Oliver's eyes

Oliver saw an eye doctor when he was very little to make sure he didn't have ROP, which preemies sometimes have as a result of being on oxygen. Today he was seen by one because he failed his vision screening at the Pediatrician last week. They have asked for all three of my kids to be taken to an eye doctor over the past 20 months. They were correct with Ian (yes, he needed glasses), but thankfully Nadia and Oliver passed their eye doctor's exams this year (Nadia in January and Oliver today). I was very relieved, as I wasn't crazy about the idea of Oliver having glasses at the age of four. The exam would have coat us $80 starting on September 1, but it only cost us $5 today because our insurance is valid through the end of August. Oliver and Ian both chose to wear their musical t-shirt today, and then when Nadia saw what they were wearing she changed her clothes so she would match them. Some day they will NOT want to match, but at this age they still like it, and they asked me to take their picture to which I of course agreed.

Tonight we purchased our third soccer uniform. We got a size medium one for Nadia. She's been wearing the size small one since she was four years old. We are passing that one down to Oliver. I received their game schedules today. They will miss the first two games because of our vacation. The other six weeks their three games are at two different fields five weeks and three different fields one week. Four of the weeks two of them have a game at the same time (sometimes at the same field so I could bounce back and forth between which game I am watching) and one week all three games are at the same time (two different fields). The downside of the games being at the same time is I can't see the whole game for each of them, but the upside is that the soccer part of our Saturday will go faster because it won't be lasting 3 or more hours. I am very happy with the location of all of Ian and Oliver's games (none are far away). The location of most of Nadia's games is fine, but two of her games are farther away than I would prefer to drive for a soccer game (45 minutes one way), but both times that happens the boys have a game at the same time at another location so I am going to ask Claire's parents (her best friend is on her soccer team this fall!) if they can take her to those two games since I can't be two places at once and Paul works on Saturdays. Here's to hoping all three of them have a great soccer season. I do feel a bit guilty about them missing the first two games, but I do not want to delay our departure when we have a 7 hour drive involved just so they can participate in their games on the 10th. We plan to stop at Mystic Seaport in CT on the way there, and that wouldn't be possible if we waited until their games were done that day. I scratched our plans to go to Lake Tobias on October 29  because of Nadia's soccer game being at 12:00 that day, but that is not a big deal since we did the African safari thing in Ohio earlier this month. The soccer schedule worked perfectly though with my plans for us to go to Knoebels on September 24 because all three have games at 9:00 that morning and the park doesn't open until noon. My parents weren't able to come to any basketball or soccer games thus far in 2016 because of my mom's health (they usually come to one each season), but my dad does plan to come up for a soccer game this fall, and I'm sure Paul's parents will come to one or more games as usual.

Wish we had been there with them today in Indiana!

Oliver's first musical

Seeing this picture (which Wendy took yesterday) makes me wish we were in Indiana right now. This photo shows my nieces and nephews in front of the plane that was my Grandpa's from three years before I was born until his death. My cousin, Joel, who lives in Indiana now maintains and flies the airplane. I remember my Grandpa giving me flying lessons in that airplane when I was a child and teenager. I remember my mom was rather concerned when I was taxiing back to the hangar because I could just barely reach the pedals (you use with your feet to steer the plane when it's on the ground) and was overcompensating and swerving to the right and then to the left, etc. I would have loved for my children to experience taking a flight in my grandpa's airplane. Maybe some day they will. The musical was the reason we didn't head out to Indiana.

Yesterday we left the house at 9:30 to head to the Children's Museum. First the kids played in the museum, and then they participated in a program for one hour about songs from around the world. Then we headed to a 60th birthday party for one of Paul's family's business's biggest customers. The party was held oat a house right on the Susquehanna River. We took a ride in a motor boat at one point in the afternoon, and the kids were able to see the Priestley House from the water for the first time. Ian sat with Paul and I in the back of the boat while Nadia and Oliver sat with Dave (the company's office manager/ salesman) and his wife. After the party we headed home so the kids could change and then we went to the Alliance church for their first musical performance. This morning Paul's parents came to our church and took the kids out to lunch and back to our house while Paul and I went out for our second date. We went on two dates (including this one) over the past 12+ months. My dad gave us money to go out to eat since we were separated on our 15th anniversary due to our trip to Ohio. Since my dad gave us money, Paul splurged and got a NY strip steak at Texas Roadhouse. This evening Paul's parents joined us at the church for their second performance. We appreciated that they babysat the kids while we went out to eat.

Last night Oliver was only on stage for the first two and last two songs, but tonight they kept him on stage for the full hour (although some other young children were still taken off for the middle part of the program). Nadia did a better job with her solo tonight than last night. She did a good job on her speaking part both nights although she did need a little prompt for one of her lines yesterday (knew the line but missed the cue when to say it). I was really impressed with Ian both nights. I wish my mom could have seen how much he had improved. He was smiling to beat the band (yay!) both nights and singing most of the time and doing the motions most of the time. During the "Bench warming blues" song he enjoyed pretending to play a blow up guitar last night and a blow up saxophone tonight. He knew his quartet well, but it wasn't really a quartet. Everyone was singing the song (although 4 kids were at microphones you couldn't hear them in particular). Oliver sang part of the time and did some of the motions. I would say to compare the three kids when they were four years old, Nadia did the best by far, and Oliver did better than Ian did at that age. Ian has come a long way though! I am thankful this church offers this program each summer. There were about 35 kids in the program this summer. Next summer hopefully the kids will also learn all of their Bible verses. They learned all of them in the first several weeks, and then once we started making trips to Maryland we got off track with memorizing the verses. Oops! In a few weeks all three kids will be starting up the new season of the kids' choir at church. It will be Oliver's first time in that choir. They sing once a month in church (Oct-May) and do two programs (Dec/May). The kids are also excited about AWANA starting back up in a couple of weeks, and that will force us to get back in gear with memorizing Bible verses each week (which is a very good thing).

Joseph Priestley House

Four years ago...

Although I have given birth to three children, I've never had the experience of sharing a hospital room with a newborn. The closest I came to that was sharing a hospital room (in a labor and delivery ward) with Ian when he was 5 weeks old after the surgery to remove his placenta. Although there were definitely happy moments in the days following delivery, there was an awful lot of emotional stress involved with a baby in the NICU and physical discomfort from recovering from a c-section, using a machine to pump milk every two hours, and the ridiculous amount of swelling that happened following each delivery in my legs and feet.

The first two times I gave birth I did not come home until the baby was discharged. Sometimes that meant sleeping in a lobby in the hospital and other times it meant sleeping in a Ronald McDonald House. I didn't spend many days at home after giving birth to Oliver (before he was discharged), but unlike the first two times I did come home. I felt very, very torn at first because a large part of me felt like I absolutely had to stay with my baby. It felt wrong to leave him at the hospital "all by himself" (meaning without any family there although of course he was receiving frequent care from doctors and nurses), but on the other hand I had been apart from my other two kids for the majority of ten weeks, and I knew his NICU stay was going to be longer than his siblings were. The first time I left him (which was before I was allowed to hold him) was the day of Nadia's very first performance in a musical. She had turned 4 years old about 6 weeks earlier. I remember that my feet were so swollen I had to walk into the church building barefoot because I couldn't get any of my shoes on to my feet. Very quickly I knew I had made the right decision because it was an utter delight to watch my daughter radiating joy while she sang her little heart out and did all the motions (plus added a few of her own to the mix, ha ha). Never since then has she ever been so animated when singing on stage. I would love to have a video of that performance to watch again, but it's still a very fond memory. My parents didn't come up that weekend because my sister and her family were at their house (from Turkey), but Paul's parents came to one of the performances as did Sarah (one of Nadia's former babysitters and Sunday School teachers).

Why am I thinking about this this evening? The past four years the musical took place right around our anniversary, but this year it is taking place two weeks later than usual (this weekend). Tomorrow night all three of my kids will be singing in the musical. It's Oliver's first, Nadia's fifth, and Ian's fourth. The past three years Paul's parents joined us one night and my parents joined us the other night. They always do the program on a Saturday and a Sunday evening. This evening as I drove into the church to pick them up from the dress rehearsal I wept because my mom won't be there. My dad won't be there either because he and my sister drove out to Indiana today to spend a few days with some of my mom's relatives. This was the first time a "first" without my mom brought me to tears. I wasn't expecting it. I thought maybe Oliver's birthday would be hard, but although she was missed I think it was easier because the Towfighis were here and we never celebrate birthdays with them so it was very different from "usual" which helped it to be less emotional. I would appreciate prayers that I keep it together the next two nights. I really want to enjoy watching my kids sing and not be focused on my mom's absence. I am grateful she was able to see their musical the past three years. Similarly I got a bit choked up yesterday at the soccer field as some other grandparents were there watching their grandkids practice. My mom longed to live close enough to grandkids to be able to do things like that, but it never happened. I know Heaven is a million times better than a soccer game or a musical at church, but I miss her very much. I am thankful she loved my children enough to drive up here for events like this in the past.

Paul took the day off of work today (yay!) for our field trip to Lancaster. We arrived at the Mennonite Information Center at 10:30 and watched a 17 movie about the history and core beliefs of Mennonites (and a little about how they differ from Amish). Then we had a 40 minute tour of a replica of the tabernacle. After that we drove 10 minutes to Lancaster Bible College for a Compassion Experience (the child sponsorship organization). It was very well done. With the aid of iPods and headphones, we walked through different "rooms" and heard the story of two different success stories from child sponsorship (a girl from Dominican Republic and a boy from Kenya). It was an excellent way to help the kids learn what it is like to live in a third world country (of course going there first hand would be a million times better). We toyed with doing one more thing in Lancaster before heading home, but since it was over 90 degrees out we opted to come home and swim for an hour before their dress rehearsal at the church. It was great to end our first week of school with a field trip!

Next week I will have the kids help me write letters to the three kids we sponsor. I am hoping the concept of child sponsorship is clearer to them now after going through this experience.

Thankful Thursday

My mom and I with our cat

1. We love our new refrigerator. It is so nice to have a functioning ice maker!

2. Oliver continues to be such a great eater. I have to stop him or he will even eat the rind on his watermelon. He had tomato soup last week in Maryland for the first time in his life, and he asked for some again today. It's such a relief to NOT have food battles with a child. He had his 4 year well visit at the Pediatrician today, and he weighed 37 pounds and was 41 inches tall (means he can ride the Phoenix roller coaster at Knoebels next spring!), which puts him at the 60th percentile for height and 50th for weight - which equals a good BMI (in contrast to Nadia whose BMI is too high and Ian's which is too low). As I've said before, I think Oliver may end up being the tallest of the three kids when he is full grown. Time will tell, but that is my guess at the moment.

3. Oliver learned how to buckle his seat belt last weekend. This was awesome news because Nadia and Ian weren't fond of going into the back seat to help him buckle his seat belt. They are also thrilled that he doesn't mind sitting in the back row. Previously he was in the middle row behind me (so I could buckle him in

his carseat), and the other two alternated as to who sat in the middle and who sat in the back (Ian ended up in the back most of the time). Having one child who doesn't need a booster and two kids who need boosters means it is much easier to switch between vehicles than it has been the past eight years. Ian's prize for learning to buckle his seat belt was a pair of Mickey Mouse flip flops I bought at a yard sale last Saturday. They are his first pair of flip flops, and he loves them. They are a little big so they should fit him next summer also.

4. The pediatrician today said that the hole on the inside of the umbilical hernia has almost totally closed up. It is very tiny now. He said since he is a boy (who won't

ever be pregnant), the surgery could be skipped. It will only be a problem for him if he gains weight in the future and has a large belly. Part of me still would like him to have the surgery because I have seen kids tease him about the size of his belly button, but I also have a strong desire to avoid surgery whenever possible so I guess we'll just skip it. If he wears rash guards when swimming, it shouldn't show very often.

5. Oliver passed his hearing screening but failed his vision screening (they said he was 20/50). They wanted him to see an eye doctor. Thankfully the eye doctor

had a cancellation for Monday because our last day of having vision insurance is next Wednesday. I have had vision insurance for 23 years, but we won't have any starting September 1. The vision insurance we have had through Bucknell wasn't anywhere near as good as the vision insurance I had the previous 21 years so we have already had a taste of what it is like to pay cash for contacts and such. I am hoping Oliver doesn't really need glasses at the age of four. Hopefully he'll pass his eye exam on Monday, but at least we won't pay anything for that exam since we have a few days left of coverage.

On my Grandpa's plane

6. I didn't think of mowing the lawn while the kids were at church last night until a little after 7:00, which meant I couldn't finish it before I needed to go pick them up at 8:00. I stopped mowing, picked them up, and then Paul put them to bed while I continued to mow. I mowed until 8:40 when it was definitely dark outside. I hadn't totally finished, but I had to stop because I couldn't see where I needed to mow. This evening I got the lawn mower out to finish the job and discovered that a neighbor had finished that section for me today. How incredibly sweet! I wish I knew whom to thank. We have some really nice neighbors. It reminds me of the time in 2009 someone shoveled our driveway when I was pregnant with Ian as another random act of kindness.

7. It hit me today while I was sitting watching Nadia and Ian's soccer

practices that I should be getting some exercise during their practice. I had sandals on so I only walked, but I did walk for 30 minutes. I am going to wear sneakers in the future and try to get it one hour of exercise on the field during their practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Nadia also has practice on Thursdays. She doesn't have practice on Tuesdays, but she likes to sit on the bench near Oliver's practice. I am very, very happy that I have found a way to get 2 hours of exercise a week over the next two months. I used to run 4 hours a week, but 2 hours a week is certainly better than nothing. I think I will be too embarrassed to run

Riding our bikes in Texas

there (too many people could see how slow I run), but I can at least walk!

8. Paul came home earlier than usual last night. Normally on Wednesdays he doesn't see the kids until I bring them home at 8:00 pm, but he came home early enough to spend 30 minutes with them before I took them to their musical rehearsal at church.

9. Nadia and Ian really do a great job of paying attention when I read them chapter books. We recently watched the movie based on the book Because of Winn Dixie, and I was very impressed at how they both could easily identify when the movie differed from the book.

Ice Maker

When I moved into my two bedroom apartment in Port Carbon in July of 1996, my landlady commented that she had just purchased a new refrigerator for my apartment, and that she hadn't realized for the same price she could have gotten one with an ice maker. I remember wishing she hadn't told me that, as I am a person who likes ice in my water. The first two houses I bought included refrigerators that did not have ice makers. I was so excited in 2008 that this house's refrigerator did include an ice maker, but we quickly found out it didn't work. Twice we paid a plumber to fix it, and neither time did the repair last very long. Today a new refrigerator was delivered to our house. It's a long story, but basically it was a graduation gift for Paul's Ph.D. Since he isn't using the degree any more, the refrigerator is the only tangible benefit we have of those seven years of schooling. We are all excited about having an ice maker/ water dispenser that works. The refrigerator that they took away today was 20 years old. The new one is also roomier. We are very appreciative!

Today we had our second day of school. Ian's work took a little longer in part because of the interruptions from the refrigerator delivery, but he still finished before lunch. Nadia didn't finish before lunch, but she did finish before we left for the swimming pool. I gave Ian his very first piano lesson today. The kids swam for two hours and then we came home for an early dinner before heading to the soccer field. Sadly Ian threw up in the swimming pool (because he was laughing too hard). I felt badly that everyone had to leave the big pool for awhile (could still use the baby pool) while they cleaned up the mess and added more chlorine. Nadia and I watched the boys' soccer practices this evening. Oliver did much better today than last week. I had brought two tootsie rolls with me as motivation for him to listen to his coach and participate for the entire 60 minutes (which Paul said didn't happen last Thursday). I don't plan to do that every week, but I wanted to help him get on track. I reminded his siblings that he just turned 4 years old  two weeks ago.

Ages 5. 4, and 3

Benners as they were leaving the resort in Ohio

Back to School

I originally had planned to officially start our new school year on August 29, but in light of the fact that we are going on vacation for a week in September, I decided to declare August 22 our first day back. This is my first year of keeping track of school days because in Pennsylvania you have to keep track once the child is eight years old. Today was technically Nadia's 18th day of school because I counted things like our field trip to the Museum of American History (in DC) as days of school. What I meant by "first day" of school was that today we did all the subjects (except for art). Oliver wanted to be doing school work also. He took GREAT pride in declaring himself a kindergartner. I kept telling him FOUR year old kindergarten. Hopefully he won't be disappointed to still be in kindergarten next year when he's five. Anyhow he did a really awesome job with his cutting and some coloring by letter pages. We are hoping that maybe next Monday night we can have dinner at Bonanza (meaning he learns all his letters by then). Ian finished his schoolwork in 90 minutes which was awesome - science, Bible, social studies, math, reading, handwriting, and spelling. He had regressed some with his reading skills over the summer, but otherwise I didn't notice much regression. He is reading me the 27th Magic Tree House book - Thanksgiving on Thursday, which I picked to prepare him for our trip to Plimoth Plantation and the Mayflower next month.

Nadia woke up the latest, and we had to leave at 10:45 for her appointment at church, which meant she wasn't done before lunch as usual. She met with the church's lower elementary children's director for about 40 minutes to discuss the meaning of baptism and to make sure Nadia really is ready to be baptized. She passed the "test" and is scheduled to be baptized on September 25! After lunch Nadia finished most of her work, but before she finished we walked to the playground for the first time in months. It was only in the 70's so I opted for the playground rather than the swimming pool although the pool is only open a few more days this summer. It felt great to get a little exercise, although I still miss running. When we got home Nadia finished her last few math problems and practiced her piano a little before dinner. The boys had their first soccer practice on Thursday night, but Nadia's first practice was this evening. The boys and I dropped her off at 5:30, and Paul will be picking her up at 7:00, hopefully. Her U10 practices are on Mondays and Thursdays from 5:30-7:00, and the boys practices are on Tuesdays and Thursdays. At the U10 level they have goalies, which will be a new experience for Nadia.

As I got out my camera I realized I hadn't used it for 10 days as the last picture I had taken was at the Kalahari Resort on August 12. Ian still said he wanted to work for the Lego company (what he said last year as well), but Nadia changed from astronaut to teacher. Oliver doesn't seem to have any ideas yet so I didn't do that picture with him yet.

I am hoping and praying that the kids and I will have a great year together. Although there are a few days now and then where I wish I was sending them on a school bus (like last Friday), the vast majority of the time I am thrilled to be able to homeschool them. The subject Nadia is adding to the routine this year is Language arts (meaning more time on grammar and writing skills). I also plan to start teaching her to play the recorder later in the year. Similarly, Ian's new "subject" this year will be the start of piano lessons. I gave Nadia and Ian a challenge to earn a trip to Friendly's (since Oliver has been working to earn the family a trip to Bonanza) - Ian needs to be more thankful (less whining and complaining) and Nadia needs to show more perseverance. She gets frustrated very quickly if something isn't really easy for her. She also is prone to starting MANY things (books, crafts, etc.) but not finishing them.

 To see how much the kids have grown lately - here is the back to school post from last year and the one from two years ago.

I am doing Bible, art, and social studies with Ian and Nadia together, but for all the other subjects they are each doing their own thing. Nadia is the only one doing Spanish or typing (she does both on my laptop  and just does one of those each day). I read aloud to all three of them. In Bible I am planning to read the majority of the Old Testament to Nadia and Ian this year. We did Genesis 1 today. We are studying Creation to the Greeks in Bible/Social Studies. All three kids will hopefully enjoy the many field trips we plan to take! A few upcoming field trips include a trip to Lancaster this week, a trip to Hershey on September 21, Landis Valley Museum on October 20, Port Discovery and the Maryland Science Center on October 21, Mystic Seaport on September 10, Plimoth Plantation on September 14, Museum of Science and Boston Children's Museum on September 11, etc.

Trapped

Friday morning the kids and I did some yard sale shopping. We came home to have lunch, and I realized that Nadia had left a book I bought at the yard sale that I intended to start reading the kids at lunch in the van. When she tried to open the door from the kitchen to the garage, she couldn't. I tried, and I also couldn't get it to budge. I called Paul, and he suggested I take off the door knob. I did that, but it didn't help. He then suggested I take the door knob off the bathroom door, and use part of that. I found out they were different sizes, and Nadia had taken off the other half and closed it so we then also couldn't use that bathroom. Thankfully we have two other toilets upstairs. Originally I had planned to go to Knoebels in the evening for some free Christian concerts, but since my friend, Cheri hasn't been feeling well (we were going to meet her), and I was tired, we had scrapped those plans on Thursday night. The new plan had been to go to the swimming pool and library on Friday afternoon, but we couldn't do that because for seven hours we didn't have access to the garage which meant we couldn't drive anywhere (as the van was in there) and the kids couldn't ride their bikes or anything like that as their outside toys are also in the garage. The upside was that we got a LOT of cleaning and organizing done in the house. Things had gotten mixed up when we had 15 people in our house two weeks before so we reorganized the toy bins, games, etc.

I won't go through all the details, but basically Friday was one of those days that made me think of the book "Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day." It started with Oliver wetting the bed for the first time in a couple of months and ended with Nadia crying off and on for most of the night due to ear pain (which meant that Paul and I also got very little sleep). These problems were temporary though. When Paul got home he tried to fix the door knob and discovered it just needed to be destroyed so it could be taken out. This made me feel better because I know I am not good with tools and thought anyone could have fixed this, but actually it wasn't just me in this instance (because Paul is very good with tools). I ran to the hardware store a few minutes before it closed and bought a new door knob, which Paul installed that evening. Saturday morning I took the kids to the Pediatrician, and the doctor said Nadia had a very bad ear infection in one ear. He said her eardrum might already have ruptured. We went to the library and then picked up some antibiotics at CVS (she is swallowing 6 capsules a day), and the doctor said it was okay if she attended a birthday party that afternoon. She woke up with a 101 degree fever so I didn't think she could go to the party, but ear infections aren't contagious so the doctor said it was fine for her to go. I made up for some of the sleep deprivation by going to bed at 7:50 last night. The boys and I went to the swimming pool while Nadia was at her party yesterday.

Yesterday and today went much more smoothly than Friday. The biggest "yucky" moment today was when Oliver threw up all over the place in his bed this afternoon. After church I made pancakes, eggs, and bacon for brunch. Oliver and Ian usually eat as much bacon as I will let them have. Oliver was objecting to the bacon. I should have realized something was wrong, but I just fed him some pancakes. Then he asked to take a nap, which he never asks to do. He didn't nap, but he did throw up in his bed. So all his bedding was washed for the second time in three days. I am very thankful for washing machines! He seemed fine after we got him cleaned up, and he ate normally at dinner.

The pic at the top is of my dresser. The jewelry box in the middle was my mom's. It will become Nadia's when she turns 13. I am going to enjoy it on my dresser for 5 years. The jewelry inside will also become hers when she's a teenager. The three picture frames on the bottom shelves are of my mom and are pictures I just brought back home on Wednesday. I miss you so much, Mom! The other pictures are of Oliver at church this morning. Two weeks ago he made a "helmet of salvation." Last week he would have made a breastplate of righteousness if we had been at our church. Today he made the belt of truth and shield of faith. When I took the pics he was singing "yes, sir" in the song "I'm in the Lord's army." The video below was taken yesterday of Oliver riding his new bike that his grandparents gave him for his birthday. Next summer we'll have to teach him how to ride without training wheels.

Thankful Thursday

1. On Wednesday afternoon the kids and I left Maryland to head back home. Over a span of ten days I drove more than 800 miles. I am very thankful that all 21 of us had safe trips. Last Friday four vehicles drove from Ohio to Maryland, and one drove from Ohio to Illinois. Joe had a flat tire in Ohio last Friday, but other than that we didn't have any incidents while driving. The second pic in this post shows my three passengers on the trip from OH to MD (ages 4, 5, and 6).

2. On August 7 Paul broke my Steelers glass and got some glass in his foot. He got some out the first night, got some more out a few days ago, and then went to the doctor this morning to have another little piece taken out. He had planned to go into work late but ended up staying home because of the pain in his foot. The upside of this was that we had breakfast and lunch with him, and I was able to get the tires rotated on the van. Right before we left for Ohio my van hit the mileage that meant it was time for a tire rotation, but I knew I wouldn't have time to do it until we got back home. I also was able to do a little shopping at the mall - some
with all three kids and some just with Nadia.

3. Nadia and Ian enjoyed the "Crazy about Bugs" program at Camp Susque this afternoon. Had we known Paul was going to stay home from work, he could have taken Nadia and Ian there. Ian had begged Paul to take the day off of work because he hadn't seen us for 10 days, but Paul had told Ian he had to go to work and couldn't come to Camp Susque. In the future I will avoid signing up for events up there during the week of the Little League World Series. Wow. I have never seen so much traffic on that road before. Also, after all the driving I had done yesterday I wasn't really wanting to go there today, but we had already paid for the class. Oliver and I hung out at the playground most of the time. Our local public school district went back to school today so I guess it was fitting we were on a field trip today. I usually wait until the last week of August to get back to doing all the subjects, but I think in light of our one week vacation in September we will start back to school next week.

4. While we were gone Paul went to Lowe's and bought a door to replace the one that is literally disintegrating in our garage. He has a few other projects that he started in May to finish before he starts that new project (replacing the screen in a door and getting rid of the tree stump that is still on our lawn). That door has been an eyesore so I am very excited that sometime this year it will be replaced! I already have some green paint to use so it will match the other doors. Paul has never installed a door before. Hopefully it's not too challenging.



5. The kids had a great time in Ohio. I wasn't feeling well enough to enjoy much of the trip, but I am thankful we went. The parts that were the most enjoyable for me were feeding a carrot to a giraffe (first for me and I giraffes are one of my favorite animals) and also getting some good pictures of many of the kids at Cedar Point.

6. My brother made it safely to Austin, Texas on Tuesday. Now we are praying that he will find a good place to live.

8. I am feeling much better than I was two weeks ago. I still have a cough, congestion, and reduced hearing (ears haven't totally popped open), but the fever and headache and sore throat are gone. Yay!

9. I have occasionally looked for black flats the past few months, but I was overwhelmed by the high price whenever I found a pair I liked. This evening I found a pair marked down to $9.99. Sold.

10. Ian and Oliver's soccer practices are both on Tuesday and Thursday. Nadia's are on Monday and Thursday. I am grateful that there is some overlap to their practices. The boys had their first practice tonight. Oliver looked so cute
with his new to him cleats on (that I got at Goodwill earlier this summer). I found out this afternoon that Ian's cleats from the spring are now too tight for him. I stopped at a consignment shop after our program at Camp Susque, but they didn't have any small enough for him. I ended up buying a pair at Dick's Sporting Goods. The upside of having to pay more than I have for cleats in a few years (since I usually buy them at yard sales or consignment shops) is that Ian got to pick out the color he wanted, and most likely Oliver will use these in the future to get more of our money's worth out of them.

11. I am loving that I now have some older pictures on display in my house such as the one at top of my mom, the one at left of she and I doing dishes, and the one at the very bottom of my mom (age 4), her mom, and her sister (age 10). Some of these pictures I don't ever remember seeing before.

12. My sister and I were able to get a lot of work done at my dad's house as far as going through my mom's things (photos, jewelry, clothes, shoes, purses, etc) and also doing some purging to convert the house to being just my dad's house (saying goodbye to things like pink vase, putting out a picture of his dad, etc.). We were boxing up clothes, purses, kitchen supplies, etc. to be donated to a rescue mission and also dividing some things up between daughters and granddaughters. I cannot imagine that I will need to buy a new top, skirt, or coat for quite awhile. I brought home quite a few of each of those. I also brought home some jewelry for myself and also some that I will give Nadia when she is older. It is all incredibly bittersweet. I would MUCH rather have my mom than her clothes or jewelry, but I don't actually have that choice. I hope in time there is less sadness involved when I look at some of her belongings that are now mine. I will say I really do love the bracelet of hers that I am wearing right now, but I feel a little sad when I look at it because I know the only reason it's on my wrist is because she passed away.

13. Nadia and Ian received notes in the mail this week from the director of their choir at church. How sweet!

14. We spent more time this summer with the Towfighis than we have in years. Although I didn't have much time to socialize in Maryland in between cooking, cleaning the kitchen, sorting through my mom's stuff, and organizing my grandpa's coin collection, I did make some special memories with my nieces and nephews - for example played a game of Scrabble with Joshua and Andrew.

15. Yvonne shared some textbooks with us that she didn't want. In one case it was a textbook I would have purchased for Ian and Oliver (3rd grade math textbook). Free books are appreciated!

16. Yvonne gave Nadia a much needed haircut. She hadn't had one in 14 months. I had called the beautician 2 months ago, but it had never actually happened. Having Yvonne cut her hair saved me $8 plus a tip. Her hair looks much better in my opinion.

17. Ian continues to have a special bond with Aunt Yvonne. He is struggling emotionally right now over my mom's passing plus the knowledge that the Towfighis are headed back to Turkey. He suggested we should move to Turkey. Nope. He also started talking about how much he misses Gabby and Alexis - our babysitters that moved to Oklahoma four years ago. I am amazed that losing a babysitter at the age of 2 1/2 is still significant to him at the age of 6 1/2. He definitely is more sensitive and feels losses more deeply than his siblings. He cried many times yesterday over the idea of not seeing Aunt Yvonne again for a year or two. I know they are doing a very good work over there, but we wish we could see them more often. They are headed to Indiana next week to visit some of my mom's relatives. We can't go because the dates they picked conflict with the kids summer musical performances.

18. Paul mowed the lawn for me yesterday. It had been 12 days since I mowed, and it was definitely needed. I do the

mowing 99% of the time, but it was very sweet of Paul to do it for me yesterday. He knew I would be busy putting things away.

19. As wonderful as it was to spend time with family, I am very thankful to be home sweet home. Being with 15-21 people (of which 10-14 were kids) is a very loud and very messy experience. I tried my best to keep the kitchen neat in Ohio and Maryland (sweeping several times a day, doing dishes, scrubbing the tables, sweeping crumbs off the chairs, cleaning up spills, etc.) but many other areas looked like disaster zones. Seeing clothes strewn on the floor in many rooms, watching people step on papers and toys, etc. is very stressful for me. I definitely am more relaxed in a tidy environment. I should add that I am by no means a perfect housekeeper. I've had others ask me how I can handle the mess that I can tolerate in our house. Everyone has a different level of tolerance when it comes to messes. I also am glad to get the kids back into habits that were temporarily suspended such as devotions before bed, putting their shoes on a shoe rack, and taking their dishes from the table at the end of each meal. I timed myself one time in Maryland, and it took a solid hour to clean up after dinner by myself (cleaning high chairs, cleaning the floor, clearing the tables, putting the dishes in the dishwasher, etc.). It seems like a breeze now that I am back to only five people. I made Paul beef stew today as I know he was tired of hot dogs (one of his staples while I was gone).