December, 2020

Seas & Greetings

She was proud to chose her dress for church. 

Aut and I regularly attend church on Sundays now, outside under a tent. She also attends Awanas every Wednesday night. Faith formation is important, especially in her young, formative years. But it's also important for me. Though I still struggle with some of the stories from the Bible, and fear that this world is all there is, I've  finally reached a point where I definitely believe in intelligent design. To believe that this is all completely random would now require way more faith from me. The idea that this is all random is less believable to me now than the idea that there is a plan and a purpose. 

The lead-up to Christmas is always the best, isn't it? The anticipation of everything. We went to see Santa on the train at Irvine Regional. The train parked for quite awhile and Santa came by, spending time with each child, at a distance.

She had a snow day at her school, our HOA put on a parade and we went to see the lights at Saddleback Church, driving through.

Her kindergarten class.

We are so thankful that she continues to attend kindergarten full-time, and in person. She absolutely loves is and is learning so much! She can now read nearly any word with three letters, can count to 100 (and identify/write all numbers) and is doing simple math. She often walks around the house singing "10, 20, 30, 40, 50 , 60, 70 , 80, 90 ...100" to a tune.

This year was so amazing because the kids really seemed to "get" it. Aut was so excited to leave flour in front of the fireplace to collect evidence that Santa came, an idea she came up with on her own. She was so excited to find the evidence not only near the fireplace, but he also tracked flower on her purple rug in her room, where he left a smart watch under her tree, found the day after.

My father and brother spent the night on Christmas Eve so that they could be  here when the kids woke up before dawn. We had prime rib, and after dinner, the we all gathered 'round to watch Mom read The Night Before Christmas, which is a new tradition. Then, the kids opened one Christmas Eve gift as we had dessert and coffee. Remember knowing adults who could drink coffee at any time of the day or night, unaffected? I do too, and yet somehow, that's me now. Glen went to bed early, while Dad stayed up to help my husband, mostly by watching and critiquing him. "I'm here to help" became his catch-phrase that evening, as he instructed him on assembly or stated the obvious. They had a great time together, with lots of laughs. Dad spoke of Christmases from my childhood, and how much Mom loved this time of year. As anticipated, Aut was up before the sun, at 5:40 to be exact, and Cha wasn't too happy about it. Aut received her very first gun, an Annie Oakley Lil' Sure Shot BB air rifle, from Grandpa. After all the gifts were opened, we noticed something strange outside, and called the kids out. 

  

This historic dam is 1.5 miles out our back gate.

Best of friends!

The day after Christmas, Aut and I went ice-skating in Huntington, and she wore her new ice skates that she received for Christmas. She's continuing with her lessons and loves her weekly sessions with Coash Ashley.

We closed out the month with an early-morning trip to the snow with the kids' cousins. When there's snowfall in So-Cal, flatlanders like us flock to the mountains. But we went up the back way, through Yucaipa where I grew up, to the old school house in Oak Glen where we went last year. There wasn't any traffic, and very few people. Aut loves time with her cousins, and we hope to have more time together in the new year. 

I was happy to close out the year with higher mileage than any recent years. My total mileage was 1,221 which includes walking and running. Being home more, I have ran 3 miles nearly every day since March 13.

For New Year's, we set off fireworks in the street while the kids danced and rode their scooters. We also set off confetti cannons at the top of the staircase, and sat back as the kids jumped with delight in the raining sparkles. While the only postings I saw on Facebook and in the media about 2020 were negative, it was a good year for us. Perhaps, the best ever. All of the extra time at home has been the biggest blessing and I can't see us ever returning to our pre-Covid busyness. Life has been simpler, slower and much more enjoyable.