Thankful Thursday

 1. Although I don't invest a lot of time into couponing these days, I still enjoy the thrill of a good bargain. Children's Place sent me a $5 coupon earlier this month. I used it yesterday to buy a long sleeve t-shirt for Ian that was on sale for $5.25, which meant after the coupon I paid 25 cents for the shirt. That store always offers free shipping. That's better than a yard sale price for a brand new shirt! Earlier this week I went to CVS and bought 3 boxes of cereal and 4 two liters of soda for a grand total of $0.77.

2. We attended the third gym class on September 25. We missed the fourth one because it took place while we were on vacation. I'm very grateful Desmond taught the class and hoping they offer more sessions sometime during the school year.

3. We enjoyed shopping at yard sales in our community on September 24-25 and managed to find most of the things on my list. The weather was perfect, and it was very nice to do something that came close to resembling "normal."

4. Nadia had two friends over for a sleepover on Sept 26-27. I'm grateful for the friends she has made at church.

5. I enjoyed being in the nursery on September 27. I have volunteered to teach other ages (mostly grades 1-5) at church, but have purposefully avoided the nursery because I was afraid holding a baby might stir up the longing within me to have another baby. The nursery I was in is for ages 9-23 months, and I found that I didn't have any adverse emotional reactions to being with those little ones. PTL! Still I prefer actually teaching a Bible lesson. I taught the 1st/2nd grade boys' class this past Sunday.

6. The kids had a blast at Refreshing Mountain on September 28. They love that place, but it was even better than usual because six of their cousins were also there! The weather was ideal, which wasn't the case the last time we were there. And it was the first time that Ian really enjoyed the rock wall. Way to go, Ian!!

7. We got the first estimate for phase one of Ian's orthodontic treatment plan on September 29. I'm hoping we do NOT pick that particular orthodontist, but I'm thankful I was able to set up appointments with two others who also will give the estimate for free.

8. We spent eight days together and had safety on the trip. Although we haven't been home for 14 days yet, I feel confident we didn't contract COVID on the trip even if Kentucky is on the "bad list," and we had safety on the road aside from one unpleasant encounter with a fawn. We were thankful that the gas was cheaper in OH and WV and that we spent less than $40 on meals during the whole trip thanks to free breakfasts at some of the hotels, bringing groceries with us for our lunches, and using gift cards for our dinners. The kids earned Junior Ranger badges at 3 National Parks in Ohio and 4 in Pennsylvania while we were on the trip. We also visited two science museums, had 4 industrial tours, and enjoyed a variety of playgrounds and other museums. I had wanted to visit the Ark for four years. I'm happy we checked that off the bucket list.  All of the pictures in this post are from the playgrounds along the river in Cincinnati.

9. Margie got the great news that the cancer was caught before it spread! PTL!! She also recently had successful cataract surgeries.

10. Since we've been back home the kids have enjoyed playing with other kids in the neighborhood. One girl has even been allowed to play in our home! That used to be normal, but we went 7 months without any neighborhood kids in our house due to COVID-19. It was a rainy day on Monday, but overall the weather has been very nice.

11. I'm very happy we are making progress with speaking Spanish. Yesterday it hit me that I left one word off the list that I wrote earlier this week - "Salud". That is probably the Spanish word I use the MOST because Nadia sneezes a lot all year long. Yesterday I gave the kids commands in Spanish that involved a verb (ex. "brinquen" which means hop or skip) and a location in the house in Spanish. The kids would then hop to that location. This Spanish curriculum is definitely enjoyable. I took Spanish in middle school and also in 9th grade. I studied German in 10th-11th grade. I never thought that in my late 40's I might actually become fluent in Spanish. I'll turn 50 in 18 months. We shall see if I can speak Spanish fairly fluently before I turn 50. I've always wanted to take the kids on a short term mission trip before they graduate from high school. It will be very helpful if we go to Guatemala already knowing a decent amount of Spanish. 

12. Paul's mom was discharged from the hospital after having two heart catheterizations.

13. Our pastor started a new sermon series on I, II, and III John. This past Sunday the sermon was on I John chapter 1. We had been working through Core 52 for more than a year (a topical study based on a book). I prefer a more exegetical approach so I'm thankful we'll continue to study these three letters over the next 6 weeks. I also have to say our memorization of Matthew 5 is going well. Oliver has only learned some of the verses, but Nadia, Ian, and I have learned Matthew 5:1-9 so far.