Dog Mom

 Although I longed for the day that I would be a mom since I was in elementary school, I never aspired to be a "dog mom." I grew up with cats and frankly the best word to describe my attitude toward dogs for most of my life was that I was fear. My friend, Tab, used to have a longhaired dachshund. Ruby really helped me to see that I could enjoy a dog because she sat in my lap like our cats had when I was growing up. Paul had grown up with dogs so I figured that we would get one someday, but I figured that would be whenever he was home more. If I had stuck with that plan, we wouldn't have gotten a dog until the fall of 2023, but we got one in 2020 to try and bring a bright spot amidst all things that were cancelled and impossible to do that year. I never would have dreamt that Milo would pick ME out of the five members of our family to be his "person." We are dog sitting Cooper for three weeks. He's been at our house for one week so far. Cooper has picked Paul and I as his two favorite people in our family. Instead of having ONE shadow follow me around the house, now I have two shadows. Having two dogs has been good in some ways. I'm not a fan of having TWO dogs bark at the same time because there's a dog or a jogger on our street, and it's a challenge to keep their leashes from getting tangled up when I walk them, but Milo definitely enjoys having a buddy. He gets up VERY willingly in the morning whereas other times he'd rather stay in bed with Nadia or Ian when I come to get him at 7:00 am. Also, sometimes when it's just him we accuse him of "going on strike" because he doesn't want to walk. That doesn't happen when Cooper is with us. This does not mean that I want to get a second dog! One is enough for me, but I'm happy that we can trade dog sitting duties with another family. It's much better for the dogs and saves us hundreds of dollars. 

On Sunday afternoon Paul picked up the 1/4 of a cow that we had agreed to purchase from someone in our church. We've never bought that much meat at one time before or paid that much for food in one month before. I used some yesterday to make beef stew, and I'm planning to make a roast on Saturday as we have friends coming over for dinner that night. We'll definitely be eating more steak than usual this year as typically I might buy steak one time in the year, but now we have a lot of steak in our freezer. 

Monday morning began with the piano tuner spending about two hours at our house. Pianos are expensive to own, but I love hearing Ian practicing every day! It was a hectic day as I also took Ian to his piano lesson and to the doctor for his annual physical. The kids' babysitting job for that evening was cancelled, but they still had a two-hour Seussical rehearsal in the afternoon. At Ian's physical I mentioned that over the years several people (including Paul and Drayton) have mentioned that it sounds like Ian has sleep apnea. When I mentioned it to the pediatrician years ago, he said Ian was too young to be concerned about it. This time I was told we should have it investigated. We're starting the process to have a sleep study done on him in the spring. Since we have become self-pay patients, we've been paying $50 per visit at our PCP. On Monday they told me that the cost for a well-child check has gone up to $100 because of the vision/hearing screening are a separate $50 charge. I wasn't thrilled with the change, but I know their prices are still far less than what other doctors charge self-pay customers around here. Over the past year Ian grew three inches and gained at least fourteen pounds! His BMI last year was only 3%, which put him in the underweight category. This week they weighed him while he was wearing his winter coat and sneakers, which wasn't the case last year. With those on, they said he gained seventeen pounds, which put him at the 12th percentile for his BMI. I had him step on our scale once he came home to see what he weighed without his coat and shoes, and his weight dropped by three pounds. If our scale is accurate, then he weighs 90 pounds and is 5 ft. 2.5 inches tall. His height is at the 24th percentile (compared to 26th percentile last year). If he does weigh 90 pounds, then his BMI is at the 6th percentile, which still means he's not in the underweight category, and his weight would be at the 10th percentile (compared to 6th percentile last year). With his coat and shoes on, he weighed 93 pounds, which put him at the 14th percentile for weight. Either way he's growing taller and gaining weight! He slathers on a lot of peanut butter on his apple slices at lunch every day. I think this helped him gain weight! 

I haven't been doing well at taking pictures lately. I plan to take some on Friday evening while the kids are participating in the history fair, and I'll take a video on Sunday of Ian's performance at the piano recital. We'll be on vacation for two weeks in February, which should give me opportunities to take a lot of pictures!

Unexpected Blessing

Sometimes when we get an unexpected phone call, the news is very unpleasant, such as when the police called to inform me of my brother's passing in March 2019. Yesterday I had an unexpected conversation with an investigator from the Pennsylvania Insurance Department. It was unexpected because we had filed a case with them in November 2021 and hadn't heard anything from them since 2022. It turns out that another resident of Pennsylvania filed a complaint against the same insurance company in 2023, and during that investigation they uncovered the fact that the insurance company wasn't licensed in the state of Pennsylvania. To avoid a felony charge, the insurance company opted to reimburse the other customer. The investigator then remembered he had received another complaint previously (mine). He said if we submit documentation from the hospital showing what we paid, they will tell the insurance company they have to reimburse us if they want to avoid prosecution. He fully expects that we will be reimbursed! I thought that God's answer to our prayers in 2021/22 had been "no," but it turns out His answer was wait. I never thought we'd get the money back even though I knew their lies were the reason we had to pay such a large bill. We are so thankful that it seems like we will be getting our money back as we paid almost $20K for my ankle surgery! 

Here are some other things I am grateful for today:

1. We hosted two game days at our home for homeschoolers this month. The kids played Wits and Wagers, Outburst, Spontuneous, Battleship, Apples to Apples, etc. 

2. I've been participating in a Bible study at a friend's house one night a week. We've met three times so far. I've also been discussing another Bible study with my sister over the phone. 

3. Nadia and Ian babysat for a small group study at their youth pastor's home once, and they will be doing so again next Monday.

4. Paul and I enjoyed watching season 4 of All Creatures Great and Small together via the PBS app.

5. The kids all had private ice-skating lessons from 2:00-3:30 on Sunday. Paul ice skated with Oliver once earlier this month and with all three kids on Sunday afternoon. They are all having a second lesson tomorrow. A third (and final) lesson has been scheduled for February 11. 

6. Nadia and Ian are enjoying participating in rehearsals for MCS's spring musical - Seussical. 

7. My dad made it safely down to Florida. 

8. We are dog sitting a thirteen-year-old dog for three weeks. He had a stroke last week before his family left on vacation. Thankfully it seems like he's mostly recovered. The first night at our home went very badly. All of us got very little sleep due to all the noise he made, and he marked a lot of territory in our home (carpet, couch, walls, and drapes). Thankfully it's going much better now. 

9. Ian continues to spend a lot of time practicing the piano almost every day. We recently made the change from 30 to 45-minute lessons. For his (early) Valentine's Day gift this year I got him a new book of piano music.

10. Paul, Oliver, and Nadia have really been enjoying doing jigsaw puzzles lately. I bought them each a 1,000-piece puzzle for Valentine's Day - a tank puzzle for Paul, a dog puzzle for Nadia, and a Lord of the Rings puzzle for Oliver.

11. For years I've had the goal to drink more water on a regular basis. I recently got myself a new water bottle, and I think this is going to help me achieve my goal to drink at least 64 ounces of water a day. 

12. I (and then we) had dental insurance for about 30 years. We lost our coverage when Paul sold the company at the beginning of August. The bills for getting our teeth cleaned was much higher than I was anticipating. I also was shocked at how much it cost to have two of Ian's teeth extracted in December. So, I signed up for a dental insurance plan for our family earlier this month. I am confident we will save a lot of money over the course of the year. I had my teeth cleaned this week, and Oliver had two teeth extracted. The extractions will cost more than we paid under the dental insurance we used to have, but they also cost a lot less than what I paid without any insurance. 

Snow Days

 Our first snowfall of the season happened on a Saturday. The second snowfall was yesterday. The kids around here ended up with a four-day weekend because Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and Tuesday was a snow day. My kids have five days of school this week. I deeply respect what MLK did for the Civil Rights movement. We took our kids to the National Park site in his honor in Atlanta, but we don't take a day off of school for MLK Day or because of snow. As a side note, although he did many wonderful things for the people of our country, I think he was an awful husband. It seems that he and JFK were having a contest to see who could be the worst womanizer? Similar to MLK, I am grateful for how JFK handled the situation in Cuba and didn't get us in a nuclear war, but I also think JFK was an awful husband. The schools around here had a two-hour delay today, and that did impact us because Nadia and Ian usually have art and chorus at Meadowbrook on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Chorus was cancelled yesterday, and the art period was almost cut in half. We decided just to skip art yesterday. A snow day means I don't walk my usual four miles with Milo. The first snowfall this winter was a wet snow. This time it was a very dry snow, so it was much easier to shovel. We're supposed to get more snow tomorrow. Because of that forecast plus the fact that Oliver and Paul are not healthy at the moment, we've cancelled our plans to go skiing at Ski Sawmill tomorrow. Maybe in 2025 the kids will be able to go skiing two times.

The last time we got a nice family photo was in 2019. My broken ankle interfered with the plans in 2021. I made efforts (ex. picking out outfits) to have it happen multiple times in 2022 and 2023, but it didn't happen. I really, really, really hope 2024 is the year! I'm hoping for a nice family photo near our home that includes Milo and also maybe a nice family photo sometime when we're on vacation. The last one I loved was taken at Myrtle Beach. The last time I got one of the three kids plus Milo that I really liked was March 2021, and at least we got an updated one of those four this week. It would be very helpful if I learned how to use a tripod plus use my phone as a remote to control my camera. I'm very thankful for my three kids and Milo!

The kids chipped in and bought Paul a 1,000-piece WWII tank puzzle for his birthday. Paul and Nadia have been working on it, and it's almost done. Several other Star Wars and Marvel puzzles have been completed in our home in 2024. Oliver helped with those as they had been ones he received for his birthday in August. 

Seussical the Musical!

When I was in first through third grade, we lived in Texas. Although my health improved after we moved to Maryland in 1981, there were certain things I really loved about living in Texas. My dad pastored a church that involved a decent drive from our home, so we used to spend the afternoons with a family in the church in between the morning and evening church services. Sunday afternoons were the best because they typically involved swimming, horseback riding, being taught rope tricks, etc. I also loved the Christian camp where I spent a week each summer. At that camp I was taught how to participate in a few different rodeo events, and we would put on a "rodeo" on the last day for the parents. My kids have taken horseback riding lessons, but up until this week, they had never attended a rodeo. I have a list of activities I want the kids to experience before they graduate from high school. We've accomplished some of them but not all of them. For decades I've heard people talk about the Pennsylvania Farm Show which has been held in Harrisburg every January for over 100 years. President Eisenhower won some competitions at the Farm Show! It lasts for a week, and about 500,000 people attend the event. The last three days of the event they also hold a rodeo. On Thursday after we picked Nadia and Ian up from art/chorus at the Christian school, we drove to the farm show. The rodeo started at 7:00pm. We didn't stay until the end because the kids were getting tired, and we live a little over an hour from Harrisburg. Oliver already asked me if we can go again next year. I don't think we'll go every year, but I also don't think it was our last time to attend the farm show or a rodeo. The contestants in the rodeo were primarily from the northeast part of the country, but some were from Florida, Texas, etc. The shocking thing was that three of the contestants were from Watsontown (the small town we live in), and three were from Milton (the small town where our church is located). One of the men from Watsontown was the champion of his event! 

I would have chosen to buy tickets for the rodeo today because it took place earlier in the day, but the kids had a Bible quizzing competition this afternoon. Last night the kids quizzed from 7-10:30 pm. Teams from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana traveled to compete at our church. I stayed at the church from 8:00-3:00 today to assist as a timer during the quizzing. Nine kids from our church were split into three different teams, and all three of our teams took places #1-3 of the eight teams. Ian was on the winning team, and Nadia was on the team that got second place. The girls' team (Nadia, Faith, and Jill) only lost to the boys' team (Ian, Xandir, and Ben). The funny thing was that they each had a sibling on the other team. Ian didn't do as well on the individuals as he did in Ohio in November, but he did come in 5th place. Xandir and Lucy are Oliver's age, and they are both quizzing for the first time this year. They are doing a great job. I hope Oliver can follow in their footsteps when he joins the team next September! This year they are studying Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. Next year they're studying Luke. 

Nadia and Ian had a busy day. In addition to the quizzing competition, Ian practiced his piano solo on the piano he will be playing on at his recital in a few weeks, and they both had auditions for the musical at the Christian school. Nadia sang "Feed the Birds," and Ian sang "Hakuna Matata." They both were given parts! Nadia will be Mrs. Mayor (JoJo's mom). Ian has five parts - Vlad Valdikoff (black bottomed eagle), Max (the Grinch's dog), citizen of the jungle, hunter, and in the circus. I hope they have an enjoyable experience over the next three months. They will have three performances April 11-13. 

Snow Day

The snow that the kids encountered at the ski resort on Wednesday was primarily manmade. We had our first snow that actually accumulated on the ground yesterday. I'd estimate we got about four inches. I had planned to sign the kids up for ten weeks of ice-skating lessons, but the day before we drove to Chicago for Christmas, I found out what the schedule will be for the spring musical rehearsals at MCS. I already knew they'd miss some lessons due to our vacation in February, but when I learned they'd miss even more due to musical rehearsals, it didn't make any sense to sign them up for the class. I contacted one of the instructors to set up some private lessons instead. The first one was supposed to happen yesterday afternoon, but as it was snowing at that time and the ice-skating rink is 30 minutes away, I cancelled their lessons. Oliver's was rescheduled to this afternoon. It turned into a date with dad. We drove in two vehicles to church. Nadia, Ian, and I came home after church. Paul and Oliver went out to eat at KFC and then went ice skating for 2.5 hours of which 30 minutes of that was a lesson. 

We didn't leave the house on Friday or Saturday (except for Paul who went to work on Friday). I spent the extra free time doing some data entry for a missionary and doing some planning for future trips. Sometimes I am mocked for planning so far in advance, but honestly, sometimes it's necessary. In December I contacted our Representative to try to get tickets to tour the White House and FBI in March. I was too late for getting tickets for the FBI. We *might* get tickets for the White House. We'll find out sometime next month. I did recently get tickets for Ford's Theatre for April. It's too soon to attempt (again!) to get Washington Monument tickets. I had tickets for the White House, Washington Monument, and Ford's Theatre in 2020, but those were all cancelled. I'm trying again four years later. Although I know where we plan to go in 2025 (Hawaii for one trip and Louisiana/Texas for the other), I have done VERY little research into the Hawaii trip yet. In contrast, I started doing research for our trip to Europe that we're hoping to make it the spring of 2026. I know that seems SO far in advance, but honestly, I spent years planning our big road trip out west that we took in 2021. I like starting to make the itinerary for a big trip farther in advance so that as the months go by, I can tweak it as I learn of other places we might want to visit, etc. 

My current hypothetical itinerary for Europe has us staying there for about 2.5 weeks and visiting Paris, Amsterdam, Belgium, England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Ireland. Nadia had requested that we go to Paris, Rome, and England. I don't think we'll actually go to Italy in 2025. I want to see the tulips in Amsterdam, and Paul wants to visit Waterloo and Ypres in Belgium. Paul and I made three trips to Europe in 2002-2004 so, it's been twenty years since I've been there. We visited Spain, Italy, France, and England together; since that time, Paul visited Italy and Poland without me while attending two conferences. I went on a trip to Austria/Germany in 1997 with my family.  I have listed some things in our itinerary that would be repeats for Paul and me (Eiffel Tower, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Saint Chapelle, Versailles, and the Arc de Triomphe), but mostly I'm planning to include experiences that will be new ones for all five of us. There are other places in Europe we'd like to visit at some time in the future. If the Lord tarries, we shall see where we end up traveling in 2027 and beyond. Paul and I both prefer to splurge on experiences/making memories over purchasing "things." I'm very thankful we have the resources to take our kids to various states and other countries! I purchased our tickets for visiting Alaska recently. Because of getting an Alaskan airline credit card, we can check our baggage for free, we got one ticket for free (using miles), and we only paid $99 each for two of our round-trip tickets. We still have quite a few miles left over. I'm hoping to use those miles for one of our two vacations in 2025. I also have a decent number of miles left over with American Airlines that I hope to use next year. 

One sad event from the last week was the passing of Nadia's guinea pig, Peppa. In October she started losing some hair in a few different places on her body. Looking online we saw that there were a wide variety of possible causes. We started giving her some vitamins as that was the cure for one of the possible problems. It's possible we could have taken her to a vet and possibly there was a cure for whatever was ailing her, but we didn't want to end up spending hundreds of dollars, especially as there still might not have been a cure. We've owned a total of five guinea pigs. We have one at the moment. Three of the other four passed away when they were three years old. Jenna lived five years. Peppa lived the second longest as she was just a few weeks shy of turning four years old. I hope that Lily lives at least until Nadia graduates from high school. I hope Milo lives for another ten years. The passing away of pets is my least favorite aspect of owning a pet. I retrieved the dead bodies from the cage the last two times. The first guinea pig who died was put to sleep at a vet. Ian did the yucky job for me this time of retrieving her body from the cage. 

54 Years Old!

 

Yesterday Paul turned 54 years old. We met and started dating shortly after he turned 27, so that means we've been together for half of his life. Since I was 24 (almost 25) when we met and started dating, I had already hit that milestone of having been with Paul for half of my life a couple of years ago. WVIA usually has the free ski day at Elk Mountain in the Poconos the week of his birthday, and sometimes (like this year) it lands on his actual birthday. Because he had a trade show in early January in Baltimore each year, he often wasn't able to go to Elk Mountain. The last time that I skied was in January 2021 at Elk Mountain. I haven't skied since I had a plate and screws inserted in my ankle. In January 2022 I took four kids skiing. Nadia's friend, Jill, joined us that day. Last year, the WVIA day at Elk Mountain had to be rescheduled due to the weather. This meant that Paul was able to go skiing because it didn't interfere with the trade show. Since he sold the company, he is DONE attending trade shows. Woohoo! He feels like that's a Christmas gift to not be going to Baltimore next week. I asked Paul if he would rather ski or rather hang out with me in the ski lodge. He opted to hang out with me, so we invited Julianna to use our fourth pass from WVIA. Julianna had never gone skiing before. Paul and I played a game of Scrabble and a game of Rummikub while we were at the ski lodge. The six of us packed lunches, and we stopped at Red Robin for dinner on the way home. Because it was the first Wednesday of the month, we got two free kids' meals and two free ice cream sundaes. 

I made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner on Tuesday night because it's one of Paul's favorite things to eat. I had bought him a cheesecake, and we ate some of that tonight. I got him a big box of Middleswarth chips and a few candy bars for his birthday. The kids chipped in together to buy him a jigsaw puzzle featuring WW2 tanks. My dad gave him some money and a book. Paul recently ordered a new desk and a REALLY big computer monitor that he plans to use as his new home office in our bedroom. I got pizza for dinner tonight which is another of his favorite foods. I had won a prize pack from our local Christian radio station last week, and one of the prizes I received was a gift certificate for a free large pizza. I used that today. I'm planning to make him Heath bar cookies on Saturday, which are one of his favorite types of cookies. Hopefully he's had a good birthday week! 

WVIA used to have two days we could ski for free each year. The last time that happened was in 2020. It seems that WVIA days at Ski Sawmill are now a thing of the past. Ski Sawmill is much closer to our house. They have three homeschool days where they give a 50% discount for the lift ticket and rental. We're accustomed to skiing for free, but we'd like the kids to be able to go skiing twice this year so we're planning to pay for them to go skiing on a homeschool day on January 19 at Ski Sawmill. Knowing that our niece, Susie, tore her ACL when she went skiing a little over a year ago, we're very thankful that we all came home without any injuries yesterday. 

2024 Bucket List

For many years I used to post a list of goals at the start of the year. Lately, I've switched to posting a bucket list for the year that I modify throughout the year. Last year, we logged 110 first time experiences. Below is the current list of places I think we might visit, movies we might see, concerts we might attend, etc. for the first time over the next year. I'm sure things will be added and deleted throughout the year. That's not to say that we don't have goals that we're working toward or in some cases habits we've formed that we want to maintain. For example, I'm thankful we've finally gotten in the habit of having one family fun night a week (when the schedule permits), and I'm grateful that I averaged 13,654 steps per day in 2023 which was twice as much as 2022. We're still working to visit all 50 states (47 so far), all Canadian provinces (1 so far), 30 amusement parks (27 so far), 40 zoos/aquariums (31 so far), 200 National Park sites (130 so far), etc. 

1. Watch the fourth season of All Creatures Great and Small on PBS - DONE!
2. See the movie Boys in the Boat on DVD- Done!
3. Attend the PA Farm Show - DONE!
4. Attend a rodeo - DONE!
5. Ian's first solo piano recital - DONE!
6. Big Cypress National Park* - DONE!
7. Feed tarpons - DONE!
8. Lion Country Safari - DONE!
9. McCarthy's Wildlife Sanctuary - DONE!
10. Laura Quinn Wild Bird Sanctuary - DONE!
11. Airboat ride - DONE!
12. Tram ride through Shark Valley - DONE!
13. Everglades National Park* - DONE!
14. Dry Tortugas National Park* - DONE!
15. Visit Robert is Here in Florida - DONE!
16. John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park - DONE!
17. Glass bottom boat tour - DONE!
18. Turtle Hospital- DONE!
19. Bahai Honda State Park- DONE!
20. Visit the Towfighis at their house in Quito, Ecuador - DONE!
21. White water rafting in Ecuador- DONE!
22. Canyoning in Ecuador - Done!
23. Pailon del Diablo waterfall in Ecuador - DONE!
24. Intinan Museum in Quito - DONE!
25. Basilica de Vota Nacional - DONE!
26. Church of La Compania de Jesus - DONE!
27. Biscayne National Park*- DONE!
28. Eat at Bahama Breeze - Done!
29. See Tim Hawkins - Done!
30. Ian and Nadia participate in Seussical the Musical at MCS - Done!
31. Watch the first three seasons of The Baxters on Prime - Done!
32. See Daniel at Sight and Sound - Done!
33. Mack Truck Museum - Done!
34. Carrabba's Italian Grill - Done!
35. National Gallery of Art - Done!
36. Attend a concert featuring TobyMac, Tasha Layton, Cory Asbury, Mac Powell, etc. - Done!
37. Fonthill Castle - Done!
38. The Tileworks - Done!
39. Mercer Museum - Done!
40. See the movie Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (on DVD) - Done!
41. See the movie Someone Like You at the theatre with Nadia - Done!
42. Washington Monument - Done!
43. Steven Curtis Chapman concert - Done!
44. National Museum of American History - Done!
45. Holocaust Museum - Done!
46. Winter Jam - Done!
47. White House tour* - Done!
48. See the movie Cabrini - Done!
49. See the movie Ordinary Angels - Done!
50. See the movie Boys in the Boat - Done!
51. National Portrait Gallery - Done!
52. Rock Creek Park* - Done!
53. Supreme Court - Done!
54. Attend a Casting Crowns concert with a live symphony - Done!
55. International Spy Museum - done!
56. Prince Caspian at the Museum of the Bible - done!
57. Ford's Theatre* - done!
58. National Archives - done!
59. See the movie Unsung Hero at the theatre with Nadia - done!
60. Kings Dominion - Done!
61. Maggie Walker National Historic Site* - Done!
62. Fort Monroe National Monument* - Done!
63. Virginia Aquarium - Done!
64. Virginia Beach - Done!
65. Busch Gardens Williamsburg - Done!
66. George Washington Birthplace - Done!
67. Fredericksburg National Military Park* - Done!
68. Chancellorsville Battlefield* - Done!
69. Spotsylvania Battlefield - Done!
70. Prince William Forest Park* - Done!
71. Monocacy National Battlefield* - Done!
72. Watch the fourth season of The Chosen on the Chosen app - Done!
73. Water skiing lessons - Done!
74. See the movie Sight - done!
75. See a movie at the drive-in for the first time - done!
76. Nadia and Ian compete in Bible quizzing nationals at Houghton - done!
77. See a performance of Oliver! - done!
78. HersheyPark with the Towfighis - done!
79. See the movie Arthur the King on DVD -done!
80. Nadia flies to Chicago by herself for the firsr time ever - done!
81. Nadia gets her learner's permit - done!
82. See the movie Kung Fu Panda 4 (streaming) - done!
83. CN Tower-done!
84. Fort York -done!
85. Ripley's Aquarium -done!
86. Toronto Zoo - done!
87. Canada's Wonderland - done!
88. Oliver and Paul see the movie IF at the theater - done!
89. See Despicable Me 4 - done!
90. Highland Chocolates Factory tour - done!
91. Leonard Harrison State Park - done!
92. Old Bedford Village - done!
93. Nadia spends four weeks at Camp Susque as a SIT - done!
94. Fort Roberdeaux - done!
95. Stronghold camp with four cousins - done!
96. Hopewell Furnace NHS - done!
97. Ned Smith Nature and Arts Festival - done!
98. See The Fall Guy - done!
99. Alaska Native Heritage Center - done!
100. Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center- done!
101. Stoney Creek Zipline - done!
102. Alaska SeaLife Center- done!
103. Eat at Moose's Tooth Pizza- done!
104. Anchorage Museum- done!
105. Winner Creek Trail- done!
106. Stay at a bed and breakfast- done!
107. Exit Glacier- done!
108. Kenai Fjords National Park cruise*- done!
109. White water rafting at Chugach Outdoor Center- done!
110. Running Reindeer Ranch- done!
111. Denali National Park Tundra wilderness tour- done!
112. Hike trails at Denali - done!
113. See a sled dog demonstration- done!
114. Eat at The Crepery- done!
115. Museum of the North- done!
116. Musk Ox Farm - done!
117. Eat gelato - done!
118. Husky Homestead - done!
119. Large Animal Research Station - done!
120. Reindeer Farm - done!
121. See a performance of Pilgrim's Progress - done!
122. See the movie Sound of Hope on the Angel app - done!
123. Watch the second season of the Wingfeather Saga on the Angel app - done!
124. Attend Tuck Everlasting musical - done!
125. Johannes Mueller House - done!
126. Nadia attends College for a Weekend at Liberty University - done!
127. See the musical Anastasia at Liberty University - done!
128. Get a free ice cream for Milo at Becky's on a Tuesday - done!
129. See Inside Out 2 on Disney+ - done!
130. All three kids audition to be part of the Wizard of Oz - done!
131. Kids attend a fall retreat at Camp Susque - done!
132. Nadia starts a new job at Warrior Run Petcare - done!
133. See the movie Bonhoeffer - done!
134. See the movie The Forge - done! 
135. Ian sees Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - done! 
136. Oliver sees Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim - done!
137. Spend two days at Camelback Resort - done!
138. Ian attends winter camp for the first time - done!

*Junior Ranger badge

2023 by the numbers

1 - We went skiing once at Elk Mountain. We got a new range for our kitchen. We attended our first hockey game. Nadia and Ian sang in one concert with Meadowbrook Christian School. The kids each had their first flight lesson in June. Nadia took the PSAT for the first time. We participated in an escape room for the first time. We attended a Blue Angels air show for the first time. For the first time since I was in 8th grade, I'm in a church that is in the middle of a church split. Our church has many pastors because our weekly attendance usually exceeds 2,000 people. The senior pastor fired one of the other pastors in November, and immediately a group of people from our church left to start a new church, and the pastor who was fired is the pastor at the new church. Often there is a fallout when a senior pastor retires, and when ours retired in 2021 he had been there for 40 years. We didn't experience much attrition in the first 2.5 years after he retired, but it's happening now. For now, we are not leaving our church. When our previous senior pastor retired, there were really three pastors in our church who "could" have been chosen to become the next senior pastor. I'm not surprised Pastor Ryan has become a senior pastor. He's a gifted preacher, but I didn't expect him to become a senior pastor at another church right in this same small area. Some other staff have left over his departure. It will be some time before we really know what the total fallout is from this. 

2 - Paul and his brother sold two companies at the end of July! Nadia was in two performances of Mary Poppins in May. Nadia completed her first two college courses this fall (General Psychology and US History); she's currently in the middle of her third course through Grand Canyon University. We visited two indoor water parks this year. The kids went roller skating twice at Trout Pond Park. Nadia and Ian had two art teachers this year. They took an art class once a week at the homeschool co-op from January through May and from August to the present have been in an art class twice a week at Meadowbrook Christian School. We made two trips to Chicago to visit my sister's family and two trips to Lynchburg, Virginia - one to say goodbye to Margie and the second for her funeral. Milo and Grandpa joined us for our second trip to Chicago. 

3 - Milo turned three on September 30. Over the course of the year, we had a total of three guinea pigs living in our home. Buttercup passed away and then Lily joined our family, which means we currently have two guinea pigs. Nadia and Ian sang in three concerts with the Susquehanna Valley Youth Chorale. The kids and I attended a three-day Christian music festival at Six Flags Darien Lake. I organized three field trips for homeschoolers (Eckley Miners Village, Warrior Run Church, and Curtin Village/Bald Eagle State Park). As a family we saw three movies in the theater this year - His Only Son, The Shift, and Because of Bethlehem. Paul and Oliver also saw the Mario movie, and I also saw Sound of Freedom in the theater. 

4- We visited four amusement parks this summer - three in Pennsylvania and one in New York. It was our first-time visiting Kennywood which was our 27th amusement park we've been to as a family. We spent four days at Great Wolf Lodge with the Towfighis at the end of May. Nadia, Ian, and I served for four hours at the Operation Christmas Child distribution center in Baltimore for the first time. Four of us own cell phones as of this fall. Nadia got her first phone last year, but she could only use it on Wi-Fi until this fall when she got her first phone number and was added to our plan. 

5 - I was in the Sound of Music this fall. We put on five performances over the course of four days. Ian, Oliver, Xandir, Micah, and Isaiah spent five half-days at a Stronghold (foam sword fighting camp). The kids attended five game days with other homeschoolers - twice at our home, once at the Schrecks, and twice at the Schaffers. We received five passports in the mail. Paul and I renewed ours. Nadia and Ian received their second ones, and Oliver received his first passport. Nadia and Ian attended five Christmas parties (Oliver went to three of them) - two at church, one at a friend’s home, one at the roller-skating rink, and one at the ice-skating rink. 

6 - Ian, Oliver, and Xandir spent six days at camp at PMBC. We hosted a six-week session of a homeschool co-op at our home this fall. 

7 - Not counting relatives, we had families over for dinner at our home seven times this year, which was fewer times than last year, but this year we also hosted two games days (for kids) plus six sessions of a homeschool co-op. At least part of our family (and sometimes all five of us) volunteered to pack aid (hygiene kits, food, etc.) with Experience Missions seven times over the course of the year. We didn't fly anywhere from 2019-2022, but in 2023 I purchased tickets for us to fly seven times in 2023/24 (flight to Seattle in August 2023, flight from San Francisco in September 2023, flight to Miami for February 2024, flight to Quito for February 2024, flight from Quito for February 2024, and roundtrip flights to Anchorage for August 2024).

9 - The kids had nine ice skating lessons and attended three parties at the ice-skating rink.

11 - Oliver turned eleven on August 7. We visited eleven zoos/aquariums this year. Ten were ones we had never been to before bringing our cumulative total of zoos/aquariums that we've been to 31. Ian read eleven books this year. Last year he read 27 books, but some of the books he read this year were more than 700 pages long. 

12 - Nadia worked twelve shifts at Reptiland between June 12 and August 11.

14 - Ian turned fourteen on December 12.  

15 - Nadia turned fifteen on June 24. Ian had fifteen piano lessons with Lyn DeVito and participated in a duet piano recital for the first time. 

17 - Nadia spent seventeen days at Camp Susque. Oliver read seventeen books this year (compared to twenty-one last year).

22 - As of August 11, Paul and I have been married for twenty-two years. Nadia read twenty-two books this year (down from 67 last year).

35 - We visited 35 National Park sites this year bringing our cumulative total to 130.

42 - The kids each earned around forty-two Junior Ranger badges this year (compared to 36 last year). Nadia and Ian have each earned at least two hundred badges altogether. 

47 - This year we visited six states that we hadn't been in before as a family - Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Washington, Oregon, and Nevada. This brought our grand total to forty-seven states that we've spent time in over the last few years.  

49 - We saw the license plates for 49 of 50 states (plus DC and several Canadian provinces). The state we never spotted was Wyoming. Numbers 48 and 49 were Vermont and Hawaii. Last year we spotted 48, and the two we couldn't find last year were North Dakota and Hawaii. 

51 - I turned 51 on April 21.

53 - Paul turned 53 on January 3. 

54 - The kids went on 54 field trips this year. 

56 - I wrote 56 blog posts this year which was a new record low (compared to 78 last year which had been the record low). I made the blog more private about half-way through the year because the number of people reading the blog skyrocketed this summer for some unknown reason. 

80- I've either read or listened to a total of 80 books (not including the ones I did with the kids) of which 29 were nonfiction, which was a higher percentage than usual for me. That is eleven more than I read/listened to last year.

94 - This year we listened to (or I read aloud) a total of 94 audiobooks (down from 113 last year). Altogether over the last eleven years we've listened to 1,024 books. Fifty-four of those were rereads, which means the total number of unique titles would be 970.

955 - My current Duolingo streak is 955 days. I typically spend about 30 minutes a day learning Spanish via this app. Over the last 2.5 years I've completed six of the eight sections, which means I'm supposedly recently entered the early B2 level of CEFR (having completed the A1, A2, and B1 sections). Duolingo constantly revises their program. A moving target can be frustrating, but at least I know I'm moving forward. 

13,654 = the number of steps I averaged per day in 2023 according to my phone. *Most* days I walk Milo for at least four miles over the course of a day. The exception would be on rainy days as my walking buddy hates to get wet. 

14 years old!

 

For the past four months my kids ages have been two years apart, but that changed on Tuesday when Ian turned 14. He and Pop Pop blew out candles on a birthday cake on December 3. I made him peanut butter cup cookies for his birthday as peanut butter cups are his favorite type of candy. On December 11 we left our home around 9:00am to drive to the Kalahari resort in the Poconos; we ate the lunches we packed in the van. Check-in was a very quick process at a kiosk, and although usually you can't get into your room until 4pm, our room was already ready. We headed straight to the water park and spent about five hours there before we changed back into dry clothes and drove to Perkins to have dinner. The kids could have spent two more hours in the water park after we got back from having dinner, but they opted to hang out in our room instead. Oliver watched tv, Ian played on the Switch and iPad, and Nadia used her Chromebook. I worked on Ian's birthday video (see above). Nadia gave Ian a plush banana slug, Pop Pop gave him a $50 Apple gift card, Uncle Al and Aunt Millie gave him $20, and we gave him a Mario game for the Switch and a tripod for his phone that he wants to use when making stop motion movies. He had received two of his birthday gifts from us early - his very first cell phone and a watch. On Tuesday morning I ran to Dunkin to buy donuts and five breakfast sandwiches. That food constituted our breakfast and lunch for the day. When I made tuna noodle the previous Saturday, I purposefully doubled the recipe so that we'd have enough to have it again on Tuesday night. Paul and Ian also had some of the pork tenderloin that was left over from my dad's birthday dinner on Sunday. After dinner we went to Meadowbrook Christian School as Nadia and Ian sang in five of the songs at their Christmas program. 

In December 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022 we went to Great Wolf Lodge for one night for Ian's birthday. The kids and I went to the Kalahari in Sandusky, Ohio in August 2016, but we had never been to this particular resort. We still had the homeschool discount that we have had at GWL every time we've gone there, but Kalahari still costs quite a bit more than GWL. We decided to give it a whirl once. There are different pros/cons between the two parks. GWL has a better wave pool and has the lily pad feature that my kids enjoy. Kalahari has more water slides including mat slides. Altogether though I would say there is a better value to be had at GWL. If was up to Nadia, she would have spent the entire time in either the lazy river or the jacuzzi. At Kalahari you could be inside or outside while in the jacuzzi (even in the winter) which was different than GWL. Next year we're planning to try Camelback (another indoor water park resort in the Poconos), and then we're going to let Nadia pick in 2025 which one we go to as that will likely be her last hurrah as she'll be a senior in high school that year and probably won't be able to join us during Ian's last two years of high school. 

Here are 14 descriptions of our 14-year-old:

1. He enjoys playing the piano. He started taking lessons with Lyn DeVito in August and performed The Waltz of the Flowers with Josh in his first duet piano recital in November. He's currently working on a Christmas song that incorporates some classical music and also a Mario song that he plans to play at the recital in February. His piano teacher recently started working on teaching him to also play by ear.

2. Although he hasn't spent as much time as I hoped he would on learning Python the last four months, he still says he wants to study computer programming in college.

3. He's set a goal of being on the "A" team from our church at the Bible quizzing nationals in June. It's within his reach, but there is tough competition this year. I'm pleased that he's striving toward that goal. He's memorized several chapters of Ephesians and Galatians so far. He won first place in the individual competition at the practice quiz in Ohio last month!

4. He enjoys foam sword fighting with the Stronghold club in Winfield. His favorite weapon is a spear.

5. He has a beautiful voice. I usually wish that he would open his mouth wider and smile more at concerts. He sang at three concerts with the Susquehanna Valley Youth Chorale in November and December. He opened his mouth more at the Christmas concert at Meadowbrook earlier this week because he said he couldn't see the audience.

6. He really enjoys our small homeschooling co-op. He especially enjoys spending time with Ben, Nathaniel, and Xandir. 

7. Ian loves to spend time with his cousins Nathan and Joel. 

8. He still loves to spend time playing with Legos, Nintendo Switch, and iPad (or his Android phone). 

9. So far, he's breezing through Algebra 2. He'll be resuming the General Science textbook he started last year tomorrow. Next fall when he enters 9th grade, he'll be taking Chemistry and Geometry. 

10. He had two more baby teeth extracted by the dentist recently at the request of the orthodontist. He lost his retainer in the summer, so he's been enjoying chewing gum the last several months. He will be starting phase two with the orthodontist in February. 

11. When I pick him up from the youth center at church, he's usually playing either ping pong, pool, or foosball. He's enjoying our new foosball table that was an early Christmas gift. 

12. He almost always has cold cereal for breakfast. Some of his favorites are Captain Crunch, Fruity Pebbles, and Reese's Puffs. He almost always has a peanut butter and orange marmalade sandwich and half an apple (dipped in peanut butter) for lunch. His favorite ice cream is Moose Tracks. 

13. Ian enjoys reading Sonic comic books. Over the past six months he read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling, The Second Mrs. Gioconda by E.L. Konigsburg, The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain, and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. 

14. The thing I most appreciate about Ian, aside from his hugs, would be his sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. I look forward to seeing how Ian will grow physically, spiritually, socially, academically, and emotionally over the coming year! 

Grandpa was with us for his 80th birthday!

Birthdays!

This year we were with three of our nieces/nephews on their birthdays, which isn't typical because they live far away from us. In May we celebrated Joel's 12th birthday at Great Wolf Lodge, and last month we celebrated Jenna's 21st and Nathan's 15th birthdays at our home. I made Joel a carrot cake for his birthday and bought donuts and cookies for everyone another night on that trip. Jenna's birthday was the day before Thanksgiving this year. There were eleven people here for Jenna's birthday dinner: our family, Grandpa, her mom, Jenna, Toby, Andrew, and Nathan. She requested chili, rice, and peanut butter cookies. Nathan's birthday was the day after Thanksgiving. He requested sausage biscuits for breakfast. I bought four mylar birthday balloons, and the kids hung birthday banners throughout the house. We watched the movie "Sound of Freedom" and played games which included using our new foosball table. Grandpa slept in Oliver's bedroom. Nathan slept on the bottom bunk in Ian's bedroom, and Oliver slept on an air mattress in Ian's bedroom. Toby, Andrew, Yvonne, and Jenna used the two sofa beds downstairs. 

Ian's birthday (Dec 12) is very close to Aunt Janet's (Dec 9), my dad's (Dec 10), and Paul's dad's (Dec 20). From 2010-2017 we celebrated my dad's birthday and Ian's birthday together with my dad (2010-2015 also with my mom, 2016 just with my dad, and in 2017 with my dad and Margie). The last five years we only saw my dad at Christmas, not in conjunction with his birthday or Ian's birthday. In 2018 we started a tradition of going to Great Wolf Lodge for one night to celebrate Ian's birthday. We weren't able to go in 2020, but we went every other year since December 2018. Because we spent 3 nights at Great Wolf Lodge with the Towfighis earlier this year, we decided to give Kalahari a whirl this year for Ian's birthday. Although we're still getting a discount because we're going with a homeschool group, it costs a lot more than Great Wolf Lodge. We decided to try this Kalahari at least once. The kids and I were at the Kalahari in Ohio once in 2016. My dad is planning to drive up to Pennsylvania on Saturday so he will spend his 80th birthday with us this year. He'll then be seeing a show in Lancaster with Andrea. It will be the first time since 2017 that we were able to celebrate his birthday with him. 

Over the past 25 years I can only think of two times when we didn't spend time with several members of both sides of our family at Christmas. In 2020 we weren't with any relatives. In December 2022 the only person from Paul's side of the family that we saw was his dad. It had been almost exactly two years since Nadia, Ian, or I saw Al or Millie. Oliver had seen Uncle Al in March of 2022 when he took him to a concert. Because we are going to Chicago for Christmas this year, and because Al and Millie are very busy at their bakery in December, we ended up celebrating Ian's 14th birthday, Pop Pop's 82nd birthday, and Christmas yesterday. Shawn lives with Al and Millie. My kids haven't seen their cousin since 2021. He didn't come yesterday. I served ham steaks, au gratin potatoes, sweet potatoes, applesauce, cranberry sauce, mixed vegetables, and homemade rolls yesterday. Al and Millie brought cookies and a birthday cake. I think it was the earliest Christmas gift exchange we've ever had, but the kids weren't complaining about that, ha ha! 

The pictures in this post are from Nadia and Ian's concert in November, the day we volunteered at the Operation Christmas Child distribution center in Baltimore, the birthday cake from yesterday, and from the night Nadia and Ian sang at a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Lewisburg. Other highlights from the past two weeks would include seeing the movie The Shift in the theater, seeing the musical "Not so perfect Christmas" and having dinner at Texas Roadhouse with Jenna, and getting a new dishwasher installed in our home. The one we bought eleven years ago decided to stop working over Thanksgiving while there were eleven people under our roof. The new one is much nicer than the one that was hauled away last week! I'm very appreciative of dishwashers, especially when we have company!