2020 Prediction Results

 Oh, this should be fun! Obviously I could not have predicted any part of what 2020 brought, but here we go- let's look back at the predictions I made a year ago for what I thought 2020 would be like!

1. A snowstorm will scare us and we will fear we won't get to Tampa for our cruise, but it will all work out despite a lot of stress, and once we are there we will have a fabulous time. (False- no snowstorm, thank goodness, and that part of 2020 wasn't stressful at all)

2. San Francisco 49ers will win the Super Bowl. Sorry, Seahawks! (False: Thought the 49ers went to the SB, it was the Chiefs who prevailed)

3. Broncos will finally get over .500 and go 9-7 next season. (False. Let's not talk about how bad they are)

4. We will be planning a trip to DisneyWorld. This is Ben's dream- but I'm not quite on board yet! DW is so much more work than DL! (FALSE- This is so sad for us, but we don't expect to be going back to DL or DW for at least a couple of years, and this really truly breaks our hearts. Obviously, there are WAY worse things, but we are sad about this)

5. We will have paid off our mortgage. We are so close! (True- yay!!!! That's one great thing from 2020!)

6. One of us would have gotten a new car. That might negate #5, but we are having some car problems, so it may be time to upgrade at least one of our cars. (False- not yet. My van is somehow still kicking. As far as Ben getting a new car, now we aren't sure we will get him a new one because he never drives anymore. Like never.)

7. I will be released from Relief Society. I haven't even been there a year, and while I love serving the sisters, there are A LOT more meetings than any person should reasonably need to attend, so I'm tired. I was called into the presidency late- the rest have been there for two years in January, and two years is the usual length of a presidency in our ward. I actually think it would be awesome to be on a committee planning the For the Strength of the Youth program for 2021, so maybe I'll get lucky to be able to do that. (True- I was ready to be released, and got released in September. Now I'm a "Family History Specialist" where I'm supposed to do 30 minutes of Family History a week. I love it, and Audra is getting involved with it as well which is really fun)

8. I will be asked to somehow help with Teacher Appreciation. Luckily, I don't have to worry about whether it is successful or not, but I think I will be asked to help. (False- no TA this year, another casualty of Covid. They did give plaques to teachers, but that is it)

9. The April 2020 General Conference that is being hyped up beyond measure won't be all that exciting. Great, for sure, just not great enough to match the build up. (False- Oh, man. Where to begin? It was definitely different than any other conference!)

10. Russia will elect Trump again. Hey, at least I'm realistic! (False- thank the good Lord!!!!!!!!!!)

Happy New Year!!! 2020 promises to be another one for the books!!!! (True- without a doubt, this was one for the books!!!)

Lessons I'm Taking With Me From 2020

 I have spent way too much time thinking about this, but here's my list of 20 Things I'm Taking With Me From 2020. What would you add?

1. Never take anything for granted
2. (After Covid) Take the trip, have dinner with your friends, say "yes" to the parties and opportunities, for you never know when those opportunities will be gone
3. Everything can change in an instant. Being willing to accept, adapt, and move forward is a life skill.
4. There are pros and cons to everything. Literally everything.
5. Ending racism is the job of white people. We must get educated and fight to end racism. Every. Single. Day.
6. Often it's the little things that bring the greatest joy.
7. Slowing down, clearing the calendar, having time to just BE is a blessing.
8. Showing up to vote and preserve Democracy is essential.
9. Regardless of age, learning and trying new skills/things is a wonderful pursuit.
10. Finding and building a community, even (especially) during a pandemic is possible and important
11. Instead of placing great meaning into "why is this happening," simply accepting "what is" is very healing.
    
12. Getting outside every day is therapy
13. Reconnecting with old friends is also therapy
14. Laughter is good medicine
15. Not believing everything you read and see is an important skill
16. Letting go of perfection and the idea that "busy" is "better"
17. Education doesn't have to be done inside a school building
18. As always, women are saving the world- from nurses to teachers to moms, we are the ones keeping the world going, and also like always, not getting paid (or getting paid pittance) for it
19. Working together as a collective whole makes us far stronger than only looking after our own selfish interests
20. The Broncos may never have a winning season again

Christmas!

Camille said it perfectly: "This is the BEST Christmas EVER- I think it's because Covid made us stay home and spend so much time as a family."

I made our annual Aebelskivers in honor of my Grandma High who made these often and our Danish heritage on my side:

Audra cross-stitched the Hermione from Harry Potter and Claire sewed the bag for Camille. They did a good job making gifts this year.

This is a thing where they "mine" for gems.

For the first time ever, we got to spend some time with my whole family for Christmas via Zoom. Each year, we each take a family to buy gifts for, so we got together and watched each other open the gifts from each other.

Then we spent the evening with the Marriott's, which was great.

It really was the BEST! And now we have a week of relaxing. We are very much looking forward to it.

Christmas Eve

 For the first time in our married lives, we had Christmas Eve with just our little family. Typically we go and spend Christmas Eve with my cousins who live in the area, but due to Covid, that was not an option.

We were excited to have it just be us. We love being with my cousins, but were happy for the opportunity to do our own thing this year.

I wanted to make a special dinner, and after a lot of thought I landed on tamales. I thought it would be something different and fun. Turns out, they were a bit of a flop. They were too spicy, they were far more difficult to heat up than I expected (I bought frozen tamales from a local restaurant, but I am not used to the steaming method and underestimated how long they would take to heat up). It was fine in the end, but not the incredible, memorable experience I was hoping for.

Then we read a lot of Christmas stories (my favorite is Red Ranger Came Calling). We read Luke 2 and Matthew 1 from the Bible and then Twas the Night Before Christmas. The girls then opened up their annual Christmas Eve pajamas, and we watched The Minions Christmas Special and also Garfield's Christmas special- the one both Ben and I watch as children, and in particular that Ben watched every Christmas Eve as part of his family Christmas traditions.

It was a sweet evening. There will come a time when we no longer have children at home in which to provide and share Christmas magic. That will be a sad, sad time.

In an effort to not completely waste a day where we had no plans, the girls got to work on the sewing machine. Claire and Camille each made a skirt and Audra finished piecing together the blocks for a quilt top.

Then it was time for lunch. I would say we succeeded in not wasting a day!

On a related note, Audra asked me what kind of family we are- music? Sports? What are we? All I could think was, "weird."