Opting out

 I don't recall exactly when I joined Facebook, but I'm guessing it was no later than 2007. From at least 2016 until 2024 I have had times where I have temporarily deactivated my account for varying amounts of time, but I never considered permanently deleting my account. However, that's the step I recently took. For a period of thirty days, I have the opportunity to undo that decision. Once the thirty days pass, it will truly all be gone. I decided that the "cons" outweighed the "pros." I have never used Twitter, and I had an extremely short stint of looking at Instagram. I do post the videos I create onto YouTube, but I view things on YouTube very infrequently - sometimes to watch church online or to watch a Bible Recap video or the like. I used to read far more blogs, but most of the people I used to follow no longer post on their blog or they do so very infrequently, so I don't spend much time in a year reading blog posts that others have written. I think this means that if I find out something about someone I know, it's going to be the old-fashioned way - because they told me, emailed me, or texted me about it. When I deactivated my account, I was still able to use Facebook Messenger. I don't have access to it any longer because I went the deletion route this time. I had a private Facebook group that I used with my homeschool evaluator, but I've let her know I'll be switching to sending her a monthly email instead, which is one of the options she provides all of her families. I might be in the dark about some events in the future because of this choice I've made, but in general I don't think we'll feel too much of an impact by my choice. I created an account for Paul many years ago, and he's never accessed his account. Paul has done fine with never using Facebook for the past 17 years. It can be done! Paul uses Twitter now because of his new investment "job."

I've also decided I am done using Duolingo because I finally finished the Spanish course! It "only" took me 1,244 days to accomplish that feat. I currently have a 1,246-day streak, but I'm planning to let that go. I'm also on a lengthy streak when it comes to being in the diamond league (169 weeks), and my friends quest streak is also fairly long. I've earned the monthly badge every month from June 2021 to October 2024. On Sunday night I won the final round of the diamond tournament for my 6th time. My current Spanish score is 120 out of 160. Since I finished the course, I now have access to the "Daily Refresh," but I have been very unimpressed with that feature of the program, which is why I'm planning on letting my "streak" drop from 1,246 down to 0. Most days I spend 30 minutes on Duolingo. Hopefully what I've learned in Spanish will be useful at some point in my life. I can understand the letters we get from the Compassion kids we sponsor who speak Spanish without reading the translation into English. As is normal for learning another language, my receptive comprehension is far better than my expressive skills, especially when it comes to all the verb tenses. Duolingo can only take you so far, but I know now far more words in Spanish than I've ever known at any other time in my life. 

All of the photos in this post are from the homeschool co-op that meets in our home on Tuesdays. We've been having debates (first one was on whether cigarettes should be banned in the US, the second was on animal testing, and the next one will be about zoos), doing artwork (completed three of the six art projects I planned for this session, and we've started the fourth project which is an acrylic painting of a lighthouse). discussing books (Sign of the Beaver, The Two Towers, and Listening for Lions), playing games, and doing chemistry lab experiments (this last Tuesday one involved hydrochloric acid and an egg). I haven't touched my camera in quite a few weeks. I don't plan to opt out of that though! I need to do a better job of taking pictures more often. 

Here are some other random updates from the past three weeks:

1. This month our church began a campaign to raise 4 million dollars over the next 3 years to pay off existing debt (1.7) plus build a new, bigger facility for the Sunbury campus and Recovery Church (2.3). 

2. Nadia had a sleepover at a friend's house two weekends in a row. She was one of three girls from Meadowbrook who auditioned to be in the district chorus. Unfortunately, they didn't make the cut. Nadia has been taking two Bible classes through Liberty for six weeks. On October 21 her third class through LU began - an art history class. I recently registered her for three classes (7 credits total) for the spring semester - two Bible classes plus a government class. She also has a job interview on November 1 for a job that involves grooming dogs. She has logged around 35 of the required 65 hours of driving so far. We found out today that the dates of the Nationals for Bible quizzing next summer won't interfere with the dates Nadia will hopefully be a counselor at Camp Susque. PTL!!!

3. Ian and Oliver spent several hours at a friend's house last Saturday. Ian played the piano for the youth worship team for the first time ever on October 9. 

4. All three kids auditioned to be in the Wizard of Oz at MCS. Oliver and Nadia will just be in the ensemble. Ian was given two parts - a crow plus Nikko (head of the flying monkeys). All three kids are looking forward to going to a glow-in-the-dark dodgeball birthday party tomorrow afternoon. 

5. All five of us helped pack meals at our church on October 12 (collectively packed 125,000 meals for people in Uganda and Ecuador) and at Experience Missions on October 22. All five of us also attended a Colton Dixon concert at our church on October 18. Ian, Nadia, and I were volunteers with Compassion that night. Twenty-two kids were sponsored!

6. Oliver attended two trunk or treat events on October 19-20. This is his last year of being eligible for these events due to his age. The boys will be helping as candy runners at the trunk or treat at our church on October 25 while Nadia and I attend a For King and Country concert with Cheri in Hershey as Compassion volunteers.

7. I was the substitute teacher for our Sunday School this past Sunday. I taught a lesson on Haggai.

A day in our life

Most of my life what time I have gotten up has been dictated by what time I needed to be at school. When I first became a stay-at-home mom, what time I got up was usually dictated by when Ian or Oliver woke up. This has been the first school year in which the kids have very rarely woken me up in the morning. I usually get up sometime between 6:00-7:00, but every once in a while I sleep until sometime between 7:00-7:30. On March 3, I woke up at 6:30 but chose to rest for twenty more minutes before I got up to take a shower. After I finished blow drying my hair, I woke up Nadia and Ian at 7:20. I ate my breakfast, checked my email, solved the daily Wordle puzzle, and put Paul's dishes from dinner into the dishwasher while they took the two dogs outside. We only own one dog, but Nadia is earning $10/day by dog sitting a female Cavapoo named Cookie. Paul ate dinner after I went to bed last night. Nadia began her Algebra I lesson on the iPad while the boys began eating their bowls of cereal while we listened to an audiobook. I started a load of laundry and swept the foyer before sitting down in my recliner. Due to ongoing issues with my ankle, I still spend quite a few hours in that chair every day. We paused the audiobook whenever Nadia wanted to ask me a question regarding her Algebra 1 lesson. 

At 8:15 the kids and I began watching today's episode of World Watch News. Recently, we began working through a new book about the Old Testament. Every other school day we watch a three minute video that corresponds with the book. A few decades ago, I attended a Walk Thru the Bible seminar. These short videos are teaching the kids the hand motions from Walk Thru the Bible. After we watched the video, we worked on memorizing James 5: 4 and reviewed verses 1-3 of the same chapter. We have been memorizing the book of James and listening to half of the Old Testament together this school year. Today we listened to and discussed three chapters of Ezekiel. After we finish Ezekiel, we will have two books left (Isaiah and Jeremiah) and then we will have finished listening to (almost) the entire Old Testament (I say almost because we skipped Song of Solomon). The last subject that we all do together is history; thus far this year we have studied from creation through around 400 BC. Topics this week have included the Peloponnesian War, Pericles, Malachi, Plato, and Aristotle. 

After we finished history, Oliver copied Isaiah 9:6 in cursive and then started working on a  Spanish lesson with the Duolingo app while I read Nadia and Ian the next to last chapter of Life of Fred's Pre-Algebra 2 with Economics. After Nadia and Ian completed the problems at the end of the chapter, we discussed correlative conjunctions and discussed one day of Fix it Grammar's Little Mermaid. I also read them a brief essay on the taming of Bucephalus and reviewed the concepts of antagonist, theme, protagonist, and climax.  

At 10:00 Nadia took Cookie up to her room while she read Mara, Daughter of the Nile; on school days she has to read at least thirty minutes a day from a list of books I created. She reads other books of her choosing at other times during the day. Currently she's reading Shine by Chris Grabenstein, The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden by Karina Yan Glaser, and Fellowship of the Ring by Tolkien. While Nadia was reading and Oliver was finishing his Spanish lesson, I asked Ian to spell some French loan words such as limousine and exhaust as he is nearing the end of the Level 7 All About Spelling curriculum. After spelling, Ian practiced the piano. While Ian practiced the piano, I asked Oliver to spell the words contained in four sentences from his Level 4 spelling textbook. 

At 10:40 Nadia began working on Physical Science, took Milo out, and then used a laptop to complete some coding exercises from Python for Kids. During this time Ian read God King which focuses on three kings - Hezekiah of Judah, Sennacherib of Assyria, and Taharka of Egypt. After his schoolwork is done, he reads books of his choosing. He recently finished reading books #2-5 of the Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series by Brandon Sanderson. Currently he's reading On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson. While Ian read, I worked with Oliver on math (Beast Academy 3B) and started making lunches for the boys and I. Nadia always makes her own lunch. 

Around 11:30 Ian came down to eat his lunch. After Nadia took Cookie outside, she began making her usual grilled swiss cheese sandwich. We finished listening to Cheaper by the Dozen and began listening to Jessica's Journey. After Nadia finished her lunch, she worked on Duolingo on the iPad while we were listening to the story. I had read Cheaper by the Dozen aloud to the kids in 2015 but they didn't remember it. I decided to have them listen to it aloud again partially because a new movie based on the book is being released on Disney+ in the near future. The kids enjoyed the book, and Nadia and Ian said they want to read the sequel, Belles on their toes. 

At 12:15 Nadia took Cookie upstairs and had a turn on the iPad because she had finished all of her school work aside from a science experiment that I asked her to wait to do so that she and Ian could do it together. She typically plays Minecraft and watches a show during her turns. During this time Ian used a laptop to work on Python and lesson 91 of Teaching Textbooks Math 7. I worked with Oliver in his Swimming Creatures workbook where he completed a crustacean crossword puzzle and dictated a creative writing assignment that featured two different types of crabs. He also took Milo out for a walk. Nadia finished her turn before Ian finished Python or Oliver finished science. Ian really enjoys the Python coding exercises, but they often take him a LONG time (more than an hour today). Nadia took a shower while Ian was working on math and Oliver was finishing science.

Ian has been learning how to do a "shoot the duck" 

I helped Oliver practice the piano while Ian finished his math. Sometimes I needed to leave the piano bench to answer one of Ian's questions, but he's generally pretty independent in math this year for the first time in his life. Nadia also began making peanut butter bars, which is her most favorite dessert. After Oliver finished practicing the piano around 2:30, he had a turn on the Nintendo Switch and then started working on a puzzle until one of his friends rang our doorbell at 3:30 and he went outside to play with her. I helped Nadia make the dessert. Nadia and Ian each are required to cook once a week, but she made this of her own initiative as she had already made jerk chicken and pommes aligot on Tuesday. After Ian finished his math, he drew an illustration of one of the ten plagues and then completed a lesson in the Physical Science textbook. Nadia and Oliver each took the dogs out a couple of times during the afternoon. I folded the load of laundry that I had done earlier in the day, did the dishes, and make chicken quesadillas for dinner. Ian finished his work at 3:00pm, which meant that it was time for Ian and Nadia to do a very simple science experiment related to electricity as the unit they are working on now deals with electricity and magnetism.

For a few years the kids and I had dinner around 4:00pm most of the time. Nadia had asked that we shift the time to 5:00pm, and that is usually the case these days, but because we leave for ice skating lessons around 4:30pm and don't get back home until a little after 7:00pm, we have been eating dinner at 4:00pm on Thursdays. Oliver chose to have split pea and ham soup that I made yesterday. Ian, Nadia, and I had quesadillas. We listened to more of Jessica's Journey while we ate albeit Ian was lobbying for us to start The Last Cuentista, which was this year's Newberry pick. Today was their last ice skating lesson. Next week they have an ice skating party from 4:30-6:30 that includes pizza so we won't eat dinner before heading out to ice skating next week. I have considered these ice skating lessons to be their gym class for the last two months. Ian and Nadia skate for 75 minutes, and Oliver skates for 45 minutes. Usually during ice skating lessons I read a book and/or work on Duolingo. I do spend time on Duolingo every day. My current streak is 287 days straight. Today I had the privilege of chatting with another homeschooling mom for about 30 minutes. Our paths hadn't crossed for almost two years due to COVID so it was great to chat with her a bit last week and again today. 

On our way home from ice skating we made a very quick stop at a grocery store so I could buy some milk and bananas. After Ian and Nadia took the dogs out around 7:20pm and I put away the groceries, we had our devotions and prayer. Typically we do that at 8:30pm, but we had it early because we planned to watch the first part of Addams Family 2 that I checked out from the library yesterday. Paul came home from work a little before 8pm while the kids were watching the movie. Oliver went to bed at 9pm, Ian and Milo went to bed at 9:30pm, and Nadia will go to bed at 10pm. A large portion of our day is the same most weeks Monday through Friday. On Tuesdays Nadia and I are usually gone from 3:00-5:15 for her drama class. On Wednesdays Oliver and I drop Ian and Nadia off at church at 4:30pm and then return at 6:25pm so that he can attend a midweek program for elementary students and I can attend a ladies Bible study. Our weekly commitment for ice skating will be ending next Thursday, but on Monday we'll be starting a ten week session of a 90 minute weekly homeschool gym class. The kids haven't been in a homeschool gym class since spring 2019. I'm thankful we don't have any weekly commitments for three days of the week (has been Monday, Friday, Saturday and will be true for Thursday, Friday, Saturday for the following nine weeks). We typically do most of our chores on Saturday (cleaning the bathrooms, changing the bedding in the guinea pig cage, vacuuming, dusting, etc.).

I am very thankful that I'm "only" homeschooling three kids, doing the laundry, cooking, cleaning, mowing the lawn, etc. and not also juggling a FT job as I did for two school years (August 2017 - May 2019). I again have margin in my schedule - time for activities like reading and working on learning Spanish. On Tuesday I finished reading The Lady's Mine by Francine Rivers, and yesterday I started The Winter Rose by Melanie Dobson. I didn't have time to read today due to working on this post. I've written posts like this several times throughout the years including March 2021,  April 2018, December 2015, September 2013, and February 2013.

Nadia working on her "waltz jump" 

Thankful Thursday

 

1. Margie was able to have her fourth chemo treatment, which had been delayed when she had COVID. This means she only has two more to go! She has decided to decline the radiation treatments that were to follow. 

2. Ian and Nadia participated in a Bible quiz on Romans chapters 1-14 on January 7-8. Nadia did better than she had at any previous quizzing event. She won't be able to attend the quiz in Indiana in May because it interferes with one of her drama performances, but she's looking forward to attending the finals in South Carolina in June. Hopefully she'll do even better than she did at the last quiz. 

3. I have really been enjoying the fact that for the first time in my life I have a heated seat in my vehicle. I really, really love that feature! My Aunt Janet has raved about how she loves a heated steering wheel so maybe I'll be able to enjoy that additional feature at some point in my life. 

4. The kids enjoyed their first ice skating lesson since 2020 on January 13. The lessons are longer than they were in the past without an additional charge!

5. Paul didn't have a severe case of COVID, and he didn't lose his sense of taste or smell. He slept on the couch for 6 nights to decrease the chances that I would catch it, but he returned to sleeping on our bed on Tuesday night. Also, it seems that at least Ian, Nadia, and I didn't come down with it. Oliver had a fever for a few hours on Tuesday evening. If he had COVID, he had an extremely mild case. I realize that other respiratory bugs still exist so he might have caught something else. He still has a runny nose. We quarantined for a few days. None of us went to church the past two Sundays first because of an ice storm and then because of Paul having COVID, but I did drop Nadia and Ian off at church yesterday afternoon for Bible quizzing and youth group. I missed my ladies Bible study last night because Oliver hadn't gone 24 hours without a fever at that point. I ordered our four "free" COVID tests. I use the word "free" loosely because obviously taxpayers are paying for them. If I had a test, I would have used it on Oliver last night even though I know it's easy to get a false positive with those. 

6. A twelve-year-old girl who attends the Christian school at our church was finally able to have a surgery to remove a malignant tumor. For many months, her parents couldn't find ANY surgeons willing to attempt the surgery, but finally a doctor in Minnesota agreed, and the surgery was a success! This was the answer to the prayers of many! 

7. Things went smoothly at the kids' dentist appointments on Tuesday afternoon. I'm thankful that so far none of them have ever had any cavities. 

8. Nadia was able to attend her drama class on Tuesday for the first time since September 6. Here's to hoping she is actually able to participate this semester, which didn't happen last semester due to my broken ankle. 

9. It's getting much harder for me to stick to my price points when grocery shopping, but I still occasionally can get a good deal. Recently I bought 3 boxes of Frosted Mini-Wheats (the bigger size box) for a total of $4.50. I submitted the receipt online, and Kellogg's rewarded me with a $5 gift card to Amazon. I like being paid to buy cereal, especially as that is one of Nadia's most favorite kinds of cereal. 

7. I had gotten stuck on a plateau as far as making progress with learning Spanish, but I recently got back in gear and have been making progress. Duolingo has leagues. The highest league is the diamond league. I've been in that league for 25 weeks. Recently the had a tournament in the diamond league which lasted a few weeks. My first attempt in the tournament I only made it to the semifinals, but last week I won in the finals, which according to Duolingo puts me in the top 0.5% of Duolingo users. Well winning that tournament doesn't actually mean anything, but hopefully I can eventually become fluent in Spanish. I have a long way to go before that happens. Conjugating verbs in the past tense is so hard for me! Hopefully I will keep plugging along. 

8. I love it when read aloud books lead to independent reading by the kids. For example, Ian really enjoyed the book, Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians, and now he's begun reading the rest of the books in the series on his own. We listened to the five Penderwicks books a while ago, and Nadia recently just finished reading all of them. Next, she's planning to read the five Vanderbeekers books which we also listened to together previously. 

9. We've seen Paul a lot more over the last five months than usual due to a variety of reasons - our vacation, his back injury, my ankle surgery, and the fact he had COVID. It's nice to have him around more!

10. We got a couple of inches of snow on Sunday night. The kids enjoyed playing in it on Monday. Proof that I am still making progress with my ankle would be that I shoveled the driveway. It was definitely the most cardiovascular exercise I had gotten in four months. 

11. I've made a lot of progress with planning our trip to the southeast in May. I started to put more thought into our trip in September, and then I found out that other cities have enacted COVID vaccine requirements for everyone ages 5+. I'm hoping and praying that these will just be temporary, especially considering that this vaccine is not incredibly effective (Paul's office manager/salesman had all three shots including the booster and still tested positive for COVID last week). I'd hate to think we'll have to avoid a long list of cities for years to come just because our kids haven't had this one vaccine. My kids have had every vaccine their doctors have ever recommended they have except for the HPV. In light of the fact that we'd be very limited in cities like Chicago and Boston, at the moment we're thinking maybe in September we'll go to Texas and Louisiana instead. Houston and San Antonio don't have vaccine mandates. New Orleans does, but it wouldn't interfere with any of our sightseeing plans. We'd just have to eat outdoors or get takeout in New Orleans if the vaccine mandate in that city isn't lifted over the next eight months. Who would have thought you'd need to show your driver's license and a medical record to enter a science museum or a restaurant in the USA?!?! I never would have dreamt this would happen. I remember needing to show our passports when we went to church in China in 2006, but that's the only other time in my life I remember needing to show ID to enter a building. Thankfully, I don't think any of the places we plan to visit in May in Florida, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, or Tennessee have a vaccine mandate in effect. 

12. Nadia got an A on her last physical science test! It was on Newton's laws and other similar topics. Yesterday I gave Nadia and Ian a test in history for the first time in their lives. Ian got an A, and Nadia got a B. It's a little tough for her to swallow when her younger brother does better on her when they take the same test, but I was just pleased that they both did well. I'm trying to ease Nadia into the concept of grades since I have to start giving her report cards in the fall when she's in high school.

13. Ian accidentally ate something with tree nuts at youth group last night. Paul called me and said he was going to the hospital as he thought Ian needed to go to the ER. Thankfully some Benadryl did the trick at home. Ian was very shaken up due to the difficulty he had breathing. I'm very glad that he's okay, and I hope he will be more careful not to eat anything with tree nuts in the future!

Thankful Tuesday

 1. I started feeling under the weather in the evening on Thursday. I went to bed very early hoping this would nip it in the bud. Paul was feeling very poorly by the middle of the night on Friday night. We both didn't feel well At All on Saturday. He went to work at 3am that day so that he could come home early to attend Nadia's play. He slept through part of the play. I felt miserable on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Thankfully, I feel much better today primarily because the fever is gone. Oliver and Nadia appear to have dodged the bullet. Ian still has a little bit of a cough, but he's doing much better than he was 8 days ago. I wouldn't take the kids to the pool on Sunday or Monday because of how icky I felt. They were very thankful I took them swimming today!

2. We enjoyed watching the performance of Snow White that Nadia was in on Saturday, and the kids enjoyed swimming in the Lewisburg pool afterward (not our usual pool). I also scored a free large chocolate milk flavored cotton candy that they shared.

3. We enjoyed watching the season two finale of The Chosen on Sunday evening which focused on the Sermon on the Mount.

4.After a hiatus in 2020, the kids are enjoying attending VBS this week. Tonight is their third night. 

5. The kids got a good report at their dentist appointments yesterday. I was told to schedule an orthodontic consultation for Oliver. I was hoping Ian might be the only child who needed to wear braces, but I guess I was wrong! Paul never needed braces. I was surprised that we ALL had to wear masks at the dentist even if we've been vaccinated. I wonder when the mask requirements might totally go away. Sometime in 2022? We shall see. Thankfully the times we need to wear them are VERY few and far between at this point.

6. Nadia made a new friend at theatre camp. I signed Nadia and Ian up for an art camp at the local middle school next week, and it turns out her friend, Helen, will also be in that camp! 

7. I finished my lesson plans for social studies for the next school year today! That subject takes me the longest to do of any of them as it also entails selecting many books some that I'll read to the kids, some that we'll listen to together via Overdrive or Audible, and some that they'll read independently. I purchased some of the books through Amazon and thriftbooks, will check out some from the library system, and will request others through inter library loan. The subjects I still need to plan for next school year include: Spelling (Oliver), Science (Oliver), Math (all three), and Writing (all three). 

8. There are usually three times per year we visit several yard sales on one day. We will miss one of those this year because it takes place in September, when we plan to be on vacation. I was very, very thankful that two of our neighbors had yard sales last Friday. I bought a LOT of winter and summer clothes for the boys and Nadia - some they are already wearing and some for the future. It's nice to buy, for example, an Under Armor shirt that is in great condition for $1.00! 

9. Our church's youth pastor has planned a LOT of fun activities for the youth this summer. Nadia and Ian have missed several due to schedule conflicts, but they are very excited about the Color Wars event tomorrow night. The previous youth pastor didn't plan many activities, and of course the new youth pastor couldn't do so last year due to COVID. I'm hoping that this will become the "norm" for the summer. Oliver really, really wishes he was already old enough to be in the youth group. I for one am very thankful he's not. Kids grow up fast enough as it is! Speaking of time flying by, yesterday was the 5th anniversary of my mom's passing. I can't believe it's already been 5 years since I've been able to talk to her or hug her. That just reminds me once again that the next 5 years until Nadia graduates are also going to fly by. 

10. Kid's Café has returned to being offered in person as of July 5 rather than a drive-thru event. I give the kids the choice as to whether they want to eat lunch at home or at Kid's Café, and the last several days they've consistently picked Kid's Café. We appreciate all the volunteers who make that possible!

11. We had been using the free version of Duolingo. I did a free trial of the paid version and decided I liked that a lot better. A family plan (up to 6 accounts) cost $120 for the year so that seemed reasonable. Oliver hasn't been using it, but the other four of us each have an account and have been working through the units. It's a lot cheaper than Talkbox.mom, which is what we used last year. 

12. I believe I found a solution for our fence problem. We had a fence installed 11.5 years ago, and I've viewed it as a waste of money that has created more work for me because #1 I have to clean it and #2 I have to weed whack under it. I hoped that some day we'd get some benefit from it. I thought that would be true when we had a dog, but we got a small dog. If we had gotten a bigger dog, the fence would already be a blessing. I was hoping to find a way to solve the problem of the gap between the bottom of the fence and the ground. Once we install what I've ordered today, we should be able to let Milo spend time in the backyard without a leash which I think will make him VERY happy. 

Thankful Thursday

1. The kids enjoyed playing arcade games for an hour followed by 50 minutes of laser tag and 10 minutes in the trampoline park at Kaos last Thursday. I enjoyed being able to chat with Tab while our kids played.

2. The swimming pool we belong to opened on June 5. We made our first appearance for the year on June 7. On June 5 we went swimming at another pool because it was free to swim there that day and they have water slides and a diving board whereas our pool only has a diving board. Oliver really wanted to go down those water slides so we went to that pool that day. I sat in the shade of an umbrella. I thought I would get in the water because the air temperature was in the low 90's, but the water temperature was too cold for me to want to get in. Oliver had gone swimming twice in our neighbor's pool in April/May, but now we will be swimming on an almost daily basis.

3. The Methodist church closest to our home had a summer kick off event on June 5. The boys enjoyed the inflatables and The Bug Man. The kids and I enjoyed eating a free dinner there. 

4. On Sunday we streamed the 9AM service in our van while driving to pick up Pop Pop. Then the six of us drove to Reading for the Mid Atlantic Air Museum's annual WWII show. We had planned to go last year as we had been studying WWII, but naturally the event was cancelled last year. The contrast in the weather between that weekend and the previous weekend when we were in Buffalo couldn't have been more stark. It was in the 40's and raining in Buffalo, and the next weekend it was in the 90's and sunny. Personally in early June in Pennsylvania and New York I expect something in between those two extremes. Thankfully they had a mister you could walk through. Nadia and Oliver spent enough time in there to be drenched multiple times, but it was so hot out they dried out very quickly. If it wasn't SO hot out, I think we would have spent more time than we did at the event. Fifty different aircraft from WWII took to the air. We also watched a Pacific theater weapons demonstration, a French village skirmish, a flamethrower demonstration which was part of an Iwo Jima reenactment, and a European theatre battle. In addition to a wide variety of aircraft there were many other military vehicles, encampments, speakers, singers, etc. The adult tickets were a bit pricey and it's two hours from our house, which means I doubt we'll return, but it was definitely worth attending once, especially since Paul really enjoys military history. It was the first time in quite awhile we went on an outing with Pop Pop. He had been cautious due to COVID. Now that he's fully vaccinated and Grandma is no longer with us, we should be able to see him more often than we did over the last 17 months. 

5. On our way back to his house on Sunday, we picked up pizza from Palermo's. We ate it at Pop Pop's house. It was delicious! It was our first time in his house in 2021, and we were only there once in 2020 due to COVID. His sister, Marlene, helped a lot with cleaning, purging, organizing, and donating things last month. Ian remarked that it was sad to be in the house knowing we won't see Grandma there again. I remember him making the same comment in the fall of 2016 when we visited my Dad for the first time after my mom passed away. We brought some things home that Pop Pop doesn't need such as a sewing machine, electronic keyboard, Mousetrap game, and some of Grandma's earrings for Nadia. The boys have had fun playing the keyboard the last few days. Nadia and Oliver both want me to teach them to use the sewing machine. 

6. Nadia has been attending "Bible Bowl boot camp" from 9-12 every day (M-F) this week at the coach's house. I took her on Monday and will take her again today. Tab took her and picked her up on Tuesday, and a mom who also has a son in Bible Bowl took her and picked her up yesterday. I'm thankful for all the volunteers who work with the kids on the Bible quizzing teams. Next week they're headed to Oklahoma! 

7. Paul and I got our second Pfizer shots this week. Thankfully Paul had no side effects. I definitely cannot say the same. The last time I got a flu shot (quite a few years ago) I became sick after I got the shot, and since then I have declined all flu shots. I did fine with the first Pfizer shot - just a sore arm plus a little tired. I got the second shot at 10:00am on Monday, and I crawled into bed around 8:00pm with a fever. I was in bed for almost 34 hours straight. I wish I could have at least felt well enough to read, but most of the time my head was throbbing too much that I couldn't sleep or read but could only lie in bed with my eyes closed. I had most of the possible side effects - very bad headache, the highest fever I've had as an adult, chills, joint pain, nausea, diarrhea, and exhaustion. The fever lasted for 24 hours I was shaking violently when the fever was the highest. I wish I had taken my temperature as I'm curious as to how high it got. I'm guessing it was at least 104 because when the Tylenol had kicked in and I felt somewhat better and was able to come down and get a thermometer, my temperature was 102. If they offer a booster shot for the COVID vaccine next year, I am planning on declining it. Hopefully there won't be any more pandemics in my lifetime. It was about 100 years in between the Spanish influenza and COVID-19. I'm also hoping that we didn't make the wrong choice when we agreed to get this vaccine. Paul and I feel like we volunteered to be guinea pigs in the world's largest clinical trial. I'm praying that down the road there aren't negative consequences for having gotten this vaccine such as an autoimmune disease. At least we will soon be able to say we are fully vaccinated and won't have to wear masks.

8. I am a pretty independent person, which causes me to usually be reticent to ask for help outside of the family. I have no qualms about asking my kids and husband for help. However on Tuesday morning I had absolutely no hesitation in calling Tab and asking for help. I knew I was in no condition to care for kids or a puppy that day. She came over within an hour and kept the kids and Milo for about 8 hours including taking Nadia to and from Bible bowl. Paul picked them up at her house on his way home from work. He had come home late on Monday night, but I knew he'd be coming home earlier on Tuesday because he had a 6:00pm appointment at CVS for his second Pfizer vaccine. Yesterday morning I felt much better since my fever had gone away, but I was still nauseous, wiped out, and light headed. I again knew that driving was not a good idea. I sent a message on FB messenger and another mom agreed to pick Nadia up and take her to Bible bowl.  She offered to take Nadia and Ian back to church at 4:30 yesterday afternoon, but by that point I felt like I could drive safely. A neighbor took my boys with her when she went to the playground to pick up lunches for the kids at Kids' Café. I am so, so, so thankful for the help these moms provided this week when I was unable to function, and I'm thankful that today I feel capable of driving Nadia to Bible Bowl this morning and taking all three of them swimming this afternoon. 

9. Nadia, Ian, and I have each (separately) been making progress on Duolingo this summer in our quest to learn more Spanish.

10. Kids' Café resumed this week. They had made their plans for June before they knew that the COVID requirements were being eased so this month it's still a drive-thru pick up of meals. Each child is given two meals on Monday and three meals on Wednesday. In July they will resume serving meals in person M-F at the playground. The kids are thrilled to receive things I don't usually buy them such as chocolate milk. 

11. I mulched the flowerbeds in the front and on one side of the house and for the first time ever also used some pond pebbles. I bought 13 bags of rocks; each bag weighed almost 50 pounds. Whew. I put those around a bush in the backyard. I had been wanting to put rocks back there for a couple of years. Paul had said he'd bring home rocks from work. Thankfully this summer he gave me permission to buy rocks. 

12. I signed the kids up for a week of Camp Good News. For some reason the camp is super cheap this year. It runs from 9:30-6:30 M-Th and 9:30-8:30 on Friday (includes a t-shirt, swimming every day, free snacks at the Sugar Shack, lunch, and dinner) and only costs $15 per child for all five days. $45 for three kids to attend camp for a total of 47 hours?!?

13. Ian went to youth group for the first time in his life last night. He had a great time!

Thankful Thursday

1. Ian got a good report at the orthodontist. He told Ian, "Your mom is a good orthodontist." LOL! He meant I've been doing a good job turning the key in his expander once a day. It did not go smoothly at first, but thankfully I've gotten the hang of it and now can do it quickly, which is a relief to Ian.

2. We finally got back in gear with Spanish yesterday. We've started working on words related to the outdoors and going on a walk. 

3. In January and the first half of February our pastor preached an excellent sermon series on the book of Ruth. Since the series ended on Valentine's Day and we had baby dedications that day, they gave everyone a Baby Ruth candy bar as we exited the sanctuary. My mom used to buy Baby Ruth candy bars for me to give my classmates on my birthday, and at one of my baby showers when I was pregnant with Nadia they gave everyone Baby Ruth candy bars. Ironically, I don't like Baby Ruth candy bars, but Paul was happy to eat two of them as I gave him mine. 

4. I'm very excited about learning how to make quality videos. I took some video clips of Milo running with Ian and Oliver yesterday, which was the first time I used my DSLR camera to take a video. I've been on a plateau for a long time as far as making progress with my photography skills. Although I certainly haven't "arrived" in that skill, I'm excited about developing my videography skills. I downloaded a free version of DaVinci Resolve so I can edit videos. I've had my cell phone for 6 years, but I bought a refurbished phone that was almost 2 years old so my phone is almost 8 years old. I have asked Paul if I could have a new phone for my birthday because my phone doesn't do a very good job taking videos or pictures. I think the only other thing I'll need to purchase is a microphone. There's something invigorating about learning a new skill. My cooking and baking skills have definitely been stretched over the past five months, but I am even more excited about learning how to make quality videos.

5. The Serbian potato moussaka was okay. We didn't have trouble eating it, but I won't make it again. Nadia really, really liked the Hamantaschen cookies we had when celebrating Purim. I really, really like the strawberry pretzel salad I made earlier this week. I have no idea why it's called a salad. It's a dessert in my opinion. Anyhow, I've had it before but never made it before. 

6. I've been under the weather the past four days. I'm thankful that so far no one else in the family has come down with it. Hopefully none of them will. Everyone in Yvonne's family has recovered from COVID except for Joe. He got fluids at the ER on Sunday but still has been feeling pretty lousy. We keep praying for him to feel healthy again and also for Paul's mom to feel better. She's been in a lot of pain lately, but she is doing a little better today, thankfully. 

7. The kids have been on fire with doing Junior Ranger badges lately. Ian earned 6 in February and did 6 more over the past three days!

8. Our Governor removed the travel restrictions on Monday that had been in place since the middle of November! This means once Joe and I are healthy, Yvonne's family can come up to visit us, and I can give two nephews and one niece their overdue Christmas gifts!

9. Paul and Ian have really been enjoying listening to Hank the Cowdog books together. They really crack Paul's funny bone! 

10. We haven't watched many movies together lately, but we did see Flora and Ulysses on Disney+. It followed the book pretty closely. I liked the book better than the movie. The best movie I've seen on Disney+ over the last year is definitely Safety. We wish they hadn't fired Gina Carano from the Mandalorian. Twitter deleted a quote from Mother Theresa claiming it was hate speech, YouTube has banned pro-life videos, Facebook blocks pro-life ads, etc. It seems freedom of speech is only for those of a certain political persuasion in our country these days. We'll just keep praying for our country! Big Tech companies might favor abortion, but thankfully abortion rates are dropping in the US. I think that ultrasounds have been the biggest asset in dispelling the "blob of tissue" lie. I'm always encouraged when I hear of states passing laws to limit abortions. South Carolina last month linked it to when a heartbeat is detected. The fewer babies that are killed the better.

11. Yesterday the weather was GORGEOUS again! Last Wednesday and this Wednesday it was in the low 50's. Last week I walked (and jogged part of the time) with Milo for 10 miles from Wednesday through Friday. Yesterday I walked him for 4 miles. It's much colder today, but next week we're supposed to have several days in the 50's. I absolutely love being outside when it's warmer out!!! Milo likes it too. :)

Goal Check-up

In four days we'll be entering the third month of the year so I thought I'd take the time to reflect on how we're doing with the 21 goals I set for 2021.

1. Paul took Oliver on a date this month. I told Oliver recently that when he learns all his times tables, he will earn an extra date with the parent of his choosing. Nadia and Ian are eagerly anticipating their dates.

2. We haven't been making much progress with increasing our use of Spanish. We need to get in gear!

3. The kids each earned one Junior Ranger badge in January, and they've earned four so far this month.

4. We memorized Matthew 6 over the last two months!

5. Nadia and Ian have each been cooking one dinner per week. For example, Nadia made beef noodle bake yesterday, and Ian will be making ham and cheese Stromboli on Saturday. 

6. Oliver did finish his cursive handwriting book. 

7. Nadia and Ian learned the location and capitals of all the countries in Europe and Oceania. They are working on Asia now. 

8. Milo has learned to obey a few commands (sit, down, leash, and come). If he wears a belly band, he only goes to the bathroom outside. He still tries to eat things he shouldn't (facial tissues are one of his favorites), but in general he's doing better with only chewing his toys. He's also doing better with not biting/nipping us as much, and in general he's doing better with not begging during meals.

9.  I haven't been completely regular with exercise, but I'm going in the right direction. Yesterday it got up to the low 50's!!! I took Milo on a 2.7 mile walk, and he actually had me running part of the time! I think he's going to be an excellent exercise buddy for me once the weather gets warmer. 

10. The kids have been doing art with Creating a Masterpiece three times a week lately. This week the kids did a pastel project (of hydrangeas) on Tuesday and started a colored pencil project (of a lion cub) today that they will finish tomorrow.

11. The kids and I finished Numbers, read all of Deuteronomy, more of Psalms, and we're nearing the end of Joshua. In our family devotions we've been studying Daniel for two months. We're about to start chapter 10 today. It's been the kids' first introduction to future prophecies. 

12. We've tried 33 new recipes so far in 2021. Over the next few days I'm planning on making Serbian potato moussaka, Hamantaschen, and phyllo meat pie for the first time.

We haven't made any progress toward the other nine goals yet. This week I decided to add another goal to the list even though that means I have 22 goals for 2021, ha ha. I have started a course to learn how to create cinematic home videos! Just as I have improved with my photography skills over the years, now I'm going to learn how to make MUCH nicer videos. I'm very excited about tackling this challenge after seeing what others have created! Hopefully I can create some videos that our family will treasure for years to come. 

ABC's of 2020

Doing a puzzle in January - long before I knew we'd do MANY puzzles in 2020.

I decided to do an alphabetical "year in review" post and include some of my favorite photos from over the past year.

A - One of our two stops on the first day of our vacation was to the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. This was a highlight of the trip for Paul, Ian, and Oliver! Nadia and Ian had taken art classes at the Christian school the past three years, but due to COVID we didn't pursue that for this school year. The kids are enjoying taking art classes online through our membership with Creating a Masterpiece; Nadia has done 25 art projects over the past few months and the the boys have done 21. We love to listen to audiobooks! Not counting the ones we're in the middle of right now, the kids and I listened to 143 chapter books together this year!  We've begun saving one book for just when Paul is able to listen with us (usually Saturday night and all day Sunday) - typically a biography. I paid for some through Audible, but the vast majority we got for free through Hoopla or Overdrive via the library. Nadia has been enjoying playing Among Us the past two months online with Ava.

B - In January Nadia joined a Bible Bowl team at our church. At that point she was on a team with three seventh grade girls, and they were memorizing the books of Hebrews and I and II Peter. Because of COVID, the annual competition wasn't held. In September Nadia joined a team with two fifth grade girls and one eighth grade girl, and they are studying the book of Matthew. Because she turned twelve years old in June, Nadia is now allowed to babysit. She and her friend Evanna babysat a preschooler together for several hours once, and I have paid her to babysit Oliver on multiple occasions. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, she has been able to babysit more than I anticipated. She likes being able to earn more money! All three kids got new bikes this year. Nadia sold her 24" bike and claimed my bike as her own. Ian and Oliver received new 24" mountain bikes this year, and Pop Pop built Oliver a bike ramp. Birthdays were very different in 2020. For the past 12 years we've had extended family at the kids' birthday parties. No relatives came to our house for Nadia or Ian's birthdays. We spent Oliver's birthday at Aunt Janet's house, and we saw Grandpa and Margie a few days later. 

A field trip to Gettysburg in February before I had any idea we'd go on very few field trips this year!

C - Although COVID-19, coronavirus, and cancelled are probably the first three "C" words that come to mind for 2020, I'm going to pick Cincinnati because we enjoyed our time that area in October. The playgrounds along the riverfront, the IMAX movie about dogs, the Ark Encounter, and the Creation Museum were among the top six experiences of our family vacation this year. In January and February the kids took a computer hardware class for four weeks, Oliver began learning how to write in cursive in August, and as always friends and family have been fighting cancer. One of my friends died of cancer in October, and two of my friends lost their spouses to cancer in August and November. Margie was diagnosed with breast cancer and had surgery on November 9. Once Nadia finished watching all the episodes of Full House, she switched to working through all the seasons of the Cosby show. I've sung in an adult church choir consistently since the fall of 1986. COVID brought an abrupt end to our choir season at the beginning of March, and it looks like the choir break will last at least one full year.

D - We paid for a subscription to Disney+ in December 2019, and due to COVID-19 some movies that were originally going to be released in the theatres went straight to Disney+ instead. Paul and the boys have also really enjoyed watching two seasons of Mandalorian this year. Baby Yoda is so cute! Last year I assumed we'd only have the subscription for one year, but we paid for another year earlier this month. One of the reasons we made this decision was because we usually pay for at least four months of cable tv each year to watch the NFL, but we didn't do that this year. The kids get a new privilege and a new responsibility each time they have a birthday. Nadia's new chore now that she is twelve years old has been to do the dishes at one meal each week. Thankfully, the five of us rarely see the doctor aside from annual physicals. This year we spent more than usual in the "medical" category of our budget ($1,500) because Paul saw the doctor a lot more than usual. Thankfully all the test results came back normal (aside from showing he has carpal tunnel). He had a colonoscopy, stress test, upper EMG, and lower EMG. 

I had no idea when I took this photo that the rabbits would only be in our house for two months.

E - We are finally making progress with learning a foreign language as the kids and I are speaking more and more Español!  Hopefully we'll make even more progress towards becoming bilingual next year through our subscription with Talkbox.mom. The three topics which I think were in the news the most in 2020 were COVID-19, riots and protests related to the Black Lives Matter movement, and the Election. As usual, the candidate I voted for didn't win. I'm praying about the special election in Georgia that is taking place in a few days. 

F - Paul turned fifty years old this year! We have been wearing face masks or face shields for the first time in our lives. Paul wears a face mask far more than the rest of us because he wears it at work. We hope that sometime next year they will no longer be mandatory. Nadia completed a personal finance class online this summer, and she also finished watching every single episode of Full House. We got our first chest freezer this year, which was somewhat of a miracle given the shortage on them due to COVID.

G - Four different guinea pigs lived in our home this year. Jenna is four years old. Sadly, we experienced the death of a pet for the first time this year as Ian's first guinea pig, Patches, suddenly died in February at the age of three. In April we brought home two more guinea pigs - Peppa (Nadia's) and Buttercup (Ian's). Unfortunately the younger ones sometimes wake me up in the night with their loud chirping. Nadia has Peppa and Jenna out a lot. They are accustomed to being held and purr quite a bit.  - - This year we also got new garage doors, and Ian got new glasses because his second pair of eyeglasses were broken by another child at Bee's Backyard in February. During the quarantine, the kids and I played 74 different games at least once! 

H- is for hoverboards! Grandpa and Margie gave Oliver a hoverboard for his birthday in August, and Nadia bought one during a Prime Day sale at Walmart in October. 

Two of Nadia's friends who came over for sleepovers several times this year.

I - The kids and I spent a week on Long Island with Aunt Janet the first week of August. It was different than our previous three trips there due to COVID and also a lengthy power outage, but we still had a great time. All three kids participated in group ice skating lessons this year, which was a first for Oliver. 

J - Although MANY our trips to National Parks were cancelled this year, the kids have earned 72 Junior Ranger badges altogether, and 50 of those were earned this year. That would never have been possible if it weren't for the fact that some can be earned from home without actually visiting the site.

K - Although some science museums have been closed since March due to COVID-19 and others have only partially reopened, the kids had a blast at the Kentucky Science Center. We also enjoyed visiting the Kentucky Derby Museum. 

L - It was a shock to have all the libraries closed for four months this year. This fall I got another library card and switched to using the Lycoming county library system as our primary library. 

M - We got a Bichon Frise puppy on December 12 named Milo! On the first day of 2020 we had two pets, I would never have guessed we would have six pets in our home by December 12. Because Nadia began studying Matthew in September and we opted not to have the boys join AWANA by Zoom this fall, the kids and I have been memorizing the Sermon on Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7). So far we have memorized chapter 5 (which has 48 verses). Ian and Nadia have been playing Minecraft lately.

N - We have had very brief shortages at other times in my life due to a snow storm or something like that. I can't ever recall any other time in my life where we had SO many national shortages this year. The list is lengthy and contains a wide array of items such as: toilet paper, napkins, pasta, bicycles, freezers, bread, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, etc. Thankfully the grocery stores have been close to fully stocked lately. 

O - We had to attend church online for three months. Church still isn't back to "normal" - no choir, for example, but we're very thankful we can attend in-person again. We also picked an orthodontist for Ian this fall. He will begin phase one (expander) in January.

P - Puzzles is the "p" word that first comes to mind. We spent FAR more hours doing puzzles this year than ever before. I spent FAR more money on puzzles than I had ever spent before. Oliver has moved beyond 100 piece puzzles. With assistance, Nadia has done up to 1,000 piece puzzles. We listened to audiobooks for many hours while doing puzzles together during the spring. The kids couldn't attend Camp Susque this summer as they usually do, but they were able to attend Pocono Mountain Bible Conference instead. Ian continues to excel at playing the piano, and Nadia has been enjoying taking an online photography class.

Q - It's usually challenging to come up with a "q" word, but this year it's easy. In 2020 Q is for quarantine and Queen Esther. The kids and I were quarantined for three months this year. Paul continued to go to work, and he took over the grocery shopping during that time period. We originally had tickets to see Queen Esther at Sight and Sound in April, but due to the lockdown we actually went in December.

R - Nadia didn't make it to any of the WGRC skate nights in 2020 for a variety of reasons, but the boys dramatically improved in their rollerblading skills this year. All three kids own their own pair of rollerblades, and I've been taking the boys to a roller skating rink once a month. 2020 is also the year when Ian enjoyed rock climbing for the first time. He learned to enjoy ziplining in 2019. I love seeing him conquer his fears! We also had two pet rabbits for two months this year. Unfortunately, we had to take Cocoa and Coal back to the SPCA as they were spraying pee on each other and our house as well as chewing baseboards and such. We all love to READ. I'm not sure how many books Paul and I read, but I can say that both of us read more books this year than we had read in one year in quite awhile. Ian and Nadia each read at least 60 chapter books this year. I tried a lot more new recipes than usual - 87 over the past four months. We usually go to several concerts each year. This year Paul and Oliver didn't attend any concerts. Ian, Nadia, and I were able to attend The Roadshow (put on by Compassion) in Wilkes Barre in early March. 

S - We went skiing twice in one year for the first time this year! I took the kids to Elk Mountain (first time any of us  had ever been there) in January, and all five of us skied at Ski Sawmill in February. 2020 was the year Oliver learned how to ski! Probably the words that come to most people's minds for 2020 that start with "s" are safe, social distancing, six feet, and hand sanitizer. I signed us up for a Six Flags membership in early January thinking that we would visit five different Six Flags parks this year. Because of COVID we only made it to two of them, but the kids and I did spend five days at Six Flags this summer, and Paul joined us for one day. Because the parks opened later than usual, we will be able to go to Six Flags for free through the end of July 2021. Ian and Nadia received scooters for Christmas last year, and so all three kids rode their scooters quite a bit during the lockdown. We started the year without the use of either of our showers. In November we agreed to hire someone to finish the master bathroom shower which was been a project Paul began in May 2016. I  believe that project will be completed in early January. So in early 2021 we will likely have the use of TWO showers for the first time in years!

T - I think we all would agree that we've had our temperatures taken FAR more in 2020 than any other year of our lives! In past years we've seen Paul's family the most (since they only live an hour away) and the Towfighis the least (since they lived in Turkey for 15 years). This year we haven't seen Wendy's family at all, whereas usually we see them 1-2 times a year. So in this upside down year, the kids and I saw the Towfighis more than any other extended family member (I'm not counting Paul as he sees his brother and dad at work). They came to our house in June, we met at least some of them at Six Flags (MD/NJ) on three occasions, and we saw most of them at Refreshing Mountain in September and again at our house for a couple of hours in November. Finally in November we were able to spend time with Paul's extended family after not doing so for more than 10 months.

U - 2020 was Nadia's seventh and final year of playing Upward Basketball. The first several years my parents would come to at least one game, and Paul's parents would attend several games. 2020 was the first year that we didn't have any extended family members attend any of the kids' games. Thankfully their season ended right before the lockdown began. 

V - Nadia took one semester of voice lessons this fall for the first time ever (by Zoom). She was motivated to complete her piano books so that she wouldn't have to pay for the voice lessons. Originally I thought that the kids and I would be going on five vacations this year - three without Paul and one with Paul. Three vacations were cancelled (to Chicago in April, to MD/DC in May, and to Canada in August), but the kids and I did go to Long Island in August and our eight day family vacation in October to Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana, and Pennsylvania DID take place although it certainly was far different than what it would have been if we weren't in the middle of a pandemic.  I prayed for a vaccine this year more than I've ever prayed for a vaccine before.  Paul and I had never paid a bill at a veterinarian  prior to this year, but we visited three different vets this year -in February for Patches (guinea pig), then for Cocoa and Coal (rabbits), and finally this month for our puppy, Milo.

W - In previous years we haven't had a plan for regularly incorporating current events into our curriculum. This fall I subscribed to a year of World Watch News, which is an approximately 10 minute show that is aired M-F. I expect we will continue to keep this subscription, as the kids and I find it to be enjoyable and informative. 

X - Although we have belonged to swimming pools in the past, we hadn't done so recently and didn't plan to join one this summer, but in light of everything that was cancelled this summer, we joined the Exchange pool in June and swam there for quite a few days this summer. 

Y - Nadia joined two youth groups in January. She attends First Baptist's youth group on Sunday nights and CWC's youth group on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings. Nadia has participated in a theatre camp every year from 2013 to the present. She participated in two this summer, and Ian participated with her in the second one called Youtheatre. It was his first time ever participating in a theatre camp. It was NOT his idea, but he loved it. 

Z - Oliver asked for a pet for the first time this summer. In early August he received two zebra danios. We enjoy watching them swim around when we're sitting at the kitchen table. He named them Henry and Zuma. Sadly, this morning we discovered they had both died. Probably the "z" word that comes to mind first for 2020 is Zoom. I had used Zoom previously to participate in faculty meetings from home, but Nadia used Zoom a lot this year - to just chat with a friend or her cousin Rachel OR for Bible Bowl and youth group meetings during the lockdown, and she even participated in a play that was performed on Zoom in October.  Nadia usually is on Zoom, Facetime, or Kids Messenger video from 8:45-9:30 each night, and she stays on it until 10:00pm one night per month.