Happy 49th Birthday!

I met Paul at a ballroom dancing class a few weeks after he had turned 27 years old, and today he turned 49 years old. The average life expectancy in the US for men is 76, and if that proved to be about how long he lives, then he's lived about 2/3 of his life thus far. Of course one never knows how long one's life will be. The average life expectancy for women is currently 81, but my mom passed away when she was 71, yet Paul's Gram just died a few months ago having lived almost 96 years. The last two years I thought we'd go skiing twice because we receive four free lift tickets and four free ski rentals twice each winter. The last two years the plans for the first week of January were scrapped due to Paul's work schedule in preparing for the trade show. Nadia was so disappointed that this year I never mentioned the first possible ski date. I assume as long as he works at Kennedy Concrete we won't be able to go skiing the first week of January. The first time around I thought it would be a special birthday celebration. Today is actually the day this year that we could have gone skiing for free at Elk Mountain. Nadia is looking forward to going skiing in late February at Ski Sawmill, which is where she and Ian went skiing the last two years in February.

I used to buy Paul cashews at Christmas and his birthday, but his digestive system doesn't allow him to eat those any longer. This year I got him a big bag of Middlesworth Sour Cream and Onion chips instead. I also got him a pair of sneakers and two new hoodies. Yesterday on the way home from ice skating lessons we stopped at KFC and bought a bucket of chicken. I made some macaroni and cheese to go with it. I bought enough chicken so he could have it for two nights. We also got 6 donuts yesterday afternoon so he could have a special birthday breakfast today. Considering I made rigatoni and meatballs on Sunday, bought pizza on Monday, and there are still leftovers (turkey, mashed potatoes, etc.) from our Christmas dinner last Thursday, he's been eating all his favorite foods this week! I thought of my mom when I stopped at KFC because that was something she also really enjoyed. The only thing I cooked in the past week that isn't one of his favorites was the white chicken chili I made on Friday, but there were enough other choices in the refrigerator that he never ate any of the chili. Today I made him M&M cookies as his birthday dessert. Nadia and Ian made him birthday cards yesterday, and Oliver made him one today. Aside from the fact he's exhausted from working long hours at work, I hope he has a special birthday today! Hopefully his last year in his 40's will be a good one!

Today I'm giving thanks...

1. That the kids were able to help the AWANA commander with shopping for the Christmas store, and that all three kids were able to buy things at the store in the evening on December 19 with their AWANA shares. As usual Nadia bought gifts not only for her immediate family but also for her four cousins from Chicago.

2. The flooding on December 21 didn't cause any damage to any of our belongings. 

3. I was able to take the kids to paint ceramic nativity figurines on December 22 as well as a free ice skating party.

4. My voice returned in time for me to be able to sing in church on December 23 and 24. 

5. Oliver received a big hippo that he adores at church on December 24.

6. The kids seemed to like the gifts we gave them on December 24.

7. We enjoyed spending the day with Paul's family on Christmas Day. We received many lovely presents and ate some delicious food!

8. My Dad and Margie treated the kids and I to dinner at Bonanza on December 26. 

9. I have been able to cross a variety of things off my to do list - some spackling, touch-up painting, reupholstering one dining room chair (three done and three to go), repainting the basement floor, rescheduling my dentist appointment, scheduling Nadia's 11 year physical, scheduling the cable tv to be turned off (since our teams aren't in the playoffs this year), etc. 

10. We enjoyed spending time with my side of the family December 27-30. Wendy had the smoothest (shortest) trip back to Chicago EVER on December 31, which was a blessing as it's a long haul from here to there! The last two years Dad and Margie have visited some of Margie's relatives in West Virginia before celebrating with our side of the family. Both times the twins in WVA were sick and Dad and Margie caught their respiratory bug. Last year pretty much all of the Benners and Kennedys eventually came down with the bug (the germs traveled from WVA to MD and then we brought them to IL and PA). Yesterday Wendy told me that she thought she got the bug Dad and Margie had, but thus far we (Kennedys) seemed to have dodged the bullet, for which I am grateful.

11. We enjoyed going bowling on Friday (even if Wendy and I bowled probably our worst games EVER) and seeing a movie on Saturday. If the kids had seen Mary Poppins, they would have seen Ralph Wrecks the Internet last night with Paul while I was at choir because Nadia won two free tickets to the movie by having the closest guess as to how many pieces of candy were in a jar at the library on December 15, but they chose to see Ralph with their cousins. Wendy and I ended up being the only ones who saw Mary Poppins Returns. The seven kids watched Ralph together. Since Susie is 14 years old we thought it was safe to let the seven kids watch it without an adult. Since they live in Chicago, it's a rare treat to spend time with them. I love my sister dearly and treasure the time spent with her!

12. We played Rummikub together (after Oliver was in bed) on January 1. That means we are off to a good start with the goal of playing a game together at least once a week. 

13. The kids had their first ice skating lesson yesterday. The group classes cost $6 a week for a 45 minute lesson (skate rental included), and that includes free pizza during the last class. Since they couldn't take the ten week class due to it interfering with basketball practice, I have decided to pay for 4 private lessons. Yesterday Oliver had a lesson from 12-1, and Nadia and Ian had a lesson together from 1-2. I brought my laptop and worked on a syllabus for the spring semester. I will spend more for 4 private lessons than for ten weeks of group classes, but they can skate for up to 2.5 hours each time we go for lessons if they want. They skated for 2 hours yesterday. I had hoped that Oliver would learn how to ice skate and how to ride a bike without training wheels last year, but neither goal was accomplished. I can say that we already achieved one goal on the list I posted on Tuesday because for the first time in his life Oliver can skate without holding on to anyone or anything! The instructor suggested I put Ian and Oliver together next time because she said Nadia is much more advanced than Ian. I think what I might do is pay for three private 40 minute lessons, which will actually be $5 cheaper than paying for one hour of private lessons plus one hour of two kids doing it together. I'll have to take some pictures or videos at one of the future lessons. 

14. Yesterday we also stopped at Walmart. For some reason the items Margie bought on Amazon off our wish lists didn't actually show up on the wish lists as having been purchased. In some cases it wasn't a problem because no one else bought the same item, but in other cases it led to duplicates. Ian received two of the same Lego set, and Walmart gave him a gift card for one of them. Also the two games they received at the ice skating party were ones we already had, and Walmart again gave us gift cards for those games. The kids each picked out a Lego set yesterday at Walmart, and Ian still has some money left to order something online as he picked out a very tiny set at Walmart. Oliver and I each received a duplicate item from Amazon that I haven't looked into yet. I love shopping on Amazon, but it's definitely easier to return items in person. 

15. After today I still have 17 days left of winter break. I've been plenty busy with housework and homeschooling. I did check out two fiction books for myself at the library yesterday in the hopes I will have some time for leisure reading before the spring semester begins.