covid19- week 37 giving thanks!

it was a joyful thanksgiving week! 

the devastation of 2020 has forced us to search for life's beauty in the day to day, and truly truly appreciating life's little moments has gifted us peace and power. 

we celebrated thanksgiving with the 5 of us, beautiful weather for a long nature walk, a funny family zoom and lots of yummy food! jon was so proud to wake up and start his smoker at 4am, the girls chose cherry & chocolate pies to bake, jon made the best bloody mary i have literally ever ever had and his sweet potato souffle that i look forward to all year was to die. we capped the night with pizza, chocolate martinis and white christmas. 

no schedule, no rushing. a day spent in gratitude. 

one week from today is the day! we close the door on one life chapter and open the door to our next. 

today we amp up our packing game.

xoxo, 

-ivy

covid19- week 36 "this is 34"

it was a week filled with so many of my favorite things. my family poured their hearts into giving me a happy 34th. in the midst of these uncertain, upsetting times in our world, my gratitude is immeasurable for the mental and physical well-being of my loved ones. our house is in boxes for 11 more days and i am so truly, truly excited to continue enjoying these precious times. while numbers are up [like... way, way up], we're hunkering down for the holidays- just attending school & dance, both in masks and with extreme precautions taken. balancing our family's mental and physical health is a continuous learning curve. 

this week brought boxes, birthday cake and virtual watch weeks for dance. 

"it is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful." 

xoxo,

-ivy

covid19- week 35

we're living in a weird limbo over here. our house is beginning to be packed into boxes and we have less than 20 days until we close on our new home. with the state of covid this year, christmas decor is going up much earlier all around town- everyone is so ready for the joy and peace that comes with the season. our girls are still in school; however, something shifted this week and covid numbers started to skyrocket in the midwest. we opted out of basketball this season, which was crushing, tear-filled news for lucy. an indoor, non-masked contact winter sport during the height of numbers wasn't a risk we felt comfortable taking alongside seeing our parents for the holidays. a good, hard lesson in benefitting the greater good and looking beyond ourselves... but man, so hard to see something your child absolutely loves and looks forward to all year be taken away after so much else these past 8 months. 

we've made an impressive dent in our christmas shopping- hoping to have our gifts wrapped up pretty before we move. it made for a rousing afternoon when we pulled in from school pickup to find that the barbie dreamhouse camper eloise had written to santa asking for had been delivered... from amazon... in an exposed box. we quickly explained that santa left a very specific note telling us that in the event of another shutdown, the elves are working far ahead of schedule. in 2020, anything goes, including being asked 100+ times where the camper is now hiding. 

we're praying for an easily accessible vaccine that will control covid's transmission and allow us to see my gramma and my sister's family, allow artists and performers the opportunity to perform again, allow children to attend school safely without masks and without fear of infecting their teachers. in the meantime, we're all doing our best to take life one day at a time. tomorrow will worry about itself. each day has enough trouble of its own. and we've found so much beauty in life's simple moments this year that otherwise may have been overlooked while hurrying from one big moment to the next.

xoxo, 

-ivy

 

covid19- week 34 ELECTION 2020!

this is a day to celebrate! joe biden and kamala harris are the new president and vice president elect of the united states of america. joe biden will be the second catholic president and kamala harris will be the first woman, black and asian american vice president in our nation's history. i am proud to have voted for these americans. in choosing to cast my vote for them i chose to vote for the lgbtq+ community to love, live and marry without fear of retribution or discrimination. i chose to vote for people of color who continue to experience systematic racism in everyday life. i chose to vote for immigrants who represent most of us in this country whose ancestors started in another nation before our time. i chose to vote for all of the women who came before us. i chose to vote for responsible leadership - leadership based on one's character, empathy and understanding of the importance of the unity in community. i chose for vote for our democracy where we can choose sides or remain moderate, while maintaining open minds interested in learning how to compromise and come together as a united nation. 

lucy and eloise stayed up and watched the acceptance speeches of both biden and harris. we were inspired and empowered. 

"while i may be the first woman in this office, i will not be the last - because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities." -kamala harris

put your shoes on girls... glass just shattered everywhere.

onward. 

xoxo, 

-ivy

covid19- halloween!

work! work!

angelica, eliza... and peggy-

it was definitely a different year with no school trunk or treat & opting to have our own candy hunt at home, but nonetheless, the girls ate too much candy and watched too many inappropriately scary movies for their ages. 

it was a busy few days wrapping up soccer, wearing 4 different costumes to dance, losing more teeth & prepping to pack up the house-

we're here for these crazy times with lots of wine and headphones when necessary to drown out any unpleasantries. 

xoxo,

-ivy