I am finding it harder and harder to keep up with this. The last post was from a year ago. I am taking a step back from social media so I thought I would try to update this more. The only things I post on social media are pictures of my family, so this is a better tool for that anyway.
2020, what do we say about the year? Some people say it was the worst year ever. I wouldn't go that far. We had a pretty good year. Challenges and Changes? yeah of course! But we had some awesome milestones as well. Mike's job stayed consistant throughout the year. The Covid-19 pandemic didn't affect his work much. We celebrated out 10 year anniversary! Our big dreams of taking a trip to Hawaii didn't happen, but we did manage a night way thanks to Gam Gam.
There were a few months where we didn't see friends, but it was fun to connect with one another. During the days we would do some school basics so the kids wouldn't loose their knowledge. Once the parks opened back up, we explored new parks! We spent a lot of time outside. Either going for walks or just playing - it was a nice change of pace. We couldn't go anywhere or do a planned activity so life was simple. The pool opened up with restrictions in July. That was AWESOME. The gym closed for awhile and then opened up again later in the summer with restrictions. The Iowa State Fair was canceled - that was strange! We found a farm in Cumming that let us pet baby goats! That was something I would not have looked for in the past. 2020 allowed me to open up the possibilities of finding fun! The kids caught frogs all spring and summer. I didn't know we had that many frogs in our neighborhood. It was a pretty serious for awhile and if we were going to be gone, we had to find friends to watch them. HAHA
We finally finished the basement and it was just in time. The finishing touches were done the same week we found out we were not going back to school in the spring. It was so nice to have more room to space the kids out as well as new toys that had been in storage for the past 9 months. Now we have a finished guest room and full bathroom down there for whoever wants to come visit us.
We watched a lot of movies this year and started a Friday night Movie/Pizza night. It makes the end of the week so much better because I don't have to worry about dinner. We are running out of movies because of the lack of releases in 2020, but the kids have seen some of the classics like Home Alone, The Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins and almost all the old Disney movies. Some new favorites of theirs - High School Musicals! I love this because it takes me back to when Mike and I were first dating.
We visited the Whites in Glen Ellyn in March, right before the world shut down. We saw them again in July and in September. We spent a full week there in December. Each time we visited, the hustle and bustle was gone. We walked to get coffee. We walked to the parks. We played outside. We played games. It was different than normal, but different isn't bad. So many memories made with cousins.
We took a few vacations. A fun staycation was going to Adventureland. We spent all day there! I didn't expect the kids to last that long. We even hit up the water park! Kids did great and can finally ride the big roller coasters. Another trip we took was to Columbia, Missouri for a two nights. We were able to show Asher where we lived when he was born. The kids were just as excited to stay in a hotel. Great Wold Lodge made the list this summer too. Once again, an AWESOME time there. We went to Minnesota this time and the kids had a blast. Each time we go, the kids are a little older and enjoy things differently and for longer. Mike and I took a mystery vacation to San Diego in October. It was awesome to get away for 4 days. I have never been to California so that was an added bonus. The Whites came over and watched the kids while we were gone.
While our year started off fairly normal, we were experiencing some stress in our family. Asher had developed some anxiety that we couldn't figure out. Every morning was a struggle that ended with a sobbing child being pulled off of me by the school counselors just to get into school. When school didn't go back after spring break, it was actually a blessing in disguise for us. It allowed us to take the time and focus on Asher and his needs. While things got better with school not in session, he started having dizzy spells and stomach aches all over again. After a meeting with our pediatrician, we started to see a play therapist regularly. This was a good time because the world was shut down! Asher was able to work on techniques to manage his anxiety without the pressure of using those techniques right away. While I couldn't notice a difference right away, we slowly got our Asher back as the summer went on. No more night terrors and struggles with bedtime. No more tearful goodbyes if I left the house (which didn't happen often). It was a good progress for Asher. When we walked to school in the fall for the first time in months, I was nervous. Would his therapy stick? Was he prepared? YES YES YES It was a Praise the Lord moment because Asher walked in to school with confidence. What a change from the way our year ended. Asher also made his decision to follow Jesus and get baptized. The way he thinks and processes is something I don't always know how to handle. He is smart and thoughtful so I am beyond excited for him. Asher is still in karate. We took a few months off in the summer, but he is back at it again. He tests next week for his Orange belt. Also this summer, Asher passed the swim test at the pool so he can go down all the slides and off the diving board. This gave him a huge boost of confidence!
Ayla is coming into her own skin. Kindergarten was tough for her because she wanted to be with Asher all the time. Another added blessing of school being cancelled is solving that problem. She really found her own interests and friends this summer. Ayla was one of the kids that was always looking for bugs or frogs. She loved being outside almost as much as me. As Brynn got older, Ayla was able to start developing that sister/friendship that she longed for. She and Brynn can actually play together. As the year went on the girls got bunk beds and we just recently switched Brynn out of a crib to the bottom bunk. I think Ayla was more excited about it than Brynn. Ayla received Aunt Dorrie's American Girl dolls during a visit in the summer. It is fun to see her play with them and dress them up. While I wouldn't say they are her favorite thing, she definitely enjoys them and I like the bond it gives her with Aunt Dorrie. I would say Ayla's interests are starting to shift from unicorns to more mature things like dolls and pandas. She really enjoys the musicals from Disney like Descendants, Zombies, and High School Musical.
Kelvin made the most out of summer. He learned to climb trees. He learned to ride his bike. He LOVED being outside also. He was always digging in dirt for bugs or critters. The more he sweat, the more fun he had. That boy has more energy than the other three kids combined. When school was out in the spring I stared to wonder if we should out him in Kindergarten in the fall. His birthday is so close to the cut off. Then he showed me he can add, subtract and read some basic words. We knew he was ready for Kindergarten. I am so glad we made that decision because he is doing so well. What surprises me most (although it shouldn't) is when he comes home from school. Most kindergartners are exhausted and some ven fall asleep. Not Kelvin. He is fired up and can keep playing for hours. Kelvin loved playing with water, bugs, frog, riding his bike, throwing a ball....anything active. He was supposed to play tee-ball but it was cancelled. We look forward to flag football in a few months.
So as I look back, 2020 was really fun for us. Changes happened but some were definitely for the better. Each one of our kids grew both physically and emotionally. God is good and always has been and always will be. In a world that is crazy...y'all our world is crazy! I know God is there leading us. It is just a matter of whether or not we want to follow him.
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