Year End Recap and My 2020 Word of the Year

Well, we did it!  Just a few more hours left in 2019, and we're getting ready to ring in not just a new year - but a new decade!  This year, the kids are determined to stay up until midnight to ring in the new year.  Last year they fell asleep at 11:50, so we'll see.  So far, we've spent the day riding bikes, making an elaborate feast (braised short ribs, brussels sprouts, lobster and shrimp pasta) and ginataan, playing games, and watching movies.  We'll see how long they last!

I tried my hand at a Word of the Year in 2019, and it really helped me stay focused on what I wanted to achieve.  My word was Memories, and I really do feel that I had done my best in creating a year full of moments to remember.

Our big Christmas gift of 2018 was in the form of monthly letters that included family experiences - some big, some small - for us to enjoy.  My kids loved them all so much that they begged us to do it again next year....something that I gladly obliged!  

Here are some of our "big" family moments of the year (with a link to the corresponding post):

January: Chattanooga trip and Lissie's First Reconciliation
February: Symphony outing and Louisville trip

March: St. Louis trip

April: Week-long staycation during a home renovation project

May: Lissie's First Communion and family bike rides

June: Smokies getaway and Chicago Anniversary

July: Myrtle Beach

August and September: Atlanta trip and camping

October and November: Gulf Shores and camping

December: Cincinnati and Christmas

My 2020 Word of the Year is similar.  My word is Family.  Why?  2020 is the year we are planning our big trip to the Philippines to introduce the kiddos to their heritage and meet relatives they've never even known.  2020 may also bring the wedding of Lissie's godfather (date hasn't been determined, though).  I want my kids to know their family - not just me and Justin or even Lolo and Lola, but the huge extended family that I know and don't get to reconnect with often.  And, with the continuation of our monthly family experiences, we will continue to make the memories that I also long to create!

Happy Happy New Year!

December 2019

December, as always, is a busy one.  This year, the majority of tour time was spent with basketball practices and games and Santa sightings.  Mom spent some time in the hospital for an inpatient chemo treatment which left her weak for a good chunk of the month.  The kids were good about letting her heal, but it was difficult to see their Lola struggle.  Luckily she regained her energy in time for the holidays, though!

Xavier's patron saint's feast day!  We celebrated with extra prayers and a pokemon cupcake.

Feast of St. Nick!  He forgot to put treats in their shoes they left out by their bedroom,
but he sneakily snuck into the garage instead!

Santa visit at a gingerbread party.  X had requested a multiplication book.

Their results of the gingerbread party!

The Franklin Christmas parade.

Visit with Santa at our church St. Nick breakfast.

Lissie's first basketball victory!

Dicken's Christmas Festival

Xavier ended his Fall Basketball Season - can't wait for the Winter session next month!

They insisted that I keep the tradition alive: matching homemade PJs to wear on Christmas Eve!

The season of giving - helping me donate some items for the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital Holiday House

Donating leftovers from school parties to Nashville Rescue Mission

Our "big" family experience was a trip to Cincinnati to visit with old friends.  We had so much fun catching up with friends who just moved back from a stint in Germany, learning how to play gaga ball, and then checking out the zoo lights with some other friends who moved from Nashville to Cincy in tow, as well.  Unfortunately, I could see that Xavier was slowly fading....only to spike a huge fever overnight which cut our visit short.   We quickly stopped at Xavier University for his obligatory picture before heading back home with a pitstop to the pediatrician who confirmed a case of the flu.  Since we are actively always trying to keep mom as healthy as possible, we decided to dose up on Tamiflu and get a hotel close to home to get the contagious germy germs out of the way and for Xavier to heal up in time for Christmas.  Thankfully with Tamiflu and our previously administered flu shots, he was up and at them in just a few days and we had a wonderful family Christmas.

We stayed at an awesome hotel that had a fabulous pool!

Can't go to Cincy without a visit to IKEA!

Our friends had leftover snow!

Despite not seeing each other for a couple of years, they hit it off again right off the bat!

So many children!

Mesmerized by the zoo lights!

Skyline Chili -  yum!

Obligatory Xavier shot

Confirmed flu - poor kid.

After our unexpected hotel stay, we only had one more day to get ready for the Christmas festivities.  The bulk of the cooking fell on me this year, as mom hasn't felt up for doing much in the kitchen.  Luckily Lissie was a willing helper in the kitchen!

Dessert made!

On Christmas Eve, we made our gingerbread village and cookies for Santa.  We opted to not go to Christmas Eve Mass (although Justin did play the violin at our church service) as we wanted to go as a family when Xavier was totally fever-free.

Health mask didn't stop him!

Our feast of lasagna, ham, salmon, and calamari. 

Santa came!

A school set for her American Girl doll!

New kindles!

Christmas Dinner: Brussels sproutes, prime rib, daddy's mac and cheese, and leftover ham and salmon

We didn't have time earlier in the month to do our surprise Christmas light adventure, so we did it on Christmas!  

After the Christmas festivities, we continued to enjoy our break with Xavier's half birthday, Lolo's birthday, a trip to the zoo, bike rides, and a trip to the Frist Art Museum.  Thank goodness for a mild winter so far!

Xavier's half birthday!  Working through his multiplication book that he requested from Santa.

We didn't see the Zooluminations at night, but they were still super cool during the day!

Happy birthday, Lolo!

I wanted to check out the Eric Carle exhibit at the Frist since I'm going on a field trip in February, and they were willing helpers!

Helping make the New Year's ginataan with Lola.

 Despite our "busy-ness," December was full of lots of family memories.  And for that, of course, I'm always grateful.  It was a great last month of the year!

October and November 2019

Whoo-hoo!  I succeeded in my goal of updating the blog over Thanksgiving break!  So what if I cheated and wrote less and wrote two months in each post....it'll still serve its purpose for me to look back on later, right? 

October started with a few playdates and festivals, trips to the park, sleepovers, and a wedding to mark the beginning of Fall Break.  I also managed a full day at the spa before a trip to Gulf Shores with seven other families - 30 people in all - for a memorable weekend!

We donated $1,000 from September's Meatball Night to Gilda's Club!

Trader Joe's opens near school and we've already been at least 5 times!

One of his favorite things to do is read the Liturgy of the Hours with Lola

We also celebrated Trunk or Treat, Fall Fest, and a lowkey Halloween this month!

We had a Harry Potter theme for Trunk or Treat

Fall Fest was such a success that we even had a double rainbow!

And Lissie won at the cakewalk, so we had Sweet 16 brownies for breakfast - yum!


We opted out of trick-or-treating on Halloween because of the cold temps with the promise of going all out next year (hey, it's on a Saturday!)

November started with All Saints Day, of course.  And the third grade traditionally dresses up as saints at Mass.

Lissie chose St. Veronica because she was a timid person who became brave to help Jesus. 

With the proud Lola

Lissie also lectored at a school Mass.  For such a shy girl, she did amazing!

This month was a little more hectic since our school days started to get busier with the start of basketball.  There isn't a school night that we get home before 6, and often times it's even later than that!

Two nights a week, he exercises with me on the greenway while we wait for Lissie to get out of basketball.

As such, I've tried to make our weekends a little lighter to compensate.  We did do our annual camping trip with our church friends, which was always a great time!  Other than that, aside from some gatherings with friends and basketball games, we've made it a point to just relax to gear up for our busy weeks.

Celebrating his first win in three seasons of basketball!

Trying to decipher Lola's cursive to make zucchini bread.

Even our Thanksgiving break is thankfully uneventful.  With my parents in California and Justin working the weekend, we opted to not even cook for the holiday!  I'm excited to be spending the time hanging out with the kids, watching movies on Disney Plus, and catching up on my crafting and blogging.

Since my parents were in Cali, Xavier's godmother stepped in as proxy for GrandPal's Day.


And since my parents weren't there, I treated them to Sitar afterwards!

Homemade PJs are the best!

Thanksgiving Dinner!

It's hard to believe that 2019 is winding down.  I've loved our year of memories, and the kids have already requested that we do more experiences next year in lieu of toys for Christmas.  I agree, kids, I definitely agree!

But it's still fun to look at the Amazon catalog. haha!