Half-way done

According to my records, yesterday was Nadia's 90th day of third grade, which means she's half-way done because we have to log at least 180 days this year. I usually try to end our school year at the end of April or early May, and we are on track to do that again this year. The only subject that might hold us back is math. When we got to the chapter on multiplication I slowed down a lot because the textbook assumed a child could learn one times table a day (what?!?). The same goes for the division tables. (I don't think so!) To make up for that I have been having her do two pages a day this week using a chapter farther in the textbook on time because I knew we hadn't yet gotten to the middle of the math textbook. In everything else she is ahead of where she "should" be. I think there are MANY benefits from field trips so I am not going to let the fact we are a little behind in math with Nadia deter us from continuing to take many field trips. We went on 17 field trips during the past two months. Just looking at this week and next week we went to the library for a program on Monday, saw a two hour Underwater Bubble show at Bucknell last night, Nadia did a 2 hour crime busters program at the library today, tonight I'm taking the kids to an African Children's Choir concert, and on Saturday Nadia and I are going on a bus tour to Harrisburg to tour the Capitol building, the State Museum, see a planetarium show, and see the Nutcracker ballet. On Monday and Tuesday next week we plan to go to the children's museum and science museum in Pittsburgh with my dad. We don't normally do that many field trips in nine days, but I have to add that all of those were FREE aside from the gas involved driving to and from the various places.


The library program today was really outstanding. There was a crime scene, and the 12 kids were put in pairs and had to examine and do experiments related to their assigned section of the crime scene. The experiments included fingerprint development and analysis, testing PH levels, iodine and vinegar demonstrations, ink chromatography, and DNA fingerprinting. In the end they determined that Mrs. White had committed the crime.

I don't write any report cards for the kids so this is as close to a quarterly report as I'll get.

Reading - Over the past two months I read them (or we listened on cd)  35 chapter books. This morning we finished Caddie Woodlawn's Family. Tomorrow I plan to start Rasco and the Rats of NIMH. In the van we are in the middle of listening to The One and Only Ivan. Ian read 4 1/2 chapter books over the past 2 months. Just in the past week he has really taken off and is now reading on his own initiative. If the past he has been at this week continues, he will read FAR more books in the next quarter than he did the last few months. He hasn't transitioned to silent reading yet. Even when he's reading alone, he almost always reads out loud. Nadia has really taken off the last several weeks. She sometimes reads 1-2 books a day from start to finish. She has especially been enjoying books by Ron Roy (mysteries). Thus far in 2016 she has read 80 chapter books. 

Spelling - Ian and Nadia should both finish the textbooks they are in right now sometime in January as Ian has only 6 lessons left in the 2nd grade text and Nadia has only 5 lessons left in the 4th grade text. They'll start the 3rd and 5th grade books when they finish these.

Bible - Thus far we've read (most of) Genesis through Ruth plus Job and the first 20 chapters of I Samuel. We had only read Genesis during the first quarter of school so we did all the others during the last two months. From December through February I want us to finish I Samuel and then read from II Samuel through Ecclesiastes. Today we started reading a few Psalms at lunch, and I plan to keep doing that while during our school work time we're reading from the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles.

Social Studies - We will conclude our study of Ancient Egypt this week. We have also studied a few Jewish holidays (Rosh Hoshanah and Yom Kipppur). Next up will be the Trojan War, Hittites, and Assyrian Empire.

Piano - I am very pleased with the progress both children are making in their respective books. I'll be needing to buy new books for Nadia before I know it! She is using both hands at the same time (up to three notes at a time) and occasionally is using the pedal. Ian is playing one note at at time but using both hands. He is just starting to learn to read music. In January I want to start teaching Nadia to play the recorder.

Math - Nadia is in the middle of the seventh of fourteen chapters of the third grade textbook. She is just starting to work on learning her division tables. She and Ian have *almost* mastered all of the multiplication tables (0-10). Ian is half-way through the second of twelve chapters in the second grade textbook. Math comes more easily to Ian than it does to Nadia. Both of them still need to work on not reversing some of their numbers (for example getting P and 9 mixed up).

Science - Ian is on chapter eight of twelve of the 2nd grade science textbook, and Nadia is on chapter twelve of fifteen of the third grade science book. I am hoping they will finish around the same time, and when they do I am going to have both of them start a science text together from a different publisher (Apologia). We already do social studies and Bible together, and I want to start doing science together. At some point I will have Ian do the 3rd grade text that Nadia has already completed, but for awhile I want them to have science together.

Handwriting - Nadia can now write all the letters (upper and lowercase) in cursive although of course she still needs a lot of practice. She is currently on page 55 out of 94 of the fourth grade textbook. Ian is on page 56 out of 94 of the second grade manuscript textbook. Once they finish these textbooks, I will have them write in a journal each day as a way of practicing their  handwriting and also working on their writing skills.

P.E. - They played on soccer teams in October and were in a 90 minute gym class on Fridays through November 18. That class will resume in January. They will start playing on basketball teams next month. I haven't decided yet whether I will sign them up for ice skating lessons this year or not.

Other subjects - Nadia does either Rosetta Stone Spanish or a Typing program on my laptop most days. I also have been doing some English (grammar) instruction with her for the first time. Although in general art gets the short end of the stick, we did a better job at that last week. My goal is to complete at least one of the creating a masterpiece projects per month from December through May.

O Christmas Tree

Growing up we had an artificial Christmas tree. Well we had a real tree when I was very young, but for as long as I can remember we had an artificial tree. We always put our tree up around December 11 because my dad's birthday is December 10 and my mom didn't want Christmas to overshadow his birthday. The first eight years of our marriage we got real trees, but then in 2009 we switched to an artificial tree mostly to save money and also because I was thinking the kids would cause there to be a LOT of needles throughout the house. When I see pictures of people going to a Christmas tree farm to pick out there tree, there are moments when I wish we were going that route, but then when I see the cost of buying a tree these days, I am very content with our fake tree, which has already saved us hundreds of dollars. Early in our marriage we established the tradition of decorating the day or at least weekend after Thanksgiving. I hadn't discussed delaying it this year with Paul, and so on his own initiative he started bringing up the tree on Saturday. I mentioned I had planned to wait, and he carried it back down, but the kids kept asking and asking to bring it back up. Then on Sunday their choir director said something to them about everyone should put their tree up if they hadn't already done so. I decided to just go ahead and finish the decorating on Sunday afternoon. We found out many of our lights didn't work so we didn't finish the tree that day, but we did everything else (inside only). As I carried the decorations up, I felt like my heart was being trampled on. It was very painful emotionally. It's hard to put it into words, but I was again reliving the grief of losing my mom. I didn't cry, but that was only because I was trying very hard not to. Hopefully it will be much easier next year.

On Monday I ran into to Walmart on our way back from the library and bought one box of lights. That was a major accomplishment because usually when I go into Walmart even if I only have one thing in mind I usually end up buying a lot more. I went in and only bought one thing! Last night I put the lights on and then the kids helped me put the ornaments on the tree. We didn't break any ornaments yesterday, but Oliver broke one this morning. It was one I got in 2008 after having Nadia so I am hoping Paul can glue it back together. While decorating the tree last night I kept telling myself over and over, you are doing this for the kids. When I finished putting the lights on the tree, I turned off the light in the room. Oliver was the only one in the room with me, and his jaw dropped open in amazement. Priceless. Then I was very glad I had forced myself to decorate the tree even though I personally had no desire to have a tree this year. He called his siblings into the room, and they also enjoyed it although it wasn't jaw dropping to them.

Giving thanks...

1. Paul's mom's endoscopy went smoothly today. Praying for good results from the biopsies.

2. The kids enjoyed making their cars and watching "Finding Dory" at the library yesterday.

3. The Giants won on Sunday. Paul and I started dating almost 20 years ago, and during that time span our teams have played each other four times thus far. Sunday will be the fifth. The kids aren't sure which team to cheer for. I told them well at least one of their parents will be happy with the outcome of the game.

4. Tonight we're going to a free two hour show at Bucknell called the "Underwater Bubble Show." We are looking forward to it! Oliver will be up way past his bed time as the show isn't supposed to end until 9pm. Hopefully it will be worth the loss of some sleep.

5. Yesterday I finally made a decision and ordered some pretty light blue carpet for the family room. My first choice and second choice would have been something other than carpet, but I deferred to Paul as he really wanted there to be carpet in this room. The new carpet will be a lot more plush and pretty as the current carpet is an off-white berber carpet that has some big stains from the first two years of Ian's life when he was projectile vomiting many times a day every single day. I also ordered new floor for the kitchen. Those two rooms are where I spent most of my time, and the kitchen floor is the one I clean the most often by a long shot. The linoleum didn't look very good when we bought the house, and it certainly looks worse now (8+ years later). I am hoping it will be installed before Christmas although the extended family probably won't care as much about the floor as I do, ha ha. I can't wait to see it when it's done! For now I've decided to just keep the carpet in the dining room even though I don't like having carpet in there (because of food spilling on the floor). We eat in there VERY rarely (mostly because of the carpet on the floor), and it's hard to find something that will go well next to the beautiful hardwood floor in the living room. The two rooms are very connected.

Nadia is lobbying for purple carpet in her bedroom. I think if we decide not to get her braces then we can afford to get her carpet as carpet will be a LOT cheaper than braces. The boys don't care about their flooring. The only other room I *might* do at some time is the master bedroom. If I knew for sure we'd live here a long time, I'd go ahead and do our bedroom also, but since we might move within the next five years, it might be better to just leave it be. I figure most of the time I am in that room I am asleep so it doesn't really matter that the carpet is stained from when I hemorrhaged during Oliver's pregnancy. I have had the hardest time making these flooring decisions. The guy was here to measure in June! I am very glad I finally made a decision to wait on the dining room and paid the deposit to do the family room and kitchen. I am excited to see it when it's done! It's one of those times though when I am really going to be aware of my mom's absence because she was very interested in things like this. I do like knowing that she helped me pick the flooring for the kitchen.

Drive In movie

Growing up we watched television and some movies via our VCR. We primarily watched re-runs of shows that were aired decades before I was born (I love Lucy, Dick van Dyke, etc.). The first sitcom I remember watching as it came out was "The Cosby Show." The only time we ever watched a movie in a theater was if it was an IMAX movie at a science museum or something like that. In the summer of 1992 I attended Liberty University to start working on my master's degree. My roommates wanted to go see the movie "Beethoven" about a St. Bernard dog. I thought that since I was a college graduate and would soon be starting a job teaching middle school, I was old enough to make my own decisions about whether or not I could darken the door of a movie theater. However, when I actually went to do so, it was so stressful to me that one of my roommates said she thought I should probably not do it because it seemed to me I thought God was going to strike me down with lightning if I entered the building.

Although she was not far off the mark in her assessment, I did go see the movie with them. Not counting the $1 movies I have taken the kids to the past few summers (in which they are not showing newly released movies), I would say I have been to a movie theater about five times over the past 20 years. I remember seeing "A Perfect Storm" and "A Beautiful Mind" with Paul when we were dating. I think we've seen two movies over the past fifteen years of marriage, and both of those were before we became parents. Now it has nothing to do with me feeling any guilt about walking into a movie theater (although there are certainly movies I do think as a Christian I should avoid I don't think it means you need to totally avoid the theater altogether). Mostly it's always been about the money. Even before we had kids it was hard to justify the cost of two movie tickets when we could watch it on dvd for $1 (or for free now that we get almost all our dvd's from the library), and now that we have kids the thought of buying two tickets to a movie PLUS paying $10/hr for a babysitter makes it just totally out of the question.

Anyhow Paul finds it amusing that I've never been to a drive-in movie. We have a couple of them up in our area - one is only about 10 minutes from our house. Since I have been trying to give my kids a wide range of experiences, I do want to take them to a drive-in movie sometime. I considered it this past summer when they were showing Finding Dory at the local drive-in, but the movie ended WAY past their bedtime so I decided to wait until they were older to give that a whirl. I am hoping that at some point Ian and Oliver will learn to sleep in a little later when we keep them up later. Nadia can do that, but the boys haven't thus far. Well today we attended an event at the library that was labeled a drive-in movie. First the kids were each given a box to decorate to turn into a car, and then they were given snacks to enjoy (goldfish crackers, popcorn, Swedish fish, etc.) while watching the movie "Finding Dory." Nadia and Ian sat in their "cars" for the whole movie. Eleven kids each made a car. Oliver got a little scared at one point and sat on my lap for the rest of the movie. It was our first time seeing the movie, and we all enjoyed it. Ian's favorite part was the otters. There was a reporter there today taking pictures, so one of the kids might end up in the newspaper. A reporter from a different newspaper (Press Enterprise) was at the Children's Museum on Saturday morning, and as you can see (above), Ian, Oliver, and I were in it with one of the turkeys. A woman came up to me in Sunday School and told me she saw me in the newspaper that morning (which is how I knew because we don't get any newspapers). Nadia left her car at the library, but the boys wanted me to bring theirs home. We shall see how long they last before I put them in the recycling bin. I'm glad they had fun and enjoyed the movie, and hopefully some day the kids and I will experience our first drive-in movie together.

Turkey Day

Paul's favorite thing about Thanksgiving is the turkey. It's one of his favorite foods, and he usually only gets it a couple of times a year. Since Paul's mom made the turkey for Thanksgiving, I'll need to make one for Christmas (although usually I prefer to have ham at Christmas) so that Paul can enjoy leftover turkey afterward. This morning I took the kids to Home Depot to make a photo ornament. They painted them, and then they put stickers on them so the paint doesn't show as much. I think in the future I'll take some of the stickers off of Nadia and Oliver's so I can enjoy their handiwork more when they're on the Christmas tree. Nadia and Ian received special pins for their aprons that commemorated they have completed at least 10 projects at Home Depot (13 for Nadia and 11 for Ian). Another girl there received one for completing 25 projects. They give them out for 10, 25, 50, and 100 projects completed. After that we went to the Children's Museum for Turkey Day. The kids did some turkey related crafts, played "pin" (tape) the feather on the

turkey, did a turkey scavenger  hunt around the museum, and petted two live turkeys (one male and one female). On our way home we stopped at a consignment shop which had everything 50% off today. I bought Nadia a pair of pants and got a Christmas gift for a nephew.

Today I am thankful....

1. That Paul came home from work a lot earlier than usual.

2. For the pizza we got at Papa Johns today in Bloomsburg using a gift card from credit card points.

3. That Home Depot offers these free workshops for kids. Pop Pop plans to take the boys to Home Depot and Lowe's next Saturday to do two workshops at the stores near them while Nadia and I go on a bus trip to Harrisburg.

4. For the programs the Children's Museum in Bloomsburg offers.

5. That the gasoline in our immediate area is usually much
cheaper (right now almost 30 cents per gallon cheaper) than the gas in the towns that are 30-60 minutes from our home.

6. For Christmas music. They are playing it on the local Christian radio station (some of the time) now. I just LOVE Christmas music.

7. For the curriculum they are using with the children this year. It's by Answers in Genesis. Sometimes it seems to be a little too advanced for Oliver, but I am grateful for the sound doctrine that is being taught each Sunday morning.

8. Oliver has really been into doing puzzles lately, and he's making great progress. He can now do up to 100 piece puzzles.

Quiet Friday

The only Black Friday shopping I did today was to purchase tickets to Dutch Wonderland for next year (online) and to buy two gift certificates at a hardware store in our town. I like buying bargains, but I do not like shopping in the middle of the night OR shopping in a big crowd. This morning we did a very light day of "school" - reading, Bible, math, and piano. I had considered taking the kids to a play in Bloomsburg. Paul had taken Nadia and Ian to two shows at BTE over the last two years where I purchased their tickets. Every Black Friday they do one free show if you bring canned food, but because it's a popular event I had heard that you needed to get in line a long time before the show to guarantee your spot. Although a free show was appealing to me, the thought of standing outside in 40 degree weather with three young children was very unappealing. Plus I knew I was planning to go to Bloomsburg tomorrow to have the kids do a project at Home Depot and do a program about turkeys at the Children's Museum, and the thought of driving there two days in a row was also unappealing. The show probably was very entertaining, but I am glad we stayed home all day aside from our 10 minute errand to the hardware store.

As November draws to a close I thought I'd write a few more gratitude lists...

1. Yesterday Aunt Millie gave Oliver the cutest hat, apron, and spatulas. My little kitchen helper is going to look even more adorable the next time we are baking cookies!

2. Earlier this week Oliver broke part of the shoe rack. Paul was able to repair it. YAY! During the time we couldn't use it I was reminded of how much I appreciate it. The kids' shoes were just in a big heap on the floor without that wonderful little rack.

3. My dad had a nice time in Chicago this week. He flew in on Sunday and flew back home today. He had a nice Thanksgiving with Wendy and her family. Yvonne and her family had a nice thanksgiving with teammates in Turkey. Maurice had a nice Thanksgiving in Texas with a family he knew from our church in Maryland, and we had a nice time with Paul's family. There were ten of us at their table - our five plus Paul's parents, Al, Millie, and Shawn.

4. Today I bought five tickets to Dutch Wonderland as they were on sale for 50% off and can be used any day the park is open in 2017. I had recently bought tickets for Idlewild (a park near Pittsburgh that we haven't been to yet), and we already have four free passes for Knoebels that we can use in May (thanks to a buy one, get one free promotion when we went with my dad in September). And I will sign up for free tickets for Six Flags. Plus we'll hopefully go to Del Grossos once, and that will cost about $75 for the five of us. Considering it costs $500 for the five of us to spend ONE day at Disney, I think it's pretty wonderful that we can spend five days at amusement parks next summer for less than $300 total. :) To keep our entertainment budget in check I think next year we'll skip going to Sight and Sound, HersheyPark, and Sesame Place (three places we did go this year). I also haven't been buying tickets to see plays in Williamsport like we used to in the past, although I did buy tickets for Paul, Nadia, and Ian to see a Christmas Carol at our church in December.

5. At first when I was wearing some of my mom's jewelry or clothing I felt very sad when I looked at the item, but now that more time has passed I find myself mostly just feeling grateful for the years I did have with my mom and thankful that I have these things to remember her by. Once a woman in choir gushed and gushed about how stylish a coat was that I was wearing (one of my mom's), and that was so sweet. I think of my mom many times when I am wearing things that used to be hers - even something simple as a pair of her gloves. I would much, much rather have my mom, but that wasn't God's will. I am very thankful to have some "new to me" jewelry, coats, gloves, sweaters, purses, etc.

6. The Steelers won last night, and it we had a solid enough lead that I didn't need to stay up until the very end. Although I am glad we don't have cable all year (7-8 months we go without to save $$), it is nice to have it for 4-5 months during the NFL season. The kids also enjoy being able to watch some shows on PBS during those months. Some of their favorites include Wild Kratts, Ready Jet Go, and Odd Squad.

7. Although I regularly shop on Amazon (thanks to free shipping through Prime and because it's much easier to shop online than in a store when you have young children), I wouldn't say I typically feel like I get incredible bargains there. Every once in a blue moon they have a coupon for $10 off an order of $25 or more or something like that, but that's by no means the norm. Right now though they have a code so you can get 25 photo cards with envelopes totally for free. For many years I've written an annual Christmas letter, and then once I became a mom I started including a photo card with the letter. Months ago I decided I wasn't going to send any Christmas cards or letters this year because I really still don't know how to explain the changes. Even someone at the bank asked me (in reference to our refinancing application), "Why is your husband working at Kennedy Concrete with a Ph.D. in Chemistry after teaching at Bucknell for two years?". I didn't know how to answer the question so I said, "You tell me, and we'll both know." Last year I ordered a tri-fold card from Shutterfly that included spaces for text and photos so I used that instead of a letter. Since I didn't want to include any text this year, I was thinking I wouldn't order any cards this year, but then I found a code to get 11 free flat 5x7 cards from Shutterfly and decided to send just simple photo cards (that only said Merry Christmas). I am thankful for the 25 free cards I ordered from Amazon today, but I am dismayed to learn that they are trying to put Shutterfly out of business. Shutterfly's stock has gone down following Amazon's efforts to increase their photo printing services. I hope Shutterfly stays in business for many, many years!

8. The local hardware store was having a sale today where you could buy gift certificates at a considerable discount. We got $90 worth of gift certificates for $50!

9. On Monday I read the book of Ruth to Nadia and Ian. I do love that book of the Bible, and not just because my name is Ruth. What a beautiful story!! Tuesday we started 1 Samuel. I am enjoying reading through the Old Testament with them (I skipped some chapters due to sexual content). We have done Genesis through I Samuel 11 plus Job so far.

10. I have also been checking out books for the library for *me* to read! I finished a quick and easy (sweet) read today - A Baxter Family Christmas. I wasn't keen on Nicholas Sparks' newest book, but I did enjoy John Grisham's newest book.

Happy Thanksgiving!

People talk about how the holidays are hard when you have recently lost a loved one. The holidays I associate the most with my mom are Christmas and birthdays ( mine plus Nadia, Ian, and Oliver's). Growing up, I remember Thanksgiving with my mom - many spent on Long Island at my Aunt Janet's house for example, but over the past 15 years we weren't together at Thanksgiving that many times, and Thanksgiving doesn't involve nearly as many traditions as Christmas and birthdays. All that to say, today isn't overly emotional for me in terms of grieving the loss of my mom. Christmas however is a whole different ball of wax for me. Certain parts of it seem unaffected - I can't wait to start singing Christmas music and look forward to making cookies to give to the kids' AWANA leaders, Sunday School teachers, etc. Usually I decorate for Christmas right after Thanksgiving, but decorating is something I really strongly associate with my mom, and truth be told, if I didn't have kids I think I'd just skip the Christmas decorations this year. First of all Christmas decorations were very important to my mom (she had multiple trees of varying sizes throughout the house as one example), and secondly I vividly remember taking the decorations down for her last year right after her cancer diagnosis. However I don't want my kids to go without a Christmas tree and such just because I personally have no desire to decorate this year, so I think the compromise is that I'm going to wait a bit to decorate. There is no rule that says we *have* to decorate right after Thanksgiving, right? Maybe it won't actually be as emotionally painful as I think it will be. We shall see.

I usually try to write a thankful post each Thursday, and since today is Thanksgiving Day, I will try to write a longer list than normal.

1. I'm very thankful that my mom was a Christian, and I have the assurance that I will see her again some day.

2. We live in a country where we have the freedom to worship in the way we choose, and also the freedom to homeschool our children, if we so desire (many around the world do not have either of those freedoms).

3. At the Kid's Day on Saturday I learned about another history day camp. This one is at a museum in Williamsport. I am not sure of the cost, but assuming the cost is reasonable, I think we'll take advantage of this one like Nadia and Ian did last year at the Priestley House.

4. We enjoyed the free admission to the Little League Museum on Saturday.

5. I got some good bargains on Saturday at the consignment

shop and Target (spent about $6 total between the two stores).

6. Ian loves the Geoffrey stuffed animal he got for free at Toys R Us on Saturday.

7. Our vehicles are very reliable. We only paid for oil changes this year, which meant we spent less than $200 all year on repairs/maintenance for both vehicles.

8. Nadia was not chosen for the Elves and the Shoemaker. She cried a lot about this yesterday, but I am thankful it didn't diminish her desire to try out for other plays in the future. I am still glad she got the experience of going through a 75 minute audition.

9. We finished another art project yesterday! The first project we did this week was winter cabin with oil pastels. The second was called Granny's Crabapples, and it was done with gouache. Last year we took the whole week off for Thanksgiving because Paul got the whole

week off at Bucknell, and I toyed with doing the same this year even though Paul just gets today off, but in the end I decided that this week we'd do reading, math, Bible, piano, and art. I told the kids that we'd spend a lot more time than usual on art and that we'd skip science, spelling, handwriting, English, typing, and Spanish. It has worked out well. I think we'll do the same one week in December.

10. I had a mammogram on Tuesday. I thought I could bring the kids into the inner waiting room, but I discovered they had to stay in the outer waiting room. Thankfully they are very efficient there because Oliver did not behave. He turned off the lights in the waiting room, and when Nadia turned them back on he started crying. I had the kids bring books, but the receptionist gave Oliver some crayons and a coloring book. I felt badly that she had to babysit my kids for me, but I was gone for just a few minutes as they are very efficient. I wish all medical appointments were like that! When I was pregnant with Nadia I had a similar experience with

my OB appointments. I had never brought the kids to a mammogram appointment before. Paul used to be able to watch the kids for me when I had a hair appointment or dentist appointment or doctor appointment, but that's not the case any more. The kids are now pretty much glued to me except for choir rehearsals on Wednesday nights and Sunday School on Sunday mornings. The mammogram experience made me all the more grateful I asked a friend to watch the kids during my GYN appointment next month. I admit in the past I have not been very faithful at getting these screenings done as frequently as you are supposed to have them done, but after what my mom went through, I plan to be very faithful. I got the call yesterday that my results were normal. Now they just need to come up with a less painful way to screen for breast cancer. When we were billed for Paul's strep test, I called the insurance to make sure they would pay for things like a mammogram, pap smear, and BRCA screening as I figured those were all a lot more

expensive than a strep test. It seems if we get sick then we have to pay for things until we hit our deductible, but they pay 100% of preventative tests, which means they will pay 100% for the mammogram, BRCA screening, etc. At least that's what I was told on the phone. Hopefully I was given accurate information.

11. Our refinancing closing is to take place in two weeks. I will be very glad when that is finalized.  I am grateful the end is in sight and that our interest rate will be dropping 3%

12. I ordered a 12x12 photo book (my first time doing one that big) last night, and I paid less than $2.00. I could have gotten it for free but I added one extra page, and that's all I had to pay for. I also received another free shipping code yesterday for Shutterfly so thus far I've used two and have two left to either use or trade away.

13. We were able to FaceTime with our relatives who live in Turkey yesterday. Jenna turned 14 on Tuesday, and Nathan turns

eight today. I'm thankful that we can keep in touch across the many miles!

14. God has given us such a wide variety of foods to enjoy. When we were reading a picture book (one of the Cranberry books by Wende and Harry Devlin), Nadia noticed a recipe for cranberry cobbler. She asked me to make it. I prefer fruit crisps to cobbler, so I made a cranberry apple crisp instead last night. I don't think I've ever had a cranberry crisp or cobbler before, but it was delicious! We had thanksgiving dinner at Paul's parents house this evening. Millie brought several yummy desserts, I brought the yams, and Paul's mom prepared everything else.

15. We're near the end of the biography about Corrie ten Boom, and although I'm familiar with her story, I am again amazed at all that some were willing to go through to help the Jews, and I'm very grateful we (here in America) have never had to live through anything so horrific.

16. I found bargain online this morning of free shipping plus buy one get one free from Sears/Kmart that enabled me to buy two cardigan sweaters for Nadia for less than $10 total. Paul also got a bunch of free items at CVS today (that is the closest I will come to in person Black Friday shopping).

The last picture is of the kids putting the last pieces onto the Lego set that Pop Pop got for Christmas last year. It contains more than 4,000 pieces!

Audition #2

Nadia had her first audition in 2015 when she tried for a part in Annie. She was selected to play the part of Pepper. She wasn't allowed to addition for a part in The Little Mermaid this summer because this year the minimum age for a part was nine. Tonight Nadia is going to audition to be in a production of the Elves and the Shoemaker in Williamsport. The performances will be in January. She has memorized a few lines and is ready to tell a story (she picked The Three Little Pigs) and sing a song (they said it might be the Happy Birthday song). The first rehearsal is scheduled for next Monday night so I assume we won't have to wait very long to find out if she was selected to be in the cast or not. They had auditions last night also, but we opted for Monday night because we went to a Thanksgiving service at church last night. Personally, I think Nadia shows more talent with singing and acting than she does in basketball or soccer so I am grateful for this opportunity, and the theatre is 25 minutes from our home which is much closer than where I took her this summer for "Little Mermaid," but even if she isn't selected the audition experience will be good for her (and less running around to lots of rehearsals isn't a bad thing either).

Giving thanks:

1. I usually mention chapter books we've been reading (right now we're doing a biography of Corrie Ten Boom), but we also enjoy reading picture books every day. Two we got at the library recently that we really enjoyed were Sophie's Squash by Pat Miller and Balloons over Broadway by Melissa Sweet. The latter is a true story, and I also found it very interesting. We've checked Sophie's Squash out in prior years also, but it's one of those books that the kids like to have read again and again and again. 

2. We went from temperatures in the 60's on Saturday down to the 30's as a cold front came through. I am not a fan of cold weather, but it causes me to be even more grateful for our warm house, warm clothes, coats, gloves, etc. It's so easy to take those things for granted, but I know there are people dealing with the cold temperature who sadly are going without these things.

3. The kids' choir sang yesterday in both services. Oliver was rolling up his shirt (showing his belly button, lovely) during the first service, so I have embedded the video from the second service below. Nadia really needs to work on smiling. Ian has come a LONG way over the last two years.

4. On Friday Oliver and I visited the book sale at the library. I got some Christmas gifts, two books for the kids, and four Inductive Bible study workbooks for Kids by Kay Arthur. Nadia picked which one she wants to start on first. I paid $4 total for those workbooks which originally would have cost $66. Three of the books didn't have any writing in them, and one book just had writing (in pencil) on a few pages. The Bible study I did this last fall was also by Kay Arthur (mine was on Hosea).
was like my mom and got goosebumps in response to really liking a song. I get tears in my eyes instead. We also sang "Come thou fount of every blessing." I also really enjoyed a duet yesterday morning of the song "Your Hands" by JJ Helller, whom I saw recently in concert.

7. The Steelers and Giants both won yesterday. The games were on at the same time, and we only have one tv so there was a lot of channel flipping going on, but we were happy both teams won.

8. Paul's parents come up yesterday to hear the kids sing in the second service and then joined us for lunch at our house.

9. I placed another big order with Shutterfly today. I could have had my total lower if I had included one fewer item, but still before the discounts my bill totaled $226.48, and I only paid $11.44. I ended up trading away one of my free shipping codes because I regretted that I forfeited so many Coke points for one of them. I have one free shipping code left, which means I'll place one more order in the next month. I have put a lot of time into designing calendars, ornaments, etc., but it does make for very economical Christmas gifts. I scanned a photo of my Aunt Tina with her mom (my Grandma) and a dog she used to have back when her mom was alive. I think she's going to love having an ornament with that picture.

10. Speaking of pictures, today I put some photos in frames in my bedroom and also changed out a couple that were in collage frames in the hallway and half bathroom. I love some of the "new" pictures I have on display - one is of my parents holding me when I was 9 days old. Another is of my mom's mom when she was a young girl. I think it's quite obvious that I treasure photographs of family members - past and present! Some of the things I ordered from Shutterfly will be going up on our walls. I can't wait to see them!

11. I am determined to do better with including more art activities with Nadia and Ian. Today we spent about an hour working on a project with oil pastels. I always feel inadequate as an art teacher, but I am doing the best I can and am grateful for the videos from Creating a Masterpiece.

12. When I come up to pick up the kids at the end of their Soul Patrol rehearsal on Sunday mornings (after my Sunday School class has been dismissed), they are usually in the process of sharing prayer requests and then praying together. I heard Nadia ask for prayer for her aunt and uncle who are missionaries in Turkey, and then I heard Ian ask for the group to pray for "Trump to be a good President." The teacher started to talk about that as Christians we are to pray for all those in government, and then Ian followed up by saying "I am praying for Trump to be careful with his words because sometimes he just says whatever he thinks." Well I do believe that is a good thing to pray for in reference to our President elect, but I surely wouldn't have said that in a public setting. LOL! Hopefully no matter which side of the "aisle" we each find ourselves politically, we can all agree that we hope Trump turns out to be a good President.

Meeting Geoffrey

Some days we stay home all day (like Thursday) and other days we are out and about most of the day. This morning we left at 9:45 for the Little League Museum for their annual Kid's Day. They don't charge admission between 10-2 on that day, and many community organizations have displays set up within the museum at which they are giving away things or have something fun for the kids to do - such as getting their faces painted. The PBS station also is there and brings a character for a meet and greet. Today it was Curious George plus the local baseball team's mascot named Dugout. I did take pictures of the kids with Dugout and Curious George, but sadly I did something wrong (was using my iPhone) and the pictures were extremely blurry. So they were promptly deleted because I can't stand blurry pictures. The kids had a good time. At one place they time you running from home base to first base, and Ian was able to run 1 second faster than Nadia. Oliver was the slowest. Ian also did the best with another activity that involved a simulation of catching balls as a shortstop. Nadia asked to have her face painted like a panda bear. They didn't have any black paint so they used brown instead. Oliver had a different idea at first, but then after he saw Nadia's face he asked for the same. Ian passed on the face painting. After the Little League Museum we went to a consignment shop (bought a pair of shoes for Nadia for $2), Dunkin Donuts (used a gift card for our lunch), Aldi's (groceries), and Target (bought two turtlenecks for Nadia for less than $4 total thanks to a $10 off coupon).


Ian was most excited about our next stop - Toys R Us. They had a scavenger hunt you could do anytime between 12-2, and when you completed it you were given a free Star Wars poster and a Star Wars Lego minifigure. After we completed our hunt, Ian got his birthday crown and balloon, and they announced his upcoming birthday over the loudspeaker. He then used the $3 coupon from TRU and the $7 I gave him early (his birthday is 12/12) to buy a small Lego set. Then we dropped our van off at Sears for an oil change and tire rotation. While they were working on the van, I did a little shopping in Sears. I did manage to buy a Christmas gift for Oliver (Spiderman umbrella) without him realizing it. Oliver is at the stage where I would rather never ever take him in a mall. I had planned to stop in a couple of other stores but then decided that was more than my sanity could handle. We just waited in the automotive area until they finished the van. After that we drove across the parking lot back to Toys R Us because from 3:00-4:00 they were having a birthday party for kids with birthdays in November or December. We had never done this before. I remember choosing to pass on it in August for Oliver's birthday. An employee read a book to the kids, they colored, met Geoffrey, marched around the store behind Geoffrey, and then each of the birthday kids received a free 12 inch Geoffrey stuffed animal and a free hard back book.  We got home at 4:00 so we had been gone for almost six hours, and we were all very ready to be home. Paul got home from work about 30 minutes after we did. We hadn't seen him since Tuesday.

Uganda

At one point I considered buying a ticket to a concert at our church tonight featuring Big Daddy Weave and two other artists. I'm glad I didn't do so for at least two reasons. First, Paul and his dad were on a business trip in New York. He is spending the night at his parent's house, and we'll see him tomorrow evening when he comes home from the plant. Secondly, I later learned about a (free) concert at the church I went to before we moved here in 2008, and I thought the kids and I would enjoy it. We did! It was the Watoto Children's Choir from Uganda. I had heard them before, but I knew it would be a new experience for the kids. They loved it although the concert started at 7:00, which was a tad late for Oliver who usually goes to bed at 8:00. Oliver actually fell asleep on the drive to the church, and it was very hard to wake him up. He had awakened an hour earlier than normal this morning, plus it gets dark so very early these days, and I think that threw him off as well. Anyhow in addition to enjoying beautiful music and hearing what the Lord has been doing in the lives of these orphans in Uganda, I thought it was great for the kids to actually see and hear some children from Africa. In addition to the Watoto choir, I had previously heard the African Children's Choir, and I went on their website this evening only to discover they will be at a church in OUR (small) town in just 12 days. The only problem is that to attend that concert will mean the kids missing AWANA and me missing a choir rehearsal. I will have to give it more thought (and talk to the kids about it), but I'm leaning towards attending the concert even though I usually work very hard to never have the kids miss AWANA.

Giving Thanks....

1. Yesterday we stayed home all day, aside from a quick trip to the grocery store (located 5 minutes from our house). I like having days like that after a day like Tuesday when we are gone for most of the day.

2. As always the kids love homeschool gym class on Fridays. Today was the last class for 2016. It will start back up in January. I'm so grateful our church makes this possible. This fall the kids have played baseball, kickball, basketball, volleyball, soccer, glow in the dark dodgeball, hockey, etc.

3. On Monday I received a postcard in the mail advertising the Samson show, and it included a free code for a free souvenir program, which are normally $14,99. I would never pay that much for a program, but I will admit it is very nice and will be an excellent way to remember the show in the years to come, and we got it for free because the postcard came *just* in time.

4. The concert this evening was fabulous. Ian really wanted us to sponsor one of the babies. I love his compassionate heart. I told him right now we sponsor three kids and are not in the position to sponsor more, but I hope when he's older he will still have this desire and do something about it.

5. About six months ago I signed up for Panera's reward card because my friend, Cheri, said she receives many special coupons and offers through that program. Well I am very glad I did. Recently I got an email saying I could take $5 off any order if I did my order online. Last night I went on the website to see if there were any meals in that price range and discovered I could get one of the breakfast bagel sandwiches for $5.09, which meant it would only cost me 9 cents after the $5 coupon. Usually these days 9 cents does not get you anything, but it was enough to pay for my lunch today! I have to say that I like the breakfast bagel and Dunkin Donuts a little better (and it's usually much cheaper), but I definitely felt the sandwich was worth a lot more than the 9 cents I paid for it.

6. All the kids ate dinner in a very reasonable amount of time tonight. The boys often struggle with this, but not tonight (Thank you, Lord!). The boys had sausage and pumpkin pancakes, and Nadia had a pasta casserole (leftovers). Maybe some day this will be the norm instead of the exception.

7. I made my first "Black Friday" purchase (it was labeled as a Black Friday sale). Two years ago we had plans to go to Idlewild (amusement park for young children near Pittsburgh), but we didn't go. This year we even had a specific date in mind, but we didn't go. So when I saw a special to buy 6 tickets (to be used either in June or September next year) for $99, I took the plunge. Hopefully this means we WILL be going there next year since I already bought the tickets. Last year we tried Dutch Wonderland for the first time instead, and this year we returned to Sesame Place after taking a year off from visiting that park. This year we didn't go to DelGrosso's as we usually do so next summer I'm hoping that instead of Sesame Place or Dutch Wonderland we will go to DelGrosso's and Idlewild.

P.S. The boys were looking super handsome today, but I forgot to take any pics. Sometimes if I don't have any new pics I feel like I can't write a blog post, but I decided not to let that stop me today, and I did find a pic I had taken last week that I hadn't posted yet.

Thankful Thursday

1. Everyone in our family is healthy today. Ian had his turn having a fever on Monday.

2. We finished our third novel about Egypt. Although Nadia preferred the book about Mara, The Golden Goblet was also an excellent book. Now we are enjoying Mrs. Frisby and The Rats of NIMH, which I had read to my students more than 20 years ago. In the van we are listening to the book Phantom Tollbooth on CD from the library. We are so thankful for books!

3. Paul is on a business trip. He'll get back Friday night. The choir provided childcare last evening. Normally my kids are in AWANA on Wednesday nights, but the church where they go to AWANA is having a missions conference this week, which meant no AWANA. Since we don't generally see him much Mon-Fri, it really doesn't feel that different when he's out of state. I am grateful that we have gotten accustomed to his absence. It was tough at first, but now it;s our new normal.

4.  The choir sang a beautiful arrangement of the Battle Hymn of the Republic on Sunday.

5. I am very thankful for all the men and women (past and present) who have served in the military. What a huge sacrifice they are willing to make on our behalf!

6. We had a wonderful time in Lancaster on Tuesday. Paul's parents and my dad met us at a restaurant in Bird-in-Hand. We all got the buffet. Paul's dad had coupons for the three kids to eat for free. We ate so much that the kids and I skipped dinner (just had a little snack that I had packed to eat on the way home). Paul still had dinner (pizza) when we got home. Then we made a brief stop at a miniature horse farm. In the future I'd like to sign the kids up for a workshop there. It costs $35 for a one hour workshop for 5 people, and that includes feeding the horses, riding them, brushing them, etc. Nadia was tickled pink to discover one of the horses is named Nadia! The reason we drove down there was

to see Samson. It was our fifth time taking the kids there. In 2012 (while I was pregnant with Oliver) I entered via a wheelchair (on bedrest) for Nadia's fourth birthday to see Jonah, which is the show they are doing next year. In 2013 we saw Noah, in 2014 Moses, and in 2015 Joseph. The show was wonderful as always. It made it all the more special to share the experience with Paul's parents and my dad. We each drove two hours to get there. I had planned to take the year off next year because we've already seen Jonah and because the tickets are expensive, but Nadia already is lobbying to see it. We shall see. I am thankful we were able to see Samson yesterday. I thought about my mom a lot because she used to go with us to these shows and because her maiden name was Sampson (pronounced the same

as Samson). It had been more than a month since we had a full day with Paul so that was also a rare treat.

7. On Monday I used a gift card (procured through credit card points) for Domino's. We are always thankful for free pizza!

8. Oliver fell asleep very soon after we left the parking lot of Sight and Sound, which meant he went to "bed" about two hours earlier than normal. He was awake for about 15 minutes at home while he went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, etc. I was very nervous that he might wake up REALLY early Wednesday morning, but thankfully he only woke up one hour early (6:00), which means he slept 12 hours that night. He usually sleeps 11 hours. He wet the bed. He's definitely had a lot harder time than the other two with this, but it had been two months since he had done that. I know it could be worse. I have a nephew a few years older than him who still struggles a lot more than Oliver does with staying dry at night.

9. I have been trading Coke points with people a lot the last couple of days. I am thankful for everyone who has given me Coke caps over the past year; some are from soda I buy Paul.
By using those caps I collected even more coupon codes for Shutterfly. I forfeited the largest amount I've ever traded before for a second free shipping code. I realized I *might* get a few more in my email inbox, but just in case that doesn't happen I decided to try to procure a second one. So that means I'll be placing another order in December. Last night I placed a big order. My order total before coupons was $330.73, and after coupons it was ZERO! I am very thankful to Shutterfly, the people who gave me Coke points, the people who made trades with me, and the companies who sent me codes by email (Coke, Kellogg's, Wyndham, etc.). This morning I did get another free shipping code (from P&G) so maybe I shouldn't have traded for one earlier this week. I had only received one of the first five free shipping codes this year, which made me nervous because last year I had received more of them. Well if I end up regretting my trade, I will keep that in mind in the future (or possibly trade one of my codes to someone else to recoup some of the Coke points). I had already ordered my annual photo canvas (which takes a LOT of Coke points). I was just saving toward the next one, but I can work on that next year. There will be a lot of orange packages coming our way in the near future!

10. Last week I made a meal that I really enjoyed. I made corn muffins, sweet potatoes (from fresh ones not from a can), bbq chicken, and green beans. YUM! Oliver and I were the only ones who ate the sweet potatoes. The others opted for leftover macaroni and cheese instead. All three kids liked the corn muffins though. Nadia, Oliver, and I put apple butter on our muffins. Delicious! I need to make sweet potatoes and cornbread more often.

11. Paul used the watch the kids when I had a hair appointment or dentist appointment, etc. Now they have to come with me all the time. I have a dentist appointment and mammogram appointment coming up, and I am willing to take them with me for those, but I just felt I couldn't bring them to my annual Gyn appointment. Nadia and Ian I could leave in the waiting room without worrying, but not Oliver, and I didn't want to bring him back in the exam room. So I did something that does not come naturally to me at all. I asked a woman in choir last night if she would help me out. Thankfully she said YES. There is a McD's with a playland adjacent to the doctor's office. I said I could meet her there and the kids could play while I was at my appointment. I am very appreciative. It's a big relief to have that figured out.

Nadia's turn

Oliver was sick on Tuesday, and when his siblings were healthy on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, I thought the rest of us had escaped getting the bug. I found out on Saturday that I was wrong. Nadia had a fever and hardly any appetite yesterday. She skipped breakfast, ate a somewhat normal lunch, and then had to be cajoled into eating a very small dinner. She went to bed at 5:30 last night and didn't get out of bed until around 7:15. I knew Paul was going into work early this morning so I knew we all might have to skip church if Nadia was still sick, but when her temperature was 98.3 this morning, I got everyone ready for church. We wore red, white, and blue as I knew it was a Veteran's Day service at church this morning. The choir sang a beautiful arrangement of Battle Hymn of the Republic. One man in our choir sang a solo that was an Armed Forces medley, and people in the congregation stood when their service hymn was sung, if they are currently or have in the past served in that branch of the military. The soloist is a veteran, and he was wearing his uniform. At our church typically there are several songs that the whole congregation sings and one by the choir. Solos are rare, but today we had two. The second was sung by a Vietnam veteran who was also wearing his uniform. The selected six veterans in the congregation to honor this morning, and I was particularly moved by the one that was awarded to the parents because their son died (at the age of 21) in Iraq 13 years ago.

Nadia exited the service twice, which was highly unusual. I can't remember her ever needing to leave even once, but her stomach wasn't happy. She had eaten a bagel for breakfast. I went with her the first time, and after she threw up in the bathroom I asked her if she thought she could stay in the sanctuary for the rest of the service. She said, "yes," and so we stayed. Near the very end she ran out again. At least she is old enough to make it to the bathroom on time. I had brought my camera (and some candy corn as an incentive) and planned to stop on the way home at the park and take a few pics of three kids in their patriotic clothes, but since Nadia threw up again on the way home (in a trashcan we keep in the van for that very purpose), we just came straight home. She was wearing a red dress with a navy blue sweater, navy blue tights, and navy blue flats. She did help me out by taking a picture of me with my patriotic boys on our front porch. We left the church after the first service which meant I missed singing with the choir in the second service and attending my Sunday School class plus the kids missed their Soul Patrol rehearsal today.

At one point I had planned to take the kids to Scranton yesterday to tour a coal mine because I have decided to join the PBS station again. I had joined it two other years in the past but hadn't done so for a few years. The perks of joining include free tickets to Knoebels one day in May, free tickets to tour the coal mine in November, and free ski passes (and ski rentals) one day in January and one day in February. The two times we did it in the past it also included free tickets to Reptiland, but I don't think they do that any more. I decided a few days ago that I didn't feel like driving that far this Saturday, and I am glad I made that choice because we never left the house yesterday, which was perfect considering the fact Nadia had a fever. I am planning to join the PBS station next month, which will mean we can do the coal mine tour next November. Paul and I are planning on taking Nadia and Ian skiing on the free day in January, and my dad is planning to join the kids and I (weather permitting) on the free day in February. I am excited because they have never been skiing before, and Paul hasn't been skiing in more than 20 years. It's been more than 15 years since I skied.

Since Oliver wasn't up to taking any fall photos on Tuesday when I did Nadia and Ian's, I dressed him a fall sweater on Friday and took him outside in Milton while Nadia and Ian were playing hockey in their gym class. Today he's had at least three costumes on thus far. I snapped a photo of him dressed like a fire fighter in honor of the fire I fought four days ago. Paul said I should have had him posed next to the blackened propane tank.

Well I'm hoping that Nadia will be feeling back to normal tomorrow and that maybe just maybe Paul, Ian and I can still escape it. Oliver's only lasted for 24 hours so Nadia's has lasted longer than his did. We are planning to spend Tuesday in Lancaster so hopefully everyone will be healthy by then. Paul's parents and my dad are planning to meet us there to see Samson at Sight & Sound. We are very excited!

I fought a fire

The first time in my life that I called 911 was for an electrical fire in the wall of the computer lab of the school where I was principal. I used to schedule one drill a month (tornado in the colder months and fire in the warmer months). Some of those drills I told the teachers about ahead of time, and some were a surprise even for them (only my secretary and I knew). Well the day I called 911, the real fire was discovered only 5 minutes before a scheduled fire drill that I had announced to the teachers ahead of time, so they thought it was just a drill until the fire engines started arriving in the parking lot. Parents also started arriving because they had heard the news on a scanner, but we were able to go back into the building and finish out the school day (with the exception of staying out of the computer lab) once the breaker to that room was turned off and the wall temperature had come down. That fire was discovered by the smell produced from the outlet strip melting. Let me tell you I was nervous the next time I scheduled a fire drill and hoped it would only be a drill, ha ha!

Yesterday was the second time in my life I called 911. At 4:00 I started up the gas grill and a few minutes later put some hamburgers on it. A couple of minutes later I noticed there was a lot of smoke so I went out and saw the flames were much bigger than usual. I turned down all the burners to "low," and flipped the burgers. The flames just got bigger so I turned all the burners off. The flames still got bigger so I turned off the propane tank. When the fire raged on and started to spread below the grill, then I panicked (especially after I checked and saw the tank was definitely turned off). I started screaming HELP at the top of my lungs, but no neighbors were around. I ran inside and screamed for the kids to come down (they were upstairs) and go get their coats and shoes on and go outside. I was also trying to locate a fire extinguisher. I went out to the garage but couldn't find the one I thought was out there, and then I remembered we had one under the kitchen sink. I grabbed that one plus my phone. I asked Nadia to call 911 for me, but she was crying and unable to do so. I sent them out in the front yard, and took the phone and fire extinguisher outside and prayed that the house and deck wouldn't catch on fire. I struggled to get the fire extinguisher started, but I did part way through my conversation with the 911 operator. I kept asking him what I should do. I had gotten a big bowl of water but wasn't sure if this was the kind of fire you should use water with or not. He was not helpful in answering my questions but only kept repeating "help is on the way" and actually he hung up on me while I was asking him a question, which was surprising. The only advice he had given me was to move the grill farther from the house, but I told him it was tied to the deck by a bungee cord, and I would have had to put my hand through the flames to untie the cord.

I finally figured out the fire extinguisher and used up the whole thing on the grill. Earlier I had closed the lid on the grill because #1 I thought it might contain part of the fire a little better and #2 I thought maybe having less access to air would help slow down the fire (knowing fire needs oxygen to burn). In hind sight though, I should have opened the lid when I was spraying the fire extinguisher. I was shooting mostly at the fire under the grill and also in a hole on the side of the grill which was causing some to go inside the grill. I had never used one before, and I was not expecting the huge spray of yellow powder everywhere. Since I was talking to the 911 guy while doing it, I got a lot in my mouth and let me say the stuff tastes awful. Also, I had not closed the sliding door when I came out so the powder went all through the kitchen as well. The fire extinguisher had made the fire a lot smaller (stopped the part that was under the grill), but the fire wasn't totally done. At that point I thought there wasn't anything else I could do so I started gathering a few things from around the house just in case the house caught on

fire - I grabbed my laptop, purse, and camera and put them on the front porch. Then I checked the grill again, and the fire was done. Thank you, Lord! I started to call 911 again to tell them we didn't need the fire company's help, but Nadia told me they were already here. For some reason they sent an ambulance. If the house had caught on fire from the grill (the grill was just a few inches from the side of the house), I am not sure what good the ambulance would have been. The three who came in the ambulance came around back and inspected the grill and agreed the fire was done. He totally disconnected the propane tank just to be safe.

I called Paul and asked him to come home ASAP (although I knew he had a one hour commute). I spent two hours cleaning myself and the house (that yellow powder had been tracked various places before I realized what was happening and had the kids take off their sock and shoes). I had the kids eat in the dining room (we usually eat in the kitchen) while I cleaned the kitchen. Oliver dropped some of his ravioli an sauce on the carpet and on the white cushion of the chair (hence the reason we usually eat in the kitchen). Later he spilled his glass of milk, and I hadn't put away all the school stuff so I was cleaning milk off of the collection of rocks that Nadia had been using for her geology unit. Whew. When Paul got home he worked on cleaning the deck, and then when I left for choir he mopped the kitchen (first time he mopped in our home so I had to show him how to use our mop). He had planned to take the kids to Upward basketball for their evaluation last night while I was at choir rehearsal, but instead I will take them tonight. They didn't have AWANA last night because the church was having a business meeting.


I'm giving thanks that...

1. The fire extinguisher saved our house. God answered my prayers and saved our house. It had rained yesterday, and the wood on the deck was wet which I think also was a blessing in that the deck didn't catch on fire. I definitely want to buy another fire extinguisher. So
thankful that we had that one. I did later find the one in the garage. I also have a feeling it will be years before I ever use another grill. I will find other ways to cook things or let
Paul use the grill. I have used a grill for more than 20 years, but right now the thought of grilling anything would be too upsetting. Considering we don't usually grill in the winter, it's a good time to take a break from the grill. If we do start grilling again, I want us to move the grill so it's not so close to the house. I pray I never need to use another fire extinguisher again. I've still been cleaning up some of the mess today from the powder, but I know that's a zillion times better than if our house had caught on fire. I am SO thankful the fire didn't spread. I'm also thankful I didn't use the water I brought out as Paul said that would have made the fire spread.

2. The fire company got here in about 5 minutes. It's nice to know they can get here quickly although I hope we never need their services again.

3. Yesterday on Facebook someone posted about a deal on a website where if you donated $5 they would put together two boxes for Operation Christmas Child. I hadn't gotten started on that project yet, and if I bought stuff it would cost a lot more than $5 to fill a box so I opted to give them $50, which translated to 20 shoe boxes (I've usually done three boxes in the past). I am thankful that these people are making it possible to help more kids around the world.

4. Oliver's bug was just a 24 hour bug, and it seems the rest of us were spared catching his germs.

5. The kids enjoyed the art and science activities at the Children's Museum yesterday (wood burning, leather tooling, etc.).

6. I am thankful that Nadia and Ian can participate in Upward basketball
again this year. I am planning on taking them to their evaluation this evening.

7. Last night we started working on one of the Christmas anthems we will be singing in December. I love Christmas music! This Sunday we are singing a beautiful arrangement of "Battle Hymn of the Republic" in honor of Veteran's Day.

8. Some of the candidates I voted for on Tuesday won. I am praying for ALL those in government that God will guide and direct them.

9. I got my first free shipping code of the year for Shutterfly yesteray. Last November and December I got several of them. Usually all I have to pay is shipping when I order something from Shutterfly. With a free shipping code that means I can get some things totally for free. I am very thankful for this first code (from Wyndham) and hoping maybe to get some others along the way, but even if this is the only one I end up getting this year I am thankful!

10. I didn't have any nightmares last night about fires. I was
concerned I might because I found the whole thing rather frightening.

11. This morning Oliver and Ian woke up at their usual time for the first time since the time changed. I am so happy it only took five days for them to adjust their internal clock this time as in years past it has taken much longer than that. The worst was Monday morning when Oliver woke up at 4:45 am. This morning he got up at 7:15. Big improvement!

12. Ian finished the 1st grade math textbook last week and started the 2nd grade one this week. He's doing a great job! Nadia and Ian are making good progress with learning their multiplication tables. I think within a week we'll be done with all ten times tables!