Thankful Tuesday

Aunt Debbie and Oliver

1. I really appreciate that Paul was willing to have sole responsibility of the kids for 34 hours so that I could attend the CHAP convention on Friday and Saturday. I ran into three women that I knew at the conference. Two of them were there with their husbands (both husbands are medical doctors). The speakers I heard were excellent, but I am doubtful I will return to the convention in the future. Depending on how I feel after attending the Teach Them Diligently conference this week, I might not make it an annual tradition to attend a homeschooling conference a year as I thought I would. My favorite session was one on the Common Core (given by a lawyer from the HSLDA).

2. It was so wonderful to spend several hours with my friend, Joyce. I hadn't seen her in in a little more than two years. We had dinner at Cracker Barrel on Friday night, and then we walked around a mall a little bit. We considered seeing the movie "Mom's Night Out," but we opted just to have more time to chat. Neither of us bought anything at the mall. I spent the night at their house, and the next morning they were planning to go to some yard sales, so I joined them for a bit before I headed back to the Farm Show building for the conference. I accidentally left my coat at their house. I remembered this at 3:45pm on Saturday as I was leaving the convention so I went back to their house to get my coat before driving to Paul's aunt's house for his cousin's graduation party. When I went to get my coat, Joyce gave me a few toys for Nadia (ex. a highchair for dolls) that Kristen didn't want any longer (she's in 5th grade right now). That was very sweet!

We've been friends for almost 18 years. 

3. Joyce said that the best yard sale (she got tons of really nice kids' clothes for a dollar each) was one they hit after I left for the convention, but I did get a few bargains such as a Thomas the Train rain boots for Oliver for 50 cents and a really nice pirate ship for Ian (he has played with it almost nonstop since then). I also got Oliver's 2nd birthday present for $5.00 (a much smaller motorized vehicle that involves pushing a button with one's finger rather than pushing a pedal with one's foot).

Elizabeth (Paul's cousin) and the kids

4. I didn't buy any textbooks at the convention (although I was surrounded by such vendors), but I did buy some missionary biographies and some chapter books for Nadia. The chapter books are birthday gifts for her to receive next month. For example, I got books #7-13 of a series we've been reading for a cheaper price than I paid on Amazon for books #1-6.

5. It was nice to see Paul's extended family on Saturday evening, as we hadn't seen them since December 2012.

6. Paul joined us for Sunday School and church, which was a special treat. The parents had been invited to join the preschool class for a lesson on doing devotions at home. Last week I attended a session on praying at home that was done in Nadia's (K-2) class. I like the Faith at Home emphasis at our church.

7. The time away from home on Friday and Saturday showed me that I am not ready to go back to work yet. I missed Oliver in particular something fierce. I almost was in tears. I didn't miss the kids at dinner though. I have to say I did enjoy having a dinner that didn't involve any objections to what  vegetable was being served or the need to cut things into tiny pieces or remind someone not to throw food on the floor.

8. Sunday afternoon we attended a graduation party for a woman in our church who just completed a B.S. in biology. She was offered a job doing research at Geisinger, but she turned it down because she's headed to Guatemala as a missionary next week. We are excited to see how God will use her. I was very proud of the kids because they were serving fried chicken and slices of baked ham at the party, and Nadia and Ian both picked ham and did a GREAT job eating their meal. Nadia also had a huge bowl of fruit salad. Good job, kids!

9. Paul received his contract on Friday by email from Bucknell. They will be paying him $10,000 more than Bloomsburg paid him. Bucknell won't be contributing an additional amount to a retirement account like Bloomsburg did, but overall I still think Bucknell will be paying him a bit more. He's planning to move into his new office the middle of July (after we get back from Florida) and spend the second half of the summer at Bucknell. Tomorrow he's going to start working for his dad part-time and will continue to do that until July 1. Next week he'll start teaching a six week lab at Bloomsburg on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

10. Over the past few days Paul received two more invitations to interview - one was from a community college in Tennessee and the other was from PSU Altoona. He declined both interviews since he accepted Bucknell's offer, but it has been encouraging to see that thus far he has received invitations to interview from 12 of the 34 places he applied. Hopefully this year of experience at Bucknell will make it easier for him to get a permanent job in 2015.

11. Today we went on a field trip with about 40 other children to learn about horses at a farm! There was a farrier and veterinarian present as well as many other helpers who discussed how horses are groomed, measured, what they eat, etc. I signed Nadia and Ian up for 5 private 30 minute horse back riding lessons at the same farm starting in two weeks.

12. We had so much fun with the butterflies the past 3 1/2 weeks! The fifth butterfly spent a lot of time on Nadia's finger yesterday morning. She named the butterfly Lucy and kept showing Lucy all around the house. That butterfly also spent enough time on Ian's hand that I was able to get a picture. Oliver just wanted to grab the butterfly, but we protected the butterfly from Oliver. Nadia set the last butterfly free. I took a picture of four of the empty cocoons and then cleaned out the butterfly garden so we can use it again another year.

13. When Paul asked me what I wanted for my birthday last month, I said if I knew we weren't moving I'd like a wreath for the front door that I could use in the spring and summer. Our front door has a built in hook for hanging wreaths, and typically I only hang a fall wreath and then a Christmas wreath. Since I didn't know if we were moving or not, I asked Paul for birthday cards made by the kids and for him to vacuum out the van. He promised to vacuum the van, but he hasn't had time for that yet. He didn't have the kids make cards for me for my birthday, but he did have them make cards for Mother's Day while I was at the convention. Also, the kids made cards in Sunday School. Ian's card from church is a painted hand print one that I will definitely save!!! In Nadia's card from church she was instructed to write one reason why she loves me and also write one thing she was promising to do for me. She wrote that she'll clean the potties for me. I wouldn't have suggested that chore for her yet, but since it was her idea I let her help me clean one toilet this afternoon. How sweet! Paul went to Walmart to look for a wreath on Friday, but they didn't have any. On Saturday as I was driving to the graduation party I stopped at two lawn and garden stores, and one of them had many beautiful wreaths. It was a tough decision, but I love the one I got. The front door looks so much nicer!!! Although there is something nice about someone else buying you a gift, it's also nice to know that you will like it because you picked it out. :)

14. Yesterday I went to Walmart to pick up a few things, and I noticed that their Mother's Day flower bouquets had been marked down to $7 (more than half off). I picked a pretty one that included stargazer lilies (one of my two favorite flowers). They really do perk up the kitchen table! I should buy them more often. We had hoped to go out to dinner on Thursday night as my "Mother's Day" date, but the babysitter backed out on us the day before our date. We had backed out on her last month for what was to have been my birthday dinner date due to Oliver being in the hospital. We haven't been out on a date since February. Hopefully we'll have more success in June!

15. The trees have leaves and some have blossoms. Spring is such a beautiful time of year! I usually just take pictures of my three kids, but I did snap this photo (above) of some apple blossoms on one of our apple trees on Monday afternoon.

16. Every Mother's Day, I am filled with gratitude for the three blessings the Lord has graciously given me. Every May I am keenly aware of how hard this day is for those women whose arms are empty. I am ever so grateful to be a stay-at-home homeschooling mom of Nadia, Ian, and Oliver.