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. 

Thankful Thursday

1. I was able to be one of the six members of the audience at the performance of Cinderstein on July 31. Paul was able to watch it on Facebook on August 1. 

2. The kids and I had a safe trip to Long Island on August 2 and enjoyed a few hours at Six Flags Great Adventure that afternoon.

3. We had a wonderful time with Aunt Janet. After months of quarantining by herself, she was very thankful for all the hugs! We played games, swam in an outdoor pool, and spent time at the beach. The kids also enjoyed having a bath in her jacuzzi tub almost every night.

4. Thankfully the power at Aunt Janet's house came back on after being off for 22 hours. Some people who live near her went 4+ days without electricity. One of the games we played while the power was off was hide and seek. Aunt Janet said it had been a long time since she had played that game! We ate more ice cream than usual for lunch when the power was out because the ice cream was melting. The kids didn't mind helping consume melting ice cream!

5. The kids and I had a safe trip back home on August 8 and enjoyed a few hours at Hurricane Harbor that day. 

6. I'm very thankful that Oliver joined our family eight years ago! He's very thankful for the hoverboard that Grandpa and Margie gave him.

7. The kids and I enjoyed a picnic at Pastor Ken's house on August 9 even though Ian came close to eating a walnut in a cookie. I was thankful I had some Benadryl in my purse and knew that we could quickly drive home if necessary for an EpiPen.

8. We were able to spend some time with my Dad and Margie on Sunday night and Monday morning/afternoon. They treated us to lunch at Olive Garden. Yum! Margie also gave us a loaf of delicious homemade bread and gave the kids some candy.

9. I didn't take Oliver to pick up a free lunch on Monday since my Dad and Margie were here. I took him on Wednesday thinking they might only give us one bag of food because the rule is that all children must be present, but thankfully they know I have three

kids and gave me three bags even though Nadia and Ian were at the theatre workshop. This coming Monday will be the last time they give out meals this summer. I haven't bought milk since June because every time we go they give us 3 quarts of milk.

10. Nadia and Ian are enjoying the theatre workshop this week. I am looking forward to seeing their performance tomorrow at noon and planning to sign all three kids up next summer - in part so I can cut down the amount of time I am on the road as I could bring a book or laptop and stay up in that area. Tuesday was crazy sock day, yesterday was Hawaiian day, and today was wear your favorite color day. I wish I had gotten a picture of what they wore for Hawaiian day.

11. ALDI has had red grapes on sale for 99 cents a pound this week. I bought a LOT of grapes because they were nice and firm. Yum! 

12. Oliver got his first two pets today! He named his zebra danios Henry and Zuma. I have no idea how to tell them apart. Zuma is a good name in my opinion because they do "zoom" around all day

long. The fish themselves were very cheap ($2 each). The aquarium, food, bamboo plant on top, Amazon sword plant inside, cave, gravel, etc. cost a lot more than the fish did. Hopefully our first experience with owning fish will be a successful one! I had to cut the Amazon sword plant down for it to fit in the aquarium. 

13. I attended a ladies Bible study two weeks ago and again tonight. The woman leading the study really went above and beyond in terms of providing drinks, snacks, notepads, pens, etc. for every participant the first week. I didn't eat anything, but she gave me four beautifully decorated frosted sugar cookies to take home. Paul and the kids said they were very yummy.

14. I have already received a refund  for 6 of the 8 nights I had booked for our trip to Canada the end of this month. Priceline told me the Quality Inn and Suites wouldn't give us a refund for two nights, but I contacted the hotel myself, and the General Manager said she would approve the refund if Priceline contacts her directly. I am very grateful that it seems like we will receive full refunds for the 8 nights of lodging. Hopefully we'll be able to make that trip sometime in the future after this pandemic is completely behind us. Time will tell if we are able to go on our trip in early October as planned. 

Oliver's pet

For the last 3.5 years that we have owned guinea pigs, Oliver has shown almost no interest in them. He also didn't really pay any attention to the rabbits we had for two months earlier this year. This is why I had never gotten him a pet, but a few months ago he began asking for a pet. First he said he wanted a goldfish. Then a few weeks later he changed his mind and asked for a hermit crab. He stuck with the hermit crab for a longer period of time, but then he started asking for a hypoallergenic cat, snake, or hypoallergenic dog. Although we would have had NO trouble caring for a dog the past four months, if it weren't for COVID-19, we would have been away from home for a week in April, a week in May, and a week in August plus we often go on day trips that exceed the length of time a dog can be kept in the house without being taken out for a bathroom break. So I didn't put any time into researching a hypoallergenic dog, but I did research hermit crabs, chinchillas, ferrets, hypoallergenic cats, crested gecko, and bearded dragons. I am not willing to have a rat, snake, mouse, or gerbil in our house as a pet. I would love to get a hypoallergenic cat so I spent the most time researching that option. I didn't pick that because #1 it seems you have to spend a LOT of money to get one and #2 there's still no guarantee Paul wouldn't be allergic to the cat, which wouldn't be so awful if it didn't cost so much to get one. At one point I was thinking of not getting him a pet since he seemed to be changing his mind so much as to what he wanted. If the pet cost a lot of money, that was going to be the only thing we got him for his birthday (plus a big box of Goldfish crackers). Yesterday I decided to get him a Paw Patrol toy he wanted plus an inexpensive pet. I went back to his first request - a fish. To me it seems a misnomer to call a fish a pet because you can't actually pet it, but hopefully we will enjoy watching the fish swim around. I ordered an Aquaponic fish tank because we also don't have any house plants, and it's supposed to help with keeping the water clean a bit longer in the tank. I also ordered two different kinds of food and a cave for the fish. Next week I'm going to take the boys to Pet Smart one day while Nadia is in her acting class and have Oliver pick out which zebra danio he wants. I also plan to buy either a Java fern or an Amazon sword plant to put inside the tank and a house plant for the top of the tank. I researched betta, danios, goldfish, and white cloud minnows before picking zebra danio. We might not have had the traditional pets (cat, dog), but this year we will have had guinea pigs, rabbits, and fish. Hopefully Oliver will like his birthday gifts! I'm going to bring the gift wrapped toy to Aunt Janet's house since we will be there on his birthday, but he'll be getting the fish, fish tank, and other supplies a week early.

Yesterday I called the Pediatrician's office because I hadn't gotten the results of Nadia's bloodwork eight days earlier whereas I had gotten the boys' results on the same day their blood was drawn. Paul also called his PCP yesterday to get the results of his stress test. Paul and Nadia both had normal results. I assumed that was good news for Paul that his heart is fine, but he's not convinced that's automatically good news. His symptoms haven't gone away. He's having an upper and lower EMG next month.  Today I called the Walmart Auto Center to schedule an appointment for an oil change and tire rotation. I have managed to go nine months, which is longer than usual because of being home bound for a few months this year. I was shocked when the man told me they have been closed since the middle of March and have no idea when they will be reopening. I was disappointed because we get our tire rotations there for free, but I made an appointment at Bastian Tire, which will work out well because it's right across from the Children's Museum so the boys can play in the museum while they are working on the van because I already have a reservation at the Children's Museum. It's been closed for 4 months but is reopening tomorrow.

I feel like we've made a lot of decisions this week that we had been wrestling with for varying lengths of time - when to let Nadia have a phone, which garage doors to get, what pet to get Oliver, and which freezer to get. My Dad and Margie told me in April that my birthday gift was a chest freezer. Paul tried to buy one in April, but there has been a shortage due to the pandemic. I have checked online periodically to see if we could get one through Sears, Lowe's, Home Depot, or Best Buy. The youth pastor at FBC yesterday said that he was told they wouldn't have any in the stores until next spring. I found a few available at Sears that supposedly could be delivered in 1 month and a few available through Lowe's that could be delivered in 3 months. The prices are higher at Sears plus they charge $80 for delivery. Delivery is free through Lowe's. So I used Margie's Lowe's credit card to order a chest freezer last night. It was a little bigger than what I had planned to get, but the size I had in mind wasn't available, and I was hoping not to have to wait a full year, and who knows maybe this size is exactly the right size for our family? We shall see if this chest freezer is actually delivered in October or not. I'm hoping that will happen but not holding my breath. Thankfully Millie has been storing some chicken we purchased in April in a freezer at her bakery. I think the chest freezer will definitely come in handy once we have one here in our home. I'm very thankful for this belated birthday gift!