Well friends, we’ve made it! Today is the last day of 2020. It’s been a year! I know it’s been a heart-breaking, gut-wrenching, soul-shaking kind of year for way too many, people who have lost loved ones, lost livelihoods, lost out on time with other people. For lots of us, it has been a really hard year. We’ve had our moments too. We had some health scares and challenges, I lost what was effectively 10% of my income for the year in the context of an already difficult professional situation, we’ve been almost completely isolated from people outside of our home, and we’ve had to pull our kids out of daycare and school. None of these things were easy or fun. But the challenges also gave rise to opportunities. We found new ways to have fun, we grew closer as a family, we embraced personal growth. So when midnight comes, while I will not be sad to turn the calendar over to a new year, I am still so grateful for what we’ve made of 2020.

Here are 20 things we’re proud of from 2020:

1. We had more fun as a family. Aaron and I have always had a penchant for over-the-top celebrations, but this year we really leaned into that hard!

2. I embraced a healthier lifestyle. While it has ebbed and flowed some throughout the year, I successfully lost about 20lbs (30 if you could the 10 I had to lose twice) by treating my body with more kindness, moving it more, and eating lower carb for a large part of the year.

3. After a lengthy and frivolous delay, Aaron pinned on Captain.

4. We embraced cooking at home and made some fantastic meals.

5. Aaron recommitted to weight-lifting. Six plus years into his weigh-lifting journey Aaron struggled when gyms closed and the demands of quarantine-life made working out a challenge, but after the move we set up a killer garage gym and he got back to his gains.

6. Magnus thrived in Kindergarten despite e-learning. After a rocky start he adjusted and finished his first semester of school strong!

7. Clara came into her own, grinning and getting in the mix with our wild family.

8. Charlie was potty-trained and embraced his big-boy status.

9. I became outdoorsy! We now spend several hours every week in nature as a family and I love it so much.

10. I began a modest strength-training program with Aaron as my coach. I am more committed to and consistent with this program than any exercise program I’ve ever undertaken and I see how it is improving my life.

11. We embraced technology to stay close to family and friends despite very real Zoom-fatigue.

12. We successfully navigated a cross-country move in the middle of a pandemic.

13. Aaron served the Air Force in its early COVID response and his efforts were recognized with an achievement medal.

14. Clara learned to walk, and run, and climb.

15. Magnus graduated 4-Weeks to Read and scored into a high-ability small group for his Kindergarten class.

16. Charlie decided on his future career ambition. “I want to be a doctor and help people” While he’s too little for anyone to commit to this, we think it is is a good fit for his bravado and his sweetness.

17. Aaron leaned in to advocating for himself and his family in the same zealous and effective manner he does for his clients across a multitude of challenging situations.

18. We made magical holidays even when we couldn’t spend them with our larger families.

19. We invested energy into improving and sustaining our marriage. We took advantage of every opportunity we could find for a date night, even if all we could do was eat take-out in our minivan while taking in a pretty view.

20. We launched this blog to help document our adventures and are sticking with it, even when we are busy or traffic dips!

Tonight as we celebrate the end of 2020, we’ll also be setting our intentions for 2021. Happy New Year!