Thankful Thursday

1. Paul took off work on July 15 so that he could attend the kids' performance at Greenview Alliance Church with me. I'm thankful the kids were able to participate in that theatre camp put on by Family Life Network (radio station in NY).

2. The kids had a blast during the cousin swap from July 16-22. Nadia and Ian had fun with Yvonne's eldest five kids (and Toby) doing things like swimming, bowling, ice skating, playing tennis, playing games, etc. Oliver had fun playing with Yvonne's youngest three kids at our house and also a trip to DelGrosso's Amusement Park with them. 

3. Thankfully, I was the only person in our family who caught the bug that some of the Towfighis had. I'm grateful that Paul took off work on July 21 to go to DelGrosso's and also took off on the 22nd to meet Yvonne half-way to end the cousin swap a day early as I was in bed almost all the time on the 22nd and 23rd.  Thankfully, my energy came back on July 30, my eyes cleared up after I started the medication on July 25, and my ear pain drastically decreased on August 1. I'm still praying for my hearing in my left ear to return. It had been seven years since I last had an ear infection and five years since I last had pink eye. Hoping I go at least seven more years before I go through this again. 

4. The kids had a great time at Camp Good News. Nadia enjoyed being a counselor for the first time, and it was the boys first time to be campers at that overnight camp. An illness was passed around the camp. Thankfully Nadia escaped it, and the boys recovered very quickly from it.

5. Oliver got a good report at the orthodontist on Monday. I'm turning his expander once a day until his next appointment on the fifteenth. Thankfully it has gone smoothly so far, which wasn't always the case when Ian had an expander. The orthodontist said we might be done on the fifteenth! 

6. Our new front door was installed on July 29. We are very thankful that my dad and Margie gave us a new front door for my 50th birthday. Paul and I painted the exterior trim green. We haven't decided what color we will paint the exterior portion of the door (which is currently white). We also need to stain the trim on the inside of the house. The door STAYS closed, is easy to lock, and is in much better shape than our 23-year-old door was. Now we are praying that we can find an electric range to replace ours (which is a fire hazard) without redoing the cabinets or countertop in the kitchen as our twenty-three-year-old range is smaller than most (hopefully not all) ranges that are sold in 2022. 

7. I took the boys and Milo to Knoebels last night. Oliver had picked it as his birthday date with me, and since Nadia is at camp and Paul was at work, Ian was also able to join us. The boys rode fourteen rides in a little over 3 hours. I bought them bargain night handstamps that cost $15 each. I also said they could each have one snack. Oliver chose cotton candy, and Ian had a root beer float. 

8. If I had to choose between buying my kids more "stuff" or spending money on memorable experiences, I'd choose the experiences option the vast majority of the time. Yes, some purchases prove to be very worthwhile. Milo wasn't cheap, but he's well loved. I thought the Oculus would be a hit and so splurged on that as a Christmas gift for the kids last year, but nope it's hardly been used. I am thankful that we can afford to pay for some experiences that aren't frugal. Recently I purchased tickets for a Harry Potter Exhibition, a tour of Battleship New Jersey, made reservations for one night at a hotel in Philadelphia, and paid for tickets for a three-day Christian music festival in New York that will be taking place in July 2023. I'm grateful that we have the resources for those "splurges." The thought that Nadia will be graduating in four years motivates me to keep making plans as I know these years will just fly by. 

9. Looking at the pictures that Camp Susque has posted, it seems that Nadia is having a good week of camp! I can't wait to hear all about it on Saturday morning. 

10. Paul has been working crazy hours this week. He's at home for less than eight hours a day as he's leaving the house at 3:45am and getting home after 8pm. I am thankful this is no longer normal for him. It's only true this week because his brother is on vacation. 

11. Our neighbor took Milo for a walk one time the day we were at DelGrosso's. I feel like they deserve the best neighbor of the year award!

12. Mowing is usually my responsibility, but Paul mowed for me last weekend because mowing has been too much for my allergies lately. I also appreciated that he installed Nadia's new ceiling fan the week of the cousin swap. 

13. Ian has been wanting to buy the Miitopia game for his Nintendo Switch. He was able to do so today because Oliver gave him money toward the purchase and a woman from our church gave him $15 in exchange for one of Ian's Lego sets. 

14. We haven't gone to Kids' Cafe that many times this summer, but we went on Wednesday this week because it was Water Day. The kids played a game with water balloons, a game with buckets of water, and then the fire department used their tanker truck to spray the kids with water. The boys enjoyed getting SOAKED. 

15. The boys enjoyed attending the National Night Out event at our town's Fire Department on Tuesday night.