Thankful Tuesday

 1. Last Thursday we had fun learning about Christmas in Germany at Camp Susque. The kids put a shoe on the front porch to simulate what the kids do in Germany on St. Nicholas Day and enjoyed eating the candy that was placed in their shoe. We strung popcorn after learning about the history of the tradition of Christmas trees. We made gingerbread cookies (Lebkuchen) and later ate them while drinking Kinder Gluhwein. When my dad had arrived at our house, we surprised him by having Nadia count from 1-10 in German, and then Nadia, Ian, and I sang Silent Night (one verse) in German. At Camp Susque we sang with my dad for the group there, and then everyone sang three more verses of the song in German (with the help of handouts and a recording). We also took a tiny tour around the camp to show Grandma and Grandpa where Nadia went to camp last summer and where Nadia and Ian both plan to go to camp next summer, Lord willing.

2. After Camp Susque we headed to a bowling alley. It was Ian's idea, but it was a great one because my dad loves to bowl (he has his own bowling ball and shoes), and Paul also loves to

bowl. I seem to have forgotten how to bowl. I think I should have used the bumpers like the kids did. Ian, Nadia, Paul, and my dad bowled two games. Oliver and I bowled one game because he was sleeping in the van during the first game. Ian and Nadia used a 6 pound ball and bowled without assistance. Oliver needed help from Paul or I. We all had fun! When Ian had asked to bowl, he said he wanted to do "real bowling," and when I asked for clarification, I found out he was meaning not Wii bowling, lol!

3. After bowling we headed to Friendly's and had a yummy dinner. Obviously my dad was gracious and picked a restaurant the kids love because they would usually choose something else like maybe Ruby Tuesday or a steak restaurant. I do think my dad enjoyed his Jim Dandy sundae at the end (sort of like a banana split). One of the reasons the kids love Friendly's is because they can have Goldfish crackers as their side dish. It's not hard to please them! I bought Oliver a large container of Goldfish for one of his Christmas presents; it is a treat because I rarely buy them. Sh,.. don't tell him!


4. Paul had joined us for bowling and dinner, but he headed back home after the meal was over. My parents graciously entertained the kids at the mall (thanks in part to the balloons they were given at Friendly's) while I did a little shopping to use a few coupons. My best deal of the day was I got 4 shirts for Ian (three short sleeve polo shirts and a long sleeve Spiderman t-shirt) at JCPenney for a grand total of 90 CENTS, which represented a savings of $75.10 off the original prices. My second best deal of the day was that I got a shirt for myself at Sears for $1.92 which was $30 originally. After I shopped in three stores, we made a quick dash into Toys R Us for Ian. He received his birthday crown and birthday balloon and enjoyed hearing them announce on the loudspeaker that Ian was here celebrating his sixth birthday. Ian also spent part of his money to buy a small (100 piece) Star Wars Lego set. We were all wearing Steeler clothing in honor of my dad, and one of the employees was really gushing over that as she grew up in Pittsburgh (and had fond memories of the amusement park my dad's family owned). Shopping by myself is a rare treat, and I appreciated my parents making that possible!

5. Friday morning we enjoyed some donuts we bought on our way home on Thursday night, and Ian was able to unwrap his presents from my parents and assemble the lego set he bought on Thursday night. My dad had opened some of his gifts on Thursday at lunch, and he finished opening his presents on Friday with Ian. We gave my dad cashews, a photo magnet of the kids wearing their Steelers clothing, and Steelers swimming trunks. Ian got Star Wars cereal , a remote controlled truck, and a race track from my parents.

6. My parents helped with doing schoolwork with the kids on Friday. It was so nice to have three adults with three kids since usually I am working with three by myself. Friday afternoon they played with Nadia and Ian while Oliver napped, and I was able to go for a four mile run, which is a very rare treat these days. Friday night we enjoyed dinner at Bonanza before my parents drove back home.

7. That same night I took the kids to see the Santa Claus at the grocery store. We can check that off the list.

8. Saturday morning I took the kids to the Milton public library to make gingerbread houses (the kind with graham crackers, frosting, candy, and milk cartons). I also bought lunch at McDonald's for Ian's special birthday lunch. We definitely ate more restaurant food last week than we usually do considering we usually only do so once a month, and we can go months without visiting a McD's, and I took the kids twice in five days! Ian ate 9 nuggets on Saturday. He loves them!

9. Saturday was Ian's actual birthday so after he had another donut, he opened his presents from us that day. I thought the three he would like the best from us would be a Scooby Doo dvd (I got it at a yard sale), Toy Story Wii game (bought used on Amazon), and a large (900+ piece) Lego set of a spaceship from the Lego movie, and he did like those, but actually his favorite gift from us was a knock off "lego" set of superhero minifigures that I paid less than $10 for. I bought him a similar Star Wars set for Christmas so I know he will love at least one of his Christmas gifts. This Lego set was the biggest one he had ever received thus far.

10. We got our first Christmas gift in the mail on Friday - gift cards to Friendly's from Paul's aunt and uncle. We will definitely put those to good use!

11. Saturday afternoon we met Paul's parents at our church to see A Charlie Brown Christmas (see photo above of Nadia and a friend of hers with Snoopy).

12. Paul's parents joined the kids and I at church on Sunday morning, and then they and Uncle Al spent several hours at our house for Ian's "party." We had pizza, he opened his presents (he got another 900+ piece Lego set from them), and after we watched some football he saw the first Star Wars movie (episode IV) for the very first time. He loved it although they were disappointed that Yoda wasn't in that one. We are very grateful for the gifts he was given - a Star Wars puzzle, Star Wars t-shirt, large Star Wars lego set, etc. I think he had a very special four day birthday celebration! I helped him with assembling part of that Lego set on Monday. We are also thankful for the Star Wars birthday cake Aunt Millie made and Uncle Al decorated.

13. The temps were in the 60's the last two days! They were in the 50's on Saturday, but I didn't run that day; however, I did run 5 miles on Sunday afternoon. I also got exercise getting more apples down from one of our apple trees. I declare it feels like a never ending project. Paul's brother brought his truck, and we loaded the truck up with the apples I had put in containers and boxes previously as well as the ones I got down from the tree that day. I worked on that while they were watching Star Wars. Oliver helped me some. Unfortunately there are still hundreds of apples on that tree, but I have now gotten down more than half of the apples. If we don't sell the house by next July, I want to CUT that thing down. I would be very happy to never own another fruit tree for as long as I live, although I still would like to have blueberry bushes and strawberry plants at some point.

14. Yesterday Paul gave his final exam. He has to grade those exams, but he doesn't teach again until January 19. Not too many jobs give you a month off for Christmas break plus 3 1/2 months off in the summer. He won't actually have all that time off this year because he wants to work at Kennedy Concrete as much as possible.