School Time

 First Day of 8th Grade!!

Due to a staggered start, Bree was the only one who had school today.  Sitting in the car line this morning felt as if we never even had a summer break.  It all went so fast!  So we got to chatting and listing all the things we did:

Pine Lake, camping (Poplars Lake)-camping (Marble Lake)-camping (Uncle/Cousins House),  Mud Hens game, church kayaking, sleepovers, Drive-In movies, movie theatre movies, Michigan day trip, worked with her dad a lot, lemonade stands, neighborhood fireworks and birthday party, played massive amounts of Crossnet, and more!

"But..." she says "We didn't go hiking!"

Preschool Year 1

Preschool Year 2

Kindergarten

1st Grade

2nd Grade

3rd Grade

4th Grade

5th Grade

6th Grade

7th Grade

Ode to 2020

 FAMILY DISNEY VACATION with Mike, Becki, Matt and Adrienne.  Coronavirus Outbreak.  Caesar Windsor Trip.  Rachel's First Speeding Ticket.  Valentine Geodes.  Penny Hockey Board.  Quarantine, Shut Down, and Toilet Paper Shortage.  Virtual Learning.  Jacob Quarantine Birthday.  Easter at Home.  Season of Pudding Shots.  Jim turned 40.  Repainted Living Room.  Permanent Camping Spot at Poplar's Resort.  New Patio Table.  New Gas Grill.  Neighborhood Ice Cream Birthday Party for Holly.  TWO New Blackstone Grills.  Summer of Hand and Foot Games.  Mask Mandate Began.  Gaga Ball Pit.  Kayaking with Tammy and Heather.  Cake Decorating 4-H Project.  Bree made the 7th Grade Volleyball Team.  New Fridge.  UP Birthday Trip.   Cuyahoga Trip with Heather.  Fall Travel Soccer.  Painted Shed.  Hocking Hills Trip with Becki, Mike, and Austin.  Cuyahoga Hiking with Mom Dominique.  Watched All 22 Marvel Movies in Order.  Holly Close Contact Quarantine.  20th Wedding Anniversary.  Halloween Donuts in the Front Yard.  13th Birthday at Blue Pacific.  Thanksgiving Lasagna.  Taking it to the Streets.  Rachel Tested Positive for Covid.  All Three Kids Quarantined.  Passed Out Turkey Dinners.  MIS Night Lites.  Quiet New Years Eve at Home.

2020 Book List

2020 Book List

1. Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris
*Follow up to The Tattooist of Auschwitz

2. Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

3. Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott

4. Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson

5. If You Tell by Gregg Olsen

6. Marsh King's Daughter by Karen Dionne

7. My Sister's Grave by Robert Dugoni

8. Regretting You by Colleen Hoover

9. The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

10. Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

11. Run Away by Harlan Coben

12. Missing You by Harlan Coben

13. The Stranger by Harlan Coben

14. Holes by Louis Sachar

15. The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

16. Shaken by Tim Tebow

17. The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

18. Finding Ultra by Rich Roll

19. The Lake House by Kate Morton

20. The Day the World Came to Town by Jim DeFede

21. The One by John Marrs

22.  Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

23. The Dutch House By Ann Patchett

24. The Last One by Alexandra Oliva

25. My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

26. I'm thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

27. The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck

28. The Last Flight by Julie Clark

29. The Immortal Nicholas by Glenn Beck

A 20 year Tribute

"Here's to the ones that we got

Cheers to the wish you were here, but you're not

Cause the drinks bring back all the memories

Of everything we've been through

Toast to the ones here today

Toast to the ones that we lost on the way

'Cause the drinks bring back all the memories

And the memories bring back, memories bring back you."

From the first Nintendo purchased at a pawn store on our honeymoon

to the collection taking over our basement....

From the first road trip to Tennessee

to every road trip in-between...

From the very beginning

to this very moment...

I love you more than I can put into words.  I would not want one thing about the life we have created to be different.  If the first 20 years were this great, I cannot wait to see where our hope and dreams takes us on the next 20.

Happy Anniversary.

1999:

2020:

Ode to 2019

 The first picture of New Years Eve

New Van.  Great Wolf Lodge.  Polar Vortex.  

Final French Quarters Hotel Stay.  

Columbus Axe Throwing.  Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Palace.  Meteorological Bomb. Friday Night Book Club.  

RV/MH Hall of Fame.  Hall of Heroes.  

University of Notre Dame Visit.  

New Camper.  Kindergarten Registration.  4-H.  Spring Soccer Season for Jacob AND Holly. 

Birthday Boys Camping Trip.  4-H Nature Day Camp.  Cleveland Family Hiking.  

Rainiest Spring in 125 years.

  

Second picture of New Years Eve

First 4-H Week Long Overnight Camp.  

Pine Lake.  4-H Judging.  State Fair Representative. 

Goodbye Grandma Graham.  

Antenna Fixed.  Homegrown Zuchinni Abundance.  

Mohican Adventures Family Vacation.  

Travel Soccer.  6th Grade, 3rd Grade, Kindergarten at Last!  Food Substitute Position. Volleyball Clinics and Tournaments.  Band. Disney Countdown.  

Inflatable 5k. Gatlinburg Getaway.  

Lights Before Christmas.  TSO Concert. 

Taking it to the Streets.  

Frankenmuth.  Blue Pacific Date Night.  

Project Life 2019.

Finally got it right!

2019 Book List

My 2019 reads:

1. The Impossible by Joyce Smith
* Medical drama, powerful message of the power of prayer

2. Just One Look by Harlan Coben

3. The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

4. I Survived The Attack of the Grizzlies, 1967 by Lauren Tarshis
*Favorite 'I Survived' book of all time.  Mountains, nature, and impact on environment.  Whats not to love?

5. The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens

6. The Strangers in the Woods by Michael Finkel

7. No Exit by Taylor Adams
* Needs to be a movie

8. The Shadows We Hide by Allen Eskens

9. Bird Box by Josh Malerom

10.  Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
*Reread but still didn't like it any more.

11. The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
* Reread and LOVED IT MORE the second time!

12. Grey by E.L. James
*Interesting view point to the series but it still did not make me want to finish the other books.

13. Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrik Backman
*So confused by this book.  The premise is good, but the story fell short.  Maybe it shouldn't have been a novella?

14.  Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom

15. First Phone Call From Heaven by Mitch Albom

16. Beside Still Waters by Tricia Goyer
*What the what?!  Had no idea that Amish books could be this intriguing!! 

17. Hello Sunshine by Laura Dave
*I was pleasantly surprised by this book and it left me thinking...  Is this really how it is for the Food Network Stars?

18. Along Wooded Paths by Tricia Goyer
*Sequel to Beside Still Waters.  Seriously!!  Amish books!!!  Amazing!!

19. The Forgotten Girls by Sara Blaedel 

20. Beyond Hope's Valley by Tricia Goyer
*Amazing, amazing, amazing conclusion to the 'Beside Still Waters' series!!!

21. Six Years by Harlan Coben

22. Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni
*Almost like Forrest Gump for the modern age.  Wonderful read.

23. As You Wish by Cary Elwes
*Awesome behind the scenes story of the Princess Bride.

24. The Princess Bride by William Goldman (Abridged Audio Book)

25. White Christmas Pie by Wanda Brunstetter
*Okay, so maybe not all Amish books are amazing or else I really don't care for this author's style of writing.

26. Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick

27. I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

28. Verity by Colleen Hoover
*Very fast read.  Chilling.  Suspenseful.  Shocking twist!

29. Educated by Tara Westover
*Favorite Biography of all time.  Cannot believe there are still people/families like this in the U.S. today!! 

30. Wild Awakening by Greg Matthews
*Loved. Loved. Loved.  Mountains, nature, bear attack, survival, God.  Perfect combination.

31. Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

32. Wolfhunter River by Rachel Caine

33.  I Can't Make This Up by Kevin Hart
*Good and funny start, but when they hit celebrity status and loose their roots, it gets frustrating.  

34. Silent Night, Holy Night by Colleen Coble

35. Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
*OMG!!!!!  Best thriller ever!!  So many gut wrenching, heart pounding, physical emotions felt in this one!!

36. View From Rainshadow Bay by Collen Coble

37. The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
*I am thankful for modern day luxuries and endless food.  However, it is inspiring to read about being resourceful and meager.

38. November 9 by Colleen Hoover
*Thought I was going to be reading a thriller or a mystery, but instead this is a romance and it is wonderful.

39. The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
*Wonderful piece of historical fiction.

40.  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling

41. Made From Scratch by Sandra Lee
*Interesting to learn about Sandra's start to life, but then the story went downhill for me.  She became a celebrity and lost her humbleness.  Lots of name dropping

42. Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center
*Amazing.  Loved the characters right from the start and has the best epilogue ever written.

43. The Immortal Nicholas by Glenn Beck
*Best Christmas book ever written.  Tying the all important meaning of Christmas into why Santa does what he does brought a whole new, eye opening view to Christmas.

44. The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda
*Did not care for this one.  Storyline was hard to follow between past and present and flashbacks in the characters heads.

45. Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh
*Courtroom drama (but understandable and not boring) meets serial killer makes for one awesome book.

46. I Will Always Write Back by Martin Ganda
*Refreshes the heart on the impact of the OCC Shoeboxes even though this has nothing to do with them.  So little for us does so much in third world countries.

47. Christmas Sisters by Sarah Morgan
*A deeper more character developed Christmas story worth reading.

48. A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
*Story follows Martin, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, all the way to adulthood.

49. The Christmas Star by Donna VanLiere

50. Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
*Historical fiction love story.  Makes you want to read follow up non-fiction books on WW2.

Honored

Jim was asked to be the Godfather of the newest member of the Dominique family.  It was an honor he could not refuse.  Today we attended her baptism and celebrated the beginning of her walk with Christ.  

God is within her, she will not fail

Psalm 46:5 

Thankful

Thankful for a sister who

1.  Has the Big Ten Network

2. Invites you over to watch the OSU game on said network

3. Offers to buy pop, make snacks, and fry chicken wings for dinner

And Holly is thankful for any get-togethers that involve eating ice cream.

Celebrating Early

My family has always been 'Christmas Day' kind of people, but this year we were all feeling the pull to stay home with our families on Christmas and that is okay.  That just means that Christmas gets to come early!

Holly preparing to say the Pledge of Allegiance before dinner.  

If you don't understand, you need to spend more time with me at Christmas.

Graham Cousins

Christmas 2019

Only the Best

The Stockings have been hung.  The presents are wrapped.  

The lists have been made.

Assisting the homeless and serving our community have been completed.

The carol have been blaring since November.

The parties have since been cleaned up.

Now its time to bake some cookies for Santa and bask in all our hard work.

Annual Exchange

What good is seeing and posting fun and torturous group Christmas games if you aren't going to do them?  Thankfully I am just the mastermind and don't have to participate.

Double Date

We were invited out by another couple to have dinner at their favorite restaurant - Blue Pacific.  Since we had not been there before, we studied the menu before heading out so we could at least pretend we knew what we were getting into.  Thankfully our friends were great teachers on how to maximize our food experience.  A few bites into our meal we were hooked.  I foresee Blue Pacific becoming our new go to date nights out.

Serving

Tis the season to be selfless.

Taking time out of the already busy season to prepare and serve a holiday meal at the Wauseon Community Dinner.  

Christmas Treasures

Who knew that a simple hobby, an enjoyable way to pass the time, would forever bring a smile to their family's faces.  So thankful I am now the owners of these Christmas Smurfs.  They will be cherished and proudly displayed every season until it is time that I pass them on.

Starting Point

We need to work on how to hold a knife, but we all have to start somewhere!

Frankenmuth

We have taken a few trips up to Frankenmuth over the years, but never in the midst of the Christmas season.  We've never seen the town lit up or horse drawn carriages.  We've never heard the carolers or meandered down the street with other holiday goers.  So when the ever elusive wide open, nothing schedule, free Saturday presented itself this December, we said THIS IS THE YEAR!

Thankfully it wasn't too cold, Bronner's was crazy busy, and we had some great company with us who had never, ever been there!  We each picked out a new ornament, bought way more sugary treats than we needed to, and discovered stores that we need to come to sooner rather than later!  All-in-all it was a great day and the next trip is already in the works.

Sounds Right

Ahhhh Kindergarten!

The fun age of spelling phonetically. 

Baking Surprise

Holly's teacher tackled something never been done before in a classroom...

BAKING AND DECORATING COOKIES!

Of course this couldn't have been done without parent volunteers and, lucky for me, my schedule was wide open to step up!

There is oven access in each wing of the school so baking the cookies was no big deal.

Frosting the cookies with 18 students and keeping them from licking the knife was much harder than expected!

I am so glad Holly's teacher thought up this idea and went with it.  I have fond memories of glitter and popsicle stick ornaments during the Christmas season in Kindergarten.  Holly will have those too and now baking in school as well! 

Soloist

Bree had her first band concert and her first solo in the same night!

I am very proud of her.  It is very brave to get up in front of people and play an instrument, especially when you've only been playing for a few months.  Although it shouldn't have surprised me.  I have one brave kid who never hesitates to jump at the chance to do something new.  

Bree's favorite song: 

The Streets

The Before:

An empty parking lot.

The After:

A parking lot filled with donations of coats, hats, gloves, shoes, socks, clothes of all kinds, bags, purses, blankets, toiletries, diapers, toys, books, snacks, and more ready to welcome those who need it.

Roughly 200 people filed through the line to grab a hot lunch and we were there to smile and bless every one of them.

For us it was not a big deal to give up a few hours on a Sunday morning to help with this event.  But to those who were there it meant the world.  The thanks and appreciation were humbling. It makes you stop and think "Is there more I can be doing?"