Oh, 2020. You were...special.
SO much happened this year. When I sat down to write this post, I kept thinking, "Oh my gosh. That was this year?" It just seemed like the never-ending year, and we had so much personal family change too. From a global pandemic, to the return of my Crohn's Disease, to Mike's new job...I never would have predicted that 2020 would end with us living in Virginia. Definitely didn't see that one coming :)
While 2020 was full of surprises and unknowns and life-changing events, it was also the year I learned {again} to appreciate all that I have been given. There's something about being forced into quarantine that makes you pause and reflect. There's something about getting sick that makes you re-evaluate what's important. And there's something about packing up your life and moving across the country in less than ideal circumstances that makes you remember all of the grace and mercy that you experience daily.
I kicked off January by reflecting on the goals I had set and the books I had read the previous year. It was also a good time for me to stop and reflect back over all that had happened in the previous decade. It was a good way to mark the gifts the Lord had provided. We were in the midst of toddler crazy-town, and I seemed to think it was hard then...haha, little did I know... :) I started to suspect my Crohn's was back, but I was still trying to convince myself that it was something else.
In February, we started our second semester of Toddler School, and we continued working toward our goal of reading 1,000 books before Kindergarten. In an effort to correct her strabismus, our sweet Maddie girl got glasses, "double gum pink" glasses, to be exact. She wasn't too sure at first, but she eventually rocked them like a pro! Aiden turned 1.5 years, and we celebrated by a fun trip to the park. We were busy with BSF, and community group, trips to the Crayola Experience, and just going about normal life.
Everything in the world changed in March. We got to experience a fun weekend with Grandma, out and about, like normal, before everything shut down. We had been hearing reports about the COVID-19 virus, but lockdowns started to happen, and we were advised to stay home, to socially distance from people to "flatten the curve." We couldn't find toilet paper or hand sanitizer in the stores, but we were able to stay home as a family, and our kids weren't too affected. While we were trying to figure out the seriousness of all that was happening, we tried to make the best of our time at home. The neighborhood did a lot of "socially distant" activities, we went on a lot of family walks, and we played outside A LOT. We also decided to tackle potty training.
Lockdowns continued in April, and most of our activities shifted online. We celebrated Easter at home and continued enjoying time outside: playing in the backyard, playing with sidewalk chalk, and going on walks. I celebrated 8 years working for the bank, I broke the side mirror on our SUV backing out of the garage {because it had been SO long since I had driven anywhere}, and drive-by birthday celebrations became the norm. We decorated our car and drove by Granny's house to wish her a happy birthday!
In May, they started opening up businesses/life in phases, but we continued to stay home and be cautious. Our kids were living their best lives with all the outside time, and we were so thankful that we were stuck at home with amazing weather! We were battling nap time shenanigans, and we started separating Eli and Maddie at nap time. We ventured out {in masks} for eye appointments, and learned that Maddie girl was going to need surgery for her strabismus. We were all nervous, but overall, she did really well in handling the COVID test, the actual surgery, and the recovery.
We were still socially distancing in June, and we were so thankful that we both able to work from home still. We had the opportunity to take front porch photos, a trend that was happening among photographers as a way to record this unique time in history. It was starting to get hot, so a lot of our outside activities involved popsicles and water; we pulled out our water table and got a new fun splash pad. Sasha turned 13 years old, and we got to celebrate Mike with a fun at-home Father's Day. I also had a colonoscopy that confirmed that my Crohn's was, in fact, active again. We got a special treat with a visit from Grandma and Papa; they were willing/able to quarantine for 2 weeks before coming to visit, and we were so happy to see and HUG them!
In July, we hit our goal of reading 1,000 books before Kindergarten! We participated in an at-home VBS, and the kids had so much fun. Fourth of July was pretty quiet, as we were still social distancing, but we were still able to dress up in red, white, and blue. Our at-home adventures continued with a hot air balloon sighting and with a turtle rescue! Mike and I celebrated our 9th anniversary with a fun at-home pottery date. We enjoyed dinner, cheesecake, and painting a few pottery pieces. As a fun summer treat, we introduced the kids to ice cream sundaes. I also started my Entyvio infusions, trying to make steps toward healing.
We celebrated National Watermelon and National Waffle Days in August. Our sweet Aiden turned 2 years old, and we celebrated with a fun Pooh Bear day! We got to attend a drive-by wedding shower for some sweet friends, we learned that Eli likes classical music, and we enjoyed some garage picnics with Granny and Grumpz. We lost power one night and tried to make it fun with a flashlight picnic dinner. It was also really hard when my family had to say good-bye to my Grandpa, but I am thankful I was able to be there with my family. I didn't blog about it at the time, but Mike was interviewing with Chantilly Bible Church in August.
We started our second year of Toddler School in September. We hadn't made any public announcements yet, but Mike accepted the position as Executive Pastor at CBC, so we were in a whirlwind of packing and prepping to sell our house. I was still trying to figure out my health stuff, so I had a CT scan and an abdominal MRI.
In October, we put our house on the market, and continued packing and prepping to move across the country. It was a crazy busy month, full of goodbyes and lasts and changes. Mike and I made a quick weekend trip to Virginia to find a place to live, and we sent most of our belongings ahead of us in PODS, while we lived in an empty house with the bare minimum. Oh, and I threw in an upper endoscopy for good measure. Just the beginning of our adventures, as we officially hit the road on October 31st :)
We said goodbye to Texas and made the trek to Virginia in November. We celebrated Eli and Maddie's 4th birthday while on the road, but I think they enjoyed our stay on a little goat farm. Grandma and Papa made the drive with us, and they were able to spend a few days with us as we settled into our temporary place. We moved into an extended stay until our rental place is available in the new year, so we started figuring out life in a tight space with 3 kiddos and a dog. Mike started his new job, and we started our new life in Virginia! We had a quiet Thanksgiving with our little family of 5, and we continued learning about our new home.
December was jam-packed with Christmas fun! While we were not able to put up our usual decorations or celebrate with our usual traditions, we were able to do a lot of really fun activities to make it feel like Christmas in our little hotel room. I was still really struggling with my health, starting a new medication and trying to determine if my infusions were actually working, so there were a lot of really hard days. But I am really glad that we had a fun Christmas bucket list to keep us all distracted and in relatively good cheer! We missed being with family for Christmas, but we are thankful for the time we had as our little family of 5, and the technology to "see" everyone on Christmas. We wrapped up December ready to countdown to our next move into our rent house in January. It can't get here soon enough! :)
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2020 was a WILD year. As I reflect back on all that happened, I am amazed at God's unending grace to us. We have so many plans and expectations and hopes for 2021, but we also know that we need to hold all of it loosely, surrendering every bit of our own plans to Him. We truly have no idea what next year holds, but we are excited to be on this journey together as a family, and we look forward to finding out together!
