Thankful Thursday

1. I am very thankful that Ian, Nadia, and I are still healthy. We have been earnestly praying for Oliver and Paul to get over their colds that they've now had for EIGHT weeks because the kids REALLY want to see Grandma and PopPop as soon as possible, but we can't get together until we're all healthy. Hopefully that will happen by Thanksgiving, if not before then.

2. Paul, Nadia, and Ian had a nice time making two cars at Lowe's last Saturday. Nadia was better at using the hammer than Ian, but she is 17 months older than him. Oliver and I did some Christmas shopping at the mall for an hour while they did their project. They each received eye goggles, an apron, a patch for their apron to signify the completion of that particular project, and a certificate. Paul said he liked the one at Home Depot a little better, in part because it wasn't as crowded, but he's planning to take the kids to the workshops at both stores next month.

3. The kids enjoyed being in the nursery on Tuesday mornings during my ladies Bible study even though they were the only children there. They were very well taken care of as many times there were three adults in there! The study on Gideon concluded two days ago and we enjoyed a tasty potluck luncheon. The apple cake I made was a hit!

4. The last two Sunday evenings Nadia joined me at the small group Bible study on Heaven at our pastor's house. I love that she likes to come along!

5. Yesterday we had fun shopping at Dollar Tree to fill three shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. Nadia immediately grasped the concept that we weren't shopping for our family, but it took Ian quite a bit longer to realize that I wasn't buying toys for him, although I did buy him three jigsaw puzzles (can't beat the price of $1/each) as most days I have him do one jigsaw puzzle while Nadia is doing her schoolwork. He can do 48-60 piece puzzles all by himself, and he can do 100 piece puzzles with a little bit of help. After shopping I took the kids to McDonald's for dinner and some time to play in the play land since it's been too cold to go to the playground this week. Oliver is rather brave when it comes to climbing in the play land! All three kids shared a box of McNuggets. I'm so glad there is something Ian can eat there.

6. One of the senior faculty members in Paul's chemistry department agreed to observe him one more time and write him a letter of recommendation for his job applications. I think a reference that speaks to his teaching skills will really strengthen his application packet. He's going to ask one more to see if two of the references could be from his current employer. I have six applications that I need to complete in addition to the eleven I already submitted. The one most recently added to the list is in North Carolina.

7. I still love my camera and really enjoy taking pictures of my three beautiful blessings. I look forward to continuing to hone my photography skills in the months and years ahead!

8. It does my heart good to see Nadia and Ian enjoying playing together. I look forward to the day when Oliver can join in the fun!

9. I'm very grateful for the public library. We check out books and dvds every Thursday while Nadia is in gymnastics.
10. Both of our football teams won on Sunday. Paul's game wasn't aired in our area, but given how badly both our teams have done this year, we were grateful for the wins! We'll be trading places this Sunday, as his game will be aired and mine won't be. Hopefully our teams can win a few more games before the end of the season.