Happy new year all you lovely peeps.

2020 has been a very strange year. It brought a lot of pain and sadness to the world. Many across the globe having to say goodbye prematurely to family and friends. There were natural disasters that spread through parts of the world, the nasty side of humanity reared its ugly head again in the form of segregation and police brutality. We discovered the Karen’s among us, and we lost much of our freedom thanks to necessary lock downs and restrictions. But … it also brought hope, love, and community. People went out of their way to help their fellow man and we took care of those in need. While stuck in our homes we reached out across the globe in support of each other. People stood up to the bullies and together we tried to make the world a brighter place.

Personally here in the crafty household it was a difficult year health wise. From the summer on I have been poked and prodded, filled many a vile of blood and been a guinea pig for all kinds of medications. As we come to the end of the year, I’m on the wait lists I need to be and am slowly accepting life with an additional chronic illness. Mentally – No comment.

There have been some great times amidst the madness here though. I have been able to spend more time with M as he navigated his way though online schooling. We played games, made treats, and talked about everything from life, family, and unconventional farming methods in Minecraft. While I worried how the break from school life would affect him, the many messages from his teachers singing his praises eased my mind. When he returned to school to sit the mid term tests, he knocked it out the park with top marks across the board. I’m a seriously proud mama.

I got to spend more time with B and subsequently fell even more in love with him – something I didn’t even know was possible. In spending more time with me, he spent more time with M and I got to see the two of them become great friends. The hours they spent at the dinner table talking about the most random topics, playing Mario Kart and Yugioh, him showing M all kinds of things like how to change a headlight bulb and how best to fit a fold-down chair into a camper van. B gets M thinking about things in new ways rather than his usual black or white. He’s came to me a lot the last few months talking about how awesome B is and all the ways that life is better with him. We think of him as family and hope that 2021 will bring him to live with us permanently.

While we didn’t get to spend Christmas with our “English-land” family, we were lucky enough to get down there over the summer for a weekend. We got to see my sweet face turn 2 and spend time with my tribe. My sister got to meet B and I got to feel the bump as well as celebrate their gender reveal with them. Thanks to frequent video calls I have been able to see her grow, and she is the funniest, most amazing wee girl ever. She makes me burst with pride and I’m so grateful to be her auntie.

The end of 2020 saw us welcome wee B and C to the family. They arrived safe and sound, with so much hair and the tiniest wee fingers. While M and I haven’t had the chance to meet them yet, we can’t wait and spend ages looking at the photos we have of them. My sister has done so well after a difficult birth and she has me in awe how she can juggle 3 under 3 and maintain her sanity. She’s an amazing wee mama. I’m grateful to my BIL too. He works so hard to support his wee family and still manages to come home and play with the wee ones and take care of them. While I don’t have much faith in “dads” from past experiences, he makes me see that there are men out there who are fantastic dads and who love their kids unconditionally. He really is a great dad.

While 2020 was a scary time for me mentally and physically, I was blessed to have my mum and bonus dad there for me. Although far away, they're just at the end of the phone for us. Whenever I was feeling down or in need of advice, I could call either of them for a supportive ear and some sage advice. Never underestimate the opinions of the older generations, they know roll with the punches. I miss my mum more than I think I realised this year. I would spend months holding on till summer or Christmas till I knew I would see her and when that was taken away this Christmas, I really struggled. I know though that when we can, we will see each other, and I’ll get those hugs I desperately need. We are lucky to have such loving parents as the head of our family.

I have so much love in my heart for my family and I am truly blessed.


So, what do I hope for 2021?

I usually set myself goals for the new year but with the world as it is, realistically its not a guarantee. While I hope that this new year will bring some normality, I realistically know that Covid-19 isn’t just going to bugger off just cause the clock struck midnight and the calendar changed.

Instead, I am going to be hopeful. I hope that 2021 is a happy and safe year for us. I hope that we can all be together soon, and I hope that we can end the year with at least the same number of people in the family as we are starting the year with, I’m all for adding though!

I hope I can maintain my blog alongside my health and see where the year takes me. Perhaps we will get a chance to experience new things or perhaps we will remain safely inside our homes all year. That’s for time to decide.

So, to you people of the internet, reading my blog, I hope you have a safe and happy 2021. I’m sending you all my love and socially distanced hugs