Wow 2025, it certainly arrived in a hurry. Happy New Year to you all. It seems as you get older so the year seems to go that much faster. And on that note, in 2015 we kicked off the Share Six blog. Where has 10 years gone? I am so grateful to all the bloggers who have contributed over these 10 years. You are amazingly talented photographers and it has been a privilege to be a part of this group.

The theme this month is a poem I happened to stumble across that I really enjoyed.

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

~ Lord Alfred Tennyson.

These are the first two stanza that I chose to be the theme for January 2025. Chosen from a much longer poem by Lord Alfred Tennyson, and English poet from around 1829. From what I have read this poem was created as a memoriam for a friend or brother in law that passed away. But the words remind me of the passing of the old and the bringing in of the new. And just like New Year, we take time to reflect on the old and look forward to the new. If you want to read the whole poem here is the link.

As I look back there were some amazing highlights in 2024. I loved that I was able to check off one of my bucket list items. Our trip to Phoenix, and by my insistence (and willingness to pay for all of us), we were able to head to Antelope Canyon and photograph the sunrays through the canyon.  It was such a highlight for me.  I have to be honest I was really worried about the getting back to the truck.  They made a big deal of the time frame from leaving the cave to arriving back at the truck, but I managed to do that relatively easily. 

Another positive was to head out on a cruise to the Bahamas.  I’ve never been on a big cruise ship of this was a new experience and I was really impressed with the ship (not so much with the amount of people on the ship) and especially the size of the cabin.  Bahamas was another check on the travel list.  Nothing nicer than being on your balcony on a moving cruise liner with a glass of wine in your hand.

Another fun trip was to Orlando for Luka’s birthday.  It was nice to see Magic Kingdom through the eyes of a 3 year old.  We did get rained out as we left Disney, but managed to get to the bus in one piece. The next morning we went to the Hotel at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and I was able to have some of my favorite South African foods.. 

Luka is my world, and in his world he is crazy about his underwater creatures and so one of the crazy ideas I had was to suggest that I paint a wall in Luka’s room.  Amy decided that it would be a good idea to paint all the walls in the room.  This quickly became a 3 month job to get his room painted.  Two week long vacations painting 5 hours a day, and every Friday, Saturday and sometimes a Sunday.  Little did I realize just how much work this all was.  I was also thankful that my sketching out and painting of the room came out as well as it did. 

I think I would attempt anything for this boy, if he asked me to do it. Spending time with him this past year has been an absolute joy, although I think he is growing way to fast. I want time to slow down a bit. Already he is three, and he has got so tall that he looks that much older.

2024 overall was a good year. There were some tough times, there were moments of hurts, words spoken carelessly by people I respected but you move on, you let it go, and you make the decision not to put yourself in place where that will happen again.

As I said goodbye to the year, I started to reflect on what 2025 will look like. Our first biggie is our baby girl who will be arriving on Feb 3. This past weekend we celebrated her in style, and I have to say this is one of my favorite table settings I have done. A little butterfly is fluttering by. The theme very obviously butterflies and wildflowers. And there were butterflies aplenty including in all the baby’s breath and flower arrangements. Each guest was gifted with a glass butterfly, a candle, a seeded butterfly (wildflowers to plant), a shawl for potentially cold weather, and a bottle of bubbly to celebrate the arrival of our baby girl. All of these are shot with a phone, because I did not have time to lug around a heavy camera.

What does the rest of the year bring. Another biggie would be that Richard is planning to retire at the end of February. Not sure what he is going to do with himself, but he seems fairly sure that he will be busy.

We floated the idea of another cruise in June. This time a river cruise, but a lot was contingent on when our baby girl would be born and when Amy’s maternity leave ended. The problem was we also needed to book early because they needed a special room with an extra bed. The idea was to travel from Passau, Germany to Budapest, Hungary. I have not given up on that idea but not sure if it will happen this year. I would certainly love to visit Budapest.

The family talked about Costa Rico. This has never been on my bucket list but hey if they want to go, I will go. I am so open to seeing new places in the world. I have seen some stunning wildlife photography that has come out of there so who knows.

Of course, the top of my bucket list would be Ireland. I am plotting and planning and who knows, maybe one day I will get there. I am certainly doing a lot of research with that in mind.

But for now, it is work as usual and enjoying what each day has to offer. I know, for sure, that I am going to be spending time with my sweet boy, and baby girl.

So I hope as you reflect on the old year, and look to the New Year that you too will see all the achievements you had made through 2024, and look forward to an exciting 2025. Remember it is only as exciting as you are willing to make it.

This is a circle blog so please follow the link on to see what my talented friend Elizabeth from It’s Still Live Photography by Elizabeth Willson has for you this month. Elizabeth creates magic with her Lensbaby photography. You can see more of her work on Instagram.

Stay well, stay blessed, until next time