Well, here we are on the cusp of a NEW YEAR. And even though I realize that this DUMPSTER FIRE will not end at the stroke of midnight on December 31st, I for one, cannot wait to EXIT STAGE LEFT this year that we call 2020. I have so many thoughts that I cannot even wrap them into words, but hopefully I can at some point.
In the meantime, I REFUSE to let the most memorable year get away from me again without recording some of it. I love documenting our lives here, (it's mainly for my own benefit, but I love sharing), and I have let busy-ness and distraction get in the way for almost 2 years now.
So I'm gonna REACH back to January and try to go month by month before we ring in the new year.
There's nothing like the last minute, right?
I'm looking at January and just LAUGHING at how "cute" the new year seemed. How innocent we were about what was coming for us in a matter of weeks. The normal things we were doing....
Greyson had an "alphabet parade" at school...and of the dozens of darling costumes he has, he made me print out a paper mask of "Jango Fett" from Star Wars...
Taylor was rocking school too in her leopard print...
She enjoyed her new big girl chair she got for Christmas...
And they ate many breakfasts and snacks at the new "Diner" they got for Christmas...
We went to birthday parties and our favorite, Playstreet Museum for open play...
We made random costumes on demand...
We hung out at the playground....
I accompanied these two little munchkins in "Chapel" at school (these two buddies have the same birthday)
Taylor got her first haircut...
And started throwing her first tantrums...
But it's hard to stay mad long...
We even made it to our favorite winter tradition...the Fort Worth Stock Show. Usually we go to the rodeo too, but weren't able to get tickets this year because of the new venue. But we still had an awesome time seeing all the animals and walking around. The smell of a barn just takes me right back to my sheep and pig showing days! I love it! Greyson even checked something off his resolution list...Riding a Horse!
In late January we found a "farm" property to look. It has always been our dream since moving to the city to have a place to get away in the country. We miss it and would love to expose our kids to some of the "country life" that we grew up with. We absolutely fell in love with this place. It was 65 acres of pure heaven. NO LIE, the property line was actually in the shape of Mississippi and in a town called Taylortown. It was like the Good Lord put it right in our laps. We made an offer, it was accepted, and we were set to close March 13th, just 3 weeks after of Jeremie's 40th birthday.
I feel like you already know the end of the story. If you didn't catch the foreshadowing: SPOILER ALERT...we did not get it. COVID-19 stole that dream about 48 hours before we made it to the closing table. But I'll unravel that story over the next few posts.
I took these pictures on the way back from seeing that property for the first time. I was in utter awe of the picture God painted in the sky that afternoon. I'm still in awe of how Sovereign He is and has been over this whole year that felt out of control. Even thoughI have been a "a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind" (James 1:6), He has remained the same.
And on a lighter note, this was literally the last picture I took in January! I LAUGHED OUT LOUD when I saw this! I took a picture of this song that was playing for my college room mate as an inside joke, but BOY, could it not be more appropriate for what was coming in 2020!
And that was JANUARY! Stay tuned for February, the month that I shall forever call "Ignorance Is Bliss!" : )
