2020 Christmas Card ~ Blog Post Style

I actually had forgotten I wrote a Christmas letter in my blog last year until I was scrolling back on FB and I came across the blog I had written. I clicked on it to see what I had written and man, I sure didn’t see that one coming when I wrote at the end, ‘We are excited for the new decade and all that 2020 will bring.” Boy did 2020 bring A LOT.

And Because 2020…

Travis ~ Continues to work for Kuehne + Nagel in Elk Grove Village. However, he’s been working remotely since March. He has been so busy that if he weren’t working remotely, I’m not sure how much we would be seeing him with adding in his commute and then jumping on calls in the evenings, so we are thankful for these months he has been working from home. I’m not sure if he feels the same way though. 😂 Due to the pandemic, there has been no basketball for him to coach one of the boys’ teams, but he still continues to be the rockstar Husband and Dad that he is.

Mandy ~ While this has been a challenging year, to say the least, the most exciting thing that has happened was finally having a salon space and bathroom built in part of our unfinished basement! This has been something I’ve wanted since I was little, and I feel incredibly blessed that we were finally able to make it happen!

Talan ~ (11-1/2 years old; 6th grade) Played soccer this fall, although much different…It was great he still had the opportunity to do what he loves! He was also able to participate in Cross Country through his school for the first time this fall. He had a lot of fun and was happy to be able to participate in a school sport. There is no basketball season this winter, so that’s been a bit different. Luckily his soccer coach has still been holding random pick-up indoor soccer scrimmages for those who can make it, so he’s gone to that a couple of times. He also made the part of Michael Banks in Mary Poppins Jr that was supposed to happen this past Spring. They had only gotten in a handful of practices before the shut down, so that getting canceled was a bummer for him. Besides school and the sports he was able to participate in, he was happy that his camp in WI wasn’t canceled during the summer and enjoyed being bunk mates with 2 of his cousins!

Grayson ~ (9 years old; 3rd grade) Played soccer this fall and was excited being on a team with 2 of his classmates from school! He also enjoys going to kids yoga once a week. He’s finding a new love of reading at school, is excited to tell us anything new he’s learned, and loves all things ‘social’ in school. We’re very happy the big boys’ school has been in-person this year, and Grayson’s class hasn’t had to go remote once this school year! What a blessing! He continues to be our puzzle and lego kid, and during the summer he also found a new hobby of drawing and enjoys watching and drawing along to tutorials on YouTube. He’s looking forward to joining Talan and a couple cousins at summer camp this coming year!

Kylan (7 years old; 1st grade) Played soccer this fall, and although he loves playing “real soccer” (games), he does not enjoy going to “fake soccer” (practices). 😂 So we’ll see if he continues on this Spring. He loves going to yoga with Grayson, and has started private swim lessons a few weeks ago, which he loves! He started a new school this year and has been doing “house school” (remote learning), which he does not enjoy. Mom doesn’t either. 🤣🤷🏼‍♀️ We’re praying that he can return back to in-person school soon! He continues working with a resource teacher for math, reading, and writing, along with receiving Speech and OT services. He was able to knock PT off of his IEP this fall! He continues to love all things police, and as Travis says, he loves to ‘create!’ This kid is a creative tornado and makes something new almost daily with whatever he can find. This includes breaking things in order to create things. 😆 He also goes out on the trampoline any chance he can during the day. I’m curious to see how cold it will have to get before he doesn’t go out there on his breaks anymore.

Isla ~ (4 years old; Mommy School) is loving going to yoga every week and being able to spend time with a couple of her favorite people, Ms. Dana and Nella. Mom is thankful for the break too! She also loves gymnastics, and she just started dance this week! After months of playing “ballerina school,” and asking to be in dance, I caved. With her not going to school this year due to the pandemic, and gymnastics shutting down here and there, I figured it was the perfect time. I’m excited to see where her passion will lie. Why do I feel like she’s going to love everything. 😆 The girl is beyond ready for school and loves practicing her name and working on preschool workbooks that I have. She LOVES singing and music, reading books, painting, and playing game after game after game. She also loves “her boys.” ❤️

January started out our extremely hard year with my step-dad of 21 years (it would have been their 22nd Wedding Anniversary on Thanksgiving Day), passing away suddenly. I will forever be thankful that we were able to go to Tucson last Christmas and spend time with my mom, Walter and one of my brothers and his sweet family. It was a memorable trip that we will cherish forever.

Life without ‘Gramps’ has been hard and grief just sort of creeps up on you when you least expect it. While we’re sad he’s not here with us, we’re thankful that he’s resting in the arms of Jesus, and we can’t wait to be reunited with him again in Heaven.

If you’re a new social media friend this year, you can read more about Walter/Gramps in these 3 blogs I posted in January:

38 Rocks

Why Do We Wait

Well Done

Gramps’ funeral allowed all of our blended family (coming from Singapore, Tennessee, Illinois, LA, Alaska, and Arizona) to gather in MN for a week, which was much needed. We are so thankful this happened before the pandemic or things would have looked much different. There’s a silver lining to everything, isn’t there?

The most exciting part of 2020 was that we bought a new home in March! We’re loving all the space and the neighborhood we’re in.

My mom also relocated from Tucson to IL to be closer to her 2 daughters and 6 out of her 12 grandchildren. It has been nice having her only 30 minutes away!

May You All Have A Happy, Healthy, And Safe Holiday Season. May God Bless Each And Every One Of You This Christmas Season, And May You Have A Very Happy New Year!…Congratulations! We made it!

~XOXO