A Year in Review
I don’t even know how to begin.
How does one begin to explain all that happened in the year 2020? In all honesty, 2020 was a tough year for us all, but so much good came from the year that I can’t help but be thankful–even in the midst of the chaos that surrounds us all.
I think spending some time in reflection will do some good for my heart and soul–for reflection promotes growth. I want nothing more than to grow from my experiences in 2020.
Here goes nothing…
Untold Secrets
January 2020
My year started off in celebration of my 31st birthday. After Charlie’s death in December, I needed a break–so I planned a trip to Orlando in much need of friendship and sunshine.
Without getting into too many details, in January, I was told some things that broke my heart. These things would wreck my perception of some loved ones in my life–leaving me to battle things I never thought I would have to face, taking months of prayer and devotions to forgive those who hurt me.
My deepest insecurities came to surface along with the secrets held, leaving me to seek truth in Gods word–CHOOSING not to believe the lies within the depths of darkness.
Friends, the power of forgiveness is so great and we must not let hurt overcome love.
New Beginnings
February 2020
Lilli celebrating her 6th birthday with a Frozen themed birthday party–with close family and friends.
I loved nothing more than celebrating this one in February. Lilli is such a freakin’ joy to be around and we had the best time celebrating her life on her birthday.
Along with her birthday, she also went to her first daddy daughter dance!! After the dance, David told her they could go anywhere for dinner that night–and in true Lilli fashion, she chose McDonalds! She loves her chicken nuggies.
Our First Pandemic
March 2020
This month, everything started to shut down, schools started closing, and life as we know it–would change for the unforeseeable future.
I went into work for the last time that school year March 17, 2020–fully expecting to return several weeks later. Little did I know, e-learning would continue for the remainder of the year. Not only did I have to attend work everyday–online of course, Lilli was near the end of her Kindergarten year. Along with teacher my own students, I was also responsible for teaching my daughter at home.
I loved nothing more than staying home with my kiddos but this was most certainly a very trying time. With David at work most days, my family living in Tennessee, I had to quickly learn how to manage our new normal.
My Creative Outlet
To add onto my stress, I decided to create a creative outlet–sparking my desire to begin making our SPEC home a little more our own. My first project was our foyer.
Our Foyer: Before
Our Foyer: After
To wrap up the month of March, I bought my dream mom car–A Toyota 4Runner! Nothing like a little shopping to bring a little joy to my life!
April 2020
I dove into a couple more projects in April, one being replacing all the mirrors and light fixtures in our master bathroom. I loved every second of it and I will never tire of a good transformation.
May 2020
The kiddos and I spent a lot of time outside, enjoying each other, and embracing the South Carolina sunshine. I also spruced up the guest bathroom downstairs with a new mirror–which completely made a difference to the bathroom.
Downstairs Bathroom: Before
Downstairs Bathroom: After
Mother’s Day Surprise
For Mother’s Day, David surprised me with flying my sister up from Florida. It was the best surprise! We spent some quality time together and my sister even let me give her a much needed haircut (or should I day dread cut), lol!
End of Kindergarten
Even though Lilli’s first year of school will go down in the record books as the most unique year of learning, we were happy for the potential of 1st grade, and super excited to live up the summer time!
Here are some pictures that sum up our May in 2020 pretty darn well!
June 2020 & July 2020
We spend so much time in the sun, sweating and soaking up all the vitamin D! Our 4th of July was also spent with one another, with no trip to the ER this time–Jonah gave us quite the scare last 4th of July!
Laundry Room Project
I ended the summer with my favorite project of them all! The laundry room needed some creativity and I could not be happier with the results. Check out the before and afters–it looks like an entirely different space!
August 2020
What a stressful month! We received word that school would be starting on a phased in plan…although I would go back to work full time–minus Fridays (for full e-learning days), Lilli would only be attending school one day a week.
Eventually we would be phased in for two days a week, then four days a week, and finally five–but finding child care for Lilli, working full-time while teaching her her 1st grade online work was NO walk in the park.
We also enrolled Lilli in the Center of Excellence program at our local soccer club to expose her to my favorite sport, yes (haha), but also to help her make new friends in the craziness of the world and all the new restrictions placed upon society.
Meanwhile, Jonah did go back to school–his first day of Pre-K 4.
September 2020
School and soccer are in full swing! Life is crazy busy but we love every minute of it!
October 2020
Happy Halloween! We are so thankful for friends and the best neighbors in a time of lonliness and isolation. We carved pumpkins at Elizabeth’s house and had the best time!
November 2020
David and I took a trip to Idaho Springs, CO for our anniversary! I was not sure how everything would go in the midst of the pandemic, etc. but it was a nice getaway and a great change of scenery. See my blog post on the trip if you want a complete breakdown of our experience in Colorado.
The day after we got back, it was Jonah’s birthday! We didn’t do anything special but it was still so fun celebrating our boy and waking him up with balloons and some toys to open!
Lilli also lost her first tooth and I could not be more excited for her but also feeling lots of emotions watching my baby girl grow up so fast!
December 2020
With the new year approaching, we spent the month of December decorating our house for Christmas and getting ready to spend some much needed time off with our family and friends. David and I wanted to cut down a tree with the kiddos–had the best time doing it, and Davids parents decided to stay in SC for the holiday’s so we spent several days in each others company, celebrating the birth of Jesus, eating good food, and drinking amazing wine!
Takeaways
With all the divisiveness that surrounds us all, lets find reasons to come together–celebrating our differences and embracing them.
I look at my children and crave a better world for them. Since I am one person, I know I can not solve all of the problems of the world, but I know kindness and love start at home. I am thankful for a year that allowed me to spend this time with them. I will never take it for granted.
2020, you were a crazy wild year. You started off pretty freaking rough but I am thankful for all the memories. I will forever cherish every one of them.
2021, lets see what you have in store for us.
The Gadabouter