Saying goodbye to 2020

Well, we wrapped up 2020 like we spent much of the year, together as a family but isolated from others. I love my family very much and I am grateful for all the time we’ve had together this year and that we will continue to have this time together. I’m grateful for our health. I’m grateful for the kids growth. I’m grateful for a job. I’m grateful for the many blessings we have. 

I have had three weeks off from work and it has been so wonderful and so needed. This year work became really crazy. Reporting in at a higher level and changing bosses three times meant being on call and working much harder than I have over the past few years. I hope to find some level of normalcy in 2021 but I am not sure if I will. I do not like the impact it has on my ability or lack there of to be with the children in the morning before school and to be available to help them during school. That was the best part of being off at the end of the year while they were still in school. I got to listen to them talk to their teachers and talk in group. I was so very impressed when I listen to Max. The way he takes control and volunteers in every situation at school really makes me proud of him.

I enjoyed listening to Claire gift to speeches. The first one was about herself when she was the proud peach. The second one was about our family Christmas traditions that she wanted to share with her class. She did great on both of them and I’m so glad I was able to focus on being there and helping her prepare. These are things I’m not very good at when I am working so hard and barely able to get dinner on the table, keep the laundry at bay, and figure out who needs to be where when.

Last night we had a family celebration. We had appetizers all night long. We chilled out. We played games. We watch the ball drop. We toasted it was sparkling cider. The kids had a little bit of alone time and David and I watched a comedian for a bit. Has everyone got tired towards midnight, there was bickering of course. This is another thing I need to just except as part of being a family and not let it irritate me so much. This would be another goal of mine for 2021.

This new year day was very relaxing. The boys watched movies. Ellie and I watched a new show on Netflix. The girls made cake pops. We play a family game of ticket to ride. We just relaxed and I intend for us to do that for the next two days before returning to the hustle and bustle of this crazy life we are blessed to live in.

Kids, if you ever go back and read the stories that I wrote, I hope you know that I love you. I hope you know that being your mom and raising you is truly everything that I ever look forward to in my life. I know that sometimes the days were long and Mommy sounded grumpy. I am sorry for that. I wish that every day could be sunshine and candies and all that you want. Please know that being a mom means that it’s my job to hold you accountable and prepare you to be the responsible God-fearing God loving adult that he has made you to be. I hope that with every breath I take on this life I am making strides towards that important goal.

Lots of love to you all always and forever!

Happy New Years!

A first Christmas asking for clothes

It is official, there’s definitely a teenager in the house. This Christmas Ellie asked for a lot of different clothing items and a lot of different baking items. She ended up getting everything she asked for and more. She has a lot of different sweat pants now, many colors. She also has a couple different strange pants that she really enjoys. She also has baking tins in all shapes and sizes. Now she wants to bake constantly. I’m glad she enjoys baking. I need to get her into the spirit of donating what she makes and then I can let her bake more. She wants to investigate if there is a homeless shelter that might take fresh baking which she could donate to. This is something we need to investigate. I’m proud of her kind heart and that she wants to share her treasures with others.

She also got a candle making kit from Santa Claus what she has quite enjoyed. She has made one candle a day for the past week.

For the love of Lego

Max loves Legos and over the years he’s become quite good at putting them together. This year at Christmas he has for a couple big sets and a couple little sets. I think this is the first Christmas day where he didn’t receive any big sets to put together and he wasn’t quite sure what to do about it. It turned out he put his energy into helping Clair with her sets. Then, after receiving granddaddy‘s Christmas gift of $25 he found a set he wanted to order from Amazon. Despite the fact it said it wouldn’t arrive for several weeks, it arrived today. He was so excited and said loudly that he is very happy to have a Lego set to put together on New Year’s Eve because this is when he finishes them every year from Christmas. He still has one more set lost in the mail somewhere between here and Glasgow. Hopefully find him sometime soon and it presents him a challenge.

The finished Max Lego set! He was so proud and did it in just a couple hours. 

Introducing the twins

Clair goes in and out of fascination with baby dolls. As part of her Christmas gift from grandma and G she received twins. After some debate she named them. Introducing… Stanley in Vonita Cummings.

I will admit it’s a little bit strange talking about Stanley and Vanita has baby dolls. Clair have you fed Stanley and Vonita? Clair did you put Stanley in Vonita to bed? But it’s cute the love that she has for them. It’s cute that she came up with these names herself. It’s cute that she seems to have an attachment to the names Stanley in Vanita. I also think she has a bit of an understanding of their spirit as well based on the story she submitted as part of the young authors writing contest at the end of the school semester. I’ve included a copy of that below as well. Another memory. 

Gingerbread house plans by Clair

The pictures below have been hanging in my bedroom for about three weeks now. The anticipation of decorating gingerbread houses was high for the kids. One afternoon Clair drew a plan for her house. When it came time to decorate she did not actually seem to use this but for about three or four days she was really stuck on it and wanted it hanging in my bedroom. This is another one of those lovely little things she has spent so much time creating as a child that I have trouble parting with. So I’m posting it for my memory. This girl has the busiest brains. This is just one of many examples I have collected in her short lifetime. 

The sweetest things

Putting Clair to bed can be a bit like a wrestling match. I love to snuggle the girl and the girl loves to snuggle me. When it comes to settling down at night it’s very hard for her brain to stop. She constantly wants to tell me her thoughts and her ideas. Trying to sing to her and settle her is not as easy as it was the other two. Last night when I was putting her to bed I convinced her to let me sing a song to her. She lay still and listen while I sing a Christmas Carol to her. When I was done she said next year for Christmas I want you to make me a CD with your singing on it because it makes me relaxed and helps me settle down for sleep.

This has to be one of the sweetest request I have ever had. I know I don’t have the best singing voice. I love that my singing can calm her.