Thankful Tuesday

I can't believe it will be February 1 in just 4 days. It would have been Maurice's 41st birthday. It's been very cold, so I don't mind if winter flies by as I prefer the warmer weather. Here are some things I am thankful for today.

1. The kids were able to participate in a Bible quizzing competition at our church on January 10-11. I served as a scorekeeper on the 11th. Ian and Nadia have recently stepped up the amount of time they've been studying the book of Luke so we shall see how they do at the next competition.

2. The eldest member of the Bible quizzing team (Isaiah) recently turned eighteen. All three kids were invited to his birthday party.

3. Isaiah and three of his siblings are joining our co-op starting next week. We will have 8 boys and 7 girls, and if you go by grade level, we'll have three 6th graders, one 7th grader, one 8th grader, five 9th graders, two 10th graders, two 11th graders, and one 12th grader in our co-op this spring. 

4. Ian's surgery went well on January 15. The first few days were rough partially because there was a mix-up over his pain medication. He slept in my lazy boy recliner the first eight nights, and it took longer than that for him to be able to resume wearing his eyeglasses, but life is back to normal at this point. The surgeon removed the splints and some of the stitches last Tuesday. She wasn't able to tell yet if the surgery was a success or not because there is still too much blood in there. He can't breathe through his nose yet, but hopefully that day is just around the corner. Paul will be taking him back for the next follow-up appointment in early March. I'm also thankful the surgery only cost $2,948. We should be reimbursed for all of that eventually through the medical sharing program, but even if we weren't that's so much better than the $20K I was charged for the ankle surgery in 2021. 

5. Nadia didn't work much at all for four weeks, but thankfully that changed starting on January 17. We're also thankful for the flexibility of her boss. Nadia missed a Wizard of Oz rehearsal on January 18, but her boss didn't schedule her for any Saturdays in February due to the musical. 

6. Since the stock market was closed on January 20, Paul took the opportunity to go spend the day with a friend in Carlisle.

7. Oliver and I saw the eye doctor on January 21. Oliver hadn't been wearing his glasses that he got a little over two years ago. The doctor changed the guidance from wearing them only when he is reading to wearing them all the time. This did NOT go over well with Oliver, but thankfully over the past week he's adjusted to wearing his glasses. We had to reschedule Ian's appointment as it would have been too painful for him to have an eye appointment last week due to his nose. 

8. Paul got the flu shot and pneumonia vaccine on January 22. They didn't tell him until after they stabbed him that the vaccine costs almost $300. The last time he got a flu shot he was really sick afterwards. He didn't feel well the first couple of days after the shot this time around, but his side effects weren't as severe, thankfully. 

9. I took my friend out for dinner to celebrate her 68th birthday. 

10. We enjoyed watching the movie White Bird as a family last weekend. I had checked it out of the library.  Paul and I enjoyed watching the 5th season of All Creatures Great and Small on the PBS app.

11. I used to shop at CVS 1-2 times a month until the CVS in our town closed. I have hardly shopped at a CVS since then, but I've recently been resuming that habit due to the fact that they haven't had much of a cereal selection at Surplus Outlet. A few weeks ago, I paid less than $1 per box of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes at CVS! I do love finding a good bargain. 

12. Ian is finally caught up. We switched back to Teaching Textbooks for geometry, and he got everything turned in by the end of the second marking period for all the other subjects. I hope he never gets that far behind again. 

13. Ian finally picked his song for the piano recital (February 2) on January 20. I told his piano teacher let's pick his song MUCH earlier next time around. She agrees. Thankfully he is managing to pull it off despite choosing much later than normal. The piece was too long (12 minutes), but she picked out parts for him to play as she likes the pieces not to be longer than 4-5 minutes so that the recital isn't too lengthy. 

14. One of the books I recently listened to was Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Quereshi. It was outstanding! I highly recommend it! Some books we've enjoyed together as a family recently would include: Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai, Wink by Rob Harrell, The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman, The Red Umbrella by Christina Gonzalez, and The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis. 

15. My parents each grew up with one sister, and so I only had two uncles. My dad also has a half-sister, but she never married. Uncle Bill passed away in 1992 at the age of 49. Uncle Dick passed away last week at the age of 83. Wendy lives the closest to Indiana, so she is attending the burial today as the representative of our family. I'm thankful Wendy can attend on our behalf. 

16. I go in spurts when it comes to working on planning future vacations. Recently I used Turo gift cards I got through credit card points to almost completely pay for renting a minivan on Oahu for four days and on Maui for 2.5 days. I still need to rent one on the Big Island for a week. 

Septoplasty

Today Ian went under general anesthesia for the fifth time in his life. The first four times took place within less than two years, so it had been almost 12.5 years since the last time. We were told to arrive by 11:15. For his sake, it would have been nice if it was a little earlier since he wasn't allowed to eat after midnight. He always has breakfast, and most days we eat lunch around 11:00. The surgery center is about 90 minutes from our home. There are other hospitals closer to our home, but this pediatric ENT has above average ratings, and this surgery center is far more affordable than the closer hospitals. We've already paid the fee to the surgeon and the surgery center, and the grand total so far is $2,248. The only bill we haven't paid yet is for the anesthesiologist. In contrast, we were billed over $20K for my ankle surgery despite the fact that Ian's surgery took more than twice as long as my ankle surgery did. The pulmonologist told us that he had turbinate hypertrophy, but the ENT today said that was not the case. However, he had a very deviated septum; she said it was the worst case she had ever seen. The surgery lasted about 100 minutes. The surgeon didn't think he'd be able to breathe air through his nose until next week, but on the drive home he said he could already feel air coming through his nose for the first time! His follow-up post op appointment is next Tuesday in Hershey. The splints will come out then. She said it would take a few months for the stitches to dissolve. He struggled coming out of the anesthesia and with the pain. I offered to buy him a treat around 4:30 pm. I gave him a few choices. He picked a PB cup Blizzard from Dairy Queen. I figured it would help ease some of the discomfort in his throat, give him something pleasurable while he was in pain, and also give him some calories as he had skipped breakfast and lunch. It definitely perked him up. He's coughing a bit as a result of the anesthesia, and his nose hasn't stopped bleeding yet, but he's been watching a movie with Paul while sitting in my recliner. The recliner will be his bed for the next couple of nights as he's supposed to keep his head elevated. We left a little after 9:30 this morning and got back home a little after 5:00 this evening. I'm thankful it's over. It's hard to watch your child when they're suffering. Due to surgical complications I've experienced in the past (ex. lung collapsed due to aspirating), I have to work not to let myself be overtaken by anxiety. 

I'm thankful for everyone who prayed for Ian's surgery! His piano teacher prayed over him at his lesson on Monday, our senior pastor prayed over the phone with him yesterday, another pastor from our church prayed over the phone for him this evening, and my dad and a mom from our co-op texted me to say they were praying this morning. My dad called me as we were driving down and prayed for Ian's surgery, and he called me again after Ian's surgery to see how he was doing. We appreciate all the prayers! 

All three kids were able to sleep in this morning. I asked Nadia and Ian to make sugar cookies this morning because we hadn't had those for probably more than a year. Paul dropped them off at church at 1:15 for art, chorus, Bible quizzing, and youth group. He picked them up at 8:00. Tomorrow, we plan to have a regular day of school although Ian will not be going to art or chorus. He also won't be attending the Wizard of Oz rehearsal tomorrow night. The first time Ian *might* leave the house again will be Saturday morning if he's feeling up to a musical rehearsal at that time. Time will tell. Nadia is scheduled to work Friday morning. I got the movie The Wild Robot on DVD from the library on Monday, and we plan to watch that together either Friday or Saturday. Friday is the last day of the first semester for this school year. It will be our 89th day of school - 9 co-op days, 69 "regular" school days, and 11 field trip days. 

Thankful Thursday

 1. I'm thankful for Nadia's two employers - Camp Susque and Warrior Run Petcare. Nadia has an opportunity to make some money, learn new skills, and be a blessing to others. Her boss gave her a very generous Christmas gift.

2. I'm thankful for the Bible quizzing program at our church. In addition to studying God's Word, this group has been where they have developed friendships at church. We're not planning on allowing Oliver to compete in Oklahoma this summer, but he did compete at a competition at our church last month and will do so again this weekend. I served as a score keeper at the quiz in December.

3. We appreciated being able to spend time with extended family in December. When I asked the kids what was the most memorable thing that happened in 2024, Ian's response was spending time with cousins in Maryland as we celebrated Christmas. We were able to celebrate Christmas with my dad, my sisters, their husbands, and their children for the first time in ten years, and no one got sick! 

4. The kids enjoyed having three friends join us as we celebrated Ian's 15th birthday with an overnight trip to Camelback Resort's indoor waterpark. 

5. The kids were able to participate in the Christmas program at Meadowbrook Christian School. 

6. Paul was able to take each of the boys on a date to see a movie. Oliver chose the newest Lord of the Rings movie, and Ian chose the newest Sonic movie. 

7. Nadia, Cheri, and I enjoyed a Christmas concert by Tasha Layton. 

8. Cheri recently purchased a home and some furniture through an auction. She gave Nadia one of the dressers that she didn't have use for. It's gorgeous! I think Nadia now owns the nicest dresser in our house. She needed a second dresser to store her clothes. 

9. Oliver and Xandir enjoyed spending a couple of hours at Kaos at an event for homeschoolers.

10. The Van Horns had us over for dinner on December 22 at their home. 

11. The small group Paul and I have been in on Wednesday nights since September 2023 came to an end recently. Paul and I discussed various options and finally decided that I'd see if I could lead a small group Bible study. Most of the midweek groups resumed yesterday, but our group's start date is January 22 due to skiing yesterday and Ian's surgery next week. I'm enjoying studying Zechariah!

12. The kids enjoyed ice skating with their cousins in Maryland, and Paul took Oliver to a free ice-skating party on December 29.

13. Ian and Nadia enjoyed Freeze winter camp. It was Ian's first time. Nadia really enjoyed working during Blast camp. Next year she plans to work during Freeze and attend Blast. 

14.  Since 2017 we've been taking the kids skiing at least once a year for free through our membership with WVIA. The first three years we skied at Ski Sawmill. In 2020 we took the kids skiing twice as we also went to Elk Mountain for the first time. 2020 ended up being the last time WVIA had a ski day at Ski Sawmill. We receive four free rentals/lift tickets. Sometimes we've invited one of Nadia's friends to use the fourth one. Jill and Julianna both went skiing with us once. This year we invited quite a few different people to use the fourth one, and in the end, it was Nathaniel who said yes. He learned how to ski very quickly! Paul and I played games in the lodge. Nadia and Ian joined us part of the time because it was VERY cold out yesterday. We had dinner at TGI Fridays. It seemed to me that they lowered their prices compared to the last time we were at one of those restaurants which was a pleasant surprise! We hadn't been to one since September 2022. We are hoping to ski one more time this winter with the Towfighis.

55 years old!

The church that we've been going to for 10.5 years has a group that for most of the years we've been attending there was called Best Year's Fellowship. They changed their name a couple of years ago to Classics. The minimum age requirement for joining the group is 55. Our kids have been frequently reminding Paul how many years he had until he qualified to join the group. We became eligible this fall because they let you join a few months before your 55th birthday. Most of the people our age don't have kids as young as we do so we're going to hold off on joining the group albeit almost all of the people in our Sunday School class are in the Classics. The age when you are eligible for a senior discount varies from place to place, but the lowest minimum age I've seen for a senior discount is 55 so Paul will begin to be eligible for a senior discount from time to time. One disadvantage to turning 55 is the amount we pay each month for our medical sharing program is dependent on the size of our family AND the age of the oldest member. Our premium has gone up this month because the price for 55+ is higher than what we've been paying. Paul and I started dating shortly after he turned 27, so we've been together for more than half of his life. Paul says he didn't feel old when he turned 50, but he thinks 55 is another story. Maybe it's because now he's closer to 60 years old than 50 years old? Praying that God will give him good health for many years to come! 

To celebrate his birthday, I tried to serve some of his favorite foods this week. I got a pizza from Aldi yesterday. I had a taco salad instead. All four of us had Georgian egg and cheese bread on Wednesday night, which Paul likes just as much as pizza (which is a high compliment as he would happily eat pizza every single day for weeks on end). Oliver and Ian each made him a birthday card. Oliver bought him some Twizzlers and peanut butter cups at Surplus Outlet. I gave him the option of choosing the menu or picking a restaurant for his birthday dinner. He chose to eat at Texas Roadhouse. We picked Nadia up from Camp Susque a little after 3:00 before heading to the restaurant. Nadia tried something different (salad), but the rest of us got what we usually do at that restaurant - chicken tenders kid's meal (Ian), macaroni and cheese kid's meal (Oliver), steak (Paul), and sweet potato (me). We all love their rolls! Paul also loves that they give out bags of peanuts that you can take home. It was his turn to pick what we did for a family fun night tonight, and he chose watching one of the Mission Impossible movies. Finally, we picked up donuts to have for breakfast tomorrow morning. 

Paul has had a cough for four months. He went to the doctor for it in November. The medications he took at that time did bring about significant improvement for a time, but it never completely went away and flared back up again in December. He went back to the doctor on Monday night. The doctor gave him a different medication to try, and he had another chest x-ray. We're assuming it was normal because they didn't call him with the results. His lab results weren't good in terms of his triglycerides, good cholesterol, or bad cholesterol. I'm hoping those numbers improve before his next physical, and we're praying that his cough will totally go away as soon as possible! 

2025 first-time experiences

For many years I used to post a list of goals at the start of the year. Lately, I've switched to posting a bucket list for the year that I modify throughout the year. Last year, we logged 138 first time experiences. Below is the current list of places I think we might visit, movies we might see, concerts we might attend, etc. for the first time over the next year. I'm sure things will be added and deleted throughout the year. That's not to say that we don't have goals that we're working toward or in some cases habits we've formed that we want to maintain. For example, I'm thankful we've finally gotten in the habit of having one family fun night a week (when the schedule permits). We're still working to visit all 50 states (48 so far), all Canadian provinces (1 so far), 40 zoos/aquariums (38 so far), 200 National Park sites (158 so far), and six continents (kids have been to 2 and Paul and I have been to 4 so far). One goal we achieved in the past year was that we visited our 30th amusement park. We have plans to visit two amusement parks we haven't been to previously in Texas in 2025 and one in Ohio in 2026. 

I realize I do more planning than the typical person, but I find there are many opportunities for planning as a homeschool mom - what meals we'll have each week, lesson planning for my kids and for our co-op, planning vacations, preparing for my upcoming small group Bible study, and planning field trips and various other outings (movies, concerts, etc.). Life certainly doesn't always go as planned, and ever since 2020 I've done fairly well with handling those types of curve balls, but I think there are many things that do happen which wouldn't have if we didn't make the effort to make these types of plans. Planning farther in advance gives me more time to do research and tweak the plans many times along the way. For example, in the last few days I've begun to research a trip to Eastern Canada for August 2026. I enjoy learning more about other places, and I can refine the tentative plans over the coming months. I can't believe Nadia will probably be living in Virginia when we go on that trip. It will probably be the first family vacation that she'll miss out on. We're hoping she can join us for one trip a year while she's in college. Time flies!!!

1. See The Wild Robot on DVD - Done!
2. Nadia works at Blast winter camp at Camp Susque - Done!
3. See All Creatures Great and Small season 5 on PBS app - Done!
4. See White Bird on DVD - Done!
5. Cairn University computer science day - Done!
6. See Wrinkle in Time by Riverstage- Done!
7. See Wicked on DVD - Done!
8. See Moana 2 on Disney+ - done!
9. See Homestead on the Angel app - done!
10. Go skiing at Montage Mountain - done!
11. Nadia takes the SAT - done!
12. All three kids in three performances of Wizard of Oz - done!
13. Nadia attends a Prom - done!
14. See Paddington in Peru - done!
15. All three kids in the spring program at MCS - done!
16. Music Instrument Museum - done!
17. Casa Grande National Monument - done!
18. Saguaro National Park - done!
19. Chiricahua National Monument - done!
20. Arizona Sonora Desert Museum - done!
21. White Sands National Park - done!
22. Guadelupe Mountains National Park - done!
23. Carlsbad Caverns National Park- done!
24. Perot Museum of Nature and Science- done!
25. Fort Worth Zoo- done!
26. Dallas Arboretum- done!
27. Fort Worth Stockyards- done!
28. Six Flags Fiesta- done!
29. Six Flags over Texas- done!
30. Sixth Floor Museum - done!
31. San Antonio Missions - done!
32. Alamo- done!
33. See the bats at Bracken Cave- done!
34. Riverwalk boat cruise- done!
35. Padre Island National Seashore- done!
36. Texas State Aquarium- done!
37. USS Lexington- done!
38. Houston Space Center- done!
39. San Jacinto State Historical Park- done!
40. Big Thicket National Park - done!
41. Vermilionville - done!
42. Eat at Bon Temps Grill- done!
43. Tabasco Factory Tour- done!
44. Laura Plantation tour- done!
45. Honey Island Swamp Tour - done!
46. Jean Lafitte National Historical Park- done!
47. Saint Louis Cathedral- done!
48. Eat at Cafe Beignet- done!
49. National WWII Museum- done!
50. Audubon Zoo- done!
51. Eat at Dat Dog- done!
52. Eat at Parkway Bakery and Tavern- done!
53. See the musical Into the Woods- done!
54. See a performance of The Play That Goes Wrong - done!
55. Nadia is a camp counselor at Camp Susque - done!
56. See the movie Rule Breakers on the Angel app - done!
57. Nadia learns how to parallel park
58. See The Chosen season 5 on the app - done!
59. Oliver, Ian, and Xandir spend a week at Camp Susque - done!
60. Paul and I take lessons in salsa and merengue - done!
61. Lanikai Pillbox trail - done!
62. Kailua Beach - done!
63. Nuuanu Pali Lookout - done!
64. National Memorial Cemetery - done!
65. Parasailing - done!
66. Manoa Falls - done!
67. Tantalus lookout - done!
68. Swim with dolphins - done!
69. Eat at Ray's Cafe- done!
70. Eat at Rainbow Drive-In - done!
71. Eat Coco Puffs at Liliha Bakery - done!
72. Eat at Steak Shack - done!
73. Eat Malasladas from Leonard's Bakery - done!
74. Diamond Head monument - done!
75. Punalu'u Black Sand Beach - done!
76. Makapu'u Point Lighthouse - done!
77. Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park - done!
78. Eat at Punalu'u Bake Shop - done!
79. Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum - done!
80. USS Arizona Memorial - done!
81. Ford Island bus tour - done!
82. Rainbow Falls - done!
83. Surfing lesson - done!
84. Iolani Palace - done!
85. Eat at Tex Drive In - done!
86. Waipi'o Valley Lookout - done!
87. Kua Bay Beach - done!
88. Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden - done!
89. Eat at Patricio's Mexican Taqueria - done!
90. Sea Horse Farm - done!
91. Lavaloha Chocolate Farm - done!
92. Drive along the Hamakua Coast with a stop at Akaka falls - done!
93. Pu'ukohola Heiau NHS - done!
94. Hapuna Beach - done!
95. Eat at Ultimate Burger - done!
96. Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park - done!
97. Snorkel with manta rays at night - done!
98. Greenwell Farms coffee tour - done!
99. Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park - done!
100. Eat at Manago hotel restaurant - done!
101. Eat at Manuela Malaslada - done!
102. Eat at L&L Hawaiian Barbecue - done!
103. Snorkeling at Honaunua Bay - done!
104. Snorkeling at Kahalu'u Beach Park- done!
105. Eat at Laverne's Big Island Ale House - done!
106. Kahekili Beach Park- done!
107. Vanillerie  - done!
108. Kona Sea Salt tour - done!
109. Eat at Island Cream Co. - done!
110. Black Rock Beach - done!
111. Ho'okipa Beach- done!
112. Eat shave ice - done!
113. Kua Cove Beach- done!
114. Ku'au Beach - done!
115. Napili Beach- done!
116. D. T. Fleming beach - done!
117. Kapalua Beach- done!
118. Haleakalā National Park- done!
119. See a performance of A Tale of Two Cities by Servant Stage - done!
120. Nadia gets her driver's license - done!
121. Ian takes the PSAT - done!
122. Paul and I take intermediate East Coast Swing lessons - done!
123. See a performance of Arsenic and Old Lace - done!