2020 may have been one of my best reading years. I read so many books that I thoroughly enjoyed. As the BLM movement picked up, I decided to adjust what I read and really focus in on reading outside of my norm, outside of my culture, outside of my skin color. I found it to be an especially profound experience and what I read helped to keep racial equity in the forefront of my mind.

• Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
• All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

• Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
• Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton
• Between Sisters by Kristin Hannah
• The Huntress by Kate Quinn
• Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
• The Dutch House by Ann Patchett*
• Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
• Normal People by Sally Rooney
• The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates*
• Night Road by Kristin Hannah
• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
• The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
• Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie*
• This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
• Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi*
• The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister
• How to be Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
• The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker
• What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
• American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins*
• The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes
• The Girl With The Louding Voice by Abi Daré*
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett*
• A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende
• Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Beloved by Toni Morrison (didn't finish, I want to try to understand this one better)
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
• The Last Letter From Your Lover by Jojo Moyes
• The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd*
• Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
• The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
• The Revisioners by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
• The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
• The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
• The Round House by Louise Erdrich*
• Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• An American Marriage by Tayari Jones*
• The Other Americans by Laila Lalami*
• I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez*
• Educated by Tara Westover
• The Leavers by Lisa Ko
• The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
• Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

That's almost 50 books in one year!! I've marked my top choices just in case anyone reading this post would like to know what I'd choose first.

We had a huge snow day this past week! It was awesome for outdoor playtime! My girls had started a fort and were able to add a whole bunch more to it. My older two spent 3.5 hours straight outside! They walked to their friends' and met them halfway and then went sledding and then came back to our house and then pack to the park to sled some more! In a season where indoor playdates are a no-go, that afternoon was bliss, especially for me! Even E had fun watching the kids play!

This little guy is so cute and he's a joy and a light in our home! We love our Baby E!

Just a little peek into Maeve's world.

At 7AM exactly, upstairs sounded like a stampede as Greta and Holly came rushing downstairs! Maeve somehow stayed asleep through all of that, but woke up a little later and came downstairs upset because no one was upstairs, but her tune changed almost immediately when she remembered it was Christmas! Our Christmas morning looks like this: we open up stockings first, all taking turns. Then we eat breakfast once it's ready. And then I like to take our time opening up gifts. There's no rush! I really enjoyed the pace of this year's Christmas morning and I was so grateful that I didn't feel overwhelmed by stuff at the end of it. We spent the remainder of the day playing together, video chatting with family and we watched a movie. It was so ideal!

And here's Maeve playing with her gift from Conor and I the day after Christmas.