365 Days About J: December 2019

"The Year of the Dogs"

It's the end of the year again, and what a year it was! It definitely wasn't as crazy as the last, but it still was full of all kinds of fun adventures! We traveled, we laughed, we made memories—we even added two new members to our family! The biggest highlight of the year easily was adopting our furbabies Ryder & Nessie and bringing the Donelson Family to a total of four. :) I am so grateful for all the blessings bestowed upon us in plenty this year! I am simply astounded every day by the overwhelming love and support from all of our family and friends. Truly, the best moments of my year were all the moments I spent with all of you. I am so humbled by our incredible God and all the gifts I have been so graciously given this year. Really, I cannot emphasize how thankful I am for everything as this year comes to a close. There is so much to be thankful for. Truly.

Now, as always, let's take a look at some of the moments that made up my 2019:

January

On New Year's Day, Dad surprised us with tickets to the Illumination event at the Morton Arboretum! We had a wonderful evening as a family looking at all the lights and reminiscing on our last trip...when Mike had proposed to me. :)
My husband was promoted to manager/vice president of Donelson Construction!
Mike and I celebrated our 4th relationship anniversary together! We had the most delicious dinner at Rosebud in Naperville. A few days later, we utilized a full day celebrating: breakfast at George's and two escape rooms!
My religious education class resumed for the new year.
On Mike's 24th birthday I took him to downtown Naperville for a the most delicious dinner at Santo Cielo, followed by a fun night out and about! The following day all of our friends and family came over for his surprise party!
We converted the crawlspace into a dog den.
My birthday gifts from my best friend Angie came a bit early: a Hosanna Bible and a daily devotional book! Easily the most thoughtful gifts ever.
On Mom's 50th birthday we had a fun night with the fam (and extended fam) playing games, eating cake, and being together.
As an early birthday surprise, Mike spoiled me with tickets to see Beauty And The Beast at the Drury Lane Theatre.
Subzero temperatures meant I ended up working from the comfort of my warm home a few days.
On my 24th birthday, Mike spoiled me all day long with breakfast, two escape rooms, shopping, presents, dinner and cheesecake, and a movie!

February

I was surprised on Friday at work with a birthday gift from my sweet Aunt Mary, and later was pampered further by my sister-in-law Charlotte with more thoughtful presents and dinner at Chili's!
Two days after my birthday, my family spoiled me with yet another day of celebrations! We did another fun escape room, followed by a mouth-watering dinner at Maggiano's.
My Spring Thanksgiving treats came early from Ang this year!
On Valentine's Day I awoke to a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a sweet card from my darling husband. Later, the two of us had a delicious dinner at Francesca's.
Ang and I sent one another belated 2018 Spring/Winter Thanksgiving gifts.
Zack came home for Mitch's birthday a week early, and we all enjoyed a yummy early celebration dinner at Longhorn.
Our furball Charlie turned 3!
After not even working at my office for a full year, I was promoted to Office Manager!
Mike built our new dining room table 100% from scratch.
On Mitch's 19th birthday, we enjoyed a fun night at home eating the penguin cake we baked and playing Mitch's new game: Secret Hitler.
I got a haircut—bangs!!
Mike found his very first gray hair. ;)
Enjoyed a sweet date night at the Sugar Factory with my husband.

March

Mom & I went to our friend Bree's baby shower.
Mike, Char, and I attended Monster Jam!
We gorged on Pączki's on our favorite Polish holiday: Fat Tuesday. ;)
Celebrated Ash Wednesday!
We were hired by Terri Gardner to make an ice skating cake for her daughter Katya's 15th birthday.
Helped my in-laws with their huge estate sale! My ad on Facebook was a hit, and they were able to sell almost everything they had to offer.
Mike, Laura, Mike Sr, and I went to the annual Plainfield St. Patrick's Day parade.
The Donelson's officially said goodbye to their home in Plainfield and moved to Mike Sr's newly remodeled childhood home in Woodridge.
We celebrated St. Patrick's Day for the first time in our home! I made the cornbeef and cabbage all by myself.
I dressed up as Gwen Stacey and Mike went as Miles Morales at C2E2!
We celebrated one whole year in our home! :)
Our furry friend Sookie turned 9!
After things didn't work out with Charlie having puppies, we officially adopted two German Shepherd puppies from a place called Oakwell Shepherds in Wisconsin!
Enjoyed a yummy dinner with my family at Jen's Guesthouse.
We choose names for our two new pups: Ryder & Nessie!

April

We were visited for about two weeks at work by a mysterious goose who never once failed to peck on the door and honk at us each day.
Finished my first year teaching 3rd grade at St. Cyril—it was so sad saying goodbye to all of my wonderful students.
For Jax's 17th birthday, we baked him a Kermit The Frog cake! We also enjoyed dinner as a family at Ted's Montana Grill.
Celebrated Easter a day early with the Gembara-Weston crew at my aunt's house! On the actual holiday, we enjoyed a lovely day visiting both sides of the family.
We binged all twenty-one Marvel movies in preparation for Avengers: Endgame! When we finally saw the movie at the end of the month, I cried probably like five times. :')
Aunt Mary hired us to make a LOL Surprise! cake and cupcakes for Mallory's birthday! (The same little girl we made the Minnie Mouse cake for last year!)

May

We enjoyed a fun night with Mitch and Jax going bowling, hitting the arcade, and playing board games.
We drove 4.5 hours up to Wisconsin to pick up our puppies!! We stayed in a hotel Thursday night, then picked them up Friday morning and drove home. We absolutely adore them and are so happy to now be a family of four!
I took a week off work following the arrival of the pups, and Mike took the next week off after me. We both thoroughly enjoy our weeks home with the furballs. :)
Tons of people came to visit the pups during their first few weeks home: Laura and Mike, my mom and dad, Charlotte, my brothers, my Grama, Kevin, Aunt Laura and Kaden, Josh and Amanda, etc!
I celebrated my first dog mom's day. ;)
On Mother's Day we met up with the Donelson's for the traditional lunch at IKEA, followed by some impromptu shopping. Later we headed to my family's house for a puppy play date.
Took the pups for their first vet visit to the Plainfield Veterinary Clinic.
Rachael turned 26!
We were the only people in the theater when we saw Detective Pikachu with Mitch and Jax.
Mike and I attended the beautiful Water Lantern Festival—similar to Lantern Fest, but on the water instead of up in the air. It was gorgeous.
I hosted an epic Game Of Thrones finale watch-party at my parents house.
Mike finished our dining room table.
Met up with Mike's family for a "celebratory" dinner at Rosebud, followed by a lovely evening stroll along the Riverwalk.
We went to see the live-action remake of Aladdin with my sister-in-law Charlotte.
On Memorial Day we dressed up all festive and enjoyed our first official holiday together as a family!
Ryder & Nessie's ears finally stood up for good!

June

On a hot, sunny Saturday we took the pups to the vet, made homemade puppuccinos, played with them in their pool, and did some work to the exterior of the house.
We took the pups to a nearby park by our home and took some family photos while playing together. :)
Went bowling and played some arcade games with Josh and Jax.
My sister-in-law Rachael gave birth to her second son, our nephew, Matthew Lewis Marsceau.
Had an eventful day with the pups: playtime at Grandpa Mike's before heading over to their other grandparents' home for swimming.
On Father's Day, we enjoyed a delicious lunch followed by a walk with the pups with the Donelson's. Later we headed to see my dad for a taco dinner / movie night.
We celebrated the Swedish holiday Midsommar for the first time! I prepared a traditional Swedish meal, we decorated the house and dressed in Swedish colors, and later we even watched a Swedish movie.
For Charlotte's 21st birthday, we celebrated a day early with dinner at Buca di Beppo, a succulent-themed cake, and presents.
My mom, Grama, and I attended my cousin Jill's baby shower.
We had a pool party at my parent's home with all of our friends! The puppies had a blast swimming and playing all day long.

July

We saw Spider-Man: Far From Home and I sobbed all over again. :')
Fourth of July festivities: we caught Lemont's fireworks display on the 3rd; went to the Wheaton parade, my aunt's BBQ, and saw Bolingbrook's fireworks on the 4th; and then we went to Lisle Fest for carnival rides, yummy food, and more fireworks on the 5th.
Had a blast with all of my favorite little cousin's at Aria's 6th birthday party.
We took on Six Flags with Mitch and Jax, and despite the summer heat the wait times were practically nonexistent!
Had a silly, fun time at Costco with the Donelson family while my car got new tires. :)
Charlotte, Mike, and I went to see the new Lion King remake.
We went on our annual White Lake vacation! Had an absolute blast all week long swimming, kayaking, pontooning, singing karaoke, playing games, eating scrumptious homemade meals, and just being with all our favorite people. You can start reading about day one of our trip here.

August

Had a power outage at work and ended up going home early.
My cousin Jill gave birth to her daughter: Madison Denise Ayotte!
Rachael, Peter, and Matthew came to stay with the Donelson's for a few weeks for a visit.
I finally cut all my hair back off again—welcome back, short-haired me. ;)
We celebrated the Italian holiday Ferragosto for the first time! We enjoyed a traditional Italian meal (in courses!), decorated, played authentic music, dressed up, and even watched an Italian film.
My in-laws hosted a cookout for the entire extended Donelson family! We ate some yummy food before playing several games of backyard volleyball.
My Aunt Jan threw my cousin Josh a Fortnite-themed birthday party! Had a lovely time with the Weston's celebrating.
We met Laura, Rachael, Peter, and Matthew at the All Aboard Diner for dinner! After we got our train fix, we stopped at DQ for some dessert.
The Donelson girls enjoyed a night out away from the boys and kiddies! We went to Rosebud for dinner, shopped all over downtown, and then got dessert at Le Chocolat Du Bouchard.
I was promoted yet again at work! Big time! :)
We had a blast at the Dierks Bentley concert for his Burning Man tour!
The family enjoyed a laidback night being together on Zack's 21st birthday.
Mike and I celebrated our 6th Friendiversary!
Said goodbye to the Marceau's after three fun weeks.
Someone accidentally sent a mass email to all of State Farm's employees, and my inbox was then flooded with 5,000+ emails.
We traveled back to 1574 for a day at the Renaissance Faire.

September

Mike expanded the dog den, creating an even roomier space for our pups. :)
We enjoyed a relaxing Labor Day at my parents' house BBQing and playing with the dogs.
The Kammer's hosted the family this time for kickball, hotdogs, and a bonfire with smores!
A bunch of our family and friends came out for Jess's 31st surprise party!
We took my lovely Grama out for lunch for National Grandparents Day! We also sent June some flowers. :)
I started back up teaching religious education for my second year! This time around, I had nine sweet kids in my class.
Mike totally spoiled me on National Wife Appreciation Day with breakfast, flowers, presents, and dinner at the Melting Pot!
Ryder & Nessie enjoyed a day with their dad at the Donelson Construction offices.
Mike, my father-in-law, and my dad all helped over the course of a few days to put in our new backyard fence!
We took Nessie to be spayed. Although the surgery wasn't serious and was very routine, it still was sad to see her worn out and sore for a few days following. :(
Dad, Jax, and Mitch came over for a BBQ and game night.

October

Following Nessie's surgery, the pups spent the next week going to my parents' home during our work hours.
Mom, Aunt Jan, Amanda, and I enjoyed a fun "Ghouls Night Out" at Konow's.
While the boys helped decorate the house for Halloween at my parents', I had fun dressing all the dogs up in silly costumes. ;)
Bought some new games (again) and had fun playing them at my parent's home.
Nessie got her stitches out and made a beautiful recovery. :)
We celebrated the German holiday Oktoberfest for the first time! We went for dinner at Hofbrauhaus with my parents and enjoyed a delicious, authentic German meal!
Received my Winter Thanksgiving gifts from Ang!
We went with my in-laws to the Botanic Gardens for their Night of 1,000 Jack-O-Lanterns event where we saw all kinds of stunning pumpkins!
The day before Sweetest Day, I came home to an adorable movie night spread prepared by my sweetheart of a husband.
My Aunt Jan threw a family Halloween party! (We also celebrated my dad's upcoming birthday.) Mike and I dressed up like pirates. ;)
My sister-in-law Charlotte came over for a movie night at our house.
We headed to the All Seasons Apple Orchard for our fifth year in a row to pick apples and enjoy all the usual fall activities they had to offer. :)
Dad turned 50!
We took a mini pre-anniversary trip to Milwaukee! We had a blast eating at all kinds of various restaurants, visiting the Milwaukee Art Museum, doing an escape room, touring the Original Cheesehead Factory, going on a Ghost Tour, celebrating Halloween, and riding aboard a Pedal Tavern! It was four fun-filled days, which you can read all about starting here.

November

We took my mother-in-law out for an early birthday dinner at P.F. Chang's (with dessert at Labriola Ristorante!). On her actual birthday, we enjoyed a taco dinner, presents, and cake.
We celebrated our very first anniversary as a married couple! It was two lovely days of celebrating: breakfast, an escape room, shopping, and dinner on Saturday, followed by breakfast in bed, a mani/pedi, and a relaxing day together at home on Sunday.
My "adopted sister" Juls spoiled Mike and I with a Disney+ subscription.
Peter turned 5!
Luke came in to visit. :)
We celebrated the second anniversary of our engagement!
Saw Frozen II and couldn't have been happier.
Went downtown with Jon & Jess to take their engagement photos at Navy Pier! Afterward, we visited Santa Baby Bar & Griswold's.
Celebrated Thanksgiving with both sides of the family! First with my family at my parents' home, then at the Kammer's house with Mike's whole extended family! Later in the evening we also went Black Friday shopping with Charlotte and Mike's parents.

December

Mike and I celebrated St. Nick's Day once again! He got me the hanging jewelry case I'd been wanting, and I preordered The Last Of Us 2 for him!
Tony & Ernesto repainted our dining chairs white!
Bought a new fridge.
We took our annual family Christmas photos. :)
Had my Grama over to our house for pizza and presents in honor of her 83rd birthday!
We celebrated Christmas with Rachael, Peter, and Matthew a few weeks early! While they were in town for a bit we got together one Saturday and baked gingerbread cookies, had a delicious dinner, and exchanged presents!
This fall semester of Religious Education concluded for the year.
The Donelson Construction Christmas dinner was held at Chama Gaucha this year.
We had the Donelson extended family over again at our home for a pre-Christmas party!
My family came over to our house, along with Sookie and Charlie, for a game night.
We attended the annual IBC Christmas Cantata.
We visited the Morton Arboretum for their Illumination event for the sixth year in a row! As always, we had such a lovely evening seeing all the pretty lights and reminiscing on years past. :)
Christmas Eve was a whirlwind as always! Breakfast, presents, and an afternoon walk were had at my in-law's house. We all then headed over to Mike's cousin Matt's for the Kammer Xmas party (PJ-themed this year!). We stayed for just a short while before heading to my parents' house for the Gembara Xmas party. It was so wonderful seeing all my cousins! We did presents and our annual white elephant game. We also found out my cousin Meghan is expecting her second child! :)
On Christmas, we spent the afternoon at my in-law's house where we opened a few more presents. In the evening we went to my parents' house again to celebrate with my mom's side of the family. My Grama, two cousins, and my cousin's wife and son all came over for a relaxing night opening gifts and catching up.
On my father-in-law's 55th birthday, friends and family came over for cake and good times!
We enjoyed a laidback New Years Eve at my family's house. We had sushi and pizza, took the four dogs to the park to play in the snow, and played Mario Kart!

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Books

Seeing as I haven't met my book goal in the last, oh, three years... I set a goal of 10 books for 2019. And I failed to meet my goal. Again. Boo. But, I made it over halfway of my goal (which I didn't do the last two years) so I was happy about that! I read some good books, despite not reading many, and you can check out my reviews and other fun stuff on my Goodreads account!

Deadly Choices: How The Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All - Paul A. Offit (5/5)
A Mother's Reckoning: Living In The Aftermath Of Tragedy - Sue Klebold (4/5)
The Fourth Closet - Scott Cawthon & Kira Breed-Wrisley (5/5)
The Curse Of The Bruel Coven - Sabrina Ramoth (3/5)
Fazbear Frights: Into The Pit - Scott Cawthon & Elley Cooper (3/5)
One Minute With God: A Year Long Daily Devotional - Dayspring (5/5)

Movies

As for movies... Well, I always find time for movies. ;) However, I will say that our trips to the theater were lacking this year! A lot of the movies we wanted to see we ended up waiting until they came out and watched them together at home. But here's my list of movies we saw at the theaters. If you check out my Letterboxed account you can see all the movies I consumed in 2019, plus ratings & reviews!