Christmas 2020

"If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly." James 1:5 

Hello! We hope, in spite of all the uncertainty, you had an enjoyable 2020. Here is a look back on our year as a family.

January/February:

We started 2020 by celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary. 

Everett's love of basketball led us to a UW men's basketball game and a women's basketball game and the kids had a blast (Read: the big two got cotton candy and Delaney fell asleep). Everett was a little concerned about the giant flamethrower machines the teams used when announcing the starting rosters.

Emery had an unfortunate encounter with a falling music stand at school and got 8 stitches! We celebrated Emery's 8th birthday with a gymnastics party!

Delaney ate her first solid food, sweet potatoes. Just like the other kids, she wasn't immediately a fan. But before long, she warmed up to the idea.

March/April/May/June:

Tiffanie traveled to visit her Taylor friends in early March right as things were shutting down. When she returned, we shut down like everyone else: Emery's school went online, Blake and Tiffanie worked from home, we watched church online, and the little ones were clueless. Many of the parks and businesses in town were closed, and our options for doing something together outside were limited. This year has been hard, but we are so grateful we've been able to adjust our plans and continue many things from home. 

Delaney started sitting up (March), waving (May), crawling (May), and pulling up to standing (June). Emery lost 3 more teeth over these months (grand total: 5) and completed a very hard 2nd grade year. She also switched to a full size bed so Everett could transition out of his crib and into a twin bed. Everett turned two and a half and he was potty trained. 

We had a crazy snowstorm at the beginning of June and another at the beginning of September!

July/August:

We braved air travel to visit Tiffanie's parents and our other friends in Virginia. We only met up with a few friends and were able to see some others by attending church. We took the kids downtown for Everett and Delaney's first trip to DC. It was warm and sunny every day!

Delaney turned 1 on July 31 and we had a few little friends over to celebrate. She loved her cake!

Earlier this year, Emery was accepted to the gifted program for 3rd grade. She started at a new school this fall. And it turns out, Blake and I have not ever been inside her current school because of restrictions. At the same time, we're grateful she is able to go to school in person (with lots of safety protocol in place), and she is thriving in this new class. She amazes us with some of the things she is learning. Also, before school started, Emery got glasses for the first time.

September/October/November/December:

Delaney started standing and taking a few steps (September) and walking (October). She is picking up a lot more words. 

Everett turned three on October 10 and we had a few friends over to celebrate. The following week, he started preschool three half-days a week in a small class at a church. He's already learned over 10 Bible verses and the days of the week and months of the year. He also stopped needing diapers at night in November. We're back to only washing diapers for one kid!

Emery lost 3 teeth the weekend of Everett's birthday (grand total: 8). 

We happily added a piano to our home in September. The kids love it and Blake is teaching himself to play.

With many indoor activities limited this year, we spent time as a family outdoors: exploring, walking, hiking, etc. We visited Vedauwoo, the Snowy Range, and Happy Jack. The kids like climbing trees and coming up with creative playground games.

Blake ran a marathon in Ft. Worth, TX in November. He came in 23rd overall and 4th in his age group (3hr 7min). He received a belt buckle for finishing! We were also able to visit a few of his cousins, and an aunt and uncle, plus my brother and sister-in-law. 

We had our neighbors over for Thanksgiving and enjoyed a quiet weekend at home. We are looking forward to a quiet December. 

We are grateful for your friendship and we pray that 2021 brings new hope, joy, and renewal!

With much love,
Blake, Tiffanie, Emery, Everett, and Delaney