2020 was supposed to be our big year of travel, and it started out that way when Danny traveled to London and California last January. Instead it turned into our long year of staying home more than ever before and somehow that turned out to be the best thing for our family. We saw less of others but learned more about ourselves.
Nationwide 2020 was a pretty tumultuous year. It was filled with political divisiveness and a lot of contention. Utah even experienced an earthquake which was crazy. This year was filled with riots all throughout the country and poor leadership was showcased by the current US President. The election was messy and social media turned into an online war among friends and family. But it was also filled with miracles and more time available for families to spend more time together than people have had in a long time. Church was cancelled, school was closed, a lot of businesses were shut down and 2020 will not be a year that people will soon forget.
The country suffered but we weren't left completely alone from God's love. At the end of last year the Come Follow Me program was introduced which is a miracle in itself because when church's were closed we already had an at home program to follow. Schools were frantic trying to come up with a system that would work for them but the church was able to continue without hiccup because they had implemented a program before it was even necessary to have. God knows all things and this is just a small example of that.
Although the country suffered, for us it was a year of closeness. Danny spent a lot of time at home with us and we all grew closer together. A lot of our traditions didn't happen and we didn't take our highly anticipated European trip but we still managed to do something fun at least once a month to get the kids out of the house. It was actually a personal good year. It was for sure very unique and we received the surprise of our lives that I don't think would have happened when it did if it wasn't for the pandemic and the quarantine that took place. This is a glimpse of the year we had.
JANUARY - Danny was able to
travel to London and California. Covid had begun spreading in other parts of the world but hadn't reached the United States yet. Hudson also became a
Sunbeam! Who would have thought that he only would be able to adjust to it for three months before in person church was cancelled.
FEBRUARY - We thought for sure that Addie's
appendix burst but luckily it hadn't and we were able to resolve it. This happened within a week of Hudson and Grant being really sick. Grant was finally
weaned and sleep trained and we enjoyed
Valentine's Day as a family.
MARCH - The world went on lockdown and I turned 31 at the start of a pandemic. Churches and temples closed down, school turned into online and small stores and almost all restaurants were shut down. We also experienced an earthquake and it seemed like the world was falling apart but we also found ways to keep us busy and entertained. APRIL - Addie finished off her preschool experience with at home learning and the boys got some quarantined haircuts. MAY - After two months the order was slightly
lifted and we were able to see family outside of our household. We saw
family again on Mother's Day and I got a sweet video directed by Addie of Danny. I also tried something called the food
challenge with the boys and loved both of their reactions.
JUNE - June is always a special month because it's Danny's month. We get to celebrate his
birthday and shortly after it's Father's
Day. We also thought we'd be saying
goodbye to my sister Camila but she miraculously survived the year of 2020 even with testing positive for Covid herself. Addie also
graduated from her second preschool as she was enrolled in two different programs.
JULY - Baby Bean
turned TWO! We also found out that we are
pregnant and will be growing our family! We of course
celebrated Independence Day. Our European trip was
cancelled but that's okay. We found out that Grandma Judy had
passed away.
AUGUST - We
moved! We're still in Provo and in a home that will be a better size for our growing family. We also received some pretty big news about this pregnancy. We experienced the first
break in the family with Hudson's collar bone. Addie started
Kindergarten! We also celebrated our seven year
anniversary as a family at the zoo.
SEPTEMBER - Addisyn turned
6! We were able to celebrate her
birthday with others amidst this pandemic and also announced our pregnancy to others.
OCTOBER - This year we dressed up as different
Pokemon characters and the kids loved it. I also did a 21 day mini Halloween
series featuring the three kids and we figured out a way to still do
Trick or Treating.
NOVEMBER - We finally went on a
vacation for the year! We also celebrated
Thanksgiving with just us at home and it might have been our favorite one.
DECEMBER - Hudson
turned 4! We had a socially distanced
visit with Santa and enjoyed Christmas day as our last one as a family of five. Danny
passed his oral examination which was a HUGE relief.
In last year's review I said that I was looking forward to hopefully moving to a different house, studying the Book of Mormon, a lot of traveling for both Danny and I, weaning and sleep training Grant and possibly getting pregnant. Well that last one was something I was hoping for haha Danny was hoping another one would be added to our family in three years and we know what happened with that. We did move and it was such perfect timing for us. We studied the Book of Mormon but could have done better near the end of the year with staying consistent. Danny did travel to London and California but his trip to Florida was cancelled. We were planning on exploring five countries in Europe (Finland, Estonia, Russia, Sweden and Netherlands) and that didn't happen as well. Even though some things didn't go according to plan we did get amazing news about our growing family and we thrived with the Stay At Home Order. Danny passed his oral examination which was a huge relief and I honestly couldn't be happier with how our family did together during this hard year. I do wish the country was in a better loving state of mind but within the walls of my own home we did pretty great.
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This year I'm highly looking forward to March where we will be done with this final pregnancy and our family will be complete. Currently my body is stretched to the max but to know that we'll be experiencing the newborn stage again and adding pieces of heaven into our lives and family has me both giddy and nervous. I know we'll have some rough months adjusting to little sleep but after 2020 I feel like we can accomplish anything. Addie is so ecstatic to not be the only girl anymore and I cannot wait to see how Addie, Hudson and Grant adjust to what our family is going to look like. I'm also looking forward to Danny completing another year of school because we're now past the halfway point of his PhD experience and that's exciting. I'm excited to hopefully fit in a small family trip. I understand this year might be a little crazy because of the newborn life but I'm hoping that maybe I can make something happen. I'm thinking a possible trip to St. George but we'll see how much sleep we can get this year first. I'm looking forward to Addie starting first grade and Hudson starting preschool. Grant should be getting potty trained soon and he's already showing signs of interest. Truthfully I'm also looking forward to having a new President at the end of this month and I'm hopeful that he can bring some unity to our country. Also I'm looking forward to getting a new vehicle because ours isn't going to meet all our needs and is already struggling. 2020 we grew closer because of all you brought and we're really excited for what 2021 has in store.
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