospital, I took her to the beach—Winston riding shotgun, exactly where he thinks he belongs.

No big plan. No agenda.

Just sun, salt, sand, a bulldog with his nose in the breeze, and the sound of the water doing what it’s always done—steady, patient, healing. God painted the sky with one of those sunsets you can’t explain, only feel. The kind that forces you to breathe deeper without realizing you were holding your breath.

The beach has a way of forcing a reset.

Of recalibrating what matters.

Of reminding you to love a little more… and worry a little less.

Life kept happening, too.

Dylan and Mackenzie got engaged in April.

Savannah turned 21 in May.

Maddox turned 5 in September.

Zack and Ashlyn got engaged in September.

Brylee Ann turned 1 in October.

Milestones stacked up in the middle of recovery and reflection—proof that even in the hardest seasons, life insists on moving forward.

That season is why I started GrubbsTravelAdventures.com.

Not for clicks. Not for likes.

But because when memories felt fragile, I wanted a place to document our life going forward—for Tonya, for our kids, for our grandkids… and for Winston, who somehow always knows when we need him most.

Our family continues to grow.

And with it, our legacy becomes stronger.

As we step into a new year, we do it differently than before. Slower. More intentional. Grateful for the small things we used to rush past. Focused less on what’s next and more on who’s beside us.

2025 taught us this:

Life is fragile. Healing takes time. Memories matter.

So we slow down.

We write it down.

We hold tighter.

And we move forward—hopeful, thankful, and ready for whatever comes next.

— Grammy & Pop Pop