My sister, Gabriel, and Noah arrived from the UK on December 16th<\/sup>, our first time seeing each other in a year! As excited I was about them coming, I was equally nervous as they aren\u2019t as conservative in their risk approach of COVID. They tested for COVID before their flight, but there was risk from flying and just going around town and shopping. Right or wrong, I decided to believe in the higher powers that we all took appropriate caution and were COVID free. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For 10 days, we hung out with them, my parents and mostly pretended COVID didn\u2019t exist. We cooked and ate meals together. We had Noah spend the night three times. We celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas together. The girls had a sleepover at my parents. We familied. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hanukkah <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Harper joined in lighting to decorate menorah a couple nights, a way to participate without being by the flames. Turns out she knew the blessing, but thought \u201clighting\u201d the bottom of the candles was part of the process\u2026.something we do to sturdy the candles in the menorah. The girls \u201crealized\u201d their Hanukkah girls are always practical. Hanukkah can be extended to a 9th<\/sup> night so that the last night falls on a Friday and can be celebrated with family and latkes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christmas Eve<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n New traditions with church service at home in pj\u2019s and PF Chang\u2019s delivery at home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When the PF Chang\u2019s delivery is an hour late and is missing half of the food, the best approach is to order two pizzas in addition to having the rest of the Chinese food delivered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pizza AND Chinese Food on Christmas Eve is a stomach\u2019s nightmare and a Jew\u2019s dream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christmas Day<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Santa decided to wrap half his presents this year versus leaving them all unwrapped. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bacon and warm muffins on Christmas morning continue to be a favorite in our household. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Family and love were one of our favorite gifts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Noah<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Boys are different than girls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Noah is a runner! <\/p>\n\n\n\n He is the sweetest boy but he can have a temper if he doesn\u2019t get his way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He can totally hang with his older girl cousins and could possibly even take them down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His favorite word and phrase are \u201cagain\u201d and \u201cwhat\u2019s that noise\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He loves cuddles and hugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When he spent the night, I was mama and Justin dada (I did actually correct him)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking of mama and dada, his mama and dada are making him a big brother. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Baby Boy Bernengo coming June 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The girls also did a neighborhood craft cul-de-sac event. They continued meeting with Ms. Pat. Harper started having almost daily meetings with her to catch up on her school writing assignments, something she began falling behind on \u2013 a challenge of virtual school for a second grader. Ms. Pat is truly a godsend\u2026.it is amazing to not only watch the girls keep up with their math and language arts skills but also to have a friend and mentor. Avery and Emerson also started playing indoor softball on Sundays. They are playing with the neighborhood girls who already play \u2013 an awesome way to try out a new sport\u2026one that they had wanted to try out for awhile. They play in a warehouse for two hours and Justin works in the car (COVID restrictions) while they practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2020 was a crazy year indeed\u2026one we could have never predicted and while we missed out on many ordinary things during the year, December was marked by love, family, good fortune, and pizza and Chinese Food for Christmas Eve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n December was marked by the holidays and family. Hanukkah fell fairly early this year with the first night being December 10th. We celebrated each night by lighting the candles and opening presents, practical ones of course! Due to COVID and dance class … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/themaddlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/d4dbe8d7-1439-4026-9a48-62f82f47eebd.jpg\")
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