2020 in Review

 2020 was bananas. I'm just not sure how else to describe it. We all went into the year so excited and hopeful. All the holidays were going to fall on a Friday or Saturday...it was just going to be so great!

And then....COVID 19. The entire world was suddenly affected by this virus, millions and millions of cases and then...we shut down. The country as a whole was shut down and on a stay at home order. Sports, cancelled, school cancelled, work put on hold, weddings, funerals, LIFE put on hold. What started as an extra week of spring break turned into the rest of the school year at home. 

Teaching your kids at home while trying to work from home was a challenge we weren't quite ready for but we adjusted. We picked up JT's computer from school and his teachers quickly put together quality lessons for them to do everyday. He did a great job adjusting to learning strictly on the computer. Landry on the other hand didn't particularly care for me being her teacher. We only butted heads a few times but managed to make it through!

The only place we could go was the grocery store, there were other places open that were deemed "essential businesses" that we did go to, like Home Depot, etc but really we only went to the store. And usually the kids stayed home. What a weird time in world. And being a parent to littles while navigating these unknown waters was an adjustment. Trying to explain to a 4 year old why she can't see her friends at school, why she can't go play at the park, why she can't do anything really wasn't easy. 

Because we had literally nowhere to go, Landry really didn't need to wear jeans or her cute outfits for school. So she started dressing herself everyday. She also loved wearing my shoes with her outfits. Then she became obsessed with wearing swim suits and tutus. I loved watching her put these together all on her own and watching her creativity flow. I didn't always love the mess in her drawers but it was worth it. 

Despite me being his teacher Jaris finished the 3rd grade year strong. He celebrated his birthday with a "covid parade" of friends and our amazing neighborhood! We are so lucky to be on the street we are because every day after school he was outside. We were all constantly outside with neighbors. We all quarantined on the street together. Every night we would bring out our lawn chairs and all the kids would play for hours and into the evening. We would order food as a street, the kids would run through the community sprinklers at night, the parents would stay out until midnight just talking. Night after night. We still hosted our annual pumpkin carving party and the neighbors loved it! We were so lucky. I don't know how we would've made it without our amazing neighbors. Our kids made so many memories over the summer.

Because of covid our pool was closed and millions of people ordered at home pools so demand was high! We luckily got one and the kids used it all the time. We were also lucky to have family near by with a pool. There is no way we could've gone without a pool during a Texas summer! We did make it to the lake for the 4th of July and home for Labor Day. Once the nation was cleared to open back up a little bit JT was able to play summer baseball since spring ball was cancelled. He played football this season like normal with a new team. We are with an amazing group of parents and love this new team. They got to the championship game but lost in overtime. They had a great season. 

Jaris also graduated from eye therapy. 50 weeks of eye therapy has made a HUGE difference in his reading abilities. He is now able to read for longer than 5 minutes without becoming frustrated. His grades have improved and he is so much more confident. We are so so proud of how hard he worked!

We spent so much time together as a family. Not being able to have normal schedule or go normal places will force you to slow down. We went out hiking and exploring, watched movies, played games, faced challenges and grew together. 

Besides all that craziness our year was not without sadness. Losing Maisy was by far the worst part of 2020. After a few months we added Scout to our family!

2020 was full of ups and downs...new battles...new adventures...love...sadness...change...navigating...and acceptance. We welcome 2021 with open arms and embrace what's to come!