2020... Get Outta Here!

December 31, 2020 ~ What a year! I have tried to wrap my head around this year and how fast it's gone by and how the heck a pandemic has changed so much. It's crazy. The year started out like any other year and then all hell broke loose and I feel like the rest is kind of a blur.

As I reflect on several things this morning one of the things I really miss is blogging. I truly enjoy telling stories and being able to add photos to help tell stories are what I really love. It just seemed that life, for me, has been in fast forward for so long that I just never got a chance to sit down and talk about so many things. While I like my social media channels I feel that you just can't fully tell a story the way I like and my goal is to get back to it consistently. 

As we get to the final day of 2020 it's bittersweet. I'm certainly ready for a new year and a fresh start even though I feel that we will continue 2020 into the New Year. This year has brought many emotions and while there was so much sadness, far more people talking about depression and anxiety, heartbreak for the loss of loved ones, and people losing their jobs or pivoting to working from home while learning how to help their children with virtual learning it's been a heck of a year. You guys know me, and you know that I like to find the good in any situation so I have decided to focus on the good things that happened in 2020. 

Let's take a stroll down memory lane, shall we....

January 6-10, 2020

Team Healium headed to the lovely Las Vegas to set up a booth for CES and what a memorable trip that was! While I can't tell you a lot about this trip... y'all know what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas... I can tell you we still laugh about it today! Wendy Moore had just come on with the team and this was Sarah and I's 2nd year at CES. Wendy's husband, Ryan, traveled with us, and thank goodness because trade shows are no joke! He would step in to help and give us all a little break. It was a lot of work but totally worth it and I always enjoy a good adventure with Sarah!

I just help the team when they need an extra set of hands and mostly work with the Honor Everywhere side of things but will do whatever they need from me! I love supporting Sarah and she is certainly making a huge impact in the lives of others. Mental Health Awareness is something that is talked about a lot more and Healium's amazing team is working hard to bring help to those that need it most.

What is Healium you might ask? 

Healium is a clinically validated mental fitness channel that uses virtual and augmented reality apps for the self-management of stress and anxiety. Unlike traditional meditation, Healium is active, immersive, and visual. It’s the world’s first virtual and augmented reality media channel powered by brainwaves and heart rate via an EEG headband or Apple Watch. In three peer-reviewed journals, Healium reduced moderate anxiety by a third in as little as four minutes.

For more information please visit: Try Healium

 January 10, 2020

 While this memory is sad I choose to remember the good times we had. The "Young & Spry Team" began on June 9, 2014 when I was Bob Young's guardian on Central Missouri Honor Flight # 28. I was honored to spend the day with a true American Hero but it was extra special because he was the father of one of my Golden Girls, Lindsay Young Lopez. We bonded instantly and any chance I got to squeeze on him I would! He would become part of my life and it was a "must" to grab a photo together when we would see each other!  

On Friday as we were finishing up at the CES Show in Las Vegas I would learn that his health had rapidly declined. As I arrived at the airport I would learn that Bob passed away with his family and his dog, Rex at his side.

 

So many good memories were made with Bob and while the "Young & Spry Team" can't physically be together anymore it's the memories that make me smile. Had I known Friday, January 3rd would be the last day I would see him I would have squeezed him a little tighter and a little longer. The last thing he said to me was "You are always a bright light in a dark place" and something I will always remember. I know you are in a better place but a part of me left with you. Forever in our hearts ... God speed my friend. 

 

 January 31 - February 2, 2020

A special trip to Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, CA to participate in the Living History Event on the Corsair F4U-1A that they own. This is the exact warbird that Lt. Col. Ferrill A. Purdy and Major John H. Tashjian (pictured above) flew during World War II in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands. Planes of Fame is somewhere I volunteer my time for their Air Shows and a few other events and when traveling there I always stop to have lunch when I arrive and dinner when I leave with Mr. Tashjian. 

This Living History event was extra special because Mr. Tashjian (98 years young) would be joining me. Little did they all know, I would be presenting them with some special awards that I felt they deserved for their help in all they have done to reunite these two World War II veterans with a plane they flew when they were 22 and 23 years old. This is one of my favorite photos of Mr. Tashjian that day and in July 2021 we will celebrate is 100th birthday in a big way! 

To learn more about this story you can read about it here: World War II Veterans Reunite

 

February 10, 2020

Brandon's first surgery to remove a cyst off of his neck. This cyst has been bothering him for a while and was next to his spinal cord on the back of his neck which would require a specialist to remove it. It was a mess. They couldn't get his IV started and I get woozy when I smell the alcohol pads they use. Add that into a small room and yep, I just about passed out. They had to get a crash cart for me and while I was recovering they wheeled Brandon by to take him to surgery.  I will never live that down and while I was trying to hold it together for him apparently I couldn't take the many "sticks" they had to do on him. It all came back fine and they got it all but I hope he won't have to go through that again! (Clearly, he's the tough one and his wife is a wimp!)

 

 February 14 - 15, 2020

Sarah Hill and I had the opportunity to travel to Baltimore, Maryland to present Honor Everywhere to the Honor Flight Summit. This is something we have been wanting to do for a couple years and thanks to Joe Machado (pictured above) was instrumental in getting this done. He is an incredible young man who is a Vietnam Veteran and works with Ohio Hospice as working with Ohio Honor Flight. He is a wonderful resource and is a guy who can get things done! 

We had an amazing trip and being able to share Honor Everywhere with the Honor Flight hubs that came to our break out sessions was nothing short of awesome. We just wanted them to know that there was another option in their tool belts when working alongside our veterans. While physically traveling on an Honor Flight is the first and foremost important option there are times when veterans can't physically travel due to health. Honor Everywhere is something they could use to take those veterans to their memorials in Washington, DC without having to physically leave their hospital rooms, nursing homes, and/or their living rooms. 

We wanted them to know about this technology and other than purchasing a headset from Amazon, Walmart or Best Buy the technology piece would be free. Hopefully, by having this option in their Honor Flight tool bag they would never have to tell a veteran they couldn't see their memorial and either add to a current virtual option they might have or create a virtual option within their hub. 

It's our mission to make sure that each veteran has the option to see their memorial before it's too late. We currently have Honor Everywhere (World War II Memorial), Korea War Memorial, Honor Everywhere: Vietnam Memorial, The Women's Memorial, and The USS Nimitz. (There will be more experiences available, free of charge, in the future as we can create them)

What is Honor Everywhere you might ask....

Honor Everywhere is a service of Central Missouri Honor Flight in partnership with other Honor Flight hubs around the nation which fly terminally ill and aging veterans to Washington, DC to see their memorials. It is virtual reality experiences that are seen through virtual reality goggles that will allow our veterans to frail to physically travel the ability to see their memorials from the comfort of their chair or hospital beds. You can learn more here: Honor Everywhere

 

 February 26, 2020

We completely took Brandon's mom's old house down to the studs and re-constructed the entire place over a period of several months. It was an undertaking but when it was done I gotta say it was beautiful! It was bittersweet closing on this house but knowing the family that would be able to make new memories here was worth it all. My favorite part of these projects is picking out the flooring, tile, countertops and light fixtures. Kind of fun playing Joanna Gaines, although she is much better at this!

February 27, 2020 

Brandon has always wanted a farm. He works extremely hard to provide for us and when an opportunity came up to purchase a piece of land he jumped on it. It will allow us to have somewhere to "piddle" and will take a little work getting things cleaned up to our likes but so far he's a happy little feller and I'm his happy little wife! We have plans for this place and can't wait to see it come together eventually but just being able to have a place we can get our family together and go fishing, ride our RZR's and ride in the tractor will be something we look forward to! 

February 28 - March 1, 2020 

Y'all should know by now that we love the Eagles! We have seen them 4 times in concert and will make plans to see them again after this trip. We loved taking Momma on this trip down to Dallas, TX and it was certainly a memorable trip! We ate at Cattleman's Steakhouse which is always excellent, toured the George W. Bush Presidential Library and my connection to the Eagles managed to get us closer seats for the concert in the friends and family section... Sweet! So. Much. Fun.

March 5 - 8, 2020

This was my very first experience with the True/False Film Festival right here in Columbia, MO. I had no idea what to expect but this is something I have always wanted to do. Gotta give credit to my Golden Girl, Sarah Dubbert for helping me with this one. It was very interesting, some films made you really think about a lot and some made you laugh. I would recommend dipping your toe into the True/False Film Festival and just see what it's all about. For my first year I took in 4 films and I can't wait to see what's on the line up for next year as I would take in a few more. Very cool experience and I felt like I pushed myself to try something new. 

Want to know more about it then check it out here: True/False Film Festival

 

 March 9 -10, 2020

This year was our 11th Annual Read-A-Thon at Midway Heights Elementary School where we are a Partner in Education along with D and H Drugstore. Tanya and I always look forward to this week because the students (and staff) enjoy having guest readers come visit the classrooms. Each guest will read a book that goes with each year's theme (this year our theme was Stampede to Read - one of my favorite themes) and we were only going to be able to have 2 days of guest readers visit the classrooms because they had a Teacher Work Day on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. 

During this Read-A-Thon week, we have one night, typically a Thursday, that we call Literacy Night. For about 1 1/2 hours the students and their family come to the school and participate in a variety of games geared towards math, science, reading, writing, and a physical activity. It's always a fun time and every child that attends gets a book donated by Scholastic in Jeff City, MO. 

The 2019-2020 school year would be our 12th year as a Partner in Education with Midway Heights Elementary School. It's the elementary school I attended as a little tyke from Kindergarten to 6th grade and the school my nephew attends. It will always hold a special place in my heart and I love giving back to the students that attend Midway Heights. (Plus I have a pretty awesome/amazing partner in crime... er.... Partner in Education, Tanya Alberty!) 

On or around March 12, 2020 

Well shit y'all, this is the beginning of Corona Virus Shutdown. From this day forward in my Day Planner, everything is canceled. Ribbon cuttings.... canceled. Literacy Night at Midway Heights Elementary School .... canceled. Women's Network Luncheon for Athena... canceled. Brad Paisley concert in Oklahoma... canceled. Craft shows... canceled. Honor Everywhere trip to Washington, DC for filming... canceled. Buy Missouri Day at the Capital... canceled. Planes of Fame Air Show... canceled. Little Black Dress Event for True North ... canceled. ATHENA Banquet... canceled. Speaking engagement at Creve Coeur Airport... canceled. Trip to Biloxi, Mississippi... canceled.

I just remember thinking how scary and crazy things were getting and not knowing what the future would look like. Would businesses be shutting down, would our business be shutting down, what about families all over the United States, what about kids and school. So many unanswered questions and so many sleepless nights. 

The only saving grace to what was going on was that we were all going through this together. It wasn't one section of the world, it wasn't one industry or one profession. We would all be going through this.

 

March 25, 2020 

A "Stay At Home Order" was issued today.  I don't remember the details from this time but basically, all non-essential workers would be asked to stay home. We had received a letter from a commercial customer that we have done business with for 18 years and said that we are considered "Essential Workers" and that if we were called out that we would need to come. 

I am thankful that our profession was considered "Essential Work" although that would have its own set of obstacles to work around but fingers crossed we can get through this. 

April 10, 2020

In all that was going on, I wanted to find a way to keep myself busy and give back to our community in a positive way. I decided to give back to Boone Hospital Center and it's the entire staff of 2,089 by donating these fused glass hearts to each person. We were just on the tip of the COVID-19 and we had no idea if we would be hit like New York. I knew the staff was working hard every day to help those that came into the hospital and wanted to give them a little hope and love during this crazy time. 

You can read about it here: COVID-19... An Opportunity To Give Back!

 

 April 27, 2020 

(Another bittersweet moment but thankful for the outcome on this one.)

You guys, last night our family was shaken but OK. My Aunt Judy Daly had left work not feeling well. Our cousin (her daughter) Stephanie Secrist reached out to my sister and I to please check on her as she lives in Kansas and she wasn’t close by. Before Brandon and I started mowing I took her some Gatorade just to make sure she had something to replenish her fluids and to get my eyes on her. She looked terrible and said her arms were sore and her hand was cold. I asked if she was having heart trouble and she needed to go get checked out. I told her I would check in as soon as we got done mowing. 

 

I got done mowing and reached out to her with no response. I called Steph and asked if she heard anything. She said she drove herself to Urgent Care. Shew! 

 

At 9:02 PM I get a call from Aunt Judy’s cell phone except it wasn’t Aunt Judy on the other end. It was a Boone Hospital ER Nurse who asked me to please come to the hospital. She was calm but told me that she had presented with chest pains and had a heart attack. She coded in the ER and they had to do CPR to bring her back but she was going to the Cath Lab and for me to come down right away. Shhhhhiiiiittttt! 

 

I get up and throw on some clothes trying to gather my thoughts as I needed to make 3 phone calls with the first being Steph. I didn’t want to scare her but I wanted her to know what is going on as quickly as possible. I called Mom and Pops (her brother) followed by my sister. 

 

While this was scary, I knew she was where she needed to be. She was in the hands of great staff and Dr. Spaedy was who performed the Cath on her. She had 2 stents placed. He confirmed she had a pretty good-sized heart attack, she has a leaky value, and her heart muscle is weakened but had she not went in to get checked out she wouldn’t be here this morning.  We are so lucky that we are a pretty tight family who lives within a mile of each other and able to help one another quickly. I am very thankful for this. 

 

Aunt Judy is in ICU for now. We know she will be there (Boone Hospital) for a few days and is much better than when she went in. Steph and I will get a game plan together this morning as no one can go into ICU at this point.

I saw her for about 3 minutes as they were moving her from the Cath Lab to ICU and she didn’t know what happened. She couldn’t believe what I told her. 

 

Y’all I am so thankful for the fast-acting staff, nurses, and doctors at Boone Hospital Center that helped to save her life. I am so thankful for the sweet little housekeeping gal that stayed talking to me and reassuring me that she was going to be OK. She would go back and try to give me updates (just that they were still working on her) and I appreciate her! She just said “I am just a housekeeper” but she was so much more than that! 

 

Y’all hug your loved ones extra tight when this COVID-19 is over/lifted. We are so thankful she went in!

 

May 23, 2020 

Since all of our plans have been canceled and the safest place to be was home, we decided to take advantage of our time and get some of our projects started. The big item on my list this year was to get our flower beds in. We have been in our house for 3 years now and it was finally time to get serious about getting our yard in order. The good news is that when we get something in our head to get done, by golly we go full tilt! Thankful to have help from Poli and the guys or we wouldn't have gotten as far as we did this year. 

We put a total of 4 flower beds and used 30 tons of rock! We have another one started but need to bevel the stones as it's a round flower bed... maybe not the smartest idea I have come up with because it will take more work but I always say.... I like unique and different! 

 

July 15 - 16, 2020 

Aunt Darleen, Momma, and I took a little road trip to Wycliffe, Kentucky to pick up some tobacco sticks from the barn their family (my grandparents) used to dry tobacco in. Teresa Salonimer owns the property and her daddy was friends of our family who agreed to allow me to come to get about 75 tobacco sticks that my family used many moons ago. 

I wanted to do something to pay tribute to my Momma's family and the tobacco sticks would be a perfect piece to my plan. Such a fun trip seeing where they grew up and visiting the graves of my grandparents and Uncle James Brown. 

I used the tobacco sticks to create a cut out of Kentucky and hung it on a rock wall in our basement along with several tobacco sticks. I have a few more things I want to do before it's fully finished but it's a great start!

August 13, 2020 

I am doing a re-branding on Midway Mercantile Co and needed new headshots. I had Erica Durnil with Confident Beauti by Erica to do my makeup, Robin Roberts with The Look to do my hair, and Kat Merriman with Kat Four Photo to do my head shots and product shots.  

Y'all, these ladies made me feel like a queen! So much fun and I was really excited about this re-branding session. There are so many things that you want to capture but then a photographer has a creative eye to make it really stand out. 

August 24, 2020 

This is another sad moment but I try to remember the good times we had and smile because I got a chance to see her really happy on many occasionas! 

It is with a heavy heart I have learned my Aunt Janie Ginter (Momma's sister) has passed away this afternoon from a massive stroke. Aunt Janie was a hoot! She always had you laughing and loved to sing. In fact, she told people that she worked with she was Loretta Lynn's sister... and they believed her! We always enjoyed karaoke parties at The Hammered Hog (Pops establishment) and these photos are from a trip to Nashville and then to Loretta Lynn's Ranch in 2013.

 

In life, there are so many good memories that we will carry with us for the rest of our lifetime. These are a handful I could find quickly but y'all, just remember to take pictures. While most get mad that their picture is being taken, it's moments like this, that those pictures mean the most and take us back to those moments that make us smile. 

 

Aunt Janie, you will be missed terribly but I know you are reunited with your parents, other siblings, and ol' Uncle Earl! I hope they turned up the music and you came in singin' for them! 

 

 

September 4, 2020 

I introduce you to my brand new logo for Midway Mercantile Co! It's absolutely perfect and is totally my style! Thank you so much Gillian Tracy with Gillian Tracy Design! 

I would highly recommend working with her for your logo and/or re-branding needs. She listens to you and completely understands what it is that you are wanting. She nailed my logo from the very first draft and with a little minor tweaking, I love it! 

September 13, 2020 

We celebrated our 23rd Anniversary by having dinner with Jake and Jessica Tamm (they celebrated their 7th Anniversary) at Pear Tree and enjoyed a little cake at homemade by Cherie Rutter! 

(Gosh I sure hope this COVID stuff is long gone by our 25th Anniversary because we are going somewhere on an adventure for a milestone anniversary!) 

September 19, 2020 

The one and only craft show I would do this year was Junk Junktion in Moberly, MO. The weather was perfect and Cindy Mutrux with Cindy Lou's Glass Studio and I shared booth space. I don't know if it was just truly a great day or if people were tired of being cooped up and ready to shop but it was the best craft show I have done to date! I love how so many support local artists and just talking to customers was so good for all of us. It made us feel normal, whatever that is anymore, to have conversations with others and see the smiles behind many masks. 

September 21, 2020 

(This was another sad time but I choose to remember the good times)

Scott Adams was a mess. He always had you laughing but the best part is that his laughter was contagious. I mean you would start laughing just because he was laughing trying to tell one of his many stories and sometimes you didn't know what the story was always about because he was trying to get a breath in and laughing too dang hard to get the full story... but honestly it didn’t matter because him telling any story was hilarious!

He was so full of shit but someone you loved to be around! He was certainly the entertainment where ever he went! (Let's be honest, he was like a big teddy bear!) I know he was a hard worker and was someone you could always count on but to me, he was just a hot mess, fun to be around, and ALWAYS had a story to tell!

When my sister, Ashley Adams married Greg Adams I knew that we were getting not only an excellent brother-in-law (and son-in-law for Mom and Pops) but that we would get Scott & Nancy Adams (and the boys of course). There was never a dull moment when everyone was together.

There were many good memories made along the way but sadly, his life was cut short far too soon. Scott passed away surrounded by his family.

Normally, I am better at taking photos of people but sadly I didn't get many photos of Scott. This was one of my favorites as they were anxiously waiting for the arrival of their first grandbaby, Jaxon Adams in 2011! Such a special day!

Oh, Scott Adams.... we are all gonna miss you and I hope you aren't causing too much of a ruckus in heaven! Until we meet again....

September 24, 2020 

What a fun night! Wendy and I nominated Sarah Hill for the 2020 ATHENA Young Professional Award that was given by the Women's Network. It was a perfect night and we totally tricked her! She had no clue what was going on and the look on her face was priceless! Stupid COVID restrictions wouldn't allow us to celebrate with her family and team so we surprised her again once we took her home... everyone was waiting to congratulate her and had the opportunity to watch remotely of her receiving the award! 

I am so proud of this lady and all that she has accomplished in her life so far! Expand those shelves sugar, you deserve many more! 

October 8, 2020

Today I took some time to spend with family and went fishing! Well, I didn't do much fishing but rather I tried to document a fun day! After Aunt Janie's passing, it has really hit hard. All deaths hit you hard but especially when it is your siblings. With only 4 siblings left in the Brown family, it was planned to have a day to spend together doing something fun.

Y'all, I can't tell you how this day was so good for the soul. To hear the laughter, stories, and watching them catch fish was so much fun!

Aunt Flora Mae got to join in on the fun (she was my Uncle James Brown's wife) and was thrilled! It was so good to watch her reel in a couple catfish (she caught 4 but 2 got away)! While her health hasn't been the best you could tell this was something she truly enjoyed.

October 9, 2020

What a special memory... we wanted to take Mother-Daughter photos with Momma and would then surprise her with family photos.... something my Pops hates! Luckily, after this crazy year, he knew this would be important to Mom. We had Erica Durnil with Confident Beauti with Erica do our makeup, Robin Roberts with The Look, and had Brie with Lollipop Photography work her magic on photos.... she did an amazing job and we will always remember this day! 

October 10, 2020

Today was a special day and our close friend, Derry Wiswall married his beautiful bride, Carrie at our barn! It's not something we offer up but we would do anything for Derry! It's was the most perfect day and while we worked through the COVID restrictions they had a wonderful outdoor wedding filled with friends and family. We are so happy for you both and can't wait to celebrate many more anniversaries with you! 

Bonus: It was Derry's birthday too! 

October 13, 2020 

Stopped by Healium's new office this afternoon and was surprised with this award! It’s The Communicator Award for Honor Everywhere for The Best Video-Travel for 2020!

I couldn’t be more proud of the entire Healium/StoryUp team who put their heart and soul into everything they do every day trying to make this world a better place. Y’all are seriously rockstars who inspire me!

To all the veterans we have helped to see their memorials through virtual reality... this one is for you!

October 22, 2020 

We flipped another house and the new owners took ownership today! It's always fun seeing Brandon's vision on these houses and how to move walls or open up an area but my favorite part is always picking out what will go back! I think Chip and Joanna are gonna hang up their remodeling hats for a little while. 

October 29-31, 2020

Brandon and I became Maker's Mark Ambassadors about 7 years ago and we got notified that our barrel was ready which meant we could travel to Maker's Mark to dip bottles of our batch and take 2 guests. We thought it would be fun to take Momma and Aunt Darleen! 

It was a trip that we still laugh about and truly had such a great time. We had fun dipping our own bottles, visiting Noah's Ark and several stops in between. I would highly recommend you sign up to become an Ambassador ... it's free! 

To find out about signing up as an Ambassador just go to their website! 

November 1, 2020 

Our first business turned 19 years old! We silently celebrated this occasion and know it's not been easy over these 19 years but it's been worth it! We also recognize that we couldn't do what we do if it weren't for our employees that work hard to take care of our customers. We are lucky to have great customers that trust us with their electrical needs. We don't take either for granted but we appreciate our families for standing next to us through the good times and hard times. 

It's also the 1st birthday of our most recent business, Midway Hauling! 

November 15, 2020 

My husband had a 1966 Chevy II we bought many moons ago while in high school. It was Smurf Blue and he loved that thing. We had a lot of fun in it but we were starting our business and that was something we just didn’t need any longer and could use the money to build our business. He kicks his ass for selling it and has been looking for another ever since.

Well, 19 years later he finally found one (in the photo above) that he liked and we brought it home today!

Welcome to our home!

November 19, 2020

Tonight was the Chamber's Annual Awards Banquet and I had been lying to my good buddy, Wally Pfeffer who would be receiving the Chamber's newest award, The Legacy Award. I knew he is too nosey and in order to throw him off, I told him a buddy of ours was receiving the award. The look on his face was priceless when he figured it out and he kept saying "You lied to me!" Well sugar, maybe just a little lie! 

Well, apparently I was also being lied to because they gave me the Chamber's Citizen of the Year Award. An award I didn't feel I was worthy of earning. I am the youngest person to receive this award and looking at the list of recipients from 1978 - 2019 was an amazing amount of people that have done so much for our community. I was truly surprised and humbled to receive this honor. 

November 27, 2020 

Momma and Pops celebrated their 49th Anniversary. We are extremely lucky to have them as our parents and the boys are lucky to have them as their grandparents! 

November 28, 2020 

Our little family Thanksgiving is over and this photo sums it up.... 

Even stretchy pants can win with our full bellies! 

December 7, 2020 

The Healium team surprised our fearless leader, Sarah Hill to birthday fun! Since she was on vacation with her hubby on her 50th birthday we thought it would be fun to spend the afternoon doing something fun so we took her for a birthday cupcake at Plume followed by painting ceramics at Pottery Island! The idea of painting something is that we would have something special to remember her day! 

December 13, 2020

My brother-in-law, Greg took this super cute photo of my nephews before we went to look at the Christmas lights at Veterans United. Aren't they some of the cutest Chiefs fans? I love these two boys! 

December 24, 2020 

One thing that wasn't canceled was Christmas. While we missed Aunt Judy, Stephanie, Justin, and Nixon we still had our family Christmas at Momma and Pops house. Jaxon is getting so big and will be 10 next year while Asher just turned 2 and was totally into presents and Christmas lights! It's always good to be home for Christmas and Momma flat threw down breakfast that morning and Ashley brought dinner over. It was truly perfect to be surrounded by those you love the most! 

Well, I think you get the point, there are many good memories that were created during such an odd year but we had our share of heartache too. I have been working on this all day and don't know really where to stop so forgive me that it's so dang long! 

What I have learned from 2020 is that you take nothing for granted, the things that are most important aren't things that money can buy and I have enjoyed being home and with my family a lot more. Normally I am traveling a lot throughout the year but being home has grounded me. Brandon and I have gotten a lot cleared off our to-do list and added a few more things. He's been a champ helping me getting stuff done! 

While we enjoy the last few hours of 2020 I am going into the New Year with an open mind and will try to do whatever I can to get things to slow down more. This year flew by and I feel like it was all a blur. Those that are the most important in my life I will always make them a priority and strive to make a difference in the lives of others by giving back when I can. 

I do believe that 2021 will be an extension of 2020 but hopefully a little kinder. Y'all we are in the same storm just different boats.... be kind to one another and don't be so dang hateful because you have no idea what someone else is going through.