(PEORIA, ILLINOIS) — Happy New Year, everyone.
I think the last few years I’ve said the year prior was always the best of my life. There’s a continuing factor in that equation; being married to my beautiful wife, Rachel.
Our lives the last couple of years have been nothing less than whirlwinds, in a good way. We dated for 4 months, were engaged for 8, got married, and then she got pregnant 2 months later.
Fast forward to today, and a lot has grown. Let’s start in chronological order.
Ahead of the 2024 Peoria City soccer season, I was promoted to Vice President of the club. Heading into 2025, I’m entering my 3rd year with the team, and it’s been such a blast. I’m blessed to lead our efforts on social media, while building community relationships and strategic partnerships.
One day in the spring, I was sitting on the couch at our old apartment (we’ll get to that later). Bennett walked up to his daddy and handed me a big brother book while wearing a big brother shirt, marking only the 2nd time Rachel has seen me cry. The first being when she walked down the aisle at our wedding.
We were filled with so much joy that we would be bringing another life into the Sheehan household.
In May, the Peoria City USL League Two season started. On night one, we broke the attendance record at our home opener. The season was an absolute success, with Peoria hosting Chivas de Guadalajara U23 in the River City for a 4-day event in June. Peoria City ended up making the playoffs, and went all the way to the National Final. USL chose Peoria to host playoffs, five rounds straight. This was an economic boom for the area and helped bring pride into our local sports scene. While we fell short, losing 2-3 in the Final, the boys brought excitement and energy all season long. We are very proud of them.
In the fall, I began teaching Public Relations (PR) Writing at Bradley University. It’s a completely online class, which fits my schedule perfectly. I was asked to return in spring 2025, where I’m excited to continue teaching the future generation of marketing and public relations professionals the ropes.
I continue my time at OSF HealthCare, working full-time in Media Relations. I have the best boss I could ask for, and a fantastic team I love working with. I’ve been dedicated to finding stories that make a difference in our communities and engage with the consumers’ interest. A big part of my work has been working with national media outlets, which we’re off to a great start on.
This fall, we moved out of the apartment we’ve lived in for 3 years and bought a house! It feels great to really put roots down in Peoria, and we’re so happy we did. Before baby girl was born, I bought a car! We needed a size upgrade, and after months of research, I found one locally that really caught my eye. A “Hey babe, you alright if I go test drive this car?” Turned into “Hey babe, I bought a car!” all in one day. Whirlwinds, am I right?
Of course, the absolute highlight of the year has been welcoming our sweet angel, Mattie Marie, into the family. After showing up into the world 5 days past her due date, Mattie entered the world on December 23rd, just ahead of Christmas. Her mommy and daddy prayed tirelessly for her all nine months, and we’re so thankful she is here.
Travel has been a highlight of our year, as it usually is. In February, I had a partnership with Starved Rock Lodge and some surrounding restaurants, breweries and dessert shops to showcase LaSalle County. It’s always an amazing time at Starved Rock, and I was so excited to be able to write about our stay.
In March, I took Rachel and Bennett on a birthday trip for mama to Sarasota, Florida. We had a blast, even though dad either got food poisoning one night, or a stomach bug (still not fully sure). Bennett loves the beach and it was a great time bonding as a family. The food highlight of the trip had to be at Brick’s Smoked Meats. You can read all about it here!
Ahead of the Peoria City season in May, we traveled to Pine Mark Inn, located in St. Clair, Missouri. This was another fun partnership filled with fun, local activities we got to enjoy.
In August, Rachel Bennett and I took my parents on a trip through Colorado. I say through, because we did quite a lot of driving! Flying into Denver, we then drove to Estes Park. After staying there a few days, we went south to Colorado Springs, enjoying Garden of the Gods and a nice dinner with my aunt and uncle.
After the Springs, we headed south some more to Walsenburg, where we stayed at the Inn at Pennington Place. Following Walsenburg, we went even more south to Cuchara, a family-favorite, and stayed at Yellow Pine Guest Ranch. My family has been traveling to Cuchara for five generations now. It’s such a scenic place, filled with the beautiful outdoors. Life seems a little slower there.
You may or may not know, but Rachel and I’s anniversary is October 16th. So for our anniversary, I took us on a little getaway to Southern Illinois. We stayed at Hartline Hill Cabin in Makanda, and visited a lot of local eateries, while going on hikes and visiting Giant City Lodge.
Soon after Hartline Hill, we did an overnight at Wildlife Prairie Park! We rode the train, fed wolves and enjoyed the Prairie Stables. It’s nice to have such an awesome place so close to home.
Just a week later, I had a partnership in Galesburg, Illinois with the local tourism bureau. This partnership saw us staying at Dragonfly Lakes, a brand new glamping experience in the area. Once again, as you probably guessed, we partnered with local eateries, a children’s museum, an alpaca farm and more during our stay. Such an amazing time!
After Galesburg, we really stopped any travel because Rachel was so far along in her pregnancy. But I’d count 2024 as a successful travel year! There are some exciting things in the works for 2025, don’t worry! Any suggestions on a place we should visit? Comment on this post or send me a message on social media.
I want to thank everyone who subscribes to this website and follows our journey on social media. We’re surrounded by some truly amazing people, and I’m honored to be able to do what I do.
God bless you, and Happy New Year!
Matt Sheehan Official 