One Year in Nashville, part 2

We have officially made it one year in Nashville! I thought the first part of our Tennessee year was busy until I started sifting through photos for this post. It seems like we have done so much, and yet (thanks to COVID) not. Oh well. Fair warning, this post is photo-heavy.

A December to Remember

We left off last time at Thanksgiving. December was fun. The weather was cold. Holiday festivities were in full swing at school. I started working at the school, and Remy began his DCA life too. It was quite the month. One of the first things we did was check out the Christmas lights at the Opryland Hotel.

I wasn’t planning to see Santa this year, but there was NO line to meet him at Opryland. Remy was a little shell-shocked.

Christmas in the Mountains

Christmas break was fun. Well, right after school let out, Riley came down with the flu. Not fun. We quarantined him in his room. And when we got to North Carolina, he was banished to the bonus room for a few days. It wasn’t worth exposing pregnant Aunt Steph to Riley’s yucky germs.

This was our first Christmas at Grammie and Grandpa’s new house. It was awesome to have the entire family together.

We made Riley’s egg-free sugar cookies. Soon I will share that recipe. It’s one of our faves.

After Christmas, we celebrated Reagan’s birthday. She turned 12. Ugh. Time is a thief. Anyway, the birthday girl wanted to ski. Aunt Meghan, Uncle Zach, Grandpa and I took her. It was warm (like 50), but fun. She did great! I am optimistic I can turn her into a pro within a few years. I think next year, I’ll invest in my own skis. Waiting in line for rentals is a bummer.

Once we were back in Nashville, we celebrated Reagan’s birthday again – with more family!

And we celebrated Christmas again. With Stu’s parents and Stu cousins. And rang in the New Year with high hopes and happy hearts.

In a Hospital Haze

January and February were a blur. 2020 started out as we had planned… Remy had surgery to remove the cyst above his left eye. Then it all went downhill. It felt like we lived at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.

All three kids were sick. Never at the same time. One would be ill, and as soon as said child began to feel better another would bite the dust. Riley had the flu AGAIN. Like a good brother, he shared with his siblings.

On Riley’s birthday, Remy dehydrated a little and he had to get fluids from the ER. While we were there with the baby, Riley accidentally ingested something with egg… so he met us at the ER. You can’t make this stuff up. Since Riley was in the hospital on his birthday, the nurses brought him a bunch of presents. He thought it was awesome.

Scattered throughout December, January and February was Riley’s basketball season. This was his first year playing. Stu was his team’s assistant coach. I am so proud of Riley for trying something new. He LOVED it.

One Really Wonderful Week

All the Stus were feeling better. Softball season started. Reagan had a tournament day. It was fun. The weather was perfect – chilly and sunny. Stu grilled burgers and dogs at the ballpark while the boys looked on. And Stu stayed with Reagan late into the night to watch all the games (the boys couldn’t hang all day).

We thought this would be the start of an amazing spring. We were excited to see Reagan try softball. The Lord had other plans.

9 days later a tornado changed our trajectory.

You can read about the tornado here.

It was a wild night. I still get freaked out a little when it rains. Reagan obsessively checks the weather each night. There have been a few times we have had to sleep in the living room (close to the basement stairs) and a few times of running down there to hide. I don’t think I could ever comfortably live here without a basement. The night of March 2, 2020 changed us.

The aftermath of the tornado left an equal impression. Not only was the devastation amazing to see, but the love of complete strangers was incredible. Those few weeks after the storm showed us why Tennessee is the volunteer state. We packed a bunch of lunches for people working in our neighborhood. My nephew and a few others drove around handing them out.

We had an awesome group of people show up to help us clean up our yard. We were fortunate not to have major house damage – just a little roof punches. The same cannot be said for the enormous trees we used to have. I thank God for the way they fell.

Then Came Corona

As if 2020 hadn’t been crazy enough. Our school never went back after the tornado. The administration took a few weeks to regroup and figure out how to finish the school year. I can’t imagine the stress placed on those shoulders – facing a major rebuild AND stay home orders.

I have mixed emotions about the stay home stuff. The introvert in me was jumping up and down – you mean I have to stay home? Ok. But the Mom in me was sad for my kids. They missed their friends. It was hardest on Reagan and Remy. Both are social butterflies.

And just like that… it’s been a year.

Here’s to our 2nd year in Nashville. I’m thinking we can only go up from here, right?