Myrtle Beach!

Last summer I put in our time share exchange request for 2018. I requested Myrtle Beach sometime in the first two weeks of June 2019. We paid for a week in Williamsburg that we were supposed to use in September 2018, but we didn't use that because of the hurricane. The last time we used our time share was when we were in Cape Cod in September 2016. We usually use at least one week a year so it will have been almost 3 years since we used a time share week when we go in June. As the months passed and we didn't get a match, I started to add more resorts to the list. I ended up putting almost 40 different resorts on the list. All of them were in South Carolina. Most were in Hilton Head. On Tuesday morning we got a match! It was one of the last resorts I had added. It's in North Myrtle Beach. Now I know I can sign Oliver up for Camp Susque from June 19-22 because it won't interfere with our vacation. We'll spend 7 nights at the resort and probably 5 nights at other places (TBD) in Virginia and North Carolina. I think we'll have 5 beach days, and another day we'll spend in Charleston to see Fort Sumter. On our way down and back we have planned to visit various historical sites and science/children's museums including Jamestown, Yorktown, Williamsburg, three presidential homes (Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe), Luray Caverns, Battleship Wisconsin, USS North Carolina, USS Yorktown, Fort Sumter, Wright Brother's National Memorial, etc. The kids should earn a few more Junior Ranger badges as several of the places are national parks. Although I have a tentative plan mapped out for a 12 night/13 day trip, we have only paid money for two things thus far - the seven nights in Myrtle Beach and five tickets to see the touring Broadway production of Lion King in Norfolk, Virginia. I had hoped to get tickets to an afternoon performance, but all the cheaper tickets were sold out for those. We're planning to go to a 7:30 performance on May 30. I think Oliver will be interested enough in the show to stay awake well past his bed time. I will see if I can get some reasonable accommodations through Airbnb for the other five nights. We went to Myrtle Beach when I was a child. I remember they had MANY miniature golf courses! I was hoping to get a 3 or 4 bedroom unit, but we got a 2 bedroom unit. That's big enough for the five of us, but it means Paul's parents can't stay with us in the same resort for our week at the beach. They are still planning to join us. Since we're planning to drive down it shouldn't be a problem to stay at two different places that week.

This week it is VERY cold, although I'm sure it's colder where my sister lives in Chicago. It snowed yesterday, and the school districts around here were either closed for the whole day or had an early dismissal. My university didn't cancel any classes. I really, really don't like driving in snow. Paul suggested I take the minivan. I usually drive his Mazda when I go to work. I took the van yesterday. Thankfully I made it there and back without incident. One upside was that usually I have a terrible time finding parking if I arrive on campus around 12pm, but with the snow fewer people came on campus so I didn't have trouble parking yesterday. When I first came to the university in 2004 parking wasn't any issue, but over the years they have greatly reduced the parking lots. Last semester when I showed up at 7:30am I didn't have any trouble parking, but finding parking in the middle of the day is a much bigger challenge. I went in on Monday afternoon for a college wide faculty meeting. Last week I was out the door early on Tuesday and Thursday, but I'm not visiting any of my student teachers this week so I left around 11:15 yesterday and planned to do the same tomorrow. Because of the frigid temperatures and the wind causing drifting of snow on the roads, AWANA and choir were cancelled this evening, and then I found out that classes are cancelled tomorrow! It's very rare that classes are cancelled due to the temperature.

These pictures are from January 9. It didn't work out for the kids to have a lesson last week or this week. Hopefully we can get in a few more lessons over the next month. We were planning (signed up in September) to go to Gettysburg this Friday, but due to the government shutdown they rescheduled the homeschool day for February 15. We already had plans for that day. I'm sure we'll make it to Gettysburg sometime in 2019 or 2020 as we'll be studying the Civil War in the fall and that battlefield is a reasonable drive from our house.

He got a basket!

 

Yesterday the kids had their third basketball games of the season. Ian is the only one of our kids who has scored thus far. The first week he got one free throw after he was fouled, and yesterday he made one basket. Nadia's team was beat badly yesterday (lost by more  than 10 points), and Ian's team won by 20 points (38-18). Ian's team is undefeated thus far. The team Ian's team played was coached by one of our neighbors (his 2nd grader, Camden, is on the team), and the other coach was a man from our church. His daughter (who is in 2nd grade) was the one Ian was guarding for a couple of periods of the game. The games were at 10, 12, and 1 yesterday. Nadia, Oliver, and Paul stayed at the church from 9:30-2:00. Ian and I ran some errands from 11-12.

My first week back to work went well. On Tuesday I met my student teachers on campus, had a meeting with other supervisors, had my office hours, and then taught my three classes from 2-8pm. I have 35 students in my 2:00 class, 21 in my 3:30 class, and 30 students

in my 5:00 class. On Thursday I visited my six student teachers in their classrooms before heading to campus for my office hours and two classes. Unfortunately it was a very rainy day, and I forgot to bring an umbrella. Oops! Two of my student teachers are in Montgomery, which is a small school district about 10 minutes from our house. One of my student teachers is in a HS Biology classroom, and the other is in 1st grade. Thankfully the K-12 students are all in the same building in that district. Next I visited two elementary students in our school district. Lastly I spent some time in the MS/HS, which is in one building about a five minute drive from the Elementary school. The MS principal gave me a big hug, which was nice. Most administrators shake my hand, but she was a former graduate student of mine. I also had her daughter as one of my undergrad students 10+ years ago. I am so thankful that my 6 student teachers are so close to my house, and that they're only in 2 different districts and only 3 different buildings. Last semester my 10 student teachers were in 10 different buildings and 5 different districts. One of my student teachers from spring 2018 is now a history teacher in Montgomery. I am looking forward to seeing him in his classroom sometime this semester.

On Friday my new Bible study for moms got started. We met during the gym class (10:00-11:30); a longer time slot would be preferred as each DVD is a little more than one hour long. We're studying 2 Timothy, but the first lesson was about Acts 14. We aren't planning to meet this Friday due to our field trip to Gettysburg. I was beginning to think that field trip would be cancelled due to the government shutdown, but I'm assuming the park will be reopening due to the 3 week time allowed for negotiations. We've been praying during this government shutdown that God would give our leaders wisdom. Our prayer list is rather varied -from smaller things like finding one of Ian's library books that has been missing for several days (we have searched high and low to no avail) to bigger things like the well being of the five kids we sponsor in Guatemala, Kenya, Haiti, Peru, and Bolivia. I've also been praying for a match through the time share for our vacation in June (hopefully!) and for wisdom for the Towfighis as to where they might live starting next fall (possibly elsewhere in Turkey or in Ecuador) and wisdom for Paul and I regarding my employment status next year. The prayer requests that are heaviest on my heart at the moment are for those battling cancer. I recently found out that a friend of mine from Annapolis has terminal cancer, and today our senior pastor told us that he has cancer. He's having a scan this week to determine if the cancer has spread, and he's going to have surgery on February 5 to have the tumor removed from his thigh. He'll be immobile for at least four weeks. He's in his late 60's. There is great comfort in knowing their eternal destiny is secure, but after watching what my mom went through it's hard to think about others walking a similar path that involves a lot of pain and suffering.

Three weeks

Today is January 21st which is my sister Yvonne's birthday, the day we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, my last day off (school resumes tomorrow), and the end of the first three weeks of 2019. I thought it would be good to look at the goals I wrote for the year.

House - I had ten goals related to the house. In December I put a lot of effort into the house so I haven't really done much the past three weeks. Of the ten goals the only one I've made any progress toward thus far is #4 - making additional payments on the retirement loan. The end is in sight!

Oliver - He's been doing much better with how long it takes to eat breakfast (#3), and he's making great progress in his ice skating skills (#8). He's making great progress with reading and spelling an a little bit of progress with math (#4-5). We've been working on the books of the OT (#6); I think he can say from Genesis to Proverbs at this point. We haven't had any big bathroom messes thus far this year (#10). I'm going to sign him up for Camp Susque (#13)

as soon as we know when we're going on vacation. Yesterday I added more resorts to our exchange request. We are up to 39! Hoping that's more than enough to get us a match in the near future. We're hoping to go to NC or SC in early June.

Ian - We've been doing 5 "sword drills" each school day. He's getting faster at finding the verses (#3); he beat Nadia for the first time today (albeit that included a handicap). He's started helping to clean the guinea pig cage once a week (#8), and he's working on Typing.com about four times a week on average. He's typing about 10wpm right now (#9). His sneakers that had Velcro had to be tossed recently, which means he really needs to remaster the skill of tying his shoes (#4).

Nadia - She recently learned how to make meatloaf (#2), has begun to mop the kitchen floor once a week (#4), and participated in a science fair for the first time (#3). She's making progress with her typing skills (#7); she's currently typing about 15wpm. One of her goals

(not one I listed) was to be picked for a lead role in the spring musical at church. She was thrilled to receive the part of the gym teacher. Ian also received a significant role, but that's not as exciting to him as it is to her.

Myself - I've exercised a few times, but there is still room for a lot of improvement with that. I bought some ice cream sandwiches so that I could still enjoy ice cream but have an easier time with portion control. Similarly, I am trying to switch back to eating oatmeal for breakfast rather than cold cereal. I tried a new recipe a few days ago - made snickerdoodle cookies for the first time. Paul doesn't like cinnamon (at all) so he won't touch them, but the kids and I have been enjoying them so I'm sure it won't be the last time I make them! We've been playing a lot of games lately! For example, yesterday we played three rounds of Uno. I've been doing sword drills more regularly with Nadia and Ian. Nadia is quick to remind me if I forget because she loves them. We haven't focused on grammar much over the past

Oliver (#2) attempting a to make a basket on Saturday. 

three weeks, but we HAVE been spending a lot more time on writing. We're using curriculum from IEW. I spent $12 to rejoin a photography class, but I have not really invested much time in it thus far so I'll probably be cancelling the membership. I have been taking more pictures over the past few weeks, and practice is certainly a good thing! I've been taking pictures of not just our kids but also Isaiah and Micah during the basketball games, and emailing Tab some pictures each weekend. It's nice to be able to bring a smile to another mom via my camera!

This week is the first of the 16 week semester. Week 8 is spring break on campus (the student teachers follow their school district's calendars), and week 16 is when final exams are given, which means there are just 14 weeks of class. My voice hasn't totally come back to normal yet. When I read Goldilocks and the 3 Bears tonight, I couldn't produce a "baby bear" type voice. I'm a bit concerned about how my voice will hold up tomorrow as I'll be in a meeting from 10:00-11:00 with other supervisors before I meet with my student teachers, and then I'll teach from 2:00-8:00pm (my "dinner break" is from 4:45-5:00). I haven't been reading chapter books to the kids; we've been listening to books on Audible to spare my voice, and I don't have my usual singing voice back yet either. Hoping my voice returns to normal soon!

Although today was a  holiday for most students, my three kids had a usual day of schoolwork today. Due to how cold it has been today (when Paul left for work it was 2 degrees out), we stayed inside aside from Ian retrieving a package from Amazon from the front porch. As you can see from the pictures below, he received a Lego set he ordered last week using money he got back when he returned Lego sets at Walmart from Christmas. Today the boys were both wearing the shirts they got from Aunt Debbie for Christmas (I didn't prompt them to wear matching clothes).

Snow Day!

Yesterday we had our first significant snowfall of 2019. It wasn't quite as much as we got this past November. The snow didn't start until late afternoon, which meant we didn't have any trouble driving to and from the kids' three basketball games yesterday. Our church rarely cancels the services on Sunday morning, but they did today. We've been going to this church for 4.5 years, and this was the first time they cancelled due to the snow since we've gone there. I think they did so because the Governor declared a state of emergency prior to the storm due to how much snow was predicted to fall and how cold the temperatures are supposed to be tomorrow.

Today is Ian's 5th spiritual birthday. In light of the snow, on Friday I asked him to let me know what he wanted for breakfast and dinner because I didn't think we'd be going to Dunkin Donuts this weekend. Instead of donuts, he asked for bacon, egg and cheese croissant sandwiches. I improvised and used crescent rolls. Ian wanted pizza for dinner; we got two larges yesterday and will eat the

second one for dinner tonight. I always get cheese pizza, but I keep pepperoni in the refrigerator, which Ian always adds to his slice of pizza. I let  him pick one drink. Usually they pick apple juice or chocolate milk, but he picked Hawaiian punch. I got him a peanut butter pie at the Surplus Outlet on Tuesday, and we had that for dessert tonight. It was very yummy! I had planned to let him pick a gift at the bookstore at our church on Friday in conjunction with homeschool gym class, but that was cancelled due to snow. Since church was also cancelled today, he'll have to wait until Friday to pick something out. Grandpa and Gubba got him a membership to the Adventures in Odyssey club, which includes a magazine subscription and the ability to listen to any of the 700+ episodes for a full year. Nadia was thrilled to hear this, and I think the boys will also enjoy the membership. This was a great idea for a spiritual birthday gift!

None of our kids scored any points in their games yesterday. Ian's team won by a landslide. Nadia's team lost by one point. They don't keep score in the K/1st games.

First Science Fair

The Children's Museum in Bloomsburg hosts a science fair each year for students in grades 4-8. The winners in grades 7-8 then progress on to a regional science fair competition. They give cash prizes to three children per grade level. This year the majority of the participants were in 7th or 8th grade. There were only ten students who participated from grades 4-6, which meant that 80% of the kids in grades 4-6 received a cash prize. The first prize for fourth grade went to a homeschooler we know from gym class. The majority of the participants came from public schools, but there were also kids from private schools and homeschoolers. There were three fifth graders who participated, and Nadia received second place. She got a red ribbon, a certificate, and $25.00. We were at the Children's Museum for almost 3 hours from the time she set up her project until they announced the winners. The judges circulated around the projects and asked the children questions about their projects. Three judges evaluated each project. The kids were each given a voucher that

they could redeem for a donut, chips, bottle of water, and either a hotdog or sandwich. Next year I'd like Nadia and Ian to each complete a science fair project, and I want us to start it sooner so we aren't scrambling at the last minute to get it together. We circulated around the museum to see the other projects. Nadia says she wants hers to involve food next year. One of my science fair projects when I was in middle school was about the amount of baking powder or baking soda used in baking bread. Nadia spent $22.50 of her prize money by purchasing two Adventure in Odyssey CDs on Amazon last night.

I usually take the boys to their basketball practice on Thursday nights, but Paul came home earlier than usual from work so he could take them in light of my taking Nadia to the science fair. After basketball practice, he and the boys went to Walmart so Ian could return a Lego set he received that he already had and also to the library.

We got a little snow last night, but thankfully we didn't have trouble driving home from the

science fair. Today there was a two hour delay so gym class was rescheduled, and I also shifted the start of the Bible study to next Friday instead of today. I wasn't sure what would happen to the 5th grade art class in light of a two hour delay, so we didn't go today. I did email the art teacher so I can know for future reference what happens with a two hour delay. The only time we are leaving the house today is for my hair appointment (less than 2 miles from our house) and the grocery store (which is very close to the hair salon). Because the kids didn't have gym, I let them watch three episodes of Magic School Bus that related to human anatomy (which is what we're studying in science). We're supposed to get more snow tomorrow, which means their basketball games might be cancelled tomorrow.

I found out I will have 6 student teachers, which represents 5% overload (overtime). I had 10 student teachers last semester which was 25% overload. All of my student teachers are VERY close to home this time, which is a big improvement.

Ian said he was giving Patches armor. 

Thankful Tuesday

1. Oliver was brave and cooperative yesterday at the dentist with the extraction of two baby teeth!

2. Being able to shop online is a blessing. This evening I ordered food and hay for the guinea pigs,  four human anatomy models (ex. of the heart), and agar, Petri dishes, bromothymol blue, iodine, and hydrochloric acid for a few upcoming science activities. I considered purchasing a pig's heart (to dissect), but I know the kids aren't big on dissections so I passed on that. 3. The kids and I enjoyed seeing an approximately one hour production of James and the Giant Peach on Sunday afternoon. Even Nadia enjoyed it more than she thought she would. She usually says the only Roald Dahl books she likes are Matilda (which she loves) and BFG. 4. We have been doing a great job of playing games regularly thus far this month! 5. The kids are making progress with their ice skating skills! Today they had their third lesson. 6. I have been working on lesson

plans for homeschooling. I have typed up the plans for math, spelling, writing, and science through the end of our school year (May 3). I've written the plans for reading and history through the end of February. 7. I thought my first day back would be January 21, but today I found out that the student teaching meetings will be on January 22nd. That means I don't need to make a special trip to campus just to meet my 5 student teachers, as I'll already be on campus on Tuesday for my classes.

8. All three kids are really enjoying the Magformers. When my mom got a gift that someone really liked, she called it a "winner." It's a good feeling to see that a gift is a "winner". I have already ordered the kids' Valentine's Day gifts, and one of those is more Magformers to add to their collection.

9. I'm really thankful for Audible. My throat is still not 100% back to normal. I can't read out loud to the kids for very long without being in pain. We're currently listening to a trilogy about three slaves during the Revolutionary War. We finished Chains, and we are nearing the end of Forge.

10. Our toilets are working properly thanks to a plumber and Paul.

11. I enjoyed teaching the four-year-old Sunday School class on Sunday.

12. Nadia's science fair project is almost done, which is good because the fair is in two days.

13. We were thinking that we were done opening Christmas gifts, but a package arrived in the mail last week from one of Paul's aunts. The kids each got a shirt, and Paul and I received a gift card to Friendly's. They have already worn their new shirts, and we're looking forward to eating at Friendly's at some point!

Lost his first two teeth!

Oliver was a model patient when they were stitching up his forehead last February. This was proven to be due to the fact he had just had a concussion because when the pediatrician went to snip the threads to remove the stitches, I had to help hold him down. He had a wart on one of his toes recently, and again it was sometimes an effort to get him to cooperate with putting the medicine on that each day. These experiences are what caused me to be concerned that he might not cooperate when the dentist gave him injections in his gum. I have definitely been fervently praying about this, and thankfully it went smoothly, which was a big relief to me. I hope that the rest of his baby teeth come out the usual way, as this method is a lot more expensive since it involved paying a dentist. These two were not loose, and this was confirmed after they were extracted, as the roots were still very long. Now to see how long it will take for the two permanent teeth (which have already erupted) to shift forward into the proper location! I'm very grateful we didn't have to see an oral surgeon and put

Oliver under general anesthesia. Every Sunday there is one point in the service when they ask people to either stand or raise their hand in recognition of answered prayer. I'll definitely be raising my hand on Sunday in regards to this successful dentist appointment!

I usually give the kids $5 for their first tooth and $1 for each tooth after that. I remember giving Nadia more than $1 per tooth when she had two teeth extracted at the dentist (it wasn't her first two teeth). I decided to give Oliver $10, and I told him that ahead of time in the hopes that might motivate him to cooperate. I also promised him that he could pick what we watched on tv today (usually the kids take turns). Lately the kids have been choosing either Odd Squad or Spiderman and His Amazing Friends (from the '80s).

6th season of basketball

Nadia has been using this for a month to measure her vital lung capacity for her science fair project.

This is Nadia's sixth year of being on an Upward basketball team, Ian's fourth year, and Oliver's second year (although he only completed half of his first season last year due to his fractured skull). Yesterday they had their first games for 2019. Nadia's game was at 9am. Although her team is definitely not as dominant as last year's team, the Suns had a decisive win. Nadia *almost* got a basket. The basketball rolled around the rim, but then it bounced out. Their game had more jump balls than I think any game I've ever watched before. We came home for an early lunch and then returned for Oliver's 12pm game and Ian's 1pm game. They don't keep score in the K/1st grade games, but it seemed to me that his team (Cheetahs) didn't win. His friend, Isaiah, who is 5 years old scored more than one basket. Oliver has a long way to go (such as even being able to dribble the ball down the court), but he definitely was more "in the game" than he was last year. Ian's team (Cyclones) won their game; theirs was the highest scoring game (by far) of the three games our kids played in that day. Ian was fouled once, and he had his first free throw attempts. He missed the first one, but he made the second one, which means he's our first child to score at least one point for his team this year. Way to go, Ian! He did a great job of playing defense.

Paul's parents came back to our house after Ian's game. We played three different games - Suspend (I won and Grandma came in second), Blokus (the team that included Pop Pop and Nadia won), and Rummikub (Nadia won). Pop Pop and Ian also played a Mario game on the Wii. Grandma treated us to pizza for dinner, and I made chocolate peanut butter chip cookies.

I had called a plumber on December 31 asking him to fix two toilets. He came on January 11th and fixed one and partially fixed the other. He said Paul needed to install a new fill valve. We picked one up after Ian's game. As of Saturday afternoon we now have three functioning toilets. The kids and I got a little extra exercise for 12 days as we couldn't use the toilet on the main floor of the house. I was thinking of asking for an estimate on finishing the repair of the bathroom floor (so that we could resume the usage of the shower in our master bathroom), but Paul says he's almost done with the repair. 

We had our cable turned off a few days ago, so we aren't watching any of the playoffs this year. Going into the playoffs I said I didn't really care who won the Super Bowl as long as it was NOT the Cowboys or the Patriots because the Steelers are currently the only team to have won 6 Super Bowls, and the Cowboys and Patriots have both won 5 Super Bowls. My wish came true in that the Cowboys lost yesterday, but the Patriots won today. I'll be rooting for Kansas City next weekend! 

This is my last week off. My semester resumes next Monday. Even though I've had five weeks off, I honestly don't feel ready to go back in the sense that I've been so busy it feels overwhelming to think I'll be adding a FT job to my load in a week. I've been working to prepare for the spring semester so it's not as if the job was completely removed from my load all of the past 4 weeks. The two biggest events on our schedule this week would be Oliver getting two teeth pulled at the dentist tomorrow afternoon and Nadia participating in the science fair at the Children's Museum in Bloomsburg on Thursday night. The director told us that only three fifth graders entered the competition (it's for grades 4-8) and they give 3 cash prizes per grade level, which means Nadia is guaranteed to win a prize (presuming we succeed in completing her project between now and then!). We didn't see Paul at all Monday through Friday, but he was at home for two days this weekend, which was wonderful. This afternoon I took the kids to see a musical about James and Giant Peach. When the cast came out to take their bows, Oliver gave everyone a thumbs up except for the two aunts. He gave Spiker and Sponge a big thumbs down. It cracked me up! They are certainly very repulsive characters!