Thankful Tuesday

1. My in-laws graciously took care of our three kids while Paul was at the plant on Thursday and Friday while I was in Maryland. Paul and the kids spent those two nights at their house, which also meant Paul didn't need to think about preparing dinner either day. Paul took care of the kids on Saturday and Sunday. He made them pancakes for dinner on Saturday and bought carry-out pizza on Sunday.

2. I had a smooth trip going down to Maryland on Thursday morning and coming back on Sunday evening.

3. My mom showed improvement during the time I was there in terms of overcoming the side effects of the third chemo treatment, and yesterday she made even more progress, as she was able to use her walker to get to the kitchen (we had taken her there by wheelchair while I was down there). Praying that she has a good week until she has chemo #4 next week.

4. My mom graciously shared some things with us that she had been given including a kalanchoe plant, part of an apple pie, and a large ham that I am going to cook this week.

5. I made a request on the kids' choir FB page, and two parents graciously posted videos of the kids singing on Sunday morning since I was not able to hear them in person and Paul didn't take a video.

6. Ian made his second basket during his final game on Saturday morning!

7. The weather was much nicer today which meant we walked to the playground and enjoyed some fresh air this afternoon!

8. I hadn't placed any orders with Shutterfly in more than three months, but I placed a large order on Sunday. Without coupons it would have cost more than $200, but I paid less than $2 total for a notepad, 3 reusable shopping bags, a magnet, 2 photobooks, prints, address labels, etc. My mom helped me with the project, which was fun as usually I do it alone.

9. This morning we enjoyed an excellent program about eggs and the animals that lay eggs at the state park, and then we used part of Oliver's Valentine gift from my parents to have lunch at Wendy's which was a special treat. This photo at left is of the kids observing salamander and frog eggs in a vernal pool.

10. My phone interview with Lock Haven has been scheduled for Monday morning. Prayers that I do my very best are greatly appreciated!

11. I am very thankful for the 71 years of life God has given my mom thus far and that I was able to be with her on her birthday on Sunday.

12. Oliver took a nap today. It was his first nap in well over a week, and he hasn't been sleeping in as late in the morning so it was VERY much appreciated. He slept for 75 minutes in the van.

13. We got our refund from the IRS today. It was a much smaller refund than we've gotten the last several years, but it was enough to enable me to schedule the final payment of my retirement loan. As of April 1 the only debt we will have is our mortgage. In the last 3 years we paid off Paul's school loans, the van, and the two loans we took from my retirement accounts in 2008 that went toward paying for our current house. We started paying them off several months ago because we thought we were moving, but even if we don't move (which seems likely), having these paid off will lower our housing costs for as long as we do live in this house, and it also means we could refinance and borrow from my retirement accounts again (to decrease what we are currently paying in interest each year on the mortgage) if we end up staying in this house. When we bought this house we thought we would only live here for 3-4 years. Unless Messiah College offers me a job, we will be living here at least nine years. Ironically when we purchased our first two homes we thought we would live in them for decades and only lived in the first one for 3.5 years and a little over 4 years in the second. If I get the job at Lock Haven, I want to do some home improvement projects around this house (such as a new refrigerator and new flooring in a few rooms). We invested a lot more (new flooring, etc.) in the other two houses but held off in this one because we thought we wouldn't be here long. Go figure!