Sunny Day

1. I went to JCP on Saturday afternoon. I bought a size 12 teal long sleeve dress shirt plus necktie for 49 cents. Neither Ian or Oliver will fit it for a few years, but for that price I don't mind storing it in Ian's closet. It was sad walking in the store and seeing all the signs that the store is closing in July.

2. Between our trip to Chicago, our illness, and the AWANA Grand Prix, I hadn't been to choir rehearsal since April 5. It was good to be back on May 3. The choir director is very concerned because our choir numbers have been way down lately (about a 50% drop). I am praying that he won't decide to end the choir as I really enjoy being in that ministry. I know for a church our size the current size of the choir is small, but there are plenty of choirs who function with 30-40 people so I am hoping either people will be more faithful in their attendance or he'll be okay with a smaller choir. On Easter Sunday we had over 70 in the choir, and he has prayed in the past for our choir to have 100 members.

3. Paul and I recently enjoyed the movies "Lion" and "Hidden Figures."

4. We have been enjoying the book Summer of the Monkeys.

5. Nadia and I attended the church's annual dinner last night. The event lasted almost three hours long and concluded by 800+ candles being lit and held by those in attendance. Inside each candle holder was the name of a person who had accepted Christ through the church's outreach over the past year; about half of those were local and the other half were from mission's trips in other countries.

6. On Saturday I went back to a jewelry store I had visited in January. They are going to put the diamond by Dad gave me in December into a setting. The jeweler bought my engagement ring for almost 50% of what we paid for it in 2000. I also am having the rings I alternate between for the ring finger on my right hand resized as my knuckle on that finger has gone up a size. The new (to me) diamond was from my Dad's

grandmother. There was another setting I greatly preferred, but it cost almost twice as much, and the two jewelers who gave me a quote for that one wouldn't buy my previous engagement ring, so this setting cost me about 1/5 of what the one I loved would have cost. I am sure it will be very pretty. When we bought the engagement ring in 2000 we planned to trade it in at some point to upgrade it. I didn't think we'd end up waiting 17 years. I almost did so in 2013, but I decided at that point I'd rather have a new mattress instead. I am glad we went with the mattress in light of the fact that my dad gave me a diamond in 2016. It was worth the wait, and my back is glad we got a new mattress four years ago. My ring fingers feel a bit naked with only a wedding band on, but this is just temporary. I'm also thankful (once again) for the money from my mom's coin collection. I'd MUCH rather have my mom around, but without that money I wouldn't have been able to buy a setting for the diamond. Grateful.

7. This weekend Paul installed the ceiling fan that my dad gave

Nadia for Christmas! We so appreciate my Dad's gift and Paul's time and skill to install it. That's one more thing off the honey do list. WOOHOO! I also shortened his list by buying the guinea pigs a wooden house. They had eaten a lot of the cardboard box, so Paul was going to build them a little house, but things have been very busy at work so he hasn't had time. I decided it was better to just buy one on Amazon.

8. Paul had a doctor's appointment later today to have more of a mole removed, but it turned out it was infected so he picked up two prescriptions and has to return in three weeks. This is one expensive mole as it has already cost us more than $300. I was going to take Nadia to her softball game this evening, but Paul's parents took her so Oliver didn't have to go with Paul to his doctor appointment. We're thankful for their help! The team lost again (they've lost all their games thus far), but they only lost by three runs this time (fewer than usual). Nadia didn't get any hits. The coach bought ice cream for everyone at the Purple Cow on

the way home. Paul's parents had a VERY long day as they left early this morning for a doctor appointment and then didn't get home until after 10pm since they live an hour from our house. They spent a few hours at our house this afternoon, which was a treat!

9. Margie and my dad made it safely back to Virginia last night after spending two weeks in Turkey.

10. I sold a few more things to someone at our church for $20 yesterday. Less clutter in the garage is a good thing as well as a few more dollars toward the new carpet in our master bedroom.

11. We did another Creating a Masterpiece art project today with pastels, and that means we only have one left to do for this school year (another watercolor). The last one will be our tenth for the year. Since art isn't my forte, I am grateful for resources like Sharon Hofer's classes to help us with art class.

12. Paul came home early from work on Saturday so that he could see half of Ian's soccer game.

13. It was cool again today, but it was sunny after three rather rainy days. This meant I was able to mow the lawn today. I should have mowed it last Thursday, but I hadn't checked the weather forecast so I didn't realize I wouldn't be able to the next three days. It was really needing to be mowed!

14. Oliver was more cooperative at his soccer game this evening. He went on at first without any tears (that was a first this season). It was an effort to get him into his Sunday School class yesterday, but the teacher helped and he settled down. I tried for more than 30 minutes to get him into his choir rehearsal, and finally just took him with me to my Sunday School class. He is going through a phase where he is VERY clingy. He was never like this before, and I wasn't expecting it to show up at age 4.75 years old. He pitched a fit part way through the game about wearing his coat, and he certainly could have been more energetic with running on the field, but it was a small step in the right direction. His team dominated the other team, and the other kids on his team scored tons of goals without his help.

These are Nadia's.

These are also Nadia's. The pastel on the left we did today.

These are Ian's.

Ian's pastel from today. I helped him a little bit.

Nadia's is on the left, and Ian's is on the right.

This is from awhile ago, but I can't remember if I took a picture earlier. Nadia (L) and Ian (R)