2018

Highlights of 2018

While most of the news we share is trivial, this year's update leads off on a more somber note. Just eight hours after we hit send on last year's Christmas message, we received news that Kyle's Grandpa Chamberlin had gone home to be with Jesus.

Though he lived a full life with great zeal, dementia took its toll in Grandpa's final years. Grandma Chamberlin had been dutifully caring for him at home, an examplar of love and devotion. On Christmas morning, Grandpa wished Grandma merry Christmas and then peacefully passed -- off to celebrate the holiday at the VIP party.

Whether from 33 years teaching at Mishawaka High School, adjunct instruction for Indiana University South Bend, active presence in the St. Monica parish, or volunteer presentations on behalf of the Center for Hospice, it seems everyone in Mishawaka knew Grandpa. If you were fortunate enough to call him teacher, colleague, family, or friend, you will appreciate this collection of memories assembled by Kyle's father Ed.

After saying goodbye to two grandparents in the last fourteen weeks of 2017, we were quite ready to turn the page to a new year.

JANUARY: While we love our community, January is not the South Bend region's finest hour. So kicking off 2018 with a conference in San Diego was a welcome respite. In addition to the temperate weather, the zoo and the USS Midway are each worth a visit.

FEBRUARY: Katie's Christmas present was eight weeks late, but the view was worth the wait. Despite the correlation between flight prices and temperatures, we had a fun long weekend in Ireland. If you want the Cliffs of Moher to yourself, go in February!

MARCH: The coolest opportunities are often those for which you are wholly unqualified. Despite a complete lack of technical skills or experience, Kyle was asked to design the set for South Bend Civic Theater's In the Heights. As always, it was a family affair: Ed and Kim crafted thousands of styrofoam bricks, Kaleb fashioned a mailbox, and Katie got in on the painting action. In addition to being warmly received by the audience, the production also advanced the Civic's mission to create community through live theater with associated outreach programming. It was a perfect denoument to Kyle's six years on the Civic's volunteer board.

APRIL: Along with Kyle's parents and brother, we celebrated a milestone anniversary (35 years!) with family in Puerto Rico. We can personally vouch that San Juan is back up and running after the hurricane. Go have some delicious food and help out their tourism-dependent economy.

MAY: Did you really think we would go a whole year without dog pictures? Pierce is now ten years old. He is still plenty young to serve as navigator of our canoe. But he was feeling a bit old for the French Quarter -- it was a good year for conference destinations -- and thus sent his miniature doppelgänger in his stead.

JUNE: We were blessed to have a wedding day full of family, friends, food, celebration, and love. Yet Kyle still managed to find something to complain about: his cake plate was cleared from the table before he got a bite. And, after a year in the freezer, the top layer saved for our first anniversary tasted like trash. But Katie put an end to the kvetching with the perfect gift for our third anniversary: a (fresh, never frozen) recreation of our wedding cake!

JULY: Our little German was the star of Milwaukee's German Fest (at least in our biased eyes). On the heels of a valiant effort in his first dachshund race, Pierce turned heads as the Red Baron in the themed costume parade.

AUGUST: No caption needed. The only disappointment was that we did not get to take a ride.

SEPTEMBER: Those familiar with our house may know of its history of epic backyard parties; we feel a duty to uphold the tradition. This year we added dueling pianos and a petting zoo to the mix for our third annual Labor Day extravaganza. Let us know your ideas for next year. Or, better yet, join us on Sunday, September 2!

OCTOBER: ProTip: 20 pounds = too many apples.

NOVEMBER: Katie does 99% of the cooking around here, and then Kyle swoops in on the holidays. Having Tom at home in the oven forces us to run quickly at the Thanksgiving morning turkey trot, regardless of how fit (or unfit) we happen to be in any given year.

DECEMBER: Different year, same picture, as we again kicked off the holiday season at the location of our engagement. It seems hard to believe we are celebrating our fourth Christmas as a family -- time flies when you're having fun!

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