Happy New Year 2021! This new year has to be better and happier than 2020 was. The Coronavirus pandemic affected everyone this past year, and the numbers of people infected and dying from the virus is still rising. But vaccines have been developed, and individual states are "rolling out" distribution of the vaccine starting this month.
Mike and I have registered for the vaccine. We are waiting for our eligibility to come up. First in line are the "first responders" and medical workers; then the elderly and those with compromised health issues; then those of us who are older; and then the rest of the population.
We stopped having friends over after the holidays to limit our exposure to possible COVID-19, but we still see our children and grandchildren. And I still visit my mom at least once a week.
Everyone is anxious for school to be back in class in New Mexico. Doing online school has been very challenging and stressful for most moms and their kids over the past school year, which lasted from mid-March to May of 2020. And then another online school year began in August of 2020 and is still going on in the new year. I feel so sorry for my Jessica and Shauna and their children. It is exhausting for moms to keep up with their kids' individual teacher ZOOM meetings and class assignments five days a week. And the kids get so tired of sitting in front of the computer for hours. Kiley and her boys went through it too, but then Texas resumed their in class schooling after a short time, which was a great relief to them.
Mike and I did some fun service projects for Jessica and for my mom in December and January. I helped Jess paint the adobe wall in her living room. Then we painted all three of her kids' bedrooms the same neutral color, which turned out very pretty and lighter than before. We also rearranged the furniture in their rooms to give the kids more space.
At my mom's house, Mike and I moved the furniture out of two bedrooms; we primed and painted the rooms; and we rearranged the furniture to make both rooms look and feel more spacious and functional--which is difficult since my mom has wall to wall furniture in every room!
I've also been doing a lot of shopping for my mom, mostly for Vernon. She asked me to find a new recliner chair with wooden arms and washable leather; a new dresser to replace two bulky night stands that she used for some of his clothes; and an arcade machine. I found the recliner on Overstock.com that has solid wood arms and faux leather that is "wipeable." I found a tall solid wood dresser with six drawers, brass pulls, and a small swivel detachable mirror. It has dovetail drawers and a honey color stain. And last but not least, I found a 4-in-1 arcade machine with Pac Man and three other games on the Home Shopping Network (HSN). It is a new arcade machine that is built without the huge console that the older models used to have. It can be mounted to a wall or over a door, or it can stand on a table or desktop. I'm still trying to find a pinball machine for Vernon, but they are very hard to come by. There are a lot of people who collect pinball machines.
I started babysitting Sofie this new school year to give Jess more time with her school age children. Hannah started feeling left out, so I said I would take her too if she got her schoolwork done early in the day. We love having the girls with us! I usually keep them till before dinner time. I will take them as often as I can, even if it makes me more tired. I wish I could take Brandon too, so that Shauna could have more time to help Tyler and Elise with their school work and ZOOM meetings, but they live too far from us.
Here are some random photos in no particular order, including family and lots of food--haha! The first photos are from September 2019 during our trip to Salt Lake City UT and Idaho Falls ID for Joy Hobbs' funeral. She passed away peacefully in her sleep and is now with her husband Bill and her daughters Connie and Julie. We miss them all so much.
We had driven up to Salt Lake for a day and then on to Idaho Falls for the funeral. And Sam had flown into SLC from TX to drive up with us. After the funeral, Sam stayed the weekend with Jared's family in SLC.
 |
| September 2019: At the funeral home in Idaho Falls |
 |
| At the gravesite in Idaho Falls |
 |
| Mike and his boys at Jared's house in SLC |
 |
| I think these guys ate too much at the Chinese buffet! |
 |
| Dressed for church on Sunday |
 |
| Love this fun photo of Steve and Linda's visit with Jared and Jenny |
 |
This one of beautiful little Eden was actually taken last year during Sam and Kiley's visit in August (I got it off of Kiley's blog). Eden's in our backyard in her bare feet, and there's still some snow on the ground!
Late July 2020: Milo and Mario with their great-grandma Pitcher |
 |
Love Joey's sweet face in this shot with his great-grandma Pitcher
|
 |
Mike and I with our four children: Sam, Jared, Jacob, and Jessica. Now there's almost 23 of us with their spouses and children (what's with my deformed hand?)
 | | August 1st, 2020: Sam and Kiley's family plus one on the way |
|
 |
| August 1st, 2020: Me with my amazing daughters |
 |
Mike helped me move some mirrors around the house and hang them right.
This one looks great in the dining area and matches the valances. |
 |
| This mirror looks better in our bedroom. I painted the mirror frame gray to match the gray valances that I had painted last year. |
 |
| Summer 2019: These cute photos were taken during Sam's family visit to Albuquerque. The kids LOVE the splash pad, especially Eli and Eden! |
 |
| Eden and Brandon are so little here! |
 |
Eli hanging out with his cousins Elise and Tyler
|
 |
| Fall 2020: Doll face Brandon couldn't be any cuter! |
 |
| Fall 2020: Jacob's sweet family and sunflowers |
