Bible Quizzing Finals

Nadia joined our church's Bible quizzing team in December 2019. The meets with our churches were naturally cancelled in 2020. The first time she attended Nationals was in 2021 in Oklahoma. Ian joined the team in the fall of 2021, and his first Nationals was in South Carolina in 2022. Paul, Oliver, and I have attended the Nationals in New York last year and this week in Indiana. We're hoping that all three kids will participate next year when they quiz on 1 and 2 Corinthians in South Carolina. This year they studied Luke, which has the most verses of any book in the New Testament (1,151). I and II Corinthians have 694 verses put together. Next year will be Nadia's last year, which means she won't be quizzing when presumably Ian and Oliver will be studying John (2026-27).

Nadia had her best year of quizzing. In 2022 and 2023 she was on the team that won the B division. Last year her team placed 4th in the A division. She was the captain of her team last year and this year. This year after the preliminary competitions on Monday and Tuesday, her team was ranked as the 3rd seed in the A division. They beat the 2nd placed seed during the finals, which meant their schedule was adjusted so that they would play in the championship round against the first seed. However, in between those two matches they lost to Milton C (the 4th seed) whom they had beaten in the preliminary rounds. In the finals today, Milton A (Ian's team) was undefeated, and the other three teams in the A division all ended up with the same record. The tie breaker is the score on the writtens, and North Rome had the better score with their writtens. So, Nadia's team ended up in 3rd place. Nadia has never placed in the top ten in either writtens or individuals. This year she was tied for 10th place in the writtens with Xandir, and she was tied for 9th place with Lucy in the individuals. They recognized 10 students in the individuals and 11 in the writtens. She and Xandir were the only two with a tied score in the writtens, but there were four ties in the individuals. We are very proud of how well she did! 

Ian was on the team that won the B division in 2022 and 2023. He was on the team that won the A division in 2024 and 2025. Last year and this year his team was undefeated at the Nationals. Last year he finished in 8th place for both the individuals and writtens. This year he finished in 7th place in the individual competition and 9th in the written competition. 

Ian and Nadia rode out to Indiana in the church's bus on Sunday. Oliver rode with Paul and I in our van. Oliver, Paul, and I have stayed in an Airbnb that is within walking distance of IWU. Nadia and Ian have stayed in the dorm. Last year Oliver, Paul, and I only ate one meal on campus. Because I served as an official this year, my meals were free. We opted to buy a meal pass for Paul and Oliver this time. Oliver did spend some time playing games and hanging out with the kids in the dorm prior to bedtime. I was a scorekeeper in one room. The only time I was able to attend a match in which I wasn't an official was the championship match. Paul bounced around between the rooms so he could see Nadia and Ian's matches. On Monday night Paul and I didn't eat dinner on campus because we drove about one hour south to spend about 3 hours with Kay and Allen. They are in their late 80s and had moved from Pennsylvania to Indiana last fall. It was a delight to see them. Tuesday was Nadia's birthday, and the team went out for ice cream. If it were up to me, I would have chosen to drive to Ohio this evening so that we wouldn't be in the car for as many hours tomorrow, but the kids wanted to spend the night with their friends even if it means we have to leave by 6:30 tomorrow morning so that we can arrive at Cedarville in time for Ian's college visit. It's been VERY hot while we've been out here, but the university and the Airbnb have air conditioning. I'm very thankful the kids can participate in the Bible quizzing program. They have made wonderful friends through this, and more importantly have spent many, many hours studying and memorizing God's Word. I hope that they put what they've studied into practice because that's FAR more important than doing well at a quizzing competition. 

Seventeen Years Old!

I have a frame for each of my children that has spaces for a total of 19 pictures of them from birth through age eighteen. I used one of Nadia's prom pictures for her seventeen-year-old picture, which means there is now only one empty spot in her frame. Time has just flown by. With her spending six weeks at camp this summer and presumably doing the same next summer, we have less than a year of her living at home with us before she starts living in Lynchburg, Virginia. Honestly, it's very bittersweet. I want our kids to be independent and fly from the nest. I don't want them to be part of the growing epidemic of young adults who are unemployed, not in school, and still living with their parents. However, I'm really going to miss her! Since she's already earned 34 credits through GCU and LU, she technically could have received her high school diploma from the state of Pennsylvania last month, but she is looking forward to her last year of doing a high school musical, last year of co-op, last year of Bible quizzing, etc. She's kind of a high school senior and a college sophomore at the same time, ha ha! The tuition is much cheaper as a dual enrollment student so that was another reason not to have her skip the twelfth grade. The subjects I still want her to complete for me during her senior year include physics, 12th grade English, one semester of economics, and one semester of government. 

She had her birthday celebration early to accommodate the schedules of her friends. Since she's in Indiana for Bible quizzing nationals on her actual birthday, we are treating she and her teammates to ice cream at Ivanhoes this evening. She received her birthday gifts early from her friends, Pop Pop, and Uncle Al and Aunt Millie. I brought one gift for her to open today (a book). Our other two gifts to her for her birthday are some money and a laptop that she can hopefully use for the next four years (until she graduates from college). She already knows that her main birthday gift next year when she turns eighteen will be a new cell phone, and her main Christmas gift will be a roundtrip ticket to visit Rachel in Chicago in the spring. I don't usually plan gifts this far in advance, but knowing she will be headed to college in about 14 months has made gift planning easier. 

Seventeen ways Nadia has changed over the last six months:

1. She has really been into baking and cooking! I'm thrilled to have those experiences with her, and I think the experience is helpful for the day in the future when she's on her own.

2. She visited Louisiana, which was her 49th state! She hadn't been looking forward to the state. She kept comparing it with Kansas (which is one of the lowest on her list), but after we were there, she decided it wasn't anything like Kansas, ha ha.

3. She completed three more courses through Liberty worth a total of 7 credits.

4. She's been working more hours at Warrior Run Petcare. Her boss is extremely kind. She gave Nadia a box of chocolates on Valentine's Day and an Easter basket filled with various goodies on Good Friday. She's also been accepting of Nadia taking weeks off for vacations and working at Camp Susque. Nadia has been making great progress toward saving money for her first car, which she plans to buy around the time she graduates from Liberty. Paul and I said we'd match whatever she saves towards that first car (within a certain limit of course).

5. She hasn't been driving nearly as much the last six months as she did the previous six months. She needs to learn how to parallel park, and then she plans to get her license this fall. She delayed doing it because we told our kids they have to pay for their car insurance.

All of the summer staff at Camp

6. She took the SAT. She was pleased with her reading/writing score but not her math score. She's going to need to take College Algebra before she takes Calculus at Liberty due to her math SAT score.

7. She attended her first prom. She went with a group of friends from our co-op. They plan to attend again next year. I thought she looked stunning in her purple gown! I love some of the pictures I took that night.

8. She is spending a total of six weeks at Camp Susque this summer. The week of June 8 was for counselor orientation. She'll be serving as a staff member (cooking, cleaning, etc.) for 1.5 weeks and serving as a counselor for 3.5 weeks from June 15-21 and July 5- August 2. The pictures in this post are from her time at Camp Susque earlier this month.

9. She and Ian have been in the habit lately of going on walks together 1-2 times a day. They often share a pair of earbuds and listen to the same music when they're in the van together or walking. Some of Nadia's newest favorite artists are Josiah Queen, Forrest Frank, and Joseph O'Brien. She hasn't heard any of those in person yet.

10. She and Ian have also been in the habit lately of watching VeggieTales together once a day. I'm not the only one who is going to miss Nadia when she goes away to college. Ian is also really going to miss her.

11. She earned a 4.0 in her homeschool classes as a junior, which was a first for her. 

12. She used to absolutely hate reading books on an electronic device. She vastly preferred reading a physical book. Recently she got multiple library cards and has been using them to check out audiobooks and also books that can be read on a Kindle app on her phone. 

13. If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, then Nadia shouldn't need to see a doctor because the last couple of months she's gotten in the habit of eating at least one apple a day. 

14. Of the five of us, Nadia is the most likely person to skip breakfast. Lately, if she eats breakfast her preference has been to have a Cinnamon Toast Crunch bar. 

15. For many years her favorite ice cream flavor was chocolate chip cookie dough. Her current favorite is peanut butter ice cream with Oreos mixed into it.

16. She has been officially accepted as a residential student at Liberty University for the fall 2026 semester! Woohoo! 

17. She doesn't have bangs, but when she got her haircut this spring, she had the stylist cut some of the hair around her face much shorter than the rest. 

Thankful Thursday

1. Our spring session of our co-op came to an end on May 6. We ended the day eating lunch in our town's park and most of the kids playing a game of Whiffleball. 

2. My grandpa paid for my bachelor's and master's degrees. I paid for half of my doctorate, and the school where I was principal paid for the other half. Paul and I paid for Nadia's college tuition for the last two years, but the trust (consisting of money from my grandpa) has paid for her tuition at Liberty for the upcoming school year. 

3. We finished our school year on May 8. Some homeschoolers do their schooling year-round. I understand the benefits of going that route, but we enjoy having the summer off. Nadia finished her government class through Liberty on May 9. She earned another A. 

4. The kids had a good practice quiz in Indiana on May 9-10.

5. Paul and I enjoyed spending time with Andrew, Brendan, Jenna, and Toby at Jenna's graduation on May 10.

6. We enjoyed hearing the kids sing at the spring program on May 13. Paul's dad also attended. We also brought home some of their artwork that was on display that night. 

7. It was a blessing to be able to stay at my sister's house in Maryland on May 13 and again on May 28. The first time one of their neighbors gave us a ride to the airport early the next morning. The second time Joe picked us up and then we were able to enjoy some time with Yvonne's family. 

8. Milo was well taken care of by the Seiberts while we were away. 

9. We were all healthy during our trip. Almost everything went smoothly. We were able to visit new places, see different animals, try different foods, etc. It never rained during the trip. 

10. Nadia has been able to work almost every day since we've been back from vacation. 

11. The boys enjoyed spending the night at Xandir's house on May 31.

12. Nadia and four of her friends enjoyed painting pottery and spending time at our house to celebrate Nadia's 17th birthday.

13. Oliver is enjoying the early birthday present (new bike) that he received from Paul's dad. 

14. We enjoyed spending time with Jenna and Toby on Sunday. They only live 90 minutes from us. We shared a meal, played games, and did an engagement photo shoot. They have asked me to be their wedding photographer for their wedding in February. I took a little less than 100 photos of them at a park near our home, and I sent them about 50 photos. 

15. A deer ran into the van at the end of March. The van has been at the shop since Monday morning. We're supposed to be able to pick it back up tomorrow. I am very grateful as I haven't enjoyed driving in a dented van. 

16. The Schrecks plus one niece and nephew came over for dinner at our house on Monday night. 

17. Tomorrow night Paul and I are beginning a ballroom dancing class in salsa and merengue! The kids are looking forward to a Wizard of Oz cast party that's happening tomorrow night. 

18. Paul had begun spackling/sanding in the living room the week of April 14. He had to take a break while we were on vacation, but he finished on May 30. We started painting the room on May 30 and finished it in the morning on May 31. I think it looks great! My sister said it makes the room look larger. Paul's dad doesn't usually make comments about the house, but he gave positive feedback on that room when he was here last Saturday. The changes in the room included new paint color (orange to grey), baseboards and windows went from stained wood to painted white, from miniblinds to curtains, and one chair (that was hardly ever used) was replaced with a plant. 

19. Nadia continues to help me with almost all the cooking and baking. Some things she does on her own, and some things we have been making together. 

20. Yesterday I ordered a gallon of paint from Lowe's. I had no idea that they would do a same day delivery for free. In addition to saving me a trip there, I used a Capital One browser extension that had a $40 rebate so the gallon of paint will end up costing me a little over $10 after that rebate. I chose a beige color for the foyer and upstairs hallway. From the time I ordered it until it was delivered was less than two hours, not that I needed it that quickly, but that service is impressive!

21. Submitting Nadia's preliminary high school transcript to Liberty was far more complicated that necessary. I had to submit a letter from Meadowbrook stating they would not be issuing her a transcript for art, drama, or chorus because she's a homeschooler. I also had to request that LU send LU transcripts two different times within the last month. Seriously?!? Anyhow, they are finally satisfied that we have submitted everything necessary for them to make an enrollment decision. Considering she has a 4.0 at LU at the moment, I can't imagine why they wouldn't accept her. 

22. It won't work out for us to use our six free passes at Montage Mountain water park later this month. Thankfully, a family involved in our co-op is planning to use them. Their daughter who is Ian's age, has never been to a water park before so I'm happy they can make use of them.