Thankful Thursday

 

1. Our church sent two Bible quizzing teams to Nationals last week. One of the teams was undefeated in the A division, and the other team (which Nadia and Ian were on) was undefeated in the B division. As for the written portion of the event, four of our quizzers finished in the top nine places. Nadia came in 15th (out of 33), and Ian finished 25th. As for the team competition, Nadia was ranked 13 in the prelims, and Ian was 24th. In the individual portion of the competition, Nadia was ranked 23 in the prelims, and Ian was 26th. They both had a wonderful time and are looking forward to participating again next year. I'm hoping they will both put more effort into preparing next year. I was very thankful that everything went smoothly, and they came home safely late on Sunday night. 

2. On Saturday I took Oliver, Westyn, Addi, and their mom to Black Moshannon State Park. Unfortunately, the temps dropped thirty degrees on Saturday. We were freezing in the morning. Oliver's first two classes were archery and kayaking. After we ate lunch on a picnic table, we piled into the van and cranked up the heat as high as it would go. Thankfully the sun peeked through the clouds after lunch and that made all the difference. It was still in the 50's, but we were comfortable. Oliver's afternoon classes were on fire safety and campfire cooking. He loved eating various foods that were cooked over the fire!

3. In the first 20 days of my diet I lost 6 pounds! I'm happy to be headed in the right direction.

4. Our neighbor has been taking Oliver and her two kids to VBS at our church in the morning this week. Nadia, Ian, and I meet them in the park where they have Kid's Cafe before we head to Lewisburg to take Nadia and Ian to theatre camp. Oliver is excited because tomorrow the 4th and 5th graders will be using water inflatables at VBS. Ian, Nadia, and I would have volunteered to help with the VBS if it weren't that it's also the first week of their theatre camp. I am trying not to overload our schedule.

5. I signed Ian up for this theater camp without asking him if he wanted to participate. Nadia has been in this theater camp the past two years. Some years I had a lengthy drive to get Nadia to theater camp. In light of the cost of gas, I'm very grateful it's not too far. The camp is also very affordable - $60 per student for 40 hours of camp. Taking the kids to and from camp will cost about $100 in gasoline over the two weeks. The director of the camp spoke very highly of how well Ian is doing when I dropped them off on Wednesday and again when I picked him up. He must have done well with his audition because he was given a decent part even though she had never met him before. I'm looking forward to seeing their show next week!

6. Oliver began his orthodontic treatment on Monday afternoon when they put spacers in his mouth. I brought the pricing information they had given me last year, and thankfully they honored it even though their prices have gone up 27%. I am grateful!!

7. Although I love homeschooling my children, I am enjoying the summer break. I'm still doing the laundry, cooking, cleaning, and yard work, but I have more time for chatting with friends on the phone, taking Milo for walks, reading, and working on learning Spanish through Duolingo. I also have been doing some planning for the next school year. For example, this week I ordered the supplies Nadia and Ian will need for their biology labs (prepared slides for the microscope, dissection tools, etc.). 

8. Cheri met Oliver and I at a playground on Tuesday, and we walked and talked for about 90 minutes.

9. I'm thankful that our fathers are both Christians who love their children and grandchildren. I'm very thankful that Paul has been a father for 14 years. The kids each made him a card. I made him rigatoni and meatballs, as that is one of his favorite meals. I also bought him some peanut M&M's and made a double batch of one of his favorite cookies (Heath bar). I'm the most thankful for our Heavenly Father!