ABC's of 2018

A is for Amazing Grace and Aladdin - two Broadway musicals. Paul and I were able to see Amazing Grace on a date in Lancaster in February and all five of us saw Aladdin in Buffalo in August.

B is for Benners, basketball, and Vacation Bible School - the kids attended VBS at four different churches this summer. Some weeks they only were able to attend two of the nights, and at least one week they were able to attend all five nights. They also were thrilled to see their cousins (from Chicago) in Maryland and in Pennsylvania in both August and December. All three kids played on a basketball team; it was Oliver's first experience.

C is for camps and Canada. All three kids had a week of horseback riding camp and a week at Camp Good News. Nadia had a week of adventure camp at Bloomsburg University, a week of overnight camp at Camp Susque, and two weeks of theater camp. Ian and Nadia had a week of history camp. Ian and Oliver spent a week at Good News Camp. Last but not least, Ian had his first experience of overnight camp as he spent 3 nights at Camp Susque. In August the kids visited Canada (for one day) for the first time; it was Oliver's first time out of the US (unless you count the vacation to Grand Cayman when he was in my womb).

D is for Dorney Park and the District of Columbia. Paul and I went to Dorney Park once in 1997 when we were dating, and the kids went for the first time this August. Nadia and I had won two free tickets through a sweepstake entry on Coke's website. In November I took the kids to see the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Museum of the Bible, Museum of the American Indian in DC.

E is for the Erie Canal and pierced ears. We enjoyed our 2 hour cruise on the Erie canal which included going through two locks (twice each). Nadia got her ears pierced for the first time in May. Aside from one trip to an urgent care in July to remove an earring back that was lodged in her earlobe, wearing earrings has gone pretty smoothly for her.

F is for forts and flooding. This year we visited Fort Ligonier, Fort McHenry, Fort Frederick, Old Fort Niagara, Fort George, and Fort Hunter. Our flooded basement meant we had to cancel our plans to visit Fort Pitt in August. Our basement flooded three times in 2018.

Once because the sump pump died and two other times because the ground has been oversaturated for five months.

G is for Great Adventure, glasses, and green carpet. We had been to the Six Flags park in Maryland a few times, but this year we used our three free tickets from the reading program to visit Six Flags Great Adventures in New Jersey for the first time in August. Ian picked out green carpet for his bedroom this year. Oliver got his very first pair of glasses this fall. Paul, Ian, and I each got a new pair of glasses as well.

H is for hospital. Oliver had stayed out of the hospital in 2017 (the first time he accomplished that feat since he was born in 2012), but he was hospitalized in 2018 for a concussion and fractured skull. His scar hasn't totally faded away (yet), but other than that he seems back to normal.

I  is for Long Island. We enjoyed spending a week with my Aunt Janet in July. We spent most of our time swimming in an indoor pool, outdoor pool, or hanging out at the private beach where she has had a cabana for decades.

J is for Jesus.  What would life be without Him? We saw Sight and Sound's amazing production titled "Jesus" in June, and Oliver accepted Jesus as his personal Savior in August.

K is for Kennedy Concrete. Paul became the owner of the company at the very end of 2017. Starting in August he stayed home from work at least two days a week (during the 15 weeks of the fall semester) so that he could homeschool the kids. During the fall of 2017 and spring 2018 the kids had gone to babysitter when I was at work. This fall Daddy was their teacher on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

L is for Legos. The kids still spend a lot of time almost every day playing the Legos (especially Ian). The room I call the dining room should more accurately be called the Lego room.

M is for Maryland, Mazda,  Magnets, and Mount Vernon. We made four trips to Maryland this year. The first three trips were spent with the Towfighis. During the October trip the kids visited  Mount Vernon for the very first time. The fourth trip we stayed at my friend Laura's house. My parents bought the house in Maryland in 1981, and in 2018 my dad gave the house and everything in it (that he hadn't taken when he moved to VA) to Yvonne. In May Paul traded our Prius in for a much newer Mazda that had far fewer miles on it. In August we began a new tradition of buying a magnet when we go different places so that years later we can look at our refrigerator and remember various trips we've taken over the year. Our collection is already growing!

N is for Niagara Falls. We had plans that fell through last year, but we visited the American and Canadian side of the falls in August. The kids especially enjoyed the Cave of the Winds and riding the Maid of the Mist.

O is for the Pacific Ocean and ornaments. The kids had swam in the Atlantic Ocean many times over the years, but they saw and swam in the Pacific Ocean for the first time in 2018. The kids had their first experience making hand blown glass ornaments at the Corning Museum of Glass on December 1.

P is for Philadelphia, paid-in-full, and puns. In March we took a three day trip to Philadelphia to visit Christ Church, US Mint, Benjamin Franklin Museum, Franklin Institute, Adventure Aquarium Academy of Natural Sciences, Conrad Weiser Homestead, and Cornwall Iron Furnace. In November we took a one day trip to visit Uncle Maurice who is a doctoral student at Penn and to visit the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Congress Hall, and Museum of the American Revolution. This year Ian has found great delight in telling jokes - primarily puns. I have had a mortgage since January 2001. This spring it was paid-in-full! Partially that was able to happen because I borrowed some money from one of my retirement accounts. The retirement account loan will hopefully be paid off in a few months, and at that point we will be totally debt free for the first time since January 2001! 

Q  - Nadia loves to play the alphabet game when we are driving. She plays in several times per trip. She knows where all the "Q's" are on the roads were travel the most frequently.

R is for Reading, roller skating, and  roller coasters. Oliver learned how to read this fall! Nadia read at least 63 different chapter books; she read Wonder and Auggie and Me many times. Ian read at least 33 chapter books. I have no idea how many picture books I read the kids this year, but we enjoyed at least 93 different chapter books together in 2018. In 2018 Oliver rode BIG roller coasters for the first time. His favorite thus far is the Phoenix at Knoebels. 2018 was also the year that Nadia was tall enough to ride every roller coaster at all the amusement parks we visited. This year Paul started taking Nadia to WGRC's monthly skate night at the roller skating rink when the schedule permits. She'll be taking a break from that for the next three months because her basketball practice interferes with skate night.

S is for San Diego and Saturday Science. In late May we flew to San Diego for a vacation with Paul's parents. Highlights included Sea World, Aquatica, Disneyland, Legoland, Cabrillo National Monument, USS Midway, Maritime Museum, and seeing the sea lions and seals at La Jolla Beach. This year we finally participated in some of the Saturday Science programs at Susquehanna University.

T is for Times Square and theatres. The kids visited Times Square for the first time in July on our way to spend a week at Aunt Janet's house. We toured the National Geographic Encounter: Ocean Odyssey. The kids saw five movies in the theater this year (far more than ever before) - Incredibles 2, Solo, Hotel Transylvania 3, Christopher Robin, and Ralph Breaks the Internet. Live performances that we saw this year included: Disney on Ice, Four Score and Twenty Years, Mr. Popper's Penguins, Cinderella, Seussical,  Wizard of Oz, Huck and Tom, Miracle Worker, Brothers Grimm, Jesus, Pinkalicious, Mary Poppins, Thumbelina, Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and Diary of a Worm, Spider, and Fly. Nadia was in a performance of A Kid's Life at the Community Theatre League, and all three kids were in Treasure Island at our church in May.

U is for Bloomsburg University. After five years at home, I went back to work FT in Fall 2017. During both semesters of 2018 I was 125% of FT as I taught two sections of a math methods course, one section of an assessment course, and supervised student teachers in a variety of school districts.

V is for van. We've owned our van for 6 years (plus almost 4 months), and this summer our odometer went over 100,000 miles.

W is for Great Wolf Lodge and water balloons. We made our first (two day/one night) trip to the GWL that is 90 minutes from our house to celebrate Ian's 9th birthday. Oliver's 6th birthday party in August involved hundreds of water balloons because he was obsessed with water balloons this summer!

X is for AleXa. We gave Oliver an Echo Dot for his birthday in August. We also gave two to the Towfighis in October, one to Nadia for Christmas, and one to my Dad and Margie for Christmas. We use it for a wide variety of things - making announcements, playing music, playing games, turning on the Christmas tree lights, setting timers, etc. With how often we say "AleXa", you'd think she was the sixth member of our family, ha ha!

Y is for Aunt Yvonne. Time spent with extended family is always very special. We spent time this year with Yvonne and her family (three visits in Maryland), with Grandpa and Margie (one visit in Maryland and one at our home), Wendy and her family (one visit in Maryland and two in our home), Maurice (two visits in Maryland and once in Philadelphia), and saw Grandma, Pop Pop, Uncle Al, Aunt Millie, and Shawn various times throughout the year. Great Gram (Paul's grandmother) passed away this fall at the age of 95. The kids sang a trio at her memorial service. All of their great grandparents have passed away.

Z is for Zoos and Sky Zone. We visited the San Diego Zoo, Reptiland, and also the San Diego Safari Park. From August 2017 to the present we've been studying zoology in science. We are switching to Anatomy and Physiology next week. The kids visited a trampoline park for the first time every this year. All three kids bounced at Sky Zone in November, and Nadia also went to Fly World in August with Aunt Wendy.

Third Day of Christmas

Yesterday we had our third (and last) day of Christmas for 2018. December 24 was our immediate family's gift exchange, December 25 was with Paul's side of the family, and yesterday was with my side of the family. My Dad and Margie arrived at the hotel they are staying at around 5:30pm on Wednesday night. The kids and I met them at the restaurant at their hotel (Bonanza) for dinner. Then we came back to our house for a little bit before they returned to the hotel. The came back over yesterday at lunch time. After lunch we played a wide variety of games - Mancala, Don't Spill the Beans, Suspend, Quirkle, Spot it, and Blokus. Wendy and her kids arrived at about 5:40pm. I had been cooking on and off throughout the whole day. As I was clearing the table I realized I had forgotten to make the green beans, but I don't think the kids minded that I forgot the vegetables. I served ham, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, homemade rolls, applesauce, and cranberry sauce. The seven kids ate at the kitchen table with two candles, and the four adults ate in the dining room. Paul got home from work at 7pm, and that was when we had our gift exchange. Most people were too full from dinner to have dessert, but a few people sampled some of the desserts after the gift exchange. Some were homemade (ex. cookies) and some I had purchased at the grocery store just to make life simpler (ex. the pies).

Oliver and Grace were the first ones up this morning. They got up around 6:45am. It's 8:20am at the moment, and Ian and Adam are outside throwing a football back and forth. Nadia gave Adam the football for Christmas; she bought it at the AWANA store. Although the kids enjoy receiving gifts, I think what they most enjoy is just spending time with their cousins. When the cousins are gathered together I always think of my mom. I know nothing here on earth compares to Heaven, but watching her grands play together was one of her most favorite things to do. She loved them SO much!

We went bowling this afternoon and are planning on seeing a movie tomorrow - probably either Ralph Wrecks the Internet or Mary Poppins Returns. Nadia and Ian got to use their new bowling shoes for the first time. The kids all used bumpers when bowling. Margie and Grace didn't bowl. Grandpa, Wendy, and I did not bowl up to our usual level. Dad had a valid reason - he had shoulder surgery this fall. Ian won the first game when he bowled against Oliver, Adam, Wendy, and I. Only five kids bowled a second game. Ian was in the lead for the first eight frames, but then Susie and Adam both got a strike in the 9th frame. Susie and Adam tied for the first place with 96, and Ian was in second place with 90. During the second game Adam and Ian each had one strike and one spare, and Susie had two strikes. The kids did some art work and Mad Libs while waiting for their turn to bowl. Susie is a very talented artist in my opinion!

I want a hippopotamus!

There's a song from 1953 that starts out, "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas, only a hippopotamus will do." As we entered church for the 5pm candlelight service, we each took a candle, and Oliver's name went into a drawing. All children aged 8 and under were invited to participate. Ian was wishing he hadn't just turned nine-years-old 12 days earlier as he loves stuffed animals. Early into the service they brought out three large stuffed animals - an elephant, hippo, and a giraffe, which was over 4 feet tall. The pastor called three names, and the first one he called was Oliver Kennedy. Oliver picked the hippo. The next boy picked the elephant, and a girl was given the giraffe. Ian, Nadia, and I all said we would have picked the giraffe as our first choice, but I can see how the hippo and elephant are more cuddly due to not being so tall. My second choice would have been the elephant. Any of them would have gone well in Oliver's jungle themed bedroom. His comforter has a lion, monkey, alligator, giraffe, and elephant on it. He received a Mickey Mouse from Paul and I

yesterday morning and a large hippo from the church at night. Oliver moved down a row so he could sit with the hippo. I had him move back up with us when it was time to light the candles.

Yesterday Oliver's main gift was a set of Magformers. I had toyed with buying these several times over the years, and when Oliver asked for them I knew I had to get them (because he might ask for 2-3 things a year). Hopefully all three kids will enjoy them! He been excited for a few weeks when he saw that his package was the largest. We also gave him a large Mickey Mouse (although small compared to the hippo), some gum drops, 4 CDs (three by Slugs and Bugs and one of the Nutcracker), a watch, and a set of Legos. He has just started to learn how to follow directions and (almost) build a set independently.

Yesterday Ian received some Calico Critters animals, which he plays with in Nadia's room. She received a Calico Critter house for Christmas last year He received some other small animal figurines (cat, sea turtle, alpaca), a Lego set, gum drops,

some Paddington Bear books, a Leroy and Stitch DVD, bowling shoes, Mr. Incredible, Rummikub game, and Jack Jack. I got him the game in part because I have fond memories of playing that with my Grandma Lillian. We played the game last night.

Nadia's gifts from us included 11 books, a Mad Lib book, Mrs. Incredible, Violet, a Lego set, some sour candy, Sunchips,  bowling shoes, nail polish, bracelets, and pens.

We spent today with Paul's family. His mom cooked a delicious meal that included some of my favorite foods - a delicious cranberry salad, Millie's homemade rolls, ham, and Ellie's macaroni and cheese and baked beans. I need to learn how to make "her" baked beans and also her macaroni and cheese. Yummy! Millie brought an assortment of desserts from her bakery - brownies, cookies, and two kinds of pie. I had pumpkin pie. We also exchanged gifts. The hippo was the largest gift anyone received yesterday, but today the kids received a gymnastics wedge

mat, which was in a huge package! Nadia had asked for one for a couple of years, but the cost was the reason I didn't get her one previously. Once Oliver also started asking for one, I figured we should put it on his (very short) wish list. Grandma and Pop Pop gave it as a gift to all three kids. Oliver needs to master his backwards tuck roll, and Nadia wants to conquer her kickover.

This is my third Christmas without my mom, as she passed away 2 years plus 5 months ago. She is greatly missed. Christmas is very different for me without her. Our church rarely includes special music in the worship service (by special music I mean a solo, duet, trio, quartet, etc.). Two days ago there was both a men's quartet and two young women sang a duet. The duet was about celebrating Christmas while a loved one is in Heaven. The girls who sang it lost their brother three years ago (when he was in high school). I'm also missing my brother. There have been many Christmases I haven't seen Yvonne because she's been in Turkey, but I only recall one other Christmas (the first year

he moved to Brazil) when I didn't see him around Christmas. I'm thankful I'll get to see one of my three siblings this Christmas, as Wendy should be arriving at our house on Thursday with her four kids. I have included a picture of Yvonne and Joe with their eight kids below. As you can see from the pictures below, Oliver brought his new hippo to Grandma's house today.

I want to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas. Hoping each of you has received the best gift of all - Jesus!

10.5 years old!

Nadia gets to open gifts on her half-birthday and birthday every year since her half-birthday is on Christmas Eve.

1. Nadia enjoys wearing a variety of earrings. Her collection drastically grew following the passing of her Great Gram. She loves the fact that she is no longer restricted to wearing post earrings, and she likes being able to sleep at night without earrings now that her ears have been pierced for more than 6 months.

2. Nadia has mastered her headstand and cartwheel. She is making a lot of progress with her handstand. She does umpteen handstands and cartwheels every day in the family room. She smacked Paul in the face once, but thus far she hasn't hit the tv (which is a fear of mine). She has really wanted to be promoted to Level 3 in gymnastics, but it hasn't happened thus far. The kids have been in gymnastics the last four months. They'll be taking a break in light of basketball starting up again.

3. She still loves to read! Her favorite books lately have been the Mr. Lemoncello's Library series. She received eleven new books from us today when she opened her Christmas gifts. I'm curious to see which one she'll pick to read first! Four of them are related to Adventures in Odyssey, three are Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books, one Rush Revere (that our library doesn't have), one Fancy Nancy book, and two that are supposed to be books that you'd like if you liked Wonder, and Wonder is the book she's reread the most times.

4. Purchasing an online 5th grade math curriculum has proven to be a wise choice. Every once in a while she still has a meltdown over math, but in general math has gone much better this school year.

5. She is working on her very first science fair project. We'll be turning it in next month at the Children's Museum. She's exercising every day (doing jumping jacks) and measuring her pulse and vital lung capacity.

6. Her favorite tv shows are Big Hero 6 and Odd Squad.

7. On the iPad she usually plays Disney's Crossy Road or Trivia Crack.

8. This summer she started attending the Middle on Sunday nights, which is a youth group for grades 4-8 at a church 5 minutes from our house.

9. Nadia has continued to play with Legos more than she had previously. She also still enjoys playing with paper dolls, Calico Critters (which she plays with Ian), and her Barbie dolls. When she plays in her bedroom alone, she listens to music (either on CD or via the Echo dot), Adventures in Odyssey, or the Brinkman Adventures. She received two Lego sets today - one from Ian and a Moana set from us. She had a LOT of Lego sets on her wish list. I guess the one she wanted the most was an Incredibles one. I did give Oliver an Incredibles Lego set (a different one than the one Nadia wants). I did give her an Incredibles Mad Lib book and two Incredibles dolls.

 10. She would eat a ham and cheese hot pocket for lunch EVERY day if I bought them that frequently. If she can't have that she'll either have an egg and toast, egg salad sandwich, hot dog, yogurt, or a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese. For breakfast she alternates between blueberry oatmeal, Captain Crunch, Frosted Flakes, and Golden Grahams. Lately she's been having Golden Grahams every day, which works out well because I bought quite a few boxes of that cereal because they each had a $5 coupon for Ticketmaster, which I'm hoping to use for tickets to see a musical in 2019. Her favorite ice cream flavors are chocolate chip cookie dough, cookies and cream, and chocolate fudge brownie. Her favorite part of baking is licking the batter! I always get her string cheese for her birthday, and I think a new tradition will be to also get her a bag of Sun Chips. I never buy that kind, but I got a bag (for the first time ever) for her as one of her Christmas gifts as I know she loves them. Similarly, I also got Paul a bag of Middlesworth sour cream and onion chips for Christmas as I usually only buy those once a year as well. Normally if we have chips we get them at Aldi's (a generic brand). Some of her most favorite things to eat for dinner include tuna noodle, macaroni and cheese, goulash, rigatoni and meatballs, fish sticks, chicken nuggets, cheeseburgers, and pizza.

We love our princess SO much! She used to like all of the princesses. The only ones she still likes are Mulan, Jasmine, and Ariel. I'm hoping to take her to see a production of Mulan, Jr. in Lancaster in June as part of her birthday celebration. We saw Aladdin in Buffalo in August. Happy half-birthday, Nadia! Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Adam

Growing up we referred to December 23 as Christmas Adam because Adam was made before Eve. Paul worked today so the kids and I only attended one service at church today. The kids attended Sunday School during the first service while I was in the worship service. I usually sing in both services, but I told my section leader that I could only sing in the first service today because my husband was at work and the Soul Patrol choir wasn't having a rehearsal today. That's where the kids usually are during the second service. After we had lunch, I transformed the "Lego room" back into a dining room. I moved most of the Lego creations up on top of three bookshelves. Ian felt he couldn't go a full week without a Lego table, so he moved some down to a little table in the basement. My summer tablecloth had been on for months. Usually I put a fall tablecloth on, but I went straight to the Christmas one because the tablecloth has been covered in Legos for many months. Nadia and I also baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies. We are planning to bake more in the coming days to

have plenty on hand for when my family is here.

Millie, Paul's sister-in-law, has been baking tens of thousands of cookies at her bakery. Her bakery was featured on the local ABC news station recently. I'm supposed to be on the same tv station in early January because WNEP wants to do a story on some books students in our department donated to a local public school. A former student of mine who currently is a first grade teacher reached out to me on Facebook in August because many of the teachers in her school lost ALL of their books because of mold.  The teachers and students had a delayed start to their school year, and they started the school with not a single book in their classrooms. I reached out to someone else on campus, and he worked with two student organizations. On December 7, I carried in more than 200 new books into the elementary school. To be honest, I'd actually rather not be on TV, but I know the university likes to get this kind of publicity. My kids are more excited about it than I am, ha ha!

Our kids are very excited about tomorrow morning because they'll be opening their presents from us. I asked Paul to leave for work a little later than usual tomorrow morning so the kids can open their presents first thing in the morning. They'll be able to enjoy their gifts during the day. Our church will have three candlelight services tomorrow (3pm, 5pm, and 7pm). I think we'll attend the 5pm service.

The video below is of Oliver saying Psalm 23 today. When AWANA resumes on January 9, we're hoping he'll say that to his leader. In the next few weeks I'm trying to help him memorize the books of the Old Testament. He learned the New Testament last year.

Here's to hoping that the kids like the gifts I got them!

December showers

Yesterday was the first day of winter, but it felt like a beautiful fall or spring day as the high was around 65 degrees! For the past five months we have had TOO much rain. The ground has never been able to completely dry out for five straight months. It started the week Nadia was at Camp Susque in July and has continued through the present. Our basement flooded in August because the sump pump died. Our basement has flooded twice since then but in these instances it had nothing to do with the sump pump. Water has been coming in through the walls and windows. The ground just can't handle this much water. Oliver discovered the water in the basement around 8:30 yesterday morning. I kicked into high gear with squeegeeing water over to the sump pump, lifting up the curtains I had hung, and moving a few things. Thankfully we got less than an inch of water this time, and because of all the stuff we lost in August we don't keep nearly as much stuff on the floor these days. The most valuable thing still on the floor is the elliptical. They repaired it under the warranty, even though the damage was from water in our

basement. I'm sure they're not going to do that twice. I lifted one end up a lot higher (the end that was damaged this summer). I had called Paul in the beginning, and he came home from work. I had already cleaned up by the time he got home and the water wasn't pouring in as it had been. He did a little more squeegeeing (and unfortunately scraped some paint off the floor) and lifted the other end of the elliptical up onto two small chairs. It rained hard a few other times yesterday but no more water came into the basement. In August I had purchased another gallon of paint to repair the damage done to the floor by squeegeeing. I hadn't had time to repaint the basement until recently. My timing was very poor. I repainted the basement on Thursday, and it was flooded again the very next day. I hadn't used the entire gallon of paint so hopefully I have enough to repair the damage done yesterday. Usually a paint job lasts more than 24 hours. Sigh. Even though I am on break from the university, I am still very busy. Homeschooling three kids, preparing for Christmas,

housework, etc. is still enough to keep me very busy. In fact, to have time to paint the basement floor on Thursday I had skipped giving Nadia and Ian piano lessons and also skipped Oliver's reading lesson that day. In hindsight, it would have been better to do the piano/reading.

As proof that Paul and I are too busy most of the time, the van had been due for a tire rotation more than 1,000 miles ago, but neither of us had the time to get that task accomplished at Walmart. Thankfully, I did accomplish that yesterday (piano went out the door again though). We did some shopping while we were there and our first Christmas gift exchange of the year. Oliver and Ian had selected the identical Lego set at AWANA on Wednesday night; Oliver picked two PJ Masks figures instead. I was really late in making calendars, ornaments, and photo books on Shutterfly this year. I finally had time to do those last weekend. It takes HOURS to make a 100+ photo book even though I have streamlined the process. For example, I just used black as the background on all the pages

whereas I used to select a color for each page. I was concerned if the items would arrive on time, but they did! My Aunt in Florida said hers arrived. I didn't send it soon enough for my Aunt in NY to receive it as she left for Lake Tahoe on December 18. I think all the others will get theirs by Christmas. I'm grateful for their speedy processing and shipping in light of my tardiness.

The conundrum I've been wrestling with the past 16 months is money vs. time/energy. When I didn't work, we didn't have the money for certain things like a vacation, major house repairs (ex. a new roof), replacing our vehicles, and some other "wants" that aren't necessities like Paul and I going on dates to go ballroom dancing. Now we have the money but lack the time and/or energy. We haven't gone ballroom dancing once since I went back to work. We went on a grand total of one date in 2018. We did go on a vacation to San Diego which the kids and Paul were able to enjoy but I was in such a poor state physically and emotionally that I didn't enjoy it. My brother introduced me to the term "anhedonia" at the time which described what I was experiencing for a few months earlier in the year. Thankfully I was feeling somewhat better in August and was able to enjoy our three day trip to Niagara Falls. Having enough money to replace a deck that is falling apart, updating Paul's car, etc. is good, but quality of life is worth something also. I enjoy teaching at the university, but yesterday I literally could have gone to bed at 5pm I was so tired. I went to bed at 8pm after putting Oliver down and calling Paul to make sure he'd be home before 9pm so he could put Nadia and Ian to bed. I slept 10 hours last night. That's not normal for me, but I'm just worn out from pushing myself during the last three semesters. Hence there are many moments I think it would be better to live off of one income as we originally planned. I see book titles like "Stretch too thin", which is a book for working mothers and I think WHY? Why are we stretching ourselves too thin? Homeschooling three kids plus doing all the housework and cooking is certainly enough to keep me very busy. There have been some splurges we've all enjoyed like seeing Aladdin in Buffalo and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert in Wilkes Barre, but are they worth it? That's the $64,000 question!

Paul was at work today. The kids and I had two outings. This morning we went to a music/art studio located about 6 minutes from our house that was hosting a painting event for kids. They could choose ceramic ornaments  or figurines to paint. I paid a total of $9.50 for all of the figures the kids painted. She also had free hot chocolate and cookies for everyone. After spending about 5 hours at home, then we left to go ice skating 30 minutes away because the rink was having a free Christmas party from 4-6pm (free admission, free skate rentals, free hot chocolate, free food, gifts for every child, etc.). The kids love ice skating, and they only skated once thus far in 2018 because they weren't able to take the 10 week ice skating lessons as they had in the past due to the time conflicting with basketball. The same will happen this winter, but I'm going to sign the kids up for at least four private lessons because they love to ice skate and Oliver needs to learn how to skate without holding onto something. Nadia was excited to see that a girl from her current basketball team was there today. She spent most of her time with Aubrey, Aubrey's friend, and the girls' dads. This annual Christmas party has never worked with our schedule in the past. I think we will make this a new family Christmas tradition to go to it every year! They had donuts, cookies, candy, fruit, crackers, chips, etc. They gave Nadia a pair of Christmas socks, Ian a connect 4 game, and Oliver a fishing game. We already have the two games. The boys are hoping they'll be able to exchange them for something else at Walmart at some point.

All of the pictures in this post, except for one, were taken today. The picture of Miss Angie was taken last Sunday (second one from the top). Angie is Nadia's beloved Sunday School teacher. She's been Nadia's teacher for two years. Angie is also a homeschooling mom. Nadia will miss her next year when she moves up to middle school!  I should also note that Nadia was only holding on to her friend's green thing for the picture. Nadia can skate without one; it was her friend who needed the assistance. Oliver made progress today and skated a little at the end without holding a green thing OR the wall.

Shopping helpers

The AWANA club where the kids have attended since 2011 (Nadia) purchases gifts for the kids to "buy" with their AWANA shares (which they earn through saying verses, bringing friends, etc). Adults wrap the gifts for the youngest children, and the older kids wrap the gifts themselves. The AWANA commander asked if our kids could help her shop today. One of the advantages of being homeschooled is they could go on this shopping trip to Walmart at 9:00 this morning. She invited all three kids, but we felt Oliver would be more of a hindrance than a help. The church no longer has a 15 passenger van, so I let her borrow our minivan. Oliver and I came back around 12:30 to help carry the shopping bags into the church. As a thank you to Nadia and Ian, they were treated to lunch at McDonald's. She wanted input from kids as to what to buy. They have items for children, men, and women in the "store." Now to see if Oliver can restrain himself from telling us what he got us, ha ha! While they are at AWANA tonight, I'll be at choir. The rehearsal will be brief as starting at 7pm everyone in Worship Arts is invited to attend a Christmas party that includes a white elephant gift exchange.

Because of the shopping trip, I did Nadia and Ian's homeschooling first, and then I worked with Oliver after dropping them off at the church. It was nice just being able to focus on one first grader since I am usually teaching three kids in three different grades at the same time. I also exercised for 45 minutes. After we finished all the schoolwork for everyone, I switched to working on my to do list. In addition to usual tasks like the laundry and dishes, I also vacuumed out the van, swept out the garage, removed some leaves from the flower beds, sewed a tear in my coat, and cleaned the basement. I also did Ian's birthday interview one week late. I had wanted to do it earlier, but I had to wait until my voice returned.

Thankful Tuesday

1. My voice has mostly returned! It's not 100% back to normal. Nadia says it sounds just like it did right before I lost it last Tuesday. It hurts if I talk too much, but it is SO wonderful to be able to read to the kids again today.



2. On Saturday I finished the university related items from my to do list (the ones related to the fall semester anyhow). This means for a few weeks I am able to add some leisure into my weekly schedule such as reading.



3. One of my student teachers gave me a gift during our final three-way-conference (a smelly candle). If you teach in elementary school you typically receive quite a few gifts from your students at Christmas (coffee mugs, candles, lotions, etc.), but it's not common at all as a professor. I also received some nice oral comments and emails, which were also appreciated. In fact I got an email today from a student who just graduated on Saturday. I had him in class in fall 2017 and spring 2018. If I had been at graduation on Saturday, I would have met his son, who was born in the spring.




4. The Steelers had been on a losing streak lately. It was really demoralizing to lose to the Raiders two Sundays ago. Earlier I had said I expected us to beat the Raiders and lose to the Patriots. The  exact opposite happened. We beat the Patriots! We have had a very hard time beating them for the past 10 years. We often play each other at least once and sometimes twice a season (the second time during the playoffs). Now to see if we can beat the Saints in the Superdome next Sunday....




5. Nadia is making progress on her science fair project regarding vital lung capacity.

6. We received a reimbursement from the Faculty health and welfare fund today for our vision expenses. Paying $165.95 for our glasses and eye exams is much better than $987.18.

7. I finished Christmas and birthday shopping today. Whew. I'm almost done with wrapping.

8. I won a $15 gift card to Subway at the luncheon on Sunday, and today we used part of that to buy 2 footlong subs. Nadia and I shared a meatball sub, and Ian and Oliver shared a ham sub. They are giving free cookies on Tuesdays this month so the kids each got one cookie with their sub. After dropping Nadia and Ian off at gymnastics, I used a coupon at Panera for a free pastry (no purchase required!). Oliver and I shared a yummy cinnamon roll.

9. Today I found out that I was randomly selected to win a K'nex toy as a result of completing a survey from the BU toy library. I get to pick one out at the start of the spring semester.

10. I'm thankful that my kids are so healthy that usually they only see the doctor once a year. Ian had his nine-year-old physical today. Ian weighed 32 pounds in 2012, 35 pounds in 2013, 39 pounds in 2014 (45th percentile), 41 pounds in 2015 (20th percentile), 48 pounds in 2016 (25th percentile), 51 pounds last year (25th percentile), and 60 pounds today (38th percentile). Ian was 36 inches tall in 2012, 39 inches in 2013, 41 inches in 2014 (12th percentile), 44.5 inches in 2015 (30th percentile), 46.5 in 2016 (25th percentile), 48.5 inches last year (24th percentile), and 51 inches today (26th percentile). For several years I was told Ian needed to gain weight because his BMI was too low, but the from 2016 to the present they have been very happy with his BMI (which was at the 34th percentile last year and 50th percentile in 2016 and again this year).

P.S. The video clips in this post are from Nadia's theater camp in August. Better late than never!

Christmas Parties

We missed the Christmas caroling and social at Pastor Ken's house last Sunday night and the homeschool Christmas party at the bowling alley on Thursday due to me being sick, but today the boys attended three Christmas parties in one day. Their last Christmas party will be on Wednesday night at AWANA. My choir is also having a party on Wednesday night (we shall see if I'm up to going to that or not). This morning the kids and I were out the door before 8am because the kids' choir was singing in both services. My choir was also singing, but I am incapable of singing at the moment so I wasn't on the platform this morning. Let me say that I love singing Christmas music and it's really hard for me not to be able to participate. My voice is something I usually take for granted. I am thankful that usually I have no trouble talking as reading to the kids is one of my most favorite things to do. Hopefully I'll have my voice back before the Christmas Eve service. Nadia had a solo this morning as did her friend, Grace. I know I'm biased, but I think Nadia did a great job (aside from the fact I wish she would SMILE more). Oliver has come a long way over the past 2 years (plus 3 months) that he's been in this choir.




The kids went to Sunday School during the first service (after they sang), and Paul and I were in the first worship service. It felt weird to just stand there during all the songs (since I couldn't sing), so I opted to sign some of the songs. There is an interpreter for the deaf who signs the second service, but I was just doing it so I could feel like I was participating in the worship. During the second service the kids had a Christmas party with their choir after they sang in the second service. I usually am really late in arriving at my Sunday School class because the choir stays on the platform for the first 30-45 minutes of each service, but since I wasn't singing in the adult choir today I wasn't late to my class. Someone usually provides some tasty treats every Sunday (they take turns providing it), but today everyone brought in something. I brought a plate of sugar cookies the kids had made last Sunday. Usually I give plates of cookies to the kids' teachers, but I bought gift cards instead this year and they gave five out today and will give three more on Wednesday night.



Awhile back I had signed up for the Christmas luncheon today for the volunteers who work in the nursery through grade five. I haven't helped in the nursery (I'm too afraid it would stir up desires to have another baby), but I have taught from three-year-old to fifth graders. The luncheon was at 12:30. None of us were hungry because we had all eaten during the second service, but the kids still really wanted to go. They served baked potatoes, ham, rolls, peaches, and cookies. I just had a small piece of ham and a roll. They had door prizes, and I won a $15 gift card to Subway. Paul and the boys went to Dave's house for a Christmas dinner this evening. We were all invited. Since I am sick, I opted to stay home, and Nadia chose to do the same because she has been attending a middle school youth group (for grades 4-8) on Sundays from 6:00-7:30, and she wanted to attend tonight. She is supposed to wear a Christmas sweater. I didn't do nearly as much yard sale shopping as usual this past summer and haven't done much shopping in general for clothing so the kids don't have any Christmas clothes this year. This the first time that has happened in the past 10 years. All three kids have been asking me - where's my Christmas shirt, where are my Christmas pajamas (Ian asked -the other two do have those), where's my Christmas sweater (Nadia asked). I wanted to stop at the consignment shop on the way home from work on Tuesday, but I was driving by too early (the store wasn't open yet). So we improvised and Nadia is wearing one of my Christmas sweater vests this evening.




Since I was uploading the video from the second service this morning, I decided to get caught up and upload other videos. I won't post them all today, but I am posting some from their performance at Lycoming College on November 19. I didn't record the entire concert. I recorded portions of four the of the songs Nadia and Ian sang. Nadia was disappointed I didn't record any of "The Colors of Winter." Oops! I only recorded one of the eight songs from the K-2nd grade performance. Other videos that I am uploading (finally) are from Nadia's theatre camp performance in August and from making glass ornaments in Corning on December 1. I also tried to get caught up on editing photos. There were photos I hadn't gone through yet from the past few weeks. I'm grateful I don't need to do ANY grading for the next several weeks!



I expected to feel this big sense of relief after I submitted all the grades on Thursday. It didn't happen. Then I thought I'd feel it last night as I finished everything due this month for the university, but it still hasn't happened. I had the same thing happen last May. I kept telling myself I think I can, I think I can to make it through the spring semester, and I thought I would feel wonderful once the summer break began. It didn't happen that way. I kept waiting and waiting for my energy to come back, and it didn't. I went to the doctor towards the end of June, and she did bloodwork to see if I was anemic or had thyroid issues or whatever. Everything came back fine so she said I was depressed and gave me Prozac. I took the pills for several days and hated how I felt on them. I opted to just wait it out and hoped that by the end of the summer my energy level would return to normal. I'm hoping I am not experiencing deja vu right now. I tried not to push myself as hard this last semester as I did the previous two semesters. Hopefully it's just because I'm sick. Time will tell. This is one of the (many) reasons I'd love to return to being a SAHM. I love being a professor, but I am just juggling way too much, and I feel like I can't do anything as well as I'd like to. I always have to settle for "good enough" which is disheartening. I won't need to spend too much time working on university work over the next five weeks. That should enable me to do a better job with homeschooling, cooking, cleaning, etc.



As I was growing up, I don't recall lighting advent candles being a part of Christmas worship services. The three churches we've attended over the past 14 years have all included that as part of the worship service, and typically each week a different family would come up and read something on the theme for that week (ex. peace or joy or hope) and pray. This year our church has been doing something different, and it's been amazing. They have recorded a video testimony each week that focuses on that particular theme. Last week for example a couple shared about "hope" in reference to their experience losing their 22 year old son to a car accident almost 10 years go. This week a couple shared about their six year experience with infertility that finally resulted in the birth of their daughter earlier this year. That was a story I could definitely relate to. I wasn't the only one crying today during their testimony. All three stories thus far have been very powerful. I can't imagine our church will ever go back to do the readings as they were done in the past. I'm looking forward to next week's video testimony. It's wonderful to hear people share how the Lord has worked in their lives.