We welcome 2021 with the expectation for the year to be better than the last 365 days! We are eager to get our families vaccinated to better protect us from COVID. We are hoping to return to activities on a more regular and frequent basis. We look forward to traveling later this year. And for me...I look forward to a year of hopefully gaining strength, flexibility, and engagement in activities. It has been a very difficult recovery and I pray that God will restore my knee with complete healing.
Harley has been a great addition to our family. She is oh so loved and spoiled in every way. She is really a great dog and will be even better when she is fully potty trained! The dog's feet barely touch the ground when she has three mommas that are constantly holding her!
In January, we enjoyed daughter dates with each of the kids. It was special one on one time with each kid. Aubrey and I went and got a Chai Latte and did crafts together while Avery and daddy devised the best strategy to make a fast derby car and shopped for all the essentials to assure a winning car. They finished off their date with special drinks from the coffee shop too. Aubrey and daddy made homemade soap together on their date and then Avery and I baked four different treats for our date. I hope we can continue to do these fun dates with the girls through the years.
The kids are continuing in American Heritage girls. They earned almost 15 badges last fall. They have worked on several more badge already this spring. Some of their favorites have been art, baking, swimming and pet care. One of the more recent meetings the girls made 'cornhusk dolls' which was very special to me since mom collected cornhusk dulls. I have many of them in a special keepsake curio of items I have from mom that were special to her. It was like mom was looking down from Heaven that night.
The kids are enjoying face to face instruction in school. They have adapted so well to all the changes. We have been able to re-engage in a lot of our normal previous functions, of course with masks and distancing. The girls had "career day" at school where they dress like the profession they want to be when they grow up. Avery dressed up as a teacher and Aubrey dressed up as a vet. The girls also completed their first school project - the planet projects. Avery learned a lot about Mercury and created a great presentation for her class. Aubrey also learned a lot about Mars and did a fantastic presentation for her class as well.
In January, we typically celebrate Aimee and Tessa's birthdays, but once again COVID strikes again! We were not able to get together like normal, but we definitely can't wait until we can. We were able to have a mini celebration for Tessa in their garage just to remind her how special she is and how much we love her. I wish I had more pictures, but in all my pictures one kid always had their eyes closed! That is what happens when you try to capture three busy kids in a picture!
Our most favorite neighbors who we hold near and dear to our hearts moved at the start of 2021. While we were very excited for them, we definitely miss all of the time we spend together. Our girls grew up with Pam and John and no matter the occasion, Pam and John were always a part of everything for the past 13 years. We are so thankful they only moved a little over an hour away but we miss just being able to walk across the street! I know we will have many get togethers in the future. They have a beautiful home with lots of fun future opportunities.
Starting on Valentine's Day we started six day freeze. It as unprecedented in Houston's history to have a freeze for so long. As soon as reach above freezing mid-week, we had a second artic blast hit. Snow accumulation was minimal, approximately one inch. However, the kids still can have fun in 0.5-1 inch of snow! Jay and I were locked down at the plant and hospital for a few days and great friends took care of Aubrey and Avery in our absence. Harley had her first overnight at a dog boarder, but then they lost power and were out of propane for their generator so Olivia to the rescue, who cared for her while we were gone.
We finished off February with the annual Awanas car derby race. Daddy and the girls each work very hard on their designs and car structure. Avery was going for the fastest car and had a night sky design and Aubrey was going for the slowest car and designed her car as a box of sour patch kids. They both had a lot of fun during the races but unfortunately did not take home any trophies this year. Hopefully next year.
It has been a great start to the year so far. Here's to 10 more months of greatness!
