Gratitude List for 2021
2021 has definitely had its challenges, but I wanted to share the joyful memories of the year as I look back with a grateful heart for what God has done this year in our little corner of the world. In no particular order, here are some of the top things and memories for which I am grateful as we end the year:
fun family adventures using local memberships
A year-long membership to the local zoo, children's museum, and Sea World + Aquatica were all gifted to us in the last year by both sets of generous grandparents, so Elliot and I visited each monthly this year. We had so many fun adventures together and Greg was able to join in the fun several times as well! Memberships have been a great thing to add to Christmas and birthday lists since they truly are a gift that keeps on giving all year long.
improved sleep and mental health
Elliot started sleeping through the night in February (he was 16 months old, so I was extremely sleep-deprived for that long!) and my mood, energy, and overall mental health improved dramatically! I started feeling more like myself around that time and have been so grateful for uninterrupted nights of sleep. It was really tough. I wrote about it on a friend's blog (part one HERE and part two HERE)
snow in Texas?!
In mid-February, Texas got hit with "snowmageddon"! "Texas" and "snow" are typically NOT used in the same sentence, but it was a weird year, weather-wise in Texas and we had a week of snow in our city. This was both fun (as the photos show), but also nerve-wrecking (as the photos do not show) because we lost power and the temperature dropped in our house to the 40s at night. Thankfully, we were able to spend a few hours each day in the fireplace-warmed homes of two special neighbor friends while Elliot played with their children.
wonderful neighbors became close friends
Speaking of those special neighbor friends, they are two moms with toddlers around Elliot's age, so the boys have developed the sweetest friendships while us moms have also been so fortunate to have each other. We are all very similar in overall parenting styles, so we have encouraged one another, shared resources, and even babysat for one another occasionally so we can each have solo time or a date with our spouse. I am so grateful for these mamas and their sweet children. We also became closer to a few other neighbors, one elderly couple a few doors down self-elected themselves as Elliot's adopted grandparents and we love chatting with them whenever we see them outside. They buy gifts for Elliot every holiday and are just so loving towards him, it is very sweet.
scheduling solo time
One thing Greg and I have tried to be consistent with is carving out solo coffee dates for each of us around once a month. We each bring books, our Bible study, a journal, and whatever else we would like to have a few hours of uninterrupted work time while the other parent has special time with Elliot at home. I am so thankful for these mornings and have gotten a lot accomplished as well as felt rested and rejuvenated after this solo time. As an introvert, having time alone to unplug and have time for deep work is so good for my emotional health.
One thing Greg and I have tried to be consistent with is carving out solo coffee dates for each of us around once a month. We each bring books, our Bible study, a journal, and whatever else we would like to have a few hours of uninterrupted work time while the other parent has special time with Elliot at home. I am so thankful for these mornings and have gotten a lot accomplished as well as felt rested and rejuvenated after this solo time. As an introvert, having time alone to unplug and have time for deep work is so good for my emotional health.
Last Christmas, I received very generous gift cards from Greg and his family that paid for 6 relaxing massages throughout the year! This was guilt-free mama time, usually during Elliot's naps (Greg worked from home), and was such a fun way to relax as well as have some tense muscles worked on. For my birthday last summer, I received a gift card to a posh day spa in town that I otherwise would likely never have spoiled myself with. I was there from 9am-2pm and I received an amazing pedicure followed by poolside reading and the ultimate relaxing morning. It was such a sweet gift of rest and rejuvenation!
teaching Elliot at home & becoming slightly obsessed with Montessori and Charlotte Mason
In the last year and a half, I have been very interested in the Montessori philosophy and application in everyday home life. Last winter, I was introduced to Charlotte Mason's home education as well, which I felt complimented Montessori in some ways. This led me to searching for resources for creating a play-based, casual home atmosphere of learning. I ultimately decided on The Gentle + Classical Preschool curriculum plus my own Montessori-based activities (mostly from Pinterest or IG) that matched with each week's letter unit. It has been so fun to see Elliot make leaps and bounds in the past four months, from Bible stories to catechism statements, to letter recognition, colors, manners, safety statements, personal info like our names and where we live, art appreciation, and a large amount of new words. I learned new things too, like baking my first loaf of artisan bread while reading The Little Red Hen (something I always found daunting, but was a fun experience with Elliot). It is a fun, no-stress, low-pressure introduction to homeschooling that is entirely up to me since he's only two and doesn't need any formal education at this time. We have a rhythm (rather than a strict schedule) that includes hours of outdoor play, a ton of read-alouds, independent play, singing, and overall just having fun and making memories while being exposed to new concepts and following his lead and interests. For example, we read The Little Engine Who Could for the week we studied the letter E. He hadn't been really interested in trains until this week in August. I borrowed a wooden train set from a friend and had different activities and toys available that week and his interest in trains has exploded since then! We have gone on train rides at the zoo as well as during our trip to Colorado.
In the last year and a half, I have been very interested in the Montessori philosophy and application in everyday home life. Last winter, I was introduced to Charlotte Mason's home education as well, which I felt complimented Montessori in some ways. This led me to searching for resources for creating a play-based, casual home atmosphere of learning. I ultimately decided on The Gentle + Classical Preschool curriculum plus my own Montessori-based activities (mostly from Pinterest or IG) that matched with each week's letter unit. It has been so fun to see Elliot make leaps and bounds in the past four months, from Bible stories to catechism statements, to letter recognition, colors, manners, safety statements, personal info like our names and where we live, art appreciation, and a large amount of new words. I learned new things too, like baking my first loaf of artisan bread while reading The Little Red Hen (something I always found daunting, but was a fun experience with Elliot). It is a fun, no-stress, low-pressure introduction to homeschooling that is entirely up to me since he's only two and doesn't need any formal education at this time. We have a rhythm (rather than a strict schedule) that includes hours of outdoor play, a ton of read-alouds, independent play, singing, and overall just having fun and making memories while being exposed to new concepts and following his lead and interests. For example, we read The Little Engine Who Could for the week we studied the letter E. He hadn't been really interested in trains until this week in August. I borrowed a wooden train set from a friend and had different activities and toys available that week and his interest in trains has exploded since then! We have gone on train rides at the zoo as well as during our trip to Colorado.
Seeing the sheer joy of Elliot discovering favorite things, such as trains, fire trucks, and Curious George... and finding as many possible exposures to each of these! Along with that, just seeing his joy in playing, eating popsicles, laughing at something silly, and just being his sweet, goofy self. His giggles melt me.
Working on "practical life skills" with Elliot, which is a Montessori term for basically doing everyday things around the house together, such as preparing a meal together, self-care like learning to self-dress and complete some parents of self-hygiene routine, setting the table, laundry, and watering flowers. At the library, he likes to scan the books for me. At the grocery store, he picks out the lemons. During a summer trip to Oregon, he picked his own tomatoes off the vine and promptly gobbled them up. He arranged a simple vase of flowers with his two friends and delivered them to the nursing home adjacent to our neighborhood playground. It has been so fun to see Elliot grow in helpfulness as well as noticing when something needs to be done (he'll do it without being asked sometimes like putting his shoes in his shoe basket by the door, shutting the coat closet door since I tend to leave it opened, etc). Sure, this doesn't save me too much time as he learns these skills (baking takes twice as long and is thrice as messy), but he is building skills and learning a lot, while also taking part in daily activities and upkeep of the home, which will help in the years to come as different age-appropriate chores are added.
it's fun to stay at the YMCA
YMCA has been an enormous blessing. Elliot has a blast at Child Watch for 1.5 hours while I get a great workout and time to myself. I have been feeling so much healthier in mind and body to have this weekly time dedicated to taking care of myself while knowing Elliot is being cared for by a great staff of childcare workers. During the summer, we loved the splash pad and pool. This fall, Greg and I have even been able to go on a two bike rides on the nearby trail while Elliot was in Child Watch, which were fun, active dates.
bike rides in our neighborhood
Speaking of bike rides, Elliot and I have been on a ton of bike rides through the surrounding neighborhoods on my bike with a child carrier. It is great exercise and just so enjoyable for both of us. Greg bought my bike last Christmas, which has gotten so much use this year. He joins us on bike rides and we have a bike wagon attached to him bike, so Elliot has options. Elliot has also loved riding his own bikes: first, he started with a four-wheeled bike when he was around fifteen-months old and then when he turned two this summer, he graduated to a balance bike, which is a whole new ball game because he is FAST and I need to sometimes jog to keep up with him!
family trips
Family trips to visit family in Oregon as well as within Texas. Elliot loves time with his cousins on both sides of the family, so it is extra special to visit family now.
We were blessed to be able to travel to Oregon twice this year.
birthday celebrations
Elliot turned TWO in September and we celebrated him for two weeks straight. First in Oregon with my family...
... then at home with friends at the local fire station (Elliot LOVES fire trucks), and then with Greg's family who drove to our city for a family weekend. 
great Bible studies
While Elliot was struggling with sleeping through the night, I was extremely sleep-deprived and wasn't able to always wake up early to study the Bible. I also didn't have the energy to start from scratch and study a large book of the Bible on my own using the inductive study method (which I loved using in past years). Instead, it really helped this year to either watch or read Bible studies from other women. Our women's ministry at our church studied Psalms and though I couldn't join the Bible studies, I still watched the videos and studied on my own. Bible & Breakfast (Asheritah Ciuciu), No Other Gods (Kelly Minter), Truthfilled (Ruth Chou Simons) all helped me dig deep in the Bible during the mornings I woke up before Elliot. I feel so much more ready for the day's challenges when I start with some quiet time to pray, read the Bible, and if time allows, have some "deep work" time for blog posts or other projects that are hard to do with an active toddler around.
While Elliot was struggling with sleeping through the night, I was extremely sleep-deprived and wasn't able to always wake up early to study the Bible. I also didn't have the energy to start from scratch and study a large book of the Bible on my own using the inductive study method (which I loved using in past years). Instead, it really helped this year to either watch or read Bible studies from other women. Our women's ministry at our church studied Psalms and though I couldn't join the Bible studies, I still watched the videos and studied on my own. Bible & Breakfast (Asheritah Ciuciu), No Other Gods (Kelly Minter), Truthfilled (Ruth Chou Simons) all helped me dig deep in the Bible during the mornings I woke up before Elliot. I feel so much more ready for the day's challenges when I start with some quiet time to pray, read the Bible, and if time allows, have some "deep work" time for blog posts or other projects that are hard to do with an active toddler around.
celebrated our 6 year anniversary in Colorado!
We traveled to Colorado for our 6 year anniversary and it was absolutely breathtaking! The scenery was unmatched and the crisp, cool air was a wonderful reprieve from the Texas heat (yes, even in October!). We managed to have a great time even though Greg and I both got hit by food poisoning (we think it was the salmonella outbreak with the onion recall). We went hiking in Denver, Boulder, and Estes Park, found fun playgrounds in each location, and enjoyed the fall foliage and delicious food too!
read great books and discussed them with great ladies
My reading life had a good year. I was involved in three book clubs. I spent the year discussing Parenting by Paul David Tripp with a group of young moms from my church; I led the in-person book club that has been going on for nearly six years (favorite books we read together: ), and in the fall, I joined an online book club with women discussing Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul. I love discussing books with other women, especially when they include life-transforming truth from God's Word and how it can apply to our lives, so I felt like I was challenged and encouraged by all three book clubs. I didn't read quite as many books as previous years, but I still read a lot of great books, mostly on audiobook. HERE are my monthly reviews. I will be posting my favorite 2021 books soon!
My reading life had a good year. I was involved in three book clubs. I spent the year discussing Parenting by Paul David Tripp with a group of young moms from my church; I led the in-person book club that has been going on for nearly six years (favorite books we read together: ), and in the fall, I joined an online book club with women discussing Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul. I love discussing books with other women, especially when they include life-transforming truth from God's Word and how it can apply to our lives, so I felt like I was challenged and encouraged by all three book clubs. I didn't read quite as many books as previous years, but I still read a lot of great books, mostly on audiobook. HERE are my monthly reviews. I will be posting my favorite 2021 books soon!
Comments
Post a Comment
I love to hear your thoughts!
Elle Alice