Going to GuideCx!

The dreaded words, “I got laid off” came from Andrew’s lips once again on Wednesday, January 11. This came as a complete surprise to both of us. We are thankful that Andrew got severance pay for 2.5 months in addition to cobra (insurance) pay. I don’t think there’s ever a “good time” to receive this news, but the day before our niece’s wedding and hosting family felt extra rough. To those who saw me during this time, my apologies for being irritable and extra emotional.

It was a little alarming that Andrew’s employer completely shut off his computer not even 10 minutes after sharing the news of his termination. This was a jerky move. Since he has been through 2 other layoffs, we have those experiences to compare this layoff to. Both other companies, let Andrew use his computer for a month or two while searching for a job. We are grateful that Andrew’s friend has been letting him borrow his computer during his job hunt. Andrew has also been borrowing his green screen as well to put up behind him during interviews which cracks me up.

Someone Andrew worked with who also got laid off called Andrew crying. Other coworkers reached out to Andrew in disbelief. Here is what they said: (And yes, Andrew goes by “Ditto.” Can you tell I’m rolling my eyes?)

                   Text message: “Hey Ditto. I’m so sorry about what happened today and I hope you are doing okay. I really appreciate the time I got to work with you and thanks for all the impact you had on our team. Let me know if I can help with anything and wish you the best for what comes next. Take care.”

                    Email: “Hi Ditto, I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to reach out and express my deepest sympathy for the recent layoff. I want you to know that your contributions to the LLC  team were truly appreciated and valued. I know it can be a difficult and challenging time, and I want you to know that you have my support during this transition. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if there’s anything I can help with. Wishing you all the best.” 

Andrew had recently started teaching his team tips and these trainings were supposed to continue. Many coworkers found them beneficial since Andrew was the most senior on the team and has more experience. It was awkward that Andrew had more experience than his boss which made things tricky.

Many tech companies have done layoffs recently which has made me apprehensive. With so many companies getting rid of employees, how would Andrew ever find a job? Andrew was very organized about his job search and kept track of things on a board. At first, he was pickier about where he would apply. In time, he started to worry more and feel desperate. When I heard Andrew applied to work at TikTok I knew he was panicked. He even had a few interviews with a company in NYC that would require relocation. I applied for a full-time 6th-grade teaching job and I got the job. I had the hardest time deciding if I wanted to take it. I decided to pass on the opportunity after subbing the students for 4 days. 6th graders are mean. Watch out. Instead, teaching piano lessons and substitute teaching are consuming my time.

Andrew’s organization helps us see that he had 19 interviews.  Companies have been in no rush to hire. They have been dragging their feet and waiting a long time to reply between interviews. Some have even gone on hiring freezes mid-interview process. Andrew has grit. Looking for a job has been his full-time job. He has been so dedicated and consistent. He started writing a weekly technical blog. 

We are thrilled to announce that Andrew has accepted a job with GuideCx. Guess what? This company informed Andrew earlier this week that they hired someone else. We were pretty disappointed. We were also completely shocked that they called today offering him the job. What!? Andrew has been saving a box of watermelon sour patch kids to celebrate accepting a job offer. He finally got to open them today! I bet they have never tasted so good.

GuideCx is another startup. Andrew prefers startups. There are about 100 employees. The company headquarters are in Lehi. Employees come into the office 3 days a week and work from home 2 days a week. Andrew will still have the job title of "Quality Assurance Engineer" and gets a raise. Ironically, GuideCx is a competitor to one of the past companies Andrew worked for. GuideCx helps companies with the onboarding process. It helps companies with the handoff between sales and customer support. Better yet... Andrew will start on Monday! Who gets to start that quickly!? Unreal--get the offer Friday and start Monday. Andrew talked to them about insurance coverage and if he had waited to start until April 10 like originally suggested, we would have had to wait another month for insurance. 

We honestly feel like this is an absolute miracle. Andrew traveled earlier this week for an interview and we should be hearing back from that company Monday. Andrew was less excited about it. God waited until the last second to show he has been in control all along. We thought we would have to settle with this other company that was just okay, but instead, Andrew is getting close to his dream job.

Although Andrew getting laid off is not what I wanted for our family, I have seen God’s hand throughout this experience. I think Andrew will like his new job more! His commute will be shorter! Although Andrew has been unemployed for close to 3 months, I have felt peace throughout this time. I always knew it was going to work out. I'm not known for my positivity, but I have felt optimistic and hopeful. We are so grateful for the prayers on our behalf and have truly felt them. Andrew has been teaching a stake emotional resiliency class and these kind strangers have been praying for us too. Thanks for all the love and support! We can't wait to celebrate with burgers tonight!

Birthdays for Dayzz

Whew! We made it through the birthday madness! Hooray, that we get a breather before Isabelle’s birthday in July.

James’ 6th Birthday:

On James’ birthday, he got to fill out a poster all about himself and show his class. He also brought a treat and he picked Oatmeal Cream Pies. He came home wearing a birthday crown. To make sure he was thoroughly spoiled (but not go overboard—balance, right), we went to Chick-fil-A. James also got a haircut from a professional instead of me! What, I paid someone? James got to pick out a new pair of shoes as his present from us. Obviously, he chose light-up shoes. He later went to the arcade with Andrew and Isabelle (while I was teaching). I think his day was pretty great. A stop from his aunt who brought by a gift and a FaceTime with Nana and Papa are worth a mention too. So many people love my boy.

Looking fresh with that haircut and new kicks.

James really wanted to invite friends over for a birthday party. I caved. I would have loved to rent a party room at “Kidstopia” or some other kid playground. How easy. The price tag stopped me though. A Superhero themed birthday party idea was born and it happened today. We are tired. It was a smashing success if I do say so myself. This party would not have been possible without my hands-on, awesome husband. James said the best part of the party was that Eva came. I think he has a little crush.

We found most of our ideas online (so don’t think we could come up with this stuff on our

own), but here’s the party agenda:

-Build your superhero a fortress (with Legos/blocks) while we wait for everyone to arrive.

-Superhero BINGO! 

-Superhero training:

1) Super smart— as a group, the kids took a quiz about superheroes. Most did not know the superheroes' actual names, so we dumbed it down a bit… Like which superhero squirts spiderwebs?

2) Super strength— the kids did push-ups, jumping jacks, and had to lift weights. I should have taken a video of their form during push-ups. Wowza. James could easily lift the 2 heavyweights (10 pounds each). Of course, Izzy went for the heavyweights. That girl has confidence.

3) Super speed— the kids did relay races to see how fast they were. James was not happy when he dropped the egg from the spoon. 

-Superhero graduation. For completing Superhero training, the kids each got a superhero mask and had to think of a new Superhero name. James’ name was “Iron Spidercat.” 

-Decorate superhero masks.

-First task as a new superhero. Chase the villain! Andrew dressed up in a mask and the kids got to run around the backyard squirting him with silly string. This was exciting for them and much to their chagrin, the budget only allowed for 1 silly string per person.

-Presents! James got so spoiled.

-Doughnuts

-Don’t Eat “The Super-Hero” (Pete)

-10 minutes of Spider-Man show. (So much energy!)

-Party favors—thank you Amazon for beating dollar store prices. These included: a keychain, button pin, rubber bracelet, superhero mask, and 5 stickers.

Party Attendees:

Harrison, Walker, Emmie, Maggie, Eva, Calvin, Elijah, Derek. Unfortunately Simon, Esther, Lily, and Jackson weren’t able to attend.

James’ Bio:

James has grown up so much this year. Watching him do this has been such a pleasure. He is an excellent swimmer. At a party recently, he did fine on his own even in the 10 ft section of the pool which made me so proud. He enjoys swimming and is great at it! James requested that we sign him up for soccer again. Yay! He improved so much this past soccer season and I’m antsy to see him play more starting in April. James continues to be the most loving older brother. He is blessed with a tender heart. What kindergartener picks a prize from the prize box at school for his little sister!? I know I’ve done something right because James can sit through an entire chapter book and gets so excited during it. The Boxcar Children series is his current favorite. James is getting good at reading. 

James loves going to school. We recently had a terrible case of stomach flu at our house. James was super ill. He was devastated to miss school even after throwing up so many times. James started speech at school to work on saying his rs and a few other sounds (ironically the “J” sound). James has made huge and noticeable improvements in school since starting ADD medication. A few weeks ago, we had parent-teacher conferences and they were night and day different than last time! James really wants to do the Chinese Immersion program which starts in 1st grade at his school. I signed him up! Here’s to hoping it’s the right decision. He’s definitely got the brains for it. We love James to pieces! If you ever need a fort or Legos built, call James. He’s amazing.

Nathan’s 19th Birthday:

It had been too long since we had the BYU Dittos over. Our kids get so much love and attention when they come over. Andrew decided to make our free Winco turkey. It was Nathan's birthday-March 12th!  We went around the table and said what we love about Nathan. I love that his family does this too! We pulled out the game Rook-O-Lee. I enjoyed getting to know Hailee more (big fan). We were extra tired by the end of the night thanks to daylight savings. 

George’s 1st Birthday:

George's bday is the day before James'. We celebrated early on Saturday, March 11. We were supposed to dress "as our favorite George." Andrew was George Harrison, I was St. George, UT, and James and Isabelle were "Curious George." What a cute idea and an awesome party! We were able to reuse the balloons from George's party for James' party which was so nice.

My 30th birthday: (I’m officially old. Don’t remind me.)

Andrew made breakfast burritos for my birthday breakfast. Yum! Jess and Chris babysat for us that night, February 25, which we appreciated. We went to Texas Roadhouse and used a gift card that Debbie gave me for my bday. I even branched out and got ribs instead of my usual steak. I had to really find room for ice cream. I was ridiculously full. We tried out a new ice cream place called "Brooker's” which has a founding fathers theme. They took this theme very seriously with revolutionary decor, employee attire, and the names of the ice cream flavors all after presidents. We’ll go back and next time I’ll be hungrier. 

I felt emotional after receiving so much love, kind words, and gifts from people. “My people” are the best. My grandma treated me to a special birthday lunch (another day), my sister’s got me a Stanley drink and a sweatsuit, and my 2 closest friends both know me so well that they got me a gift card to the same restaurant—one of my favorites. I am not complaining, but am very grateful!! With the money my parents gave me, I bought Izzy and me matching Easter dresses. I can hardly contain my excitement and want to wear them this instant. She will freak out when she sees them. My ministering sister even took me out to lunch to celebrate. If this is what getting old feels like, I’ll take it.

Andrew’s 34th Birthday:

We went out on a double date on Friday, February 17, so our friends were in town. Andrew chose the "Hu Hot" restaurant to relive the glory days he worked there. I'll admit I didn't love this restaurant the last time I went. I liked the food better this time! Andrew also wanted to see the new "Antman" movie. Everyone else enjoyed the movie. I was there for the popcorn.

On Andrew's actual birthday (the 20th), I brought him chick-fil-a breakfast in bed. He picked creamy ranch chicken, giant rolls (that he has been begging me to make), and lunch lady peanut butter bars for dessert. Don't worry, we had salad too. I decided to be extra nice and watch Star Wars. It wasn't too bad. I still need to watch several Star Wars movies with Andrew. I lost mini golfing when we were dating (over a decade ago) and am going to come through with my promise! I even stayed awake during Star Wars. Andrew could hardly believe it. Andrew got a generous gift card from his mom and money from my parents. He got a new switch game, a board game, and running socks. We have talked about getting him a new desk (as a belated birthday gift) once he secures a job. 

Off to birthday hibernation…

Making Lemonade

Andrew got laid off about a month ago. During this time, we have tried to do something exciting as a family once a week, so not all of our time is spent job-searching, stressing, subbing, teaching piano, etc. Honestly, sometimes it has been tricky to find a time to schedule the fun. 

Museum of Natural Curiosity

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

A new addition to our PBS kids' reading passes this year was a free pass to Thanksgiving Point. This was excellent news. We decided to go to the Museum of Natural Curiosity. Andrew had never been before and it was fun to show him the ropes. We were bummed we missed the Daniel Tiger exhibit, but there was still plenty to do. The kids played there for a couple of hours and on our way home, we picked up a free pizza. Perfect.

Ice Skating

Saturday, February 4, 2023

I have wanted to take our kids ice skating for over a year! Thank heavens illness didn’t stop it from happening again. We went to the Cottonwood Heights Rec Center which has a large ice skating rink. The pricing was reasonable ($22 for the 4 of us including skates), it was fairly close, and there were aids available for new skaters which was the most important thing to me. I wanted the kids to be able to push something to prevent as many falls and tears as possible. The rec center had “seals” the kids could push. We could even give the kids a break and let them ride on the seals while we pushed them. These were so handy. One child wanted to be independent and return their seal after a short time. (Can you guess which one?) 

I had low expectations going into ice skating. Our kids are young. I wasn’t sure if they would like it. Our kids thrived!! By the end, James had improved so much and was even getting good. Isabelle loved doing spins and holding both of our hands. I was so proud of the kids for trying something new and getting back up and trying again and again. This activity really wore the kids out. We lasted for about an hour before the kids (and in all honesty us too) were utterly exhausted. Ice skating made me feel old. Those skates hurt my poor ankles. Andrew’s feet were throbbing. I guess this is what it means to enter a new decade. We will be ice skating again. Maybe next time we’ll hit up a nearby outdoor rink. (This was out of the question when we went due to the nasty air quality.)

Outback Steakhouse, Provo Rec Center Pool, and Alexa’s final project

Friday, February 10, 2023

For Christmas, I got a gift card to Outback Steakhouse. We decided to bring the kids along which is rare. There were some noteworthy quotes: 

Isabelle: Mom, where's the baking spot? (Kitchen)

James: We should come here every day!

I lost count of how pieces of bread James ate. The waiter couldn't keep up. It was enough to give James a bellyache. The cheesy fries were also popular with our crowd and we polished off a full order. It was special to eat here with my family. Growing up I went with my parents. Our kids are well-behaved and did better than we hoped, however, we had 2 potty emergencies and some restlessness at the end.

The Provo Rec Center Pool is known to be the best indoor pool in the state. We finally got to experience it ourselves and now we see why it has that reputation. (I had been to the pool before, but I don’t think our kids had been.) I wish you could see James jump for joy endlessly after coming down the big slide. Isabelle was uninterested in the slides/playground after a bit which isn't typical. I took her to an indoor playground and she found a gang of friends and was holding hands with strangers and crying when we had to leave.

We wanted to support Alexa and her Capstone project. She recently graduated from BYU and this was her final project. She is such a talented photographer; seeing her photos and creativity was enlightening. We sure made a grand entrance. Isabelle fell back into a canvas/backdrop hanging from the ceiling. It fell down. I was so embarrassed. Alex and Alexa were very gracious about it, but man I felt bad. It was a late night for us.

Other happenings...

Grandma Ditto turned 90 on February 1st

We had Grandma Ditto over for dinner the night before her 90th birthday on Tuesday, January 31. I was busy subbing that day/week, so pizza it was. I did throw together some tasty m&m cookies while she was here. Isabelle loved playing catch with Grandma. We also played Uno and Memory. Andrew deserves a shout-out for picking her up in Centerville and dropping her off after. (70 mins of driving each way.)

We got a dollhouse!

I have had my eye on dollhouses. Someone in our neighborhood posted a free ginormous dollhouse and I immediately claimed it. The kids have already spent so much time playing with it. 

We're doing our best to cherish this extra time together. Now to decide what we'll do this week... 

2023 Started With a Bang

January is off to an eventful start. We have had some experiences I wish I could freeze--going to the ice castles and seeing Little Mermaid. We have also been able to spend time with so much family.

The Ice Castles in Midway, UT— Monday, January 16, 2023

Our tickets to the Ice Castles weren’t canceled this time! Yippee!! Jessica, Chris, and George joined us. We drove up Provo canyon in quite the blizzard. I had never been to the ice castles before. We were dressed in full-on snow gear and I highly recommend dressing warm. We had an amazing time! I’m having a hard time describing the atmosphere. It was simply magical. We even saw a bride and groom getting photos taken. There were classy lights, several outside heaters, reindeer, massive and tall ice castles, slides and tunnels, and signs explaining things. One of the signs said something like, “in one day, 10,000 icicles were used.” Another said, “there are over 25 tons of ice used.” 

The kids went down the slides on repeat. Crawling through ice tunnels was popular too. This event was perfect for them. Jessica knows me well and purposefully captured the kids eating their packed sack dinners. We stayed away from the churro and hot chocolate food trucks. Tickets to the castles are a bit expensive. (I have a coupon code if you’re looking at going.) Because of the amount of snow we’ve had this year, the Ice Castles were able to open early. They may stay open longer than usual too, but we’ll see. The ice castles turn colorful when it’s dark and we were able to see some of the colors which were cool. I don’t know if I’ll ever forget Chris’ comment, “Grandma got run over by a reindeer.” Ask him about it. What an experience. The kids were worn out! After our original tickets were canceled, I debated rebooking. Thank goodness I did! The pictures below capture pure joy. James' face is proof.

Dallin and Alysee’s Wedding in Payson, UT— Thursday, January 12, 2023

Most of Andrew's siblings came into town for Dallin and Alysee’s special day. Grannie even got permission to leave her mission in Chicago to come. The Payson temple is gorgeous and the sealing room was large! The sealing was short but tender and sweet. Dallin and Alysee cried and many others. The luncheon and wedding reception were in Provo. The food, company, and entertainment were great. I participated in a skit about Alysee with her other aunts. My line was, “My name’s Alysee Ditto, happy I will be, my name’s Alysee Ditto, a mother me! Babies, babies, everywhere, give me a dozen, I won’t care!” 

We enjoyed seeing so much extended family. I was able to chat with lots of Ditto cousins I haven’t seen in too long. Andrew and several of his brothers snuck out of the reception a little early to watch the BYU vs. Gonzaga basketball game. It was an exhausting day. We were gone for over 12 hours and got home at 9:30pm. Dallin and Alysee are an excellent match and couple and we had a good time celebrating them! Debbie stayed with us and Blayre’s family did for a couple of nights as well. Our nephew, Carter was baptized at our stake center while everyone was together. We packed in many other things too— the aquarium, the BYU bookstore, etc. I slept well after that busy weekend! I even slept in— what!

The Little Mermaid at Hale Center Theater in Sandy, UT— Saturday, January 7, 2023

I have heard rave reviews from many people about the production, “The Little Mermaid.” Of course, I wanted to go and bring the kids! The Hale Center Theater even did some special showings for children ages 3 and up. Cha-Ching! Tickets were basically sold out, so I spent many days searching for some on KSL. I snagged tickets when I had the chance.

The show lived up to the hype. Everything was incredible! After the opening scene, James worriedly asked me, “mom is it over already?” He didn’t want it to be the end. Watching the kids' expressions during the show was my favorite. James’ mouth was open for a large chunk of the show like he couldn’t believe it. One of Izzy’s first comments to me was, “Mom, mermaids don’t have legs. Why does Ariel have legs?” 

We got a couple of extra tickets for the show. We invited one of the kids' friends in our ward to join— Derek. I think Ursula was a bit scary for him. Grandma Denning also came with 10 minutes' notice. We got one more ticket than we thought. The music, sets, and costumes, were better than you can imagine.

January has been eventful in fun ways and unexpected/stressful ways too. More on that later. 

Holiday Season

Our Christmas decor is boxed up and back to gathering dust in the basement. We had an eventful holiday season.

We drove by Christmas lights and ate doughnuts. The kids devoured the doughnuts in record time. My jaw dropped at one of the houses. I guess the Piano Guys recorded a music video there. I can see why. Wow. I don’t think their neighbors in the cul-de-sac are thrilled about the traffic… they had a sign hanging from their porch telling people to keep their windows up and the volume down. The lights are timed to music and were spectacular. The line of cars to see the lights was manageable because it was snowy. I didn't know how well the kids would do sitting in the car for so long. They wanted more lights and we made 4 stops. Shout out to Best Buy for providing an emergency potty just in the nick of time. A distraught 3-yr old barely made it.

We kept the advent calendar and book tradition alive. The kids live for this! Each night, they open a wrapped Christmas book under the tree and enjoy a piece of chocolate while listening. This year James belly laughed at the chapter book, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” 

We took the kids on the “North Pole Express” train ride in Heber City. They got bells from the N. Pole, we sang Christmas songs on the train, hot chocolate and Suss cookies were served, and the kids met Santa. Those cookies made my night. My sweet husband even let me eat his cookie. The kids had endless questions for the elves. I'm glad I was persistent to get us tickets to this sold-out event.  I think our kids were the perfect ages. I don't see this being an annual tradition because it costs a pretty penny and my kids are growing up too fast.

Our neighborhood forgoes neighbor gifts. Instead, we buy toys for a local elementary school with needs. When you drop off the toys, Santa is there waiting with candy canes.

We continued our dollar store gift buying. The kids got to open these presents from each other on Christmas Eve. 

On Christmas Eve, we got Chinese takeout and rented the movie, “Lyle Lyle Crocodile.” Both the kids wanted seconds of Chinese food and James-- the bottomless pit--, even requested thirds. 

We had Christmas dinner at Jessica’s house. She is a fantastic hostess and also had her in-laws over. We sang Christmas carols, decorated cookies, and more. Jessica even had a hot chocolate bar. Oh and Chris made brisket. It was a top-notch meal and celebration. 

I was in charge of our ward Christmas program. This was a lot of work and I’m glad it’s over. There are many things you don’t think about that go into the program. The choir performed 2 songs (they practice in our home). We sang, “Were You There?” And “Can This Be the Child.” There was a beautiful piano duet of the song, “I Believe in Christ.” There was also a violin/viola duet of “Away in a Manger.”  I enjoyed picking music! The program ended with a piano solo by the best pianist I’ve heard (she has 3 master’s degrees), “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.” Luckily, I have my mom. I used an old Christmas program she had written and we tweaked it a bit. I had a practice at my house with those in the program. There were 5 readers. So many people in my ward thanked me and stopped me after church. It went well! My parent’s even tuned in from Brazil and my grandma also watched which meant a lot to me. After, I dashed off to accompany Jessica in her ward Christmas program.

We found the best sledding hill! It has been snowing soooo much here! Andrew said it's the most he's ever seen in Utah. Izzy and I enjoyed racing against Andrew and James. 

I chose themed wrapping paper again. Isabelle had pink unicorn wrapping paper and James had superhero paper.

Someone did “The 12 Days of Christmas for Us.” I’ll admit, this kind of embarrassed me. I thought they did it because I gave an emotional testimony recently about what a challenging year it has been. I later learned that others in the neighborhood also received the "12 days of Christmas" which made me feel better. We got a piece of a nativity set each night. It was nice of this family to show us love and much to my chagrin, we didn’t catch them. I have never been more tempted to buy a fancy doorbell with a camera and even looked into it. 

Santa brought James got a battery-powered car to drive and Isabelle got a giant sandbox. The sandbox is massive. 250 pounds only fills part of it. The kids have been entertained for hours.

I made a google sheet and planned events for my family. I did a lot of hosting. Jill, Rob, and Daisy flew in after Christmas. We met my grandma at "The Crack Shack" for dinner one night. Another day I went with my sisters and grandma to see the movie, "The Fabelmans." The boys watched "Avatar" and I was relieved I didn't have to sit through that. Of course, we went thrifting at DI. We played games galore and Jill gave me an early birthday present, a great and easy game called "Just One." We had our sibling gift exchange one night and got matching jammies, had pizza, and our kids dressed up for the nativity. To add to the excitement, Covid made a grand entrance. Ugh.

James and Daisy are BFF's

Nana and Papa sent a package that was so generous. The grandkids got world cup shirts and monkeys.

We celebrated our 10-year anniversary! We did something I have always wanted to do. We went to a different restaurant for each course. We stopped at Salsa Leedos for an appetizer. We had street tacos and of course chips and salsa. We made our way to Texas Roadhouse. The wait was too long, so we put our names on the waitlist and headed to do sealings at the Oquirrh Mountain temple. We returned to Texas Roadhouse and it hit the spot. Steak and rolls. We ended the night at Leatherby's ice cream. We were quite full at this point, but still managed to split Traci's peanut butter cup sundae. We were so grateful that Jess and Chris babysat. It took a few days for our food comas to wear off. 

We had tickets to go to the Ice Castles in Midway on New Year's Eve. Due to the weather, they canceled our tickets which was a bummer. We're looking forward to going another time. Instead, we went to the aquarium and grabbed dinner with my family. The aquarium had a 4:00 New Years' Eve countdown and James was thrilled about the confetti. He collected some and its remnants are all over the car. Yippee. Loveland Living Aquarium had a promotion going and our tickets were already so expensive we learned they could count towards an annual pass. We got a pass. We live so close and our kids really liked the aquarium this time. I hope we use our new pass lots.

 

Izzy was upset it was raining.

It’s no secret that 2022 was trying. My word for 2022 is loss. I lost a baby and my parents in a sense. At one point, I felt pretty maxed out. In addition to infertility/healing from a miscarriage, I suddenly had terrible hives and was dealing with behavioral problems at school. This much I know. I need Jesus and have felt him more than ever in my life. My life and plans have not gone how I wanted them to in 2022, but I know things will work out. Here's to 2023!