2020

All you really need to say is "2020." You can blame practically anything on the year that just ended. You can grieve the losses, lament what might have been, and celebrate absolutely anything that was good. It's a year that will be studied for decades to come, and the impact of all that was 2020 will take a long time to truly understand. We are thankful for many, many good things this year. This year's roundup of picturs shows the good, and reminds me of all that we have much to be thankful for. And also a list of things I don't ever want to forget. 

YL2020
braces for Sophie
counseling
CLW
my 40th birthday
book club cabin weekend
relational wisdom class
loosing uncle glen & aunt donna
honda accord/rav4
ash wednesday service
dad's birthday dinner
medication
all-county band (ted)
3 day golf career (ted)
7/8 band (sophie in 6th)
track practice (sophie)
wyldlife weekend (ben, ted & sophie)
regular coffee with steph
a-team training
the explosive child
stonewall - casey's wedding & family weekend
hocking hills
covid-19
quarantine
remote school (march-may and a lot of the fall)
easter & christmas at home
home projects
20th wedding anniversary
no bed bugs
walking & running 865 miles
funny memes
empty store shelves
cancelled Italy trip
trivia nights on instagram
toilet paper paintings

stimulus checks (2x)
masks
cabin with the kozels
hiking. fishing. swimming. euchre. fires. haircuts. hugging.
seeing our grandparents for sophie's birthday
majorette
george floyd
racial tensions
the river
half-marathon training & injuries
washer (x2)
gw band
lake day with the bias'
ace with the sizicks
TN girls weekend
parking lot church
pap's heart surgery
KV golf tournament
sleeping meds & PT
allevatos birthday/bachelor/engagement parties
canaan with the broadhursts
aunt did's pool
hamilton. frozen 2. soul. (disney + for the win!)
saturday school maps
cole's birthday boat bash
choosing in-person school
contacts
the office
marvel movies
puzzles. games. movies.
half-marathon
hello fresh
teodoros moved to charleston
sunday night bible study
john & molly's wedding (our pic didn't make the slide show I just realized)
remote/in-person | back and forth all fall
sept 8 school start date | oct 8 in person start date
torn rotator cuff
2 football games for band
1 football game for majorettes
ted's 15th birthday
virtual banquets
hey people!
the crown
ted lasso
halloween party
christmas tree battle (nov 3 - jan 3)
the never-ending election
biden/harris
group remote school
our own thanksgiving
backyard fires & football
ben's 45th birthday
yl scavenger hunt
no the usual christmas traditions
game nights with the tuels
babysitting class
white christmas
new years at the cabin
unprescidented times
resilliance
vaccines
abundance of caution

2019

I quit blogging in 2019. It wasn't intentional. I got behind for January and February and then life got really crazy in March. I didn't have words for the rest of the spring. I spent June on the road. We moved back to Charleston in July. It has been a long, hard 6 months - actually 10 months. We've cried a lot of tears. We've done a lot of adjusting.  My stupid iPhoto has given me fits over this year in review video but it's a years worth of blogging in pictures and the highlights of a year we won't soon forget. As I've reflected on 2019 by going through my pictures, calendar and journal, I'm flat out grateful.

It's tradition that the last Sunday of the year, there's no church. Our family sat down and answered the following questions individually and then talked through them together. The list below largely came from that.

• What are things you want to remember from this year?
• What was hard this year?
• Where did you see God at work?
• What books did you read this year? 
• What music did you listen to this year?
• What are a few things you learned this year - about yourself, others, God or things that you learned at school that were interesting to you?
• What are 10 things you are thankful for? 

Unlike the pictures, these are in no particular order.

American Girl Store trip

GEMS

Kenneywood redemption field trip

science center field trip

band concerts

5th grade graduation

selling our house on facebook

talking about moving with the kids and our friends
running with Cole and Janell (and Joanna in the summer!)

rockbridge assignment
the horse barn

whole 30

chronological bible

mourning and dancing

Ted's last tooth fixed

book club

my blanket

first ward - jack roberts. white park.

ted. wyatt. sam. cooper. ashur. zion.

a million miles over the summer

a million miles in the fall

house hunting with stacy

long walk with Lorrie & Stacy

enneagram 9

daddy/daughter dance

canton with the sizicks

tudor farms with MSR

GOTR - coach. 5k.
ted's phone

lake champion leader weekend

sophie's pool party

cabin with the kozels

summer fun with ted: bike rides. black bears. coopers rock. sleepovers. fort night. parking playing.

lily's broken wrists

ikea. lowes. sherwin williams.

janell decorating my house and she still hasn't seen it

summer of pink

betsy & stella ate lactaid

alpine camp

lake day

beach, beach, beach - isaacs. caplingers. allens. tuels. bergs.

cross country. county champs.

marching band at football games

creating a new home

ADD

quarterly reflection with Lorrie

marco polo

halloween kid swap

keeping traditions

being able to host in our new house
target. lowes. home goods.

familiar friends
new schools

coffee with steph

greg painting
2 bathrooms

hot hot hot summer (into October)

Bethany's 40th birthday weekend

dad's surgery

mom's knee
steeler's games

we wonder advent

2 couches 

#figureitout

december 2018

It's March 5, 2019, writing about December 2018. I honestly can't even remember. But here we go, in the order my pictures uploaded.

I love our Christmas tree. LOVE IT! We got it at the Walmart for $80 sometime after Ted, before Sophie. So it's 11 or 12 years old. Every year we put it up and wonder if it's the last year. But no way! Plus the big lights. 💕 We put the tree up the weekend before Thanksgiving and Ben took it down the 27th. That was a little early for me. I usually like to have it down by the 30th, but hey, if I don't have to do it, no complaining here. Ted informed us this year that the night we decorate the tree is one of his favorite nights of the year. Most of our ornaments have some sentimental value (vacations, each year I get the kids an ornament, someone special gave it to us) so it's fun to listen to Christmas music, drink hot beverages and remember the memories.

The Slider Cousins

Sophie & Owen

Doh in her new kitchen

Doh & Pap's new house they moved into two weeks before Christmas!

Uncle Jim came for Christmas. We had some serious games of some sort of shark fishing game Reed got for Christmas.

We also played our new game of Catan, Jr. (Sometimes we stick with the kid versions of games because the adult ones are just too much of all the things.)

Ted may or may not have needed a haircut most of the month of December!

Ben and Ted went to the Steelers/Bengals game after Christmas. Is that who they played? The game where everyone stayed after the game to watch the Browns on the big screen. The whole stadium was cheering for the Browns. They lost and dashed the Steeler's dreams of a playoff game. Which was probably best for everyone.

They waited way too long at Burgatory, but got stellar burgers and shakes.

Ted got his own Terrible Towel.

Joanna took Sophie and Lily to some Harry Potter night at the Morgantown Library.

They dressed up in their finest for the event. (It's nice to see we're getting our money's worth of my junior prom dress.)

We went to a mother/daughter tea and craft day at our friend Lorrie and Claire's house. No boys allowed! It was so fun!

Ben turned 40-something-or-other. We celebrated at Black Bear with Peace, Love and Little Donuts.

WyldLife went ice skating and the sisters tagged along. They were a hoot and spent a lot of time sprawled out on the ice.

One of our highlights of December was going to the Ruth's adoption hearing. What an experience! We let the kids skip school and go as they've seen all this happen from the beginning. Yay for the Sizicks!!!

We celebrated my cousin Abby's graduation from WVU's grad school.

Gary Pap "helped" make the big cookie.

The Sizick's hosted the Second Annual Gingerbread House Night. Super fun!

Sophie won the grand prize. (I think.)

Ben teaching Sophie to wrap gifts nice and neatly. I'm not allowed to wrap gifts in house. It really is embarrassing.

The Kozels hosted our 4th or 5th annual sugar cookie decorating day. Joanna is a saint for making all the cookies. We just come for the fun part. Every year gets easier, less messy and everyone sticks around at the table a little longer. (And keeps their shirts on.)

This year we added the leg lamp cookie. Classic.

I'm really proud of this one.

Ted & Wyatt bailed on the Westover Christmas House and the house with the massive light display this year. Something about the pouring rain. Whatever. The girls actually got to see Santa AND got an armload of toys! (Note: I'm pretty sure this is the first time in her life that Sophie has actually talked to Santa!) Lily's white boots were pretty much laid to rest after that night.

We have a family tradition for Christmas Eve. Ben plays the drums at church and the kids and I serve in the nursery one of the services. This year, they needed Ben to lead worship at the Bridgeport campus. So we made our way down there to serve in the nursery. No babies. So Ted and I played a game of bowling.

 

My score improved very little over the next 9 frames. Thankfully there are bowling score apps you can download or else I would've had no idea how to score my "0" on the next frame.

Sophie was majorly disappointed about no babies.

Sophie and her fake nails from her stocking.

Christmas morning round table discussion while we waited to open presents. I believe topics such as hunting, building a wall, immigration, and other hot button issues were discussed.

Doh's fun door/money holder gift.

And the yarn ball gift for the littles.

Annual Slider Family Christmas shrimp dinner. Oh man!!

Some park playing with Henry and Roxie. This was pre-barfing.

Trying to get everyone to smile. All the bribing and yelling and threats.

Doh & her boys

Reed loves to play games now.

And Ben FINALLY got his nap - 3 days later.

Sophie made cupcakes with her new icing tips.

She's quite good.

 Creating and building from the kits Aunt Steph got them for Christmas.

I took Sophie and Addi to the tea shop while the boys went to the Steeler game.

She is my best girl.

Other December highlights included:

It's a Wonderful Life at the CAC with mom, Aunt Did & Brandi

Sophie missed it b/c she broke our 3-year-no-puke-streak

I started running 2 days a week with Cole & Janell - 3 miles! 

overnight at Deep Creek

an overnight in the ER

George H.W. Bush's funeral

the middle school band dance

bowl game party with the fowlers

a fabulous new year's at the Sizicks with half the Kozels