Thankful Thursday

1. I'm thankful that Paul is interviewing at Colgate today. A post doc is definitely not his preference, but I think it might be the best case scenario because it will open up many more job possibilities in two years. I'm also thankful he has another interview lined up for next Friday, and I'm thankful the university I was at is hiring two FT chemistry adjuncts. Hopefully next week he'll receive an invitation to interview there before we head to Florida. I'm grateful for his five invitations to interview on campus thus far, and praying for a job offer in the near future. If you think of Paul, I'd appreciate prayers on his behalf. He is very discouraged.

2. It was exciting to hear Oliver say "Dad" twice yesterday! It came out of the blue as he hadn't really sounded like he was close to saying a first word prior to that. He's also really taken off with scooting around on the floor. The last few days he's been traveling a distance of several feet in a very short period of time (mostly going backwards). It seems to me that he has caught up developmentally despite having been born 2 months prematurely. PTL! It also does my heart good to see him put EVERYTHING (clothes, toys, etc.) in his mouth and chew food. I am so grateful not to have to deal with a feeding disorder again!

3. I love Nadia's voracious appetite for audio books. This week she's listening to Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, the third book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, and Ben and Me (about Benjamin Franklin).

4. We're wrapping up the final (8th) Ramona book this week. I checked out Fantastic Mr. Fox (Dahl) and Chocolate Touch for our next two chapter books. Nadia is really looking forward to the chocolate one!

5. The warmer weather that has returned to our area! Yahoo! If the weather cooperates, I'm planning to take the kids to Knoebels on Saturday because the handstamps will only be $8 that day! It's a surprise! I mowed the lawn this morning while Oliver napped and the other two played outside.

6. I enjoy the sweet converations we have throughout the day. I've been reading Kisses from Katie about an American woman who went over to Uganda at the age of 18 and in addition to teaching in an orphanage also has adopted thirteen girls. Nadia was asking me questions about the book, and several hours later Nadia told me that she wanted to have one baby in her belly and then adopt lots of other children. Who knows if this will actually happen or not, but I love that she has this desire at the moment. She asked if we could adopt lots of kids, but I said that we had tried to adopt before God gave her to us, but now with three kids of our own we weren't going to adopt.

7. I enjoy the humorous things the kids say throughout the day. For example Ian handed me one of Nadia's doll's pants and asked me to put them on his stuffed animal (Curious George). After I put them on, Ian thanked me and said how handsome Curious George looked. There you have it; we have a handsome monkey in our house. :)

8. I love Edy's double fudge brownie ice cream, and I haven't had any in a long time. It was on sale at CVS recently so Paul got some on Saturday night. Yummy! Nadia declared that it's her new favorite ice cream (cookies & cream had been her favorite for years).

9. I had such a lovely time celebrating my birthday - spending time with my parents, taking Nadia to a fancy restaurant, and taking all three kids to Perkins and Red Robin.

10. Two weeks from today we should be in Florida! YAY! I will enjoy the vacation even more if Oliver would sleep 10 hours straight at night again. The past week he's been sleeping 8-9 hours then is up (at 4am or 5am) for about 30 minutes and then sleeps another 1-2 hours. On a rare occasion he won't go back to sleep, which means his day starts at 5am (too early!).

11. I love the blossoms on the trees and beautiful flowers - tulips, daffodills, and hyacinth. Gorgeous!