2021

2020 Notes and Thoughts

I think it’s safe to say that 2020 was totally different than we all expected it to be. Different isn’t always bad. COVID brought a lot of changes to our everyday lives, but going with the flow and learning to make the best of it has made all the difference.

I don’t know what 2021 has in store, but I’m praying it’s awesome for each and every person reading this! Here are a few of my thoughts and stats from 2020. Feel free to share yours in the comments 🙂

Books Read 39

Best Fiction Read Lulu’s Cafe by T.I. Lowe.

Best Nonfiction Read Etched in Sand by Regina Calcaterra.

New Addition Niva.

Girl napping with husky

New thing Homeschooling Sadie.

Different thing No longer nursing.

Excitement Finding out my brother and sister are expecting baby #2 for their families!

Travel Ohiopyle and North Carolina.

Family photo at the beach in Outer Banks

Hard stuff COVID, rehoming Mavis, and Jimmy’s hospitalization.

Celebrations Valentine’s Day, Forth of July, Jimmy + my brother-in-law + niece’s birthdays, Sadie’s second birthday party, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Funny thing Accidentally baking a cupcake carrying case.

Looking forward to 2021, I’m excited to keep doing what I’m doing right now: sharing my life here, serving the Lord, and loving my little family zoo ❤

What are you looking forward to in 2021?

P.S. I’m currently working on a Q&A post, so if you have any questions, let me know and I’ll be sure to include them!

The Time Between

We’re in the week between Christmas and New Year’s and it’s always a happy haze of playing, organizing, and planning for the year ahead.

Monday was a fairly normal day around the Zottola Zoo. Jimmy worked, I worked, homeschooled Sadie, and us girls went on a coffee and cake pop date 🙂

Mom and toddler with Starbucks

Toddler sitting in back of car with milk

We may not be able to go in coffee shops to hang out, but we can still have special time together in the parking lot. These little moments are my favorite ❤

I started a new Bible study on the book of Hebrews and it’s proving to be very enlightening. Hebrews is one of those books that’s deep and sometimes hard for me to grasp everything going on in it, so I’m excited to be learning more.

I met the author of the study when he visited our church for a revival, so it’s kind of neat to know a bit of his personality and see it come through in his writing.

Hebrews Bible study book and commentary by Jason Cole

Sadie and I have been doing lots of playing so far this week. She was gifted some really fun toys for Christmas. Not going to lie, I’m having just as much fun as her with all the toys 😉

Homeschool has been happening this week because some sense of normalcy is nice! Yesterday Sadie learned about the letter “J” and painted a jaguar.

Abeka homeschool

Another thing that’s been happening this week for me is learning about essential oils. Ever since the melatonin incident, I’ve been so thankful that what she and Niva got into was a natural product and not something super dangerous.

I want to try and have all of our household products (like cleaning, medication, laundry, etc.) be as non-toxic as possible, so I’m working on learning more about essential oils and the role they can play in that!

Also of note: I ordered my 2021 planner and got it in the mail yesterday! Does anyone else just love a fresh new planner? This will be my second year using this planner. I really like that it has a pocket, tear-out shopping lists, and budgeting pages.

How do you feel about the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day?