Wow wow wow. What a year. I am sure I am in the majority when I say I am ready to see “BYE & SEEEEE YA NEVER!” I know 2021 will not be a magical turnover where on January 1, the coronavirus disappears and everything goes back to normal, but regardless I am so happy to see a new year and filled with hope that it’s just GOT to be better.

2020 has held a global pandemic, racial and political tension, so much job loss and economic downturn. For us personally, it held Luke losing his job in February. It has held a really difficult pregnancy. It has made it really hard for our church to gather corporately.

BUT God. This year is not a loss. It was not without growth and blessings and favor. It was not without His goodness and grace. His sovereignty and protection.

Luke lost his job in February and it was devastating. BUT…the Lord immediately provided a part time job and then a few months later another part time job with DHEC (due to the coronavirus) that he could do from home on the days where he wasn’t working at Yorkville. Due to coronavirus, student loans were halted with no interest accrual, meaning we could actually take a break for a bit from paying and not be penalized at all. This has been such a gift in a time where we just aren’t sure what Luke’s next steps are for permanent work, but we have never gone without. We have had more than enough and believe God is working something for our good and His glory, but man does it require patience.

I have spent the majority of the year incredibly nauseous, fatigued, physically sick and mentally fogged due to pregnancy. BUT God has sustained me, has made a way for Luke to be home with me more, has enabled me to work from home during a time when I literally don’t know how I would have been able to keep my normal work schedule, and has given me the gift of a very healthy pregnancy and baby – even though I have felt horrible. I know when we meet our little one so very soon that I will be reminded every bit of the struggle was worth the result.

Old Town Church wasn’t able to launch in the way we had originally dreamed, BUT God made a way for us to still connect via ZOOM during the beginning of the Pandemic, at parks outside in the summer, in smaller house churches throughout the Fall and we were still able to launch in September! It was such a special day.

This year made it extra hard to connect with friends and coworkers due to physical separation and the elimination of most of the ways we normally gather, BUT God brought our best friends to Rock Hill and we actually got to live together for a few weeks. We have been able to spend so much of the year together and Caitlyn and I got to share in being pregnant at the same time.

Our vacation to Dominican Republic that we had been looking forward to for so long was cancelled. So many events that we normally look forward to never happened. We didn’t go to any Clemson games. BUT, I was able to go to IF Gathering with the best group of girls in February, Luke and I got so much done in the Spring in our yard with all of the extra time at home together, my brother got engaged over Thanksgiving, I was able to have the sweetest baby showers, we were still able to coordinate 3 weddings – one before the pandemic, and two small outdoor ones in August. So many undeserved gifts from the Lord.

It’s been a year full of a LOOOOT of Marco Polo. A year of a looot of Dunkin Donuts half and half tea and iced coffees from Starbucks for my daily amount of caffeine to survive pregnancy. A lot of tears. A lot of laughs. Some stress, for sure. Being stretched so much in my trust of the Lord. Not very much food LOL – bagels, yogurt, and chocolate chip cookies have kept me alive. Lots of discussions about our future and being parents. A lot of time spent with my sweet mama. and so much more.

I literally just had a random memory pop into my head – I remember when the pandemic first came and I had just started working from home, I was working late one night and went to get a diet dr. pepper. I wasn’t pregnant yet, so those still tasted good. It fell out of my hands and started spinning like a top so FAST and literally sprayed EVERY CORNER OF OUR FLOOR, KITCHEN, CABINETS and CEILING. It took forever to clean up and was so gross. But we laughed and laughed. And then I went into the laundry room with my phone and accidentally dropped it on the tile floor with the case on, but the entire back of it shattered. I started crying. It was just crazy how all of that had happened in a matter of an hour. Luke was in it with me the whole time, helping me clean, soothing me over my phone, reminding me it doesn’t matter in the big scheme of things. It’s sort of a picture of this year. Wild, unexpected, frustrating, but we’re okay. We have each other. Life is messy but God is so faithful to help us. And it just makes me think of Luke – how he has been my absolute rock this year and I just continue to fall more in love with the person God has made him to be.

BEST OF 2020:

Best song(s):
Famous For – Tauren Wells
What a Man Gotta Do – Jonas Brothers
Father’s House – Cory Asbury
The Blessing – Kari Jobe
Chris Tomlin’s album with different artists

Best Podcast:
Annie and Eddie Keep Talking

Best Follow on instagram:
M is for Mama

Best faith grower:
The entirety of 2020 lol

Best trend you tried:
Hmm…the scrunchie maybe!?

Best life hack:
HANDS DOWN grocery pick up. Especially Target pick up.

Best home improvement:
Landscaping
Installing laundry room cabinets

Best little luxury enjoyed:
Baths with pregnancy flakes
Pedicures and two prenatal massages

Best TV show or movie:
Luke and I loved binge watching Love is Blind on Netflix in February – SO CRAZY, yet hilarious and addicting
We watched all of Quantico and liked it
I loved Alexa and Katie on Netflix
We watched all of Madam Secretary
Dream Home Makeover (Studio McGee)
The Home Edit on Netflix
Fuller House
LOL – it was a year of a lot of TV!

Best book:
I love to read, but due to so much sickness and fatigue with pregnancy, there was very little I read this year. I read Just Mercy in January and would highly recommend. Luke and I read Babywise and Moms on Call in preparation for baby 🙂

So, here we go 2021 … it is going to start off with a bang because we will be welcoming our first child into the world. I am praying that 2021 is full of more dependence on the Lord, more trust in His plans instead of our own, for some clarity on Luke’s job situation and that we are able to embrace the challenges and beauty of parenthood as a team!