Prior to our quarantine, a few other highlights included:
Helping Papa celebrate his 70th birthday with dessert, a fun Papa quiz, and time with family.
I enjoyed my work Christmas party at One World.
The girls and I went with my friend Christie and her girls (not pictured) to watch an ice skating show where our friend, Ava, performed. (We had hoped to have more time to spend with Christie, Avery, and Isla but our COVID quarantine put a damper on that.)
Staley performed one last holiday show with her Rising Stars show choir group at a retirement center...
where Staley was chosen to perform her solo one more time.
When we were finally released from quarantine, the kids were itching to get out of the house and go somewhere. With the high COVID case numbers, we were reluctant to be around many people, so we decided to take a family outing to the Peoria Zoo.
We were just about the only people at the zoo, so we got to enjoy plenty of fresh air, wide open space, and active animals. The tiger and the lion were pacing right up next to their barrier and the takins were hanging out on their rocks.
Even the sloth woke up for a brief moment. We followed up our zoo time with drive-through dinner from Chic-fil-A (complete with peppermint milkshakes) and then our second visit of the season to the Festival of Lights. It was a great first outing after our time at home.
We ended our December (and our 2021) with an evening together with our friends, the Hostetlers. We visited, snacked, and played games. Zach and I left with Briggs around 11:00 (so late!), but the girls spent the night and rang in the new year by staying up past midnight (a first for them.)
Our December may not have been everything we had wanted it to be, but there were definitely plenty of shiny moments to enjoy. Sometimes in the glittery moments, I forget to keep my focus on God. The hard moments pull me back to a deeper reliance on Him. As much as I prefer the glittery moments, the hard moments grow me in a way that the easy moments never do.
I am thankful for everything December brought our way. From the good to the bad, we learned, we grew, we enjoyed, we struggled...but we did it as a family. Good-bye, December. Good-bye 2021. We are ready to see what this new year has in store for us!
