2021 was a transition year for our family.
This year has been filled with learning all things Virginia! We are settled in, learning the area, meeting neighbors, building our new community here. And we are so thankful for how the Lord has provided! Moving away from family and friends, and everything we have ever known, could have been so much more difficult. But the Lord has shown us so much grace. We miss our family and friends, yes; but we are thankful for the new friends and church family that the Lord has provided here.
We have still been navigating COVID and my health issues. It's a little disappointing to reach the end of 2021, still not in remission. But despite that, the Lord has still been faithful, and we can come to the end of another year, knowing that He will continue to take care of us.
The beginning of January was tough because we said goodbye to our sweet Sasha. While it was so difficult to say goodbye, I am thankful for the 13.5 years I had with her, and there was so much grace that we said goodbye before moving again. We finished up our time in the extended stay hotel, but finally got to move into our townhouse! It felt so good to have all of our stuff back, out of storage, and we were so thankful to finally start getting settled. In the midst of unpacking, we started the 1000 Hours Outside Challenge, and still found time to celebrate a few silly holidays {National Pooh Bear Day and National Chocolate Cake Day!} :)
Grandma came to visit us in February! We were so thankful to have her here for a whole week; it was cold, so we spent most of the time inside. But it snowed, so we were able to share that fun with her! It was also fun to have her here to celebrate my 36th birthday. We surprised the kiddos with a little Valentine's Day celebration, and it was fun to love on our little loves. After a lot of red tape and miscommunications, I was finally able to increase my Entyvio infusions, in hopes that more frequent doses would induce remission. I got my first COVID vaccine {yay science!} and became an official Virginian by getting my VA Driver's License.
In March, I published a {40 Before 40} list. I didn't make much progress on it this year, so we'll see how it goes over the next couple of years. But again, it was a good time to reflect back over all the blessings and experiences the Lord has allowed in my life already. We started exploring the area a bit more, and went on our first family hike in Ellanor C. Lawrence Park. We were trying to play catch up with Toddler School {since we kind of dropped the ball during the move}, so we had fun learning the story of St. Patrick, making paper caterpillar chains and homemade bird feeders, and starting our butterfly garden. We were able to get the kids balance bikes {a delayed Christmas present from Granny and Grumpz!}, and our little bike gang was born! I got my second COVID vaccine, we made matzah bread for Passover, and Aiden got his own "OK to Wake" clock...because little dude was STILL waking up in the middle of the night.
We celebrated Easter in April, with fun Easter crafts, Resurrection Eggs, fruit pizza, resurrection rolls, and a few Easter egg hunts! I was able to get creative by designing a photo booth for our women's Spring Fellowship, and it was so good to be together {outside and socially distanced} with the women in our church. We started spending more time outside, playing in the sandbox, in the backyard, going on walks in the neighborhood, and enjoying meals/snacks outside. We also visited Meadowlark Botanical Gardens {super fun!}, and I hit the 18-month mark of active Crohn's Disease {not so fun}.
We welcomed friends from Texas in May! Laura's family came to visit, and it was so fun to have them here, to hug my best friend! We got to enjoy the Jurassic Encounter at Bull Run Regional Park, which was a nice drive-thru exhibit {since we were hiding from the cicada invasion!} Maddie started wearing glasses again, we cheered on a 5K our church hosted, and we celebrated some more fun {silly} holidays {Apple Pie Day and Paper Airplane Day}. We also had some more outdoor adventures at the church playground, Frying Pan Farm Park, and Manassas National Battlefield Park.
In June, we got to pick strawberries at Wegmeyer Farms with friends! I was still trying to figure out health stuff, and little did I know that I would take my last Entyvio infusion. I participated in our church's summer book club, we celebrated Father's Day, and we also got to visit the Air & Space Museum with friends. We spent a lot of time playing outside, doing all the fun summer activities: bubbles, sidewalk chalk, popsicles, water table, etc. But the highlight of June was having Uncle Michael come to visit! We got to visit the National Mall and the National Zoo, and we just loved having him here with us :)
I had another colonoscopy in July, only to find out that I had no change from the year before. So I fell apart, took a deep breath, and started fighting again, this time with Stelara. We made some fun 4th of July crafts, all 3 kids were now forward facing in their car seats, and Eli and Maddie continued with their eye check ups and patching. We spent a lot of time outside, walking on trails, playing at parks, and going to outdoor story time at our library. Mike got to spend a few days in Colorado for a pastor's retreat, which was a good time for him to get away with sweet friends and mentors. Grandma and Papa came to visit, so they could babysit while Mike and I slipped away for a weekend on the Shenandoah River to celebrate 10 years of marriage!
In August, we said goodbye to my Grandma, which was hard to lose another grandparent within the year, but are thankful for her life. We hiked the Stone Bridge Loop Trail at Manassas National Battlefield, learned how to do somersaults, and spent more time riding bikes. Mike and I had our first at-home date with The Happily Co Date Box, and we celebrated National Ice Cream Sandwich Day, National Watermelon Day, National Waffle Day. Aiden turned 3 years old {!} and we celebrated with a fun garbage truck themed day. We also started up school again at the McCullough Schoolhouse! Eli and Maddie started Pre-K, and Aiden started Toddler School, Year 2.
School was in full-swing in September, which took most of our time with books, crafts, science projects, and music. It was nice to get outside with the cooler temperatures! We enjoyed lots of walks and hikes, and we were able to enjoy a friend's birthday party outside.
Granny and Grumpz came to visit us in October! We got to show them our life here in Virginia, and we visited the Air & Space Museum and Frying Pan Farm Park. Eli and Maddie hit their goal of reading 2000 {unique} books, we went to the Cox Farm Fall Festival, and Maddie and I got to enjoy a fun girls day at the salon. I was able to attend the women's fall retreat, and the kids got to hike to Bear's Den Overlook with Daddy while I was out of town. Being outside was super fun this month because of all the huge, colorful leaves! Our church hosted a fall festival, and we were able to go trick or treating with our neighbor friend C, all dressed up in our Cars costumes!
In November, Eli and Maddie turned 5 years old! We celebrated with all things Trucks and Tutus :) We had a small thanksgiving at home, but I cooked my first official thanksgiving meal, which turned out decent enough to serve and enjoy with Mr. Jesse and Mrs. Becky. Mike also turned the big 4-0! We were working hard to finish up our semester of school, fully enjoying our study on the armor of God. I shared a few more books for Embryo Adoption Awareness Day, and we were looking forward to starting our Advent studies.
We kicked off December with National Cookie Day! Aiden hit his goal of reading 1000 {unique} books before kindergarten {and mommy is officially done tracking books haha}. We enjoyed so many fun Christmas things this month: Christmas at the Corner Market at Cox Farms, National Gingerbread House Day, decorating and crafts. Grandma, Papa, and Uncle Michael got to visit the week before Christmas! We visited the National Christmas Tree, enjoyed the lights at Holiday Road, and had such a fun time as a family. We enjoyed Christmas Eve dinner with friends from church, and had a quiet Christmas at home. I finally shared our Fall family photos, which was a fun way to wrap up the year!
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It's crazy to think that we started 2021 living in a hotel. And now at the end of the year, we are more settled, with a new church family, befriending our neighbors. The Lord is so gracious and kind. Happy New Year!
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