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. 

Three Months Old!

Milo turned three months old today! I had been thinking of his age in terms of how many weeks old he was, but I think I'll switch to thinking in terms of months; I remember going through the same transition with my three babies. He might not have received a new toy on Christmas Day, but we bought this little puppy a LOT of things this month including a variety of toys. Ian and Oliver care for him and play with him a little bit, but the vast majority of his care has been attended to by myself, Nadia, and Paul. Nadia takes him outside the most, and I spend the most time with him when he's inside during the day time. He sleeps in his crate in Nadia's bedroom at night. 

Training a puppy is challenging. My friend, Cheri, has trained nine puppies over the decades. She currently has four large black dogs. She said it takes three days. Well it's taking a lot longer than three days to train Milo to do his business outside, but when I read about the breed I knew that was listed as the biggest disadvantage for Bichon Frise - one of the hardest to house train. He goes to the bathroom almost every time we take him outside, but the problem is that sometimes he has an accident shortly after he comes inside even after he's just gone outside. Ugh! Honestly he was doing better with not having accidents last week than he has been this week, which is very frustrating and discouraging. There are definitely times I regret that we got a puppy. If I wasn't allergic to many dogs, I would never have gotten a puppy, but considering how much we've spent on him over the past 18 days, there's no way we're giving up. We're in this for the long haul. Aside from learning to only go to the bathroom outside there are many things he needs to learn - what he can chew, not to bite us, not to beg when we're eating, not to terrorize the guinea pigs, etc. I am always thankful to get a break from dog supervision when he takes a nap. Never in my life have I owned a pet who required SO much supervision all day long. It's exhausting. I keep reminding myself that he won't be a puppy forever. At some point he won't require so much of my time and energy. I do enjoy it when he takes a nap on my lap. I signed him up for puppy kindergarten. Normally it's a group session, but due to COVID he's instruction will be one-on-one. His first session is next Tuesday afternoon. I'm hoping that the trainer will help him, and I assume I also will learn some tips as well. She said the class usually lasts 6 weeks but that when the training is individualized it usually only lasts 4 weeks. It will save us $50 if the training takes 4 weeks instead of 6 weeks. Time will tell. If Milo is nipping at Oliver, he ignores Oliver's commands even if Oliver screams NO at the top of his lungs. Hopefully the training will help.

• He's only had one accident in the past 18 days in his crate. He sleeps inside his crate in Nadia's bedroom.
• At first he was very fierce if he saw his reflection in a mirror or the glass of the fireplace. He would bark and growl and carry on for quite a long time. I haven't seen him do that recently.
• He also goes into guard/attack mode when I'm using the vacuum cleaner or mop. He also used to do that with the broom (seriously?!?), but lately the broom doesn't seem scary to him. Another thing that caused him to bark like crazy was when Oliver was pulling a shirt over his head. A headless person is VERY scary to Milo! 
• We have baby gates up in two places to protect the guinea pigs. We keep all the bedroom and bathroom doors closed. This means the places he can go inside the house are the family room, kitchen, foyer, stairs (going upstairs), and upstairs hallway. 
• I brush him every day. Nadia has clipped his nails once. I have ordered shampoo and ear cleaning solution for him. We have given him partial baths in the kitchen sink when his backside has needed to be cleaned. Now if I could trim the fur around his eyes a little bit so we could see his eyes more clearly. I think we'll have to wait until he has a professional grooming. 
• He wants to be with people 24 hours a day. He loves to give kisses. 
• He's gotten better about being outside in the cold/snow. I bought him a jacket at my Aunt's suggestion, but he doesn't like wearing it so we've only used it a couple of times.
• He takes at least one nap a day on the blue sofa in the family room. 
• He tries to eat EVERYTHING (grass, leaves, any crumbs of food he can find, the rust on the stove, etc.) and has chewed just about everything aside from our walls. Thankfully he's been doing better lately with not chewing the cords in the family room (my laptop and the Echo dot). The newest thing he's taken to chewing is the dish towel in the kitchen.
• Although Bichons are not known for being "guard" dogs, he definitely barks when the door from the garage opens or when Ken has come to work on the master bathroom. 

Thankful Tuesday

1. The kids and I like our new face shields. The kids had been wearing shields since the beginning of October, but I had continued to wear a face mask. These new shields are technically for children, but they fit me fine. I wonder how much money has been spent this year on face masks and face shields? I've purchased several different kinds and styles of both masks and shields over the past eight months.

2. We were able to attend one of our church's candlelight services on Christmas Eve as well as a light show at another church.

3. Milo got a good report at the vet last Wednesday.

4. Paul was able to assemble Ian's new bike on Sunday afternoon.

5. Aunt Janet is going to become a Grandma in 2021!

6. The Steelers ended their three game losing streak on Sunday. With one game left in the season their record is 12-3. They won their division.

7. Paul had to work longer hours than he usually does on Saturdays the past two Saturdays, but he went into work really early yesterday (I woke up at 3am and he was already gone) so that he could be home around 10am. Considering he usually gets home from work between 7-8pm, that was a treat! He didn't go to work on Christmas Day. He always takes that day off, but he usually goes to work on New Year's

Day, but since the show in Baltimore was cancelled (usually held in early January). He's going to take New Year's Day off this year! Part of the reason he came home early yesterday is because Millie is having knee replacement surgery very shortly so Paul's brother will be taking about 12 days off of work to help her out, and so Paul will be working longer hours while his brother is away.

8. The kids all had their teeth cleaned yesterday, and they all got a good report! 

9. Nadia clipped Milo's nails for the first time yesterday. This was not an easy feat!

10. Ken is coming to work on the shower today and tomorrow. Maybe I can use the master bathroom shower at the start of 2021? That would be wonderful!

11. The kids enjoyed the first Peter and the Starcatchers audiobook. I got it when it was on sale at a very low price on Audible. I searched the libraries and found one library near us that had the second and third books in that series on CD. I have gone to four different libraries in our area in the past two weeks to check things out, plus I have  

accessed digital resources through a fifth library. We are very grateful for libraries! We also have been utilizing Kindle Unlimited recently as they had a special where you could pay 49 cents per month for two months.

12. The kids and I received many lovely gifts from extended family for Christmas: multiple Lego sets, a Nintendo Switch game, a rope ladder, a head lamp (might be Oliver's favorite gift), Paw Patrol toys, fruit snacks, Wheat Thins, and SunChips. You could tell that I have been trying many new 

recipes lately by the gifts I received: a broiler pan, mandoline, no cry gloves, spoons, ramekins, a baking dish, and a panini press. We used the mandoline on Christmas Day when to slice the potatoes for the Gratin Dauphinois. 

13. We've enjoyed watching some movies together - sometimes the whole family and sometimes everyone except for Nadia. Last night we watched Pete's Dragon on Disney+.

14. Since we couldn't see any relatives on Christmas Day, it was nice to at least be able to talk to them via Zoom, FaceTime, or on the phone. 

15. We recently enjoyed listening to an autobiography of a Pakistani Christian, and now we are in the middle of a biography about Billy Graham and the novel The Girl Who Drank the Moon. 

16. All five of us are healthy! This is nothing to ever take for granted.

Coronavirus Christmas

Easter and Mother's Day were definitely different this year due to COVID-19. No Easter egg hunts or having a special meal with Paul's family. We didn't even go to church on Easter Sunday. Hard to fathom that one. None of the birthdays were normal either. Thanksgiving was the only "normal" holiday this year, but Paul's mom was in the hospital so it wasn't totally normal. Most of our usual Christmas traditions have gone by the wayside this month such as seeing a Christmas show at the large church in Camp Hill, making glass blown ornaments in Corning, Christmas caroling at Warrior Run Manor, the kids shopping for gifts for their family members at AWANA, watching the candy cane demonstration at Purity Candy, breakfast with Santa at the Firehouse, etc. The tradition that I'm missing the most this Christmas is getting together with extended family. 

Usually we let our kids open their Christmas gifts from us in the morning on Christmas Eve so they can enjoy them during the day as we'd leave our house in the morning on Christmas Day to spend time at Paul's parents house. Some years we only spent a few hours with them because we'd then drive to Maryland on Christmas Day. Other years we spent the whole day at Paul's parents' house and then drove to Maryland at some other point that week. In 2016 and 2018 I hosted Christmas for my side of the family at our house. There were many years we didn't see Yvonne's family at Christmas because they were in Turkey, but we were accustomed to seeing Wendy's family, Maurice, Paul's parents, my parents, Paul's grandmother, Paul's brother and sister-in-law, and Shawn (plus Brandi when she was younger). My mom, Maurice, and Paul's grandmother have all passed away. Last year was the first time I didn't see any of my siblings or parents at Christmas. Joe and some of their kids did spend a little time at our house one day in December last year. Last year we opted not to travel to MD or VA for Christmas for a variety of reasons - one of which was the grief over Maurice's passing. Paul hasn't traveled at Christmas since he went back to working at Kennedy Concrete because they have a trade show in Baltimore in early January every year. The trade show was cancelled for January 2021, but we can't travel to MD or VA because of the COVID restrictions. If we leave the state we either have to have a negative COVID prior to retuning to Pennsylvania or we have to quarantine when we get back. Paul's mom wasn't feeling well enough to have her IVIG treatment two weeks ago, which means we can't spend any time with her. The only people we are celebrating Christmas with this year are the people who live in this house. Not traveling is good timing in light of having a puppy but still is an adjustment for me emotionally. I haven't seen Wendy since August 2019, which I believe is the longest I've ever gone without seeing her since she was born in 1975.

We still decorated sugar cookies, decorated our Christmas tree, packed shoeboxes for OCC, and attended a candlelight service at our church. I am very, very grateful that our Governor gave churches the choice whether to offer in person services during this month. Some churches in our area have returned to only offering on-line services. I'm also thankful that our church is offering both online and in-person services. We have usually chosen to attend the 3pm Christmas Eve service, but we picked the 7pm yesterday because another church in Milton has been offering a 15 minute light show from 7-10pm every night this month and so we attended the 8:30pm light show after our church's candlelight service. It was the third time in 13 days that we left Milo at home by himself (in his crate). The only time we all leave the house is to go to church.  Speaking of our OCC shoeboxes, some of the boxes we sent went to Malawi and others went to "hard to reach areas" (meaning places where they have to be smuggled in). Because the kids are accustomed to opening their presents from us on Christmas Eve, I said they could open one gift yesterday. They opened all their other gifts today. I had wrapped their gifts from my Dad/Margie and my sisters. Paul's dad wrapped the gifts from he and Grandma, and Paul brought them home from work yesterday. 

Our tradition has been for me to make monkey bread for breakfast on Christmas Day, but I made it yesterday morning because I knew it would last multiple days. It was nice to also have a special breakfast on Christmas Eve. I had planned to make a French apple tart for our dessert today, but Nadia asked for me to make a dump cake. So I made a blueberry dump cake. It's not exactly what I would consider a special or an elegant dessert, but if it puts a smile on Nadia's face, it's fine with me. I made strawberry Jell-O with whipped cream for the same reason. We are having ham, cranberry sauce, buchteln (an Austrian roll), and gratin dauphinoise (a fancy French form of scalloped potatoes) for dinner. Nadia had asked for mashed potatoes, but I think she'd really like the gratin dauphinoise. Since I made the rolls on Wednesday and the cake, monkey bread, and Jell-O yesterday, I don't have much cooking to do today. Paul picked up pizza for our dinner on the way home from work yesterday, and the kids had some leftover pizza for lunch today. We used to try to stretch two large pizzas into two dinners for all five of us, but as the kids have gotten bigger, two large pizzas now equal one dinner for all five of us plus lunch for the kids.

It's easy for me to feel sad that we aren't seeing any extended family this month, but I have tried to keep reminding myself that although spending time with family is special, the true meaning of the holiday is to celebrate Jesus' birth. My mom always made a white cake with white icing (to symbolize his purity) and we always sang happy birthday to Jesus on Christmas Day. My Aunt Janet spent Easter and Mother's Day alone this year, but due to COVID she traveled to Lake Tahoe earlier than usual so she could spend Thanksgiving, her birthday, and Christmas with two of her children. She called yesterday and shared the very exciting news that her youngest son (Brent who is 46 years old) will become a father in July. This is my aunt's first grandchild, and my Aunt just turned 78 years old this month. Considering she has three children, she didn't expect she'd have to wait until she was 78 to become a grandma, and since her kids are between the ages of 46-50, she had given up hope of having any grandchildren. I'm so happy for her that #1 she's not spending Christmas alone but is with family and #2 that she has been given the best Christmas gift of her life - the news that her first grandchild is coming in 2021. Our next door neighbors have COVID. Thankfully they have a mild case, but I'm also thankful that no one in our family has come down with COVID thus far. Technology also helps this time of social distancing as the kids were able to FaceTime with Paul's parents and some of their cousins.

6 months until we have a teenager!

A   - Two of her closest friends are eighth graders from church named Ava and Abby. She met both of them through Bible Bowl. Abby isn't doing Bible Bowl this school year, but Ava is still participating. Nadia is really enjoying the art lessons on Creating a Masterpiece. Lately she's been playing the game Among Us online with Ava. 

B - Nadia has been participating in Bible Bowl since January. Last school year they were studying Hebrews, I Peter, and II Peter. This year they are studying Matthew. Baby carrots with Ranch dressing and blueberries are two of her favorite foods. She has seen almost every single episode of The Brady Bunch. Nadia is happy to make brownies because she really, really loves to lick the batter at the end. Her most favorite pants to wear are a pair of knit navy blue pants.

C - She loves to eat cheese. Sometimes Nadia sleeps with curlers in her hair so that her hair will be curly the next day. Soon she will have seen every single episode of The Cosby show. Most of the time she has baby carrots at lunch with Ranch dressing. One of her chores is to cook dinner once a week. Two of her most favorite shirts to wear are Camp Susque t-shirts. Due to COVID-19 she didn't attend summer camp there for the first time in six years, but she's hoping to spend a weekend there in three weeks although we realize there is a good chance that camp will switch to being only "virtual" rather than in person. By far her most favorite short sleeved shirt is a Compassion t-shirt that she received for being a volunteer.

D - Nadia doesn't spend as much time drawing as Ian does, but she does enjoy drawing, and unlike her brothers, she also enjoys coloring. Her new chore when she turned 12 was to start doing the dishes once a week. She enjoys playing with paper dolls and Barbie dolls. Christmas came early for Nadia this year with the arrival of Milo on December 12. Although all three kids had expressed a desire for a dog, Nadia definitely had the strongest desire for a dog of the three. 

E - One of Nadia's closest friends is an eighth grader from church named Evanna. Nadia loves to eat eggs. Nadia is allergic to evergreen trees (give her hives). 

F - She has seen every single episode of Full House. She turns her ceiling fan on almost every day when she's in her bedroom even if it's snowing outside. Faith is a fifth grader who is also on Nadia's Bible Bowl team. One of her favorite cheeses is farmer's cheese. Another one of her most favorite t-shirts features the American flag. For some reason she has been wanting to wear short sleeved t-shirts even when it's snowing outside??? I'll keep that in mind when buying her long sleeve tops in the future.

G - Because I don't regularly buy hot pockets, Nadia often makes herself a grilled cheese sandwich with Swiss cheese for lunch. She likes to eat red grapes if they are very, very firm.

H - Her favorite thing to have for lunch is a ham and cheese hot pocket. She bought herself a hoverboard in October. Nadia is allergic to hay (gives her hives).

I - Since I no longer regularly buy hot pockets, Nadia usually makes herself a grilled cheese sandwich with Italian bread for lunch. If she needs to pack a lunch, she'll eat a ham and cheese sandwich (without any condiments) on Italian bread. Her two favorite ice cream flavors are cookies and cream and chocolate chip cookie dough.

J - She was a juice box at Halloween this year. It was the first time she made her own costume. Jill is another fifth grader who is also on Nadia's Bible Bowl team. Her four year old guinea pig is named Jenna.

Nadia doesn't build a gingerbread house. She just eats it without building it, ha ha!

K - Nadia is NOT a fan of reading on the Kindle. She vastly prefers to read a "real" book. Ian, Paul, and I don't mind reading on the Kindle.

L - Like Oliver and I, Nadia is not a fan of soda. If a free drink is included in a meal at a restaurant, Nadia usually chooses to drink lemonade. The boys and I eat breakfast shortly after we get up. Since Nadia likes to do her math first, she eats breakfast much later than anyone else in our home.

M - Another one of her favorite snacks are Motts fruit snacks. The Mother Daughter Book Club is one of her favorite book series. Recently she's been playing Minecraft on the iPad with Rachel. Nadia is generally NOT a fan of family movie nights as she prefers to watch shows on the iPad in her bedroom. Nadia's newest pet is named Milo! Another two of her favorite cheeses are muenster and mozzarella.

N - Nadia is not a fan of nuts. She enjoys painting her nails. This week she painted every other nail red or green for Christmas.

O - She still loves to listen to Adventures in Odyssey. 

P - She named new guinea pig Peppa. She really enjoys eating a plum. She can't wait to get her own phone in 18 months. She's continued to regularly correspond with her pen pal, Stella. She has been doing 300-750 piece puzzles together each day lately! She enjoys taking pictures and learning more about photography through an online class.

R - Nadia still loves to talk to her cousin, Rachel, via FaceTime or Zoom. Two of her favorite foods are raspberries and rigatoni with meatballs. Nadia is allergic to roses (she sneezes SO much around them).

S - Two of her favorite snacks are SunChips and Martin's Sour cream and onion potato chips. She also loves to eat strawberries. Nadia loves to swim, ski, and take selfies. She does not like to eat any soup or stew. Two of her favorite games to play are Suspend and Spot It. Her most favorite kind of cheese is Swiss cheese. Her favorite long sleeved top is a black Steelers sweatshirt.

V - Since she couldn't be in a choir this fall, I paid for her to have private voice lessons via Zoom. She vastly prefers voice lessons to piano lessons. 

W - Another one of her favorite snacks are Wheat Thins. She loves to listen to WGRC (local Christian radio station). Her favorite book is Wonder. She has read it from cover to cover more than 15 times.

Z- This year Nadia has used Zoom for voice lessons, talking with friends or her cousin, Rachel, an art class with the Berks Youth Chorus, youth group meetings during the lockdown, play practices, and Bible Bowl meetings during the lockdown.

Vet #3

I had been to the vet when my mom was taking one of our cats to the vet when I was a child, and then I went about 30 years without visiting a vet. Our first three years of owning guinea pigs didn't involve any trips to the vet. This year we visited three different veterinarians. Paul took sweet Patches to a vet in Danville on his way to work in February. We found that morning that it was a challenge to find a vet that would work with a "pocket animal" as most only treat cats and dogs. Sadly, the vet had to put Patches to sleep. I'm thankful Paul was able to take care of that unpleasant task for us. Later that month I took two rabbits to a veterinarian in Lewisburg. I had found two clinics that would treat rabbits. Of our three visits that one was definitely the most expensive, but we were paying for two animals to be seen rather than just one. Today I took Milo to a vet in our town. Due to COVID the vet is providing curbside service which meant the kids and I never left the van. She said Milo is healthy and weighs a few ounces shy of five pounds. Ian received two injections on Monday, and Milo got two injections today. He has to return next month for another booster shot. They gave him a welcome bag that included a dog toy and a free sample of two medications (one for heartworm and the other for ticks/fleas). I remember when my kids were infants that they would often sleep more after they had an immunizations. The same has happened to Milo today, which frankly we don't mind because it means he's snuggling more and being naughty far less of the time. Here's to hoping that Milo is like the kids and only needs to go to the doctor for his well visits. 

Thankful Tuesday

1. I'm thankful that the only time I took a child to the doctor this year was for their annual physicals. 

2. We found a non-fiction picture book series that the kids and I all really enjoy. The titles all start with "Look What Came from" and are about different countries. We were able to get four of the books from the Lycoming County library system, one from the Union County library system, three from the Milton library, and I bought five of the books on eBay. I'm hoping to get the other seven through ILL over the coming months.

3. COVID-19 hadn't really been prevalent in our area during the first 8 months of the pandemic. It's definitely been in our area the last few weeks. For example, our next door neighbor was tested today. I'm thankful that the vaccine distribution has begun and that none of our immediate or extended family have had it thus far. 

4. I ordered myself some socks on Amazon. I paid less than $7.49 for five socks, and I have really, really been enjoying them. They are more colorful than most of my socks as well as the most comfortable and also warmest socks that I own. A purchase that cost less than $10 can be greatly appreciated!

5. This past week I enjoyed reading the book Memory Making Mom. The main focus of the book was traditions. Some traditions that we already have in place I also enjoy. Making Christmas cookies falls under the category of a tradition that is in place for the kids' sake. I am always relieved when it's done. I make cookies on a very regular basis, but the cookies I make don't involve a large mess. For example, I made coconut macaroons a few days ago. Typically we give away a lot of the Christmas cookies we make, but that won't be happening this year. Normally we make cut-out gingerbread and cut-out sugar cookies. Today we made sugar cookies with icing. I think that there was a greater quantity of sprinkles on the table and floor at the end than on the cookies.

6. Although Milo has reverted back to having a few accidents today, he went 46 hours without any accidents from Sunday afternoon through this morning. Nadia was thrilled that he slept past 7am this morning. Progress! Now we need to see progress with the biting/chewing problems....

7. The kids and I enjoyed watching a Christmas show on Sight and Sound TV on Friday night. 

8. The kids have really enjoyed playing in the snow over the past six days. A dog plus three kids going out in the snow multiple times a day has made it a challenge to keep the house clean, but they've had fun sledding, having snow ball fights with the neighbors, and such. It's all supposed to be washed away on Christmas Eve. 

9. The kids really, really loved the focaccia bread I made today. 

10. Tonight we watched the third Night at the Museum movie together. I enjoy family movie nights!

11 year old physical

Usually the kids don't mind their annual physical appointments, but Ian was dreading today's appointment because he knew it would include shots. I declined the flu shot and Gardasil which meant he received two injections - Meningococcal ACWY and Tdap. Today Ian weighed 70 pounds and is a little over 55 inches tall, which means he grew two inches and gained six pounds over the past year. His height percentile went up a little (from 27th to 33rd) and his weight percentile dropped a little (from 27th to 24th). He hadn't had any shots in six years, and his next ones will probably be five years from now. I had planned to use a coupon for a free donut to get him a donut at Dunkin' as a treat after his injections, but there was a really long line in the Drive Thru. We stopped at two libraries before the doctor appointment and stopped at Walmart to pick up a grocery order on our way home. I ended up buying him a bag of Doritos at Walmart since I didn't get him a donut. I paid Nadia to babysit Oliver (and Milo) while Ian and I were out and about. I told the kids this morning that we'd be starting a new tradition in 2021 in which they each will get two dates per year - one with each parent. I teased Ian that this was his date with me. He didn't think a date should involve injections, ha ha. Actually Oliver will get the first date in February with which ever parent he chooses doing an activity of his choosing although COVID might limit the options. Now if the kids each get two dates a year starting in 2021, hopefully that means Paul and I will also go on a date at some point as we haven't been on a date since February 2018.

Milo is making some progress. He has so many things to learn including not begging when we're eating dinner and only chewing HIS toys not electrical cords, the carpet, the couch, etc. Friday was the WORST day in terms of number of accidents in the house. Sunday morning the kids and I went to two services. Paul was in charge of Milo while we were at the second service, and Milo had 3 accidents during that brief time Paul was watching him. But since the kids and I got home from church on Sunday (about 12:30pm) until now (about 6:30pm) he hasn't had ANY accidents. His previous record had been 23 hours without an accident, but he's now gone 30 hours without any. We shall see how long this lasts. He has not learned to let us know when he needs to go, but at least if we take him outside regularly he isn't having accidents inside the house. Nadia also is making progress with his sleep training. He sleeps in his crate in her bedroom, and she's trying to shift his wake-up time to 7:00am. It's giving her a tiny taste of what it's like to have a baby although a puppy certainly doesn't cause anywhere near as much sleep deprivation as an infant does!

Longer Christmas break

The last four days it was challenging to homeschool the kids and care for a puppy at the same time. Today for a very wide variety of reasons it was much harder. One of the reasons was because Milo had his worst day by far in terms of number of accidents in the house. I was also trying very hard to be done by 2:00pm because I had an appointment for a mammogram at 2:30. As I was driving, it struck me that I should make today the last day of school for 2020 instead of December 23. I'm sure Milo won't be totally trained in two weeks, but I'm hoping that if we really focus on him the next two weeks that he'll be doing much better in terms of going to the bathroom outside AND not biting things he shouldn't bite. When I was potty training the kids I had to let some other things slide so that I could give that my full attention as much as possible. The kids are of course 100% fine with lengthening our Christmas break. We usually finish the school year on the early side anyhow so adding three days later on is not a problem. We finished memorizing Matthew chapter 5 today, and Nadia finished the Math 7 textbook today so those are at least two things that weren't ended abruptly. 

I need to scan Nadia and Ian's colored pencil projects. It is of a cat on a windowsill looking at the moon. I think they (especially Nadia) did a good job. Today we received Vellum paper and 6B pencils in the mail as those were things we didn't own that were on the supply lists for many of the projects. I plan to still have the kids do more artwork during the break. Our primary focus will be Milo. I have never trained a puppy before, and I think this will be the last time I do it. The things we do because we love our kids!!! I'm a cat person not a dog person. I did manage to record Ian's birthday interview this evening (6 days after his birthday). Ian cooked dinner (with assistance) for the first time in his life today - tuna noodle casserole. It's his new responsibility now that he's 11 years old. In reality all three kids added a new responsibility on his birthday - helping to take care of Milo. Thus far Nadia and I have done the lion's share of caring for Milo, but I want Oliver and Ian to carry part of the load.

19 inches!!!

Paul really doubted that we'd get more than eight inches of snow, but for once what we got was closer to the upper end of the forecasted range than the lower end as they said 8-21 inches, and we received 18-19 inches of snow! I believe this is the most we've gotten in one single snowfall over the 12 years we've lived in this home. I remember they got more snow than that in Maryland in 2016 because I made a lot of trips to Maryland that winter when my mom was battling ovarian cancer. Milo, who turned 11 weeks old today, is not a fan of cold weather or the snow. To be honest, neither am I. I would love to live in a state farther south such as North Carolina. Nadia and I did some shoveling before we ate breakfast, and Paul and I did more shoveling after breakfast. Nadia wasn't too happy that Milo got her up at 6:00 this morning. I think she's going to try to keep him up later tonight in the hopes that he'll sleep in closer to 7:00 tomorrow morning. In light of the snow, I altered the lesson plans. So far today the kids finished an art project they'd worked on the past three days, watched today's episode of World Watch News, memorized one verse, and we read and discussed Ruth chapters 3-4. I want the boys to do some math at some point today. Even though Paul was home, we couldn't all watch a movie together last night because Nadia was on Zoom with church from 4:30-6:00 and 6:30-8:00. We're planning to watch the second Night at the Museum movie tonight that I got on DVD from the library on Tuesday. Since we finished the biography on Klaus-Dieter John last night, we started I Dared to Call Him Father today. The kids have spent the vast majority of the day outside in the snow playing with kids in the neighborhood.