Thankful Tuesday

Arlington Cemetery - near the tomb of the Unknown Soldier

I haven't written a gratitude post since August 24. This won't be comprehensive since it's spanning that many weeks, but here are some of the many blessings I am thankful for.

1. Yesterday I took Nadia to the thrift store during Ian's choir rehearsal as she wanted to get some new clothes. I recently was told that I needed to get black lace-up ankle boots for my nun costume in the Sound of Music. They had some there that fit me! As an added bonus, Nadia said she likes them and wants to wear them after the show is over. 

2. We had a great vacation. No one broke a bone, and no damage was done to the SUV we rented. The weather was amazing during the entire trip. We saw some beautiful sights and were able to spend some time with some of my relatives. 

Library of Congress

3. I'm really enjoying listening to Ian practice the piano. He's going to be playing The Waltz of the Flowers from the Nutcracker as a piano duet next month. 

4. We had a nice field trip for a small group of homeschoolers on September 18. First, we had a two-hour tour of Curtin Village, and then the naturalists at Bald Eagle State Park conducted two programs for our group. 

5. We came very close to being a car accident in Lynchburg on our way to Margie's funeral. I'm very thankful for safety during all our travels. 

6. We don't have health insurance. Thankfully, immunizations don't cost us a penny. That was a pleasant surprise! I have still been receiving bills for the mammogram I had last December even though I paid the bill very promptly. I *think* the billing mistake has been fixed. If they stop sending me bills, then I'll be certain that is the case. 

7. Paul was able to help my friend Cheri by driving a U-Haul van to help her mom move on September 30. I'm thankful for his willingness to help! 

8. Paul took Oliver bowling last night for one of his dates for the year. 

9. On September 29 the VanHorns rode with us to the Lumber Museum. We spent four hours at the museum for their Woodhick Day program. We all learned a lot! 

10. Milo was at the kennel during our vacation. Thankfully, a teenager in our neighborhood was able to watch him when we spent a day in DC last weekend. Milo turned three years old on September 30. We are very thankful for our dog (even if it's rather expensive to have him in a kennel for a 16-day vacation). We got him Pupperoni snacks, a squeaky pig (which he barks at), and a banana dog toy that he also enjoys playing with although he quickly destroyed its head. Nadia made him a birthday cake made of peanut butter, honey, applesauce, baking powder, carrots, oil, and an egg. 

11. I am enjoying being in The Sound of Music, and so far, the rehearsal schedule hasn't felt overly demanding for me. I need to finish memorizing all of the Latin songs over the next seven days. 

12. Last Friday evening we drove to Maryland to spend the night at a hotel so that we could do some sightseeing prior to attending a concert in Arlington. We visited the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Belmont-Paul National Historic Site, Library of Congress, Capitol building, and Arlington Cemetery. The kids earned 2 Junior Ranger badges that day. Nadia currently has earned 200, Ian has earned 202, and Oliver has 186. Not counting dinner at Cheesecake Factory (one of Nadia's favorite places to go) and the concert (Unspoken, Cade Thompson, and JJ Weeks), I think the highlight for most people was the tour of the US Capitol. The line was long to enter the House gallery (where they were deliberating over the budget) so we didn't actually step into either chamber. If we return to that building in the future, we'll do so when we have passes so we can go in the Senate and/or House chambers. I wasn't upset that we didn't end up visiting the Theodore Roosevelt Island on that trip. We'll hopefully see it next May instead, but I was disappointed that we arrived at the Arlington House while on our tram tour through Arlington Cemetery only two minutes before it closed. Oops. The kids had already earned that Junior Ranger badge through the mail, but I wanted to see Robert E. Lee's house in person and also get our passports stamped. I'm sure we won't pay for the tram ride again, but maybe we could walk to that site at some point in the future? We were thankful that we found free parking in DC. On-street parking was definitely easier on a Saturday morning. We had to pay parking three times in Arlington - at the cemetery, near the restaurant where we had dinner, and at the shopping mall where the concert was held.

13. Ian decided to go one month without screen time - meaning no playing Brawl Stars on the iPad or using the Nintendo Switch. If we are ALL watching a movie together, he's allowed to watch, but that's it (aside from World Watch News everyday M-F and the Tuttle Twins once a month). I'm proud of him for being willing to give those up as normally he plays them for almost 2 hours a day. He's been playing with Legos more since he's given up screen time. The only downside has been that he's been reading less as he usually reads to earn screen time. 

14. Something is wrong with our central air. Someone is coming on Friday to hopefully repair it. I'm thankful that although it's unseasonably warm this week, it still cools off at night which has made it easier for us to keep our house at a reasonable temperature. 

15. When we got back from vacation, I started working on an approximately 100-page photo book through Shutterfly. At first, it wasn't accepting the coupon codes. A week later I was able to use some codes to order three 8x11 books for less than $30, which represented a savings of more than $200.  

16. Paul is going to church on Wednesday nights for the first time in our 22-year marriage! We are in a Chosen small group (watching and discussing the first season together). What a blessing!

Changing of the Guard ceremony