By Jenny Fulton

I’m really terrible at writing and sending out family newsletters, or Christmas cards, or Thank-You notes, or … You get the idea. So, this is my attempt to share our lives with those who may be interested. If you are, and were able to take the time to read this, I’d love to hear how you and your family are doing as well.

It’s fun to look back on a year, to think about how much happened, how you and your family have grown, all the ways God has been working in and through you. I’m exceedingly grateful for His presence, love, and care for our family, for all He is teaching us, and for the people He has brought into our lives.

Family Highlights

In January, we hired a professional photographer and took family pictures somewhere other than at a JC Penny studio. Reem Salameh Photography did a wonderful job making the session feel fun and natural.

In March, John and I flew to Bozeman, MT for our first no-kids getaway since before our youngest was born. It was a wonderful time of relaxing, connecting with God and each other, and fully immersing ourselves in the joy of each moment as we hiked local trails and visited some of the parks in the area.

On May 15, the day after school ended for the year, we embarked upon a 17-day road trip to visit as many state and national parks as we could and enjoy more time in our favorite state to visit, Montana. We drove north on the west side of Rocky Mountains and returned along the eastern side. Our major stops included Mesa Verde National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Dinosaur National Monument, Yellowstone Bear World, Glacier National Park, The Great Falls, Rocky Mountain National Park, Cave of the Winds, and Great Sand Dunes. As anyone who has ventured to road trip with kids can attest, this vacation wasn’t without its mishaps, unplanned adventures, unfortunate circumstances, and disappointments. John was hit with a virus several days into the trip and the rest of us followed at various times throughout the next week. This caused us to skip some of our planned sights so we could get to the next hotel and allow for more rest and recovery. As much fun as it was to see so many gorgeous places, in the future we’re going to plan fewer but longer stops so we can enjoy them more and have greater flexibility for inconvenient viruses (or other delays). Some of our vacation hacks that worked out quite well included bringing a portable camping toilet and packing food for picnic lunches at playgrounds on each day’s drive. The lunch plan meant we were usually only paying for one meal a day since the hotel breakfasts were free.

Those were the whole family highlights. Below is more specific information and events from each of our lives.

John

John is my favorite person in the world, so it’s a good thing I married him. He is incredibly intelligent but so personable and down-to-earth that you don’t realize how smart he is until you’ve spent a great deal of time with him. His heart runs as strong as his mind, and he’s not ashamed to express his emotions. He also possesses a heightened awareness of the spiritual realm, something that draws him ever closer to Yahweh. Although past experiences have taught John to be cautious about who he allows to get close to him, when he does feel safe and confident in a relationship, he gives it everything he has. John deeply cares for the well-being of each person he has been given responsibility for, whether it’s his family, friends, or people at work. And I can’t forget to mention his goofy side that often has our family howling with laughter. I think of him as our Stallion, always moving in strength, protective and watchful over his herd, always looking ahead to see where to lead them.

John’s work as a manager for a team of engineers is going really well. God has been bringing him greater opportunities and recognition from people across the country (and internationally) in higher levels of authority. Although this success is certainly a blessing, John’s true passion lies in studying the Bible and sharing what he has been learning with others, whether that’s in person (his favorite mode) or through the articles he writes for this blog. I love seeing his face light up and feeling the joy that flows out from him as he describes how what he’s been learning can help us know God better and grow closer in our relationship with Him. John loves being a girl-dad and spending time with his family. Our girls especially love the one-on-one daddy/daughter days he plans for them, and I, of course, treasure each moment we have to spend extended time alone together.

Other Interests: Though not as essential to his life, John also enjoys hunting, watching Formula 1 and MotoGP races, and rooting for his lifelong favorite professional teams (no lukewarm fan here). In January of 2025, he had the opportunity to go on an oryx hunt. He was successful and we now have a mounted oryx head that we have named Jett. John has turned his Formula 1 interest into fun for the whole family by creating a racing game that covers the entire dining room table. Even our girls get into it. With the NFL playoff season about to begin, John’s loyal fandom for the Chicago Bears is finally paying off as they are actually good for the first time in years.

Oldest Daughter

Our oldest daughter is in 7^th grade. She is quite pleased with the fact that she’s now taller than me and still growing. She is gentle and kind, a great help around the house, and loves interacting with animals and babies. We think of her as our Doe. She has an incredible imagination, loves fantasy stories, wishes (good) dragons were real, and is writing her own fantasy novel. Her favorite author is Bryan Davis (she says I’m her 2nd favorite), and an autographed book from him is enough to draw forth high pitched squeals and send her over the moon for days. It’s fun to connect with her on more topics as she grows, including on a writer-to-writer level.

Although our oldest has plenty of energy, she doesn’t enjoy high intensity contact sports (such as basketball), especially as she possesses all the aggressiveness of a newborn fawn. She is, however, very good at precision sports, which seems to be the facet she enjoys most about volleyball (aside from the team aspect, which she also likes). The physical activity she most excels at and demonstrates the most excitement for is archery. Last year, she placed 2^nd at the League JV Archery Tournament. Her aim and technique have improved since then, and she’s looking forward to seeing what she can accomplish on the Middle School Varsity team this year (their tournaments start mid-January).

Middle Daughter

Our middle girl is in 3^rd grade and growing quickly. She looks forward to the day when she can surpass me in height and is especially excited about the prospect of passing up her older sister as well. She loves animals, is bold and assertive, wears her emotions on her sleeves, and has a huge heart that loves deeply, desires to help others, and is compelled to right any wrongs she sees, even if that means standing up to people twice her size. She is our Lioness.

Our Lioness struggles with reading and writing and was recently diagnosed with dyslexia. However, she still loves books and likes creating her own short stories. She excels at critical thinking and any kind of art and hands-on activities. One of her creative role models is Moriah Elizabeth. It often seems our middle child is in constant motion. She enjoys pretty much any type of physical activity. In July, we met some friends at a rock climbing gym, and our Lioness was hooked. “I feel so alive!” she exclaimed after she made it to the top of the wall for the first time. After she insisted she wanted to do this activity more than some of the other options she had, and after discussing it with John (he doesn’t do heights), I bought me and her a membership.   

Youngest Daughter

Our youngest is our Wolf. She’s in 1^st grade and is the smallest and shortest of our girls. She’s quiet and watchful as she takes in and processes information, then quick and powerful once she decides what to do with what she’s learned. She can happily spend hours playing alone with her toys but also loves interacting with others. She’s really sweet and easy going, unless she feels the need to stand up for herself or is upset when things didn’t go the way she wanted them to. And then her fierceness and sassiness emerge.

Like her sisters, the baby of our family enjoys making her own books. It’s so much fun to see her grow in her ability to sound out words and develop stories. Last January, I noticed she was teaching herself how to do cartwheels and somersaults. In August, I finally enrolled her in a gymnastics class, and she has been absolutely loving it.    

Rosie/Rosebud

Rosie, also affectionately called Rosebud, our two-year-old German Shepherd/Lab/… rescue mix is adorable, active, smarter than we realize, and full of mischief and an abundance of sass. She has the widest vocal range of any dog I’ve met. It sometimes sounds like she’s having full conversations with us and there was at least once when it sounded like she was talking back to John after he scolded her for something, probably chewing up another pair of shoes…

On Christmas Day, we each took turns unwrapping a gift (chew toy) for her. The craziest part was that she immediately knew when the gift was for her. She’d be happily laying on her blankets, then jump up when she heard the wrapping paper. (Or caught the scent? Or heard us say her name and tell her the gift was for her?) She’d run over to John and try to tug it out of his hands before he’d finished getting it out of the packaging. Later that day, she managed to score some ham after jumping up and pulling the plate down from the counter.  

Jenny (Me)

My family thinks of me as their Dove. I’m generally pretty quiet (my voice doesn’t naturally project), don’t like conflict, and have a non-threatening demeanor that often encourages others to relax and open up to me. I enjoy spending time with people individually or in small groups (large groups/crowds overwhelm me) but also relish in/need plenty of time alone. I appreciate the challenge of asking questions and evaluating concepts from multiple perspectives while holding firm to my core beliefs and values. My mind often amuses me, and sometimes I voice those thoughts, and sometimes people laugh. Or they just give me weird looks. Like John, I especially love diving deep into God’s word and sharing my findings with others.

God has also given me a great delight in writing. On July 19, 2025, I self-published Morning on the Mesa, the 3^rd book in my Lil’ Kingdom Sisters book series, my 4^th picture book, and 6^th published book overall. Since then, I’ve been writing blog articles and author interviews and working on two Christian non-fiction books. This next year, I hope to return to the mystery novel I started a couple years ago. I do have ideas for more picture books but am taking a break from those for the time being, unless my literary agents lands a deal with a traditional publisher for my picture book that’s currently on submission.

I like being physically active and think it’s fun to be competitive and intensely focused. This past year, I assisted in coaching my then 2^nd grader’s basketball team, head coached my now 7^th grader’s volleyball team for the 4^th year, and have been enjoying the opportunities to go rock climbing on my own and with my little Lion.    

We are absolutely loving the school the girls attend, Axiom Christian Classical School, and count it as one of the biggest blessings in our lives. Now in our fifth year of attending (and the 5^th year since it opened), I decided to step out and try something new – I applied to be on the school board. I was offered the position and am enjoying the opportunity to learn what all that involves and how I can better serve the school.

What We’re Looking Forward to in 2026

As a family, we’re looking forward to another, though less intense, road trip this summer to spend time with our family in Kansas and North Dakota.

John is hoping to finish writing his first book (a Christian non-fiction book).

Our Doe is looking forward to seeing how well she can do on the Varsity archery team. She’s also hoping to finish writing her first fantasy novel and to finish going through an initial edit/critique with me (brave girl).

Our Lion is looking forward to playing on the basketball team again and keeping up with rock climbing. She also wants to paint something on a bigger canvas.

Our Wolf continues to label nearly every day as, “The best day ever!” She’s looking forward to learning more and improving her gymnastics skills and is currently trying to nail a cartwheel on the (floor-level) balance beam she received for Christmas.

I’m hoping to finish at least one of the three writing projects I’m working on (finishing them all would be amazing). I’m also very excited to attend my first in-person writing conference at the ACFW Colorado Springs, Write in the Springs 2026 Conference.

If you made it all the way through this lengthy newsletter, thank you so very much for your support and interest in our lives! As I mentioned earlier, I’d love to hear how you and your family are doing as well.

God Bless!