This is the End

Ok this post feels harder to write then I anticipated... 

This is the last blog post that I plan to write.  Ever.  I have been blogging since 2010 right after McKay and I got married in December 2009.  I documented our wedding, anniversaries, all of our children's pregnancies and births, and our foster care journey.  It is now December 2021 and I am sitting here at the computer writing my last blog post for 2020.  I have decided to no longer blog about our family's journey.  

In 2020 I started to get behind on posting on the blog.  It just got hard to keep up with while taking care of 9 kids and I am not able to blog from my phone.  I have to use a computer and it is tough finding time to sit down at the computer.  So something had to change.  I started researching my options and found out about the app Project Life.  It is an app that is similar to digital scrapbooking, but a little easier to use.  I decided to start using it to document our lives.  Part of the reason I am making the change is that I have a desire to be a little more private with our family's life as my kids get older. Project life seems to be a good fit for us as we stop sharing each and every milestone my kids have publicly.  Project Life still helps me create beautiful photo journals for our family to keep for years to come (which is my ultimate goal with our blog).  I am excited about this new chapter in the way that I document our life, but I will miss having this blog.  

I have LOVED this blog.  It was such a wonderful outlet for me when my kids were young and I have loved connecting with so many of you through blogging.  But times change and blogging seems to be a thing of the past.  So ready or not we are moving on to new things.  Thank you for following our journey on here and being my motivation to get our family's life documented.  I hope life is treating you well and that you have a Happy New Year!     

New Years Eve 2020

 Ok this year I did something fun with the kids to celebrate the new year.  We got matching shirts for all of them (thank you Target) and did a little photo shoot (turned out so cute!)  These years with all of them being so little together are special years and I love when I can document them in cute ways.  I KNOW I am going to look back on these years and love seeing their sweet/funny smiling faces.  

Because of the continuing pandemic we decided to just stay home for New Years Eve.  We planned several activities to do with the kids to do each hour as we counted down until midnight (fort building was one of the activities).  Honestly the kids were pretty tired that night and just needed a good night sleep (lots of fighting and arguing going on).  But some of them did get to stay up till midnight with us as we rang in 2021 with party hats and sparkling cider.  Here's to a new year!  Welcome 2021!  I think most everyone would agree that 2020 turned out to be nothing like we all imagined with the worldwide pandemic.  So we were all cautiously optimistic that 2021 would be better.  But that is a story to share on another day. :)     

Baby Girl- 2 Months Old

 Baby Girl turned 2 months old on December 27, 2020.  She had her first Christmas and was adored by so many people over the holidays.  She spends her days sleeping and her evenings being a little fussy, but she is growing up.  She is starting to spend more time interacting with those around her. We sure love our Baby Girl! 

Jensen's 8th Birthday

 Happy Birthday Jensen!  What a special day for you.  I can't believe you are 8 years old!  When our kids turn 8 we like to focus on their baptism day so we don't do big parties on their actual birthday.  This year Jensen turned 8 on a Sunday so we did a little party at home with just our family.  Jensen you are growing into a handsome and gentle boy.  I especially love watching you with Rocky and Bronwyn.  You love creating and imagining different inventions.  You are always ready to talk about how something is made and love to share your facts about things with your siblings (especially Declin and Addie).  You love playing soccer and tried out basketball this year.    

After reading Harry Potter earlier in the year, Jensen made my birthday dreams come true by letting me throw him a Harry Potter Birthday party.  I loved it and will do anything to talk about Harry Potter more.  We all made our own wands and then we did a little photo shoot with fake lightning bolt scars and Harry Potter glasses.  Thanks Jensen I thoroughly enjoyed your birthday party as well. 

Happy Birthday Jensen!

   

The Day After

 Our holiday breaks look different every year depending on everyone's schedules and what day of the week Christmas falls on.  This year the day after Christmas was a weekend so we were able to do some more celebrating before McKay had to go back to work.  Grandma Liz and Grandpa Farm (as my kids call him) invited us to go see a movie with them at a movie theater near their house.  This was honestly such a fun movie experience with the kids and I am thrilled that we were able to go with family.  Each child got their own popcorn, drink, and treat so they all felt extra special.  

After the movie we went back to grandma's house for tacos.  She always makes the best tacos and they were delicious again.  We also were able to celebrate Uncle Jace's birthday and Jensen's birthday that night.  Grandma was sweet to remember to get both of them a cake to blow out the candles on.  Jensen felt special.  This night was the first time in a long time that we were able to get together with everyone at Grandma Liz's house and it sure felt like old times hanging out together at their house... we just have 9 kid now instead of 3.   

    

Christmas Day 2020

 The day finally came.  The kids were thrilled to wake up Christmas morning and see that Santa had come.  They all gathered in our room and anxiously waited to be able to go down the stairs to the living room.  Christmas day 2019 will forever be the biggest Christmas we have EVER had.  So Santa and mommy and daddy tried to tone things down a bit this year, but still we have 9 KIDS so there were still tons of presents.  They kids did fairly well at waiting for their turn to open their next present and I loved seeing the excitement on their faces.  Christmas morning has been so rewarding for me as a parent to see the excitement on my kids faces.  We don't do a lot of "need" items or clothing gifts at this stage of life.  We focus on fun toys that the kids can enjoy together all year.  It definitely makes for a fun Christmas morning.  A few of the favorite toys were a dragon egg for Declin, a spooky playmobil house for Magnolia, and Build a bears for Big sis, Mr. J, and Little A.    

After opening presents we loaded up in the car (prying them away from their new toys) and headed to aunt Corinne and uncle Stu's house.  They were kind to host Christmas day brunch and I really enjoy getting together with family on Christmas day.  We ate scotch eggs, cinnamon rolls, fruit, and bacon.  This breakfast has become a Cannon family tradition over the last several years.  We also exchanged gifts at Corinne's house and gave my parents their gifts.  

The rest of the day was spent opening boxes for kids and helping them fill their toys with batteries.  The kids love it and it is nice for parents to sneak in a nap or two after all the morning fun.  

Christmas day 2020 was a success, but an exhausting success for McKay and I.  These are the days!

All the kids ages at Christmas 2020: Addie-9, Jensen-almost 8, Declin-6, Big Sis-5, Mr. J-4, Magnolia-4, Little A-2, Rockwell-2, and Baby girl-almost 2 months old.