Happy New Year

 We had a nice week between Christmas and New Year's. Monday we went to go see Sing 2 and had some good chill time with the grandparents. Tuesday we went to Annapolis and walked around the historic area then went to the mall and had dinner at Cheesecake Factory. We also stopped at Barnes and Noble on the way home and the  kids all used their money to buy a book. It was a nice day and fun to get out and actually do something with my in-laws. They usually only come for two days and we are always so busy with kid stuff that we never have time to show them around. Wednesday we just hung around home and played games and talked and I went to the gym and Lily had physical therapy. It was also her friend's birthday so I took them to Noodles and Company and while they ate I went to Kohl's to return some stuff. Curtis and Brandon spent most of their time putting together all of their Legos and Emma spent a lot of time with Aunt Nikki reading The Christmas Pig. Josh made pizza that night and it was so delicious.

  (Josh put the camera in a tree to get this picture and kind of missed the MD Statehouse)

Thursday we had an easy going morning and then the adults left about 2:30 for our big night out on the town. I had gotten my in-laws tickets to see Ain't Too Proud at the Kennedy Center for Christmas and we were all excited to go. First we went to National Harbor and walked around a bit then had dinner at McCormick and Schmick's, which my father-in-law paid for as our Christmas gift. It was delicious and expensive and fun to have such a nice dinner out with just adults. Then we drove to the Kennedy Center and the show was amazing. We all love the Temptations and the music was so fun. The way they used the music to tell the story of the Temptations was really clever and we all loved the show.  It was also their first time at the Kennedy Center and my father-in-law couldn't stop talking about the theater or how he had just watched the Kennedy Center Honors and how different it looked on TV. After the show we drove around downtown D.C. but they had already turned the Christmas tree lights off and by the time we went around the block once, the White House lights were off too. It was a really wonderful evening and so fun and I felt really good about my gift. I like giving meaningful gifts and this one was perfect. I was also very grateful to Lily for babysitting and for what a wonderful girl she is.

 

Friday we didn't do much. Josh made pancakes for breakfast and I went for a walk with my mother-in-law and then we watched our annual movie. Josh takes all of our videos and puts them together into a family movie for the year and we watch it on NYE. It is fun to review the year although this year was a bit lame. I guess I had gotten out of the habit of recording much so we had some birthday stuff, 30 seconds of Curtis's 5th grade "graduation", some video from our time out west, some beach and a little pumpkin carving. It was definitely our shortest movie yet. Then Josh watched football and we played some games. We did an early countdown at 9pm and watched the fireworks in Dubai then put Emma and Brandon to bed. Then we played some Heads Up, finished the football game, sent Lily and Curtis to bed, watched some of the stuff in NY and at midnight we kissed then went to bed. 

 

Saturday we watched the Rose Parade, Josh took my in-laws to the airport and the kids and I watched Sing. It was a sad day with Christmas over and the family leaving and everyone was tired and out of sorts but we finished off with leftovers for dinner and some Fixer to Fabulous. 

Sunday church was really nice. Sam was released from the bishopric and both Josh and I are really going to miss him. I worked with him since he was in charge of music and he has been such an important help to Josh the past 3.5 years. There were lots of changes and new callings and all of them were good. They called a primary pianist so now I don't have to fill in there like I have been the past six months so that is nice. Also after church Curtis was ordained to the Aaronic priesthood and is now a deacon. He will be passing the sacrament on Sunday and I just can't believe that this tall kid is my little boy. Lily is as tall as me now and Curtis is not far behind. I don't really miss them as little kids but I think it would be fun to go back for a day and see them as 4 and 3 again--just for a day. They were cute and fun kids and now they are growing up into wonderful people. I am very grateful for what good kids I have and that they are mature and kind and smart and for the most part hard-working. 

Monday was a snow day, which was fun. We all enjoyed another day to sleep in and the kids all had fun playing outside. I did a lot of laundry, Josh and I took a walk around the neighborhood and I made bread. Tuesday was another snow day, this time with sunshine and it made the snow sparkle. The kids played outside and then we watched the second Harry Potter movie.Well we started it but then I had a piano lesson and took the kids to get their shots, then we had dinner and finished it that evening. Josh was really hesitant to get the kids vaccinated but with the recent crazy explosion, I just decided to take them and he didn't disagree. I didn't tell them until it was time to go since Emma and Brandon usually freak out but when it was time to get them done, Brandon didn't make a sound and Emma only cried a bit, so that was a relief. Wednesday was a delay so we got to sleep in again but at least they did go to school for a little while. I couldn't go to the gym so that was a bummer but I did go grocery shopping and to Target for toiletries so I accomplished something while they were gone for a few hours. Last night the girls had dance and Lily found out one of her teachers has cancer. Lily was really upset and my heart broke too. She teaches both of my girls and is the teacher that just opened the dance store below the studio and I just pray she'll recover and be okay. Life can be so tough sometimes. 

All this week I've been emotionally stressed and trying to ignore it but it was a year ago Tuesday that Josh had his surgery. This whole time felt a bit tainted by all the stress of last year and I've just kept trying to push that away. The awful night of his surgery when Lily's smoke detector started beeping at 3 am and I couldn't figure it out, waiting all day to hear from the hospital while he was in surgery, him sleeping in the basement for almost three months, having to drive him around everywhere while my kids were all home doing virtual school, having to take the Christmas tree down by myself and onto the roof of the car and to the recycling center by myself, taking care of four kids (doing virtual school) and an injured husband by myself--all of it was so stressful and I didn't even realize how much I was just in survival mode until it was over. A couple people offered to help but I didn't need normal help and didn't know how to ask for what I really needed, or even what I really needed. Now I can look back and think of what would have been helpful but at the time I just put my head down and went to work. It was so tough with covid raging and no one was really interacting so I felt really alone but I think that is how most people were feeling at the time. It wasn't really until Josh was able to drive again at the end of March and the kids started going two days a week to school that I took a breath and suddenly realized that there a lot of "friends" who hadn't ever checked in on me or offered any support at all and that really hurt. It definitely scarred me and I had a tough time interacting with people the rest of the year and feeling like anyone was actually my friend or cared about me. Thankfully time is a wonderful healer and I've done a lot of praying too that my heart would be healed and I could be friendly with people again and get over the hurt.

So here we are in a new year. 2021 started off so rough (Jan-April) and it had some very sad parts like when Carolee passed away, but then it was also Emma's baptism, the girls had their dance performances, the boys got to play soccer and then Curtis finished 5th grade and elementary school. We had an amazing summer going to Six Flags, Rochester to see my family, Lily went to her first girls camp, we had an awesome trip to Colorado and Utah, we went to North Carolina for a week at the beach and had perfect waves and great weather, Lily turned 13 and can babysit now. Then the kids went back to school full time (hallelujah!) and Brandon had a great baseball season (while Curtis sat around with a broken wrist for six weeks), we enjoyed going to my parents' house for Thanksgiving (and especially going to the temple together) and we had a very busy Christmas season with lots of service and fun (especially The Nutcracker with my girls and Ain't Too Proud with the in-laws). Josh and I have been enjoying our Friday day dates on his Fridays off while the kids are at school and we love being able to leave the kids with Lily. Another year as being the bishop is under Josh's belt and I feel like he has really settled into it. So I'm not sad to say see ya to 2021 but it did have its good parts. I am looking forward to this new year and hoping that covid and masks become a thing of the past. I'm excited for all the trips we have planned and the girls being in the same dance performance in June (they're doing Alice in Wonderland this year) and the boys playing baseball again this spring and the temple dedication and it being open again after four years.