Christmas Captions 2020

Will got rainbow Goldfish crackers in his stocking; that's a pretty good start.

An original Slinky for Declan.

Aiden wanted "The Deep End," the newest book in the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series.  He's read all the others, and I have to admit they are pretty funny!

I found this jumpsuit/romper on Amazon and sent the link to Tim.  Such a sweetie, he remembered and surprised me with it.  Let me tell you, the reviews did not disappoint, I literally wore this thing for three days straight because it was so comfortable.  I wore it all of Christmas Day, then paired it with some gold earrings and a denim jacket for church on Sunday, then another day this week just to putter around the house doing laundry, etc. I plan to get at least one more in black, and maybe even the navy blue/roses one.

I also really wanted this simple little Timex watch (also from Amazon) which Tim was super surprised about because I have never liked gold, but it has been growing on me the last couple of years.  I wear this watch everyday, and everyday Will pushes the Indiglo button and makes it light up :-D

We got this toy vacuum for William (apparently we buy everything from Amazon.) It is his favorite toy.  After coming to see me in the mornings, he goes straight for his little vacuum.  It's so adorable, he just loves it.

Caitlin read the two books that came before this pre-teen graphic novel, and was so excited to spy it in Walmart a few weeks ago.  I flipped through it a bit and while the storyline is relatable for "young people nowadays" (how geriatric did that sound? lol...) the part that sold me was that the main character's baby brother's name is Will, and he's under 2.  Wow, just like our Will, how perfect is that?

Declan is sort of a goof, so we knew this floppy little T-rex hand puppet would have us all in stitches.  Unfortunately, Will is terrified of the thing, so we had to put it away for a bit.

Caitlin picked out this giant shark for Corey and we figured he would play with it in the bath, but he actually plays with it all over the house.  The other night, he put a pull-up on it and tucked it into bed next to him.  Such a card.

Brianna drew an adorable picture of Tim in a multicolor shirt.

I told you Declan was a goof.  Brianna got a hair-styling doll head thing from some relatives and Declan is modeling it for us :-P

Okay, I am such a sucker for big brother/little brother stuff.  Aiden is helping Corey to build his new Lego Minecraft set, and Corey is listening to Aiden's headphones.  

Adorable.

So sweet.  Be still my heart.

Dressed the babies in their new Christmas jammies, unfortunately, Will's had a little too much Christmas at this point.  I thought he would do better if I held him during the picture, but this was the best we could get.  Considering how the rest of 2020 went, I'll take it.

Well, tomorrow's Brianna's 7th birthday, and the last day of the year.  Here's to you and yours, our hopes and prayers for a great 2021.  I won't say all of 2020 was terrible; for our family it was actually very clarifying, if that makes sense.  We learned what was important, what we were capable of, the value of family time, how much we appreciate our freedoms, and just how blessed we really are.  I have no idea what 2021 will bring, but I have the feeling that it will be a year of personal growth for us, to apply the many lessons we learned this year.  Once everything is opened up again and the whole virus thing has quieted down, I have a feeling that many will not take that for granted (me included) and will boldly pursue dreams that had previously lain dormant.  Speaking for myself only here, I think that before the pandemic, I thought I was not able to pursue some interests and dreams, because of my various domestic duties.  During the lockdowns, I realized that I actually was able before, and the limitations were only in my mind.  Knowing that now, I am finally willing, though not yet able.  May 2021 provide the opportunities that I am now ready to pursue.

Personal Growth.

Maybe that will be my defining phrase for 2021.  We'll see. And I'll post it here, don't worry.  To you, from us, Happy New Year :-)