Before the World Stopped {January 2020}

When I think back to January 2020, I had no idea how quickly this year would change.  We were just carrying on business as usual celebrating New Year's, Eddie's birthday, Maggie's first birthday, and making preparations for Eddie to begin his new job which would lead to our moving to South Carolina.  Now, we are in the middle of a global pandemic, quarantining in our homes with most businesses shut down.  It is a crazy time of life, but we have been trying to utilize our time together to rest and prepare for the more hectic times ahead.  It has forced us to all slow down, and for that, I am thankful.  Besides that, I am ready for this mess to end!  Here are the highlights from our January: 

We celebrated New Year's while we were still in the mountains with our family and friends.  I found a cute little banner for pictures at the local Dollar Store. 

We all wore our party hats and blowers.  This was Maggie's 1st New Year. 

Big brother Evan just adores his baby sister.  He is such a wonderful big brother! 

We even got a picture with Cocoa wearing a hat.  

Our little cabin was nice and cozy as we toasted in the New Year with our sparkling juice.  

Mrs. Kiki and Mr. Cory are looking forward to a really amazing year as they await the arrival of their little boy.

Papa would not take his hat off to put on his party hat so we improvised.  We watched fireworks shows from around the world.  Paris's looked really fun.

Eddie took a picture of the Christmas sign in the little town where he works. Miss Maggie was being so sweet playing with her big brother's hand while he slept.  She really loves him! 

The kids could not wait to play with their new bubble machine when they got home.  

Evan's youth group at church went ice skating in Savannah so Brody and I tagged along.  Brody was very brave as he was learning for the first time.  It was a very crowded rink. 

Evan skated like a pro. 

Evan took Brody out for a spin around the rink.  While the shot was blurry, it is a priceless moment to remember.  The whole group got a picture together before we went to eat a late dinner.  Brody was giving me some sweet hugs in the restaurant. 

Evan enjoyed hanging out with his buddies at dinner while the adults sat at a different table. 

Brody helped his Cub Scout troop with a community service project to clean up the church yard. 

He also worked on getting his whittling chip by practicing on a piece of soap.

Miss Maggie loves her sunglasses.  She always tries to steal Mommy's glasses so we have to give her some. 

The boys wanted to drive through and see the local park decorated for Christmas before the lights came down.

Sweet Mattox fell asleep before Daddy's birthday celebration. 

We had a little family celebration for Daddy's 42nd birthday with a homemade brownie cake. 

One of Daddy's babies was missing as Mr. Mattox had fallen asleep after we got home from dinner. 

His babies made his day feel extra special. 

Maggie was really starting to enjoy playing with big brothers. 

And exploring her little playhouse. 

Just a Friday night family dinner date.  

Grayson was enjoying his mashed potatoes and shrimp. 

We love our family time. 

Miss Maggie had her one year check up and was finally showing up on the growth charts.  I only had one brother with us because the rest were in school.  Boy, that feels nice.  

Miss Maggie definitely looks sweet in purple. 

The girls hanging out while Daddy made a quick run to Wal-mart. 

We enjoyed one of our pizza lunch dates with Daddy. 

Mattox was so excited and proud of his new Lion King shoes.  He also made "Mattox's ark" with all of his animal figurines.  

Mattox and Grayson both got lots of new figurines for their birthdays and Christmas.  Mattox got Lion King and Lion Guard characters, and Grayson got PJ Masks characters.  I love watching them play and act for the characters. 

After church selfies in the car and lunch at the Mexican restaurant.  Man, I miss those days.  Sigh. 

Mommy and Maggie were made into pirate princesses by our resident pirates. 

Avast, ye land lubbers!  We're here for ye treasure!  They love playing pirates. 

Brody hijacked my phone to take some pictures of us and of me as a cute dog.  He's a mess!