2015 in Review

Every year has its ups and downs, but some years are more challenging emotionally than others. The miscarriages in 2005, 2007, and 2013 were certainly tough for instance. As I reflect over our fourteen years of marriage, I would say the three hardest years for me were 2007, 2012, and 2015. 2007 was challenging for the first eleven months due to our struggles to adopt a baby in the US, struggles to adopt 2-3 kids from Ukraine, and our first IVF transfer ended in a very early miscarriage of triplets. That year ended on a very happy note however, as we found out we were expecting again (Nadia!). 2012 started on a happy note when we found out we were expecting Oliver. April and June through August were very hard because I spent most of those four months in either a Ronald McDonald House or a hospital bed between Ian's feeding program in Hershey in April, my 10 weeks of bedrest (end of May through August 7), and Oliver's 4 week NICU stay, but the year ended on a very happy note as Oliver was off the oxygen and monitors, and we were all at home together.

This year started on a really rough note as I was in the PICU throwing up every time I stood up with the stomach flu while Oliver was screaming for me to hold him because the chest tube bothered him, and I wasn't allowed to hold him because of the machine that was helping him breathe, and this pained my heart in the worst way. Thankfully, we all stayed out of the hospital the rest of the year. Ironically, the year is ending with another lung issue in the family. My mom was admitted to the hospital last night, and after they ran various tests they determined only one of her lungs was functioning due to 4-5 liters of fluid (pleural effusion). Please pray that they will determine the cause of the fluid build up, that her lung will "wake up" and start functioning again, and that she will not be in much pain. After Oliver was discharged from the hospital in January, the next almost eight months went pretty smoothly, and then Paul told me on August 20 that he was done with the field of chemistry. Paul and I started dating almost nineteen years ago. He was a full-time student for eleven of those nineteen years (and a part-time student other years). Seven of the fourteen years of our marriage he was a FT graduate student, and now all that was invested or sacrificed to make that possible is now being cast by the wayside. Honestly, I still can't even really handle this reality yet emotionally. Mostly I try to block it out of my mind, but I need to eventually find a better way to handle this total change of plans because it will become reality in a little more than four months. I never would have dreamed I would be applying for a FT job when my youngest was only three years old, but that is in fact what I have done. I am very curious to see what what happens with my applications. As I reflect on 2015, here are 15 memorable parts of our year:

1. Ian has become much braver. He was tall enough to ride the big roller coasters at Knoebels for the first time. He loves the Phoenix! He also became brave enough to walk across the rope at the playground for the first time. He also made a lot of progress with singing in a choir.

2. Nadia and Ian both learned to ride their bikes without training wheels.

3. We spent two weeks in Florida with Paul's parents and one week in Williamsburg with my parents. Ian traveled down to Florida with Paul's parents for the first time. Highlights included a day at Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Sea World, and Kennedy Space Center.

4. Paul's mom has been much healthier this year. Oliver started the year in the hospital for RSV and a collapsed lung, but since that discharge, we all stayed out of the hospital the rest of the year although he came very close to being admitted in May when he had pneumonia. He also hasn't needed the nebulizer as frequently lately.

5. Oliver was night time potty trained, started memorizing Bible verses for Cubbies, and started taking gymnastics for the first time.

6. Nadia had her first experience being in a musical. She played the part of Pepper in Annie. Nadia and Ian were in the summer musical again and also sang in a children's choir at church.

7. We enjoyed going to many different field trips and amusement parks such as the children's museum, Maryland Science Center, Knoebels, Dutch Wonderland, Six Flags, Del Grosso's, Sight and Sound, Port Discovery, Steamtown National Historic Site, R.B. Winter State Park, Little League Museum, to see many theatrical productions, etc.

8. Nadia and Ian were in a 90 minute homeschool gym class at our church on Friday mornings. They both also took their first ice skating lessons, took swimming lessons, and played on a soccer team. Nadia scored her first goal on a U8 team, and Ian scored his first goal in the spring and about eight more

goals this fall. Nadia just recently started her third season of basektball, and Ian just started his first season of Upward basketball.

9. For four months I ran 3-4 times a week and for more than half of that time I was running 4-6 miles each time. I am looking forward to starting up again when the weather gets warmer!

10. I got my first smartphone.

11. Nadia and Ian both made a lot of progress in their schoolwork. Nadia really loves reading chapter books such as American Girl, Amelia Bedelia, Nancy Clancy, and Boxcar Children. Ian loves reading easy books like Amelia Bedelia, Frog and Toad, Little Bear, etc. Nadia learned how to regroup with double digit addition and subtraction. Nadia learned to identify the countries in North America, South America, and Europe. She took a Spanish class during the summer.

12. Paul was offered a one year extension on his contract at Bucknell. This summer he received a stipend for working on a NSF grant with two other professors at Bucknell.

13. I read the kids 82 chapter books this year, and over the last four months Nadia read 60 chapter books independently. 

14. Nadia had her first experience with going to a camp that involved sleeping in a tent for three nights. She loved it!

15. Paul decided in August that he no longer wants to use his PhD in Chemistry. He decided to return to Kennedy Concrete. We put our house on the market in November, and thus far I have submitted four applications for tenure track positions for myself.

I also thought it was high time to look back at the goals I posted for this year to see how we did. Here are some goals that we did accomplish:

Taken right after she lost tooth #7. See the space? 

1. Most of the time Nadia practiced the piano 5-6 times a week.

2. Ian has started to do schoolwork in the morning at the same time Nadia does hers.

3. I do believe I did a better job with being more relaxed at times (more grace with regard to rules and routines).

4. Nadia did stop sucking her thumb, learned to ride a bike without training wheels, learned to like corn, and definitely has a greater thirst for reading chapter books.

5. Oliver can do 24 piece puzzles independently, identify many colors and some shapes, is night time potty trained, usually eats with utensils, and has begun memorizing Bible verses.

6. I lost more than ten pounds, have continued to try new recipes, and am doing better with a routine with most household chores.

7. Ian did learn to write lowercase letters and numbers, ride a bike without training wheels, swing on his own, walk across the rope at the playground, much better at using scissors, far more comfortable being alone in a room, and he made huge strides with his reading skills.

Some we did not accomplish include:
1. Having a regular family fun night. This will again be a goal for 2016.

2. Having a regular game night. This too will again be a goal for 2016.

3. Nadia still has issues with reversing some letters and numbers (ex. b/d and p/9) and still needs to work on learning to eat lima beans, peas, and soup.

4. I didn't succeed at making new friends for myself, and I still need to work on dusting more often.

5. Ian still needs to break the belly button habit, learn to tie his shoes, and decrease the fussing.

6. Oliver still needs to learn to identify the letters of the alphabet.