Play Date!

A month ago I invited a couple of ladies from the Bible study over to our house for lunch. We were scheduled to get together two weeks ago, but it had to be rescheduled due to illness. Today Nikki and Melanie came over with their three boys (two four year olds and a 16 month old). Melanie's son, Ben, is exactly two days younger than Ian. The six kids had fun playing together, and we three moms enjoyed chatting and getting to know each other a little better. They spent about 2 1/2 hours with us. Nadia and the moms sat at the kitchen table, and the boys sat at our little white child sized table.

1. I am very thankful for the adult conversation I was able to have today, and I am hopeful that Nikki, Melanie, and I will get together again in the future. Nikki plans to homeschool her children, and her husband teaches at Bucknell. Melanie and her husband (who is a doctor) are currently pursuing domestic infant adoption. Melanie is also a die hard Steeler fan. Melanie was a social worker and Nikki was a physical therapist. All of us are currently stay-at-home moms.

2. Today Paul was invited to participate in a phone interview tomorrow! It's the first invitation for a tenure track position for August 2015. Paul is none too thrilled that the university is in Kansas, but I think it can't hurt to do the phone interview. Hopefully he'll start getting invitations for more phone interviews!

3. The weather was GORGEOUS today. It was in the 70's, which is very warm for late November in PA. We took advantage of the balmy weather and walked to the playground this afternoon. Ironically, it's supposed to snow in 2 days!

4. A few months ago we ordered some Auntie Anne pretzel bites from a neighbor doing a fundraiser. The kit included a packet of cinnamon sugar. It was more than we needed for the pretzels, but it reminded me of a treat I hadn't had in decades - cinnamon sugar toast. It was fun to share that simple delicacy with Nadia for the first time.

5. This evening Nadia came up to me while I was getting Oliver ready for bed and she said, "Mommy I want to start doing the gramercy thing. I want to start writing down five things I am thankful for every day." This was music to my ears, especially because it means she's been listening during the worship service at church because I didn't talk with her about it. She's not too young to start counting her blessings!