I posted this on FaceBook.
2020: It’s been quite a year... lots of hard times, events cancelled, restrictions, sickness and lives lost, jobs lost and economic hardship, isolation, depression, political division, rioting, violence, and protests... there was a lot of darkness.
But I was thinking back on all the good things that happened this year for our family. It’s quite a list. Here are some of them:
- Owen received the Aaronic Priesthood and went to do temple work for the first time. We did work for Alex's brother and grandparents
- Alex and I gave talks in church in January and February on finding light and truth, tender mercies of the Lord, the Savior’s love, and answered prayers (both talks of which were good spiritual preparation for the hard times to shortly follow)
- We had many spiritual experiences with home church - sharing talks, testimonies, singing, and sacrament
- Read “Saints” volume 1 as a family and started volume 2
- Lots of family time; games and movies (watched Poldark, Anne with an E, Agents of Shield, all of the Marvel movies, Mandalorian, and Last Man Standing)
- 8 backpacking and camping trips, including our 1st ever family backpacking trip
- Family kickball
- Consistent running in the morning (all of us)
- No driving to early morning seminary (switched to online); got to listen to Nathan and Jared diligently singing their hymn before their personal study
- Nathan and Jared did some cooking this year
- Break from sports and busyness
- More time to play the piano, work in the yard, and other projects (typed 102 pages of Alex’s mission journal, finished our 10-20 years marriage book, and started my own personal history book)
- Stayed up-to-date on all news and politics this year
- Spent 3 weeks in TX and 1 week in UT with family
- Savannah and Weston learned to swim
- Nathan got his driver’s license
- Alex and I celebrated our 20th anniversary in Monterey, CA without kids
- Home School - flexible, no stress getting out the door in the mornings
- Scripture study before school and journal writing
- No sickness in our family this year
- 3 baptisms in our family (niece, nephew, and Savannah)
- 1 niece born in November
- Fasting and prayers answered on my parents behalf, which they had been waiting a long time for
There was still a lot of light amidst the darkness this year. Make your own list and count your blessings!
I also posted about some of our favorite things for the year:
Alex: backpacking trips
Annie: Church talks at home and with family this summer
Nathan: tubing on the lake and getting his driver’s license
Jared: tubing and spending time with family this summer
Owen: Our 1st ever family backpacking trip
Weston: steak on his birthday and his swimming party
Savannah: delivering cookies, swimming in the pool this summer and wiggle car down the driveway
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