What a week!

 Last Friday, while Nadia and Ian were at work, we learned two things. First, Paul needed to show up for jury duty on Monday morning, and Oliver discovered that our basement had flooded. This meant that the boys and I had to leave at 8:00am on Monday morning to take Paul to the courthouse in Sunbury before I took the boys to their Stronghold foam sword-fighting camp in Danville. Although Paul had to stay at the courthouse until 4:00, we were very grateful that he wasn't one of the fourteen people selected to serve on the jury for a murder trial. 

The boys enjoyed their camp. It was the fourth consecutive year that they participated in this half-day camp. The first two days, I walked while the kids were in the camp at a playground. The director decided that they should spend part of the time indoors on Wednesday because the temperatures got above 90. So we were told to take the kids to a church that morning. Cheri planned to spend time with me on Wednesday and Friday while the boys were at the camp. Typically we've walked in the past, but this year we had a late breakfast at one of her favorite restaurants on Wednesday due to the heat. On Thursday, the campers stayed inside the entire time because the air quality was awful due to the fires in Minnesota and Ontario. The air quality was much better on Friday, but it still wasn't normal, so the campers were inside for at least 2/3 of the time on Friday. Cheri asked me to come to her house on Friday due to the air quality. She lives about 15 minutes from where the camp was held. On Thursday, I read The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau in the public library while waiting for the boys. It wasn't as good as Theo of Golden (best book I've read so far this year) or The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife, but I did like the book. 

Every year while he's in this camp, Ian talks about joining a Stronghold club. This year is no exception. We discussed purchasing more equipment so it could be one of the electives in the co-op that meets at our home, but Ian really wants to join a club so he can learn more from Sir Estivan. Paul and I are not sure this is a good idea because Ian wasn't successful in keeping up with all his schoolwork in tenth grade, and he's already added three new things to his schedule for the upcoming year: voice lessons, chess club, and a job. Ian has no lack of ideas about what he'd like to do. For example, in the last couple of weeks, he asked me to get him some books so he could learn more about other religions (I got him three books on Mormonism, Islam, and Jehovah's Witnesses). He also mentioned he wanted to get back to learning a second language (which is a wonderful idea, but again I think he might be biting off more than he can chew). I don't plan on signing him up for a Stronghold club until I see he can successfully keep up with everything else. He's gotten off to a good start with John as he's memorized all of the first chapter (51 verses) and has started memorizing chapter two. He's also finished one book from his list for 11th grade English (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) and has begun reading Screwtape Letters, which is also on his list for next school year.  He's also been practicing for his piano and voice lessons as well as playing a lot of chess and Fall Guys, which is currently his favorite video game. He has improved a LOT in chess over the last several months, but he still hasn't beat Paul. 

Last Saturday I enjoyed a lunch date with Ian prior to taking him to the library to play D&D with some friends from church. On Monday night, the boys joined me in singing Christmas carols at a nursing home. I was the pianist for the group. Another mom brought four of her kids along, but mostly it was adults from the choir at our church who were singing Christmas carols (Christmas in July). On the way home, I treated the boys to some ice cream. Yum! Oliver enjoyed attending youth group on Wednesday night while Ian was at work. On Thursday, our new garage door openers were installed. We also enjoyed a movie together through Prime that I would recommend - Sheep Detectives. Wendy had suggested that one. I assisted a doctoral student with the survey instrument she's going to use in her pilot study, and I was asked to join the board of a local homeschool organization. 

All this to say it was a busy week. It was definitely busier than normal and involved more driving than normal. But for two members of my extended family, it was a VERY special week. My sister gave birth to her eighth son (Trevor James) this week. All ten of her kids have either a first or middle name that starts with "J." And my dad married Karen today. Wendy played a violin duet with Karen's daughter. Yvonne and I weren't able to attend the wedding. Paul and I are looking forward to meeting Karen next month when we help Nadia move into her dorm.  Not counting Karen or Margie's grandchildren, my dad now has 17 grandchildren from his three daughters. My mom never met three of her grandchildren (Wesley, Brendan, or Trevor). We'll probably also meet Trevor that same week because we are planning on dropping the boys off at Yvonne's house before heading down to Liberty.

100 years old

The amusement park that I have lived the closest to for the past 30 years is Knoebels. It's a unique amusement park in that they don't charge for parking (it costs $35 to park at HersheyPark), and they also don't charge for admission. The only other amusement park I've been to like that is Delgrosso's, and I've been to a lot of amusement parks. Knoebels opened on July 4, 1926, so the park is celebrating 100 years this summer. The carousel (still in operation today) was built in 1923. Some of the rides were purchased from West View Park, which had been owned by my dad's grandmother. The park has been owned and operated by the same family since the day it opened. I think that's impressive, especially considering the park had to weather things like the Great Depression. When the kids were younger, we used to go to Knoebels multiple times a year; we've been taking them there since 2010. 

Lately we've only been going on WVIA Day, which is usually the first weekend of May. We used to use all six free handstamps for family members (Paul's parents, niece, or nephew would be the ones to use any extras that we had). The last several years we've been letting the kids invite some friends to join them. Typically, they'd invite two friends, but last year I brought six kids to Knoebels. If the weather forecast looks good, then we also bring Milo. Many people bring their dogs with them to Knoebels. That's another way this park is different from most amusement parks. Once we realized that we'd have three nephews and one niece with us, we paid for another WVIA membership so that we'd have 10 wristbands for Knoebels and 6 lift tickets/ski rentals for Elk Mountain next January (compared to 6 wristbands and 4 ski packages that we've had for many years). Since the cousins that Nadia usually hangs out with were going to be in Ohio for Andrew's graduation, I encouraged her to invite 1-3 friends. She only invited Faith. If I had to do it over again, I'd have offered two wristbands to any of our friends if they had just met us there at the park. Usually, Paul and I would ride some rides, but because I was busy taking pictures and we had Milo and the kids no longer ride many of the rides we used to ride with them, Paul and I didn't end up riding a single ride. It was chillier than normal, which meant no one wanted to ride either of the two rides that involve water. However, there wasn't any rain in the forecast, which meant there were more people at the park on WVIA Day than there had been the last few years. The lines weren't ridiculous, but they were definitely longer. About ten rides weren't running, which also didn't help with the lines. Thankfully, all of the rollercoasters were running. The kids rode three of them multiple times - Twister, Impulse, and Phoenix. That morning we went to the first service at church, came home to change clothes, get Milo, and make sandwiches for lunch, and then we drove to Knoebels. We arrived a little after the park opened at noon. In the afternoon we bought a snack or a drink for anyone who wanted one, and shortly before the park closed at 6:00 we bought three large pizzas for the ten us of us to share. While we were at the park Yvonne and her family were driving back from Ohio. They arrived after 10pm. Jenna and Toby drove back home that night as they only live 90 minutes from us. Nine of the Towfighis left our home the next morning. 

The last time I wrote a gratitude list was April 15. Here are some things I've been thankful for over the last few weeks:

1. I love being outside in the spring. I enjoy seeing more birds, flowers, blossoms, green grass, etc. 

2. We got the piano tuned on April 20. Last year he replaced some strings, and those strings didn't stay in tune for long. I enjoy listening to Ian play the piano more now that it's all back in tune. Ian is currently practicing Flight of the Bumblebee, Rhapsody in Blue (Gershwin), and Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (Bach).

3. To celebrate my 54th birthday I had lunch with Cheri at Panera, breakfast with Tab at Dolly's Diner, and got some ice cream for the family from Old Mill Creamery. 

4. Ian was offered two jobs for the summer. He accepted the offer from Joyful Petcare and will start his training on May 28. 

5. Despite Ian being whacked in the face at the first performance and Nadia's face being burned by a curling iron the night of the second performance, all went well with the three performances of The Little Mermaid. Ian was hysterical as Chef Louis, and Nadia did a great job getting into her part as the sarcastic Mersister, Aquata. Eight Towfighis joined me in attending the first performance. Cheri joined Paul and I on Friday night. Paul's dad, Jenna, and Toby joined us on Saturday afternoon. The kids received various treats in their bags at each performance (candy, flowers, etc.). 

6. There was a brief break in the rain on April 25 which enabled me to take pictures of seven kids who went to the prom together. I was very thankful that Ian decided to go this year since it was Nadia's last prom. Ian borrowed Paul's shoes and dress shirt. I need to buy Ian a long sleeve white dress shirt as Paul's was too big for him around the neck. He wore his own black pants along with the green vest, tie, and suit jacket that he wore in the Wizard of Oz last year. They just barely fit him, but it was nice to be able to use them one more time. 

7. The boys and Paul enjoyed seeing the Super Mario Galaxy movie on April 26 while Nadia was at work. They ate my free birthday popcorn during the movie.

8. Seven of us enjoyed seeing Joshua at Sight and Sound on April 28, which was my 50th spiritual birthday. We also enjoyed lunch at Olive Garden including a free birthday dessert for me (black tie mousse cake).

9. Andrew has graduated from Cedarville, moved into his first apartment (in Ohio), and has started his first FT job. He's planning to stay in Ohio for about 18 months until his girlfriend graduates from college. My kids have never attended a graduation before. They were quite shocked at how boring these ceremonies are (I showed them part of the livestream so they could watch Andrew when he was on stage), and Ian was surprised to find out that Andrew is his middle name, ha ha! We enjoyed having four of his younger siblings with us for a few days. We spent time at the playground on Friday and Saturday and at Knoebels on Sunday. 

10. Yesterday I went for a walk with Ian's piano teacher for about 75 minutes. I always appreciate getting some exercise, but I also enjoy being able to talk with a friend, especially one I don't get to talk to at length very often. Similarly, I'm meeting another friend at Panera today. I see her even more infrequently. There are many weeks that the only people I talk to are those who live in my house (aside from pleasant greetings at the grocery store or church), so I always appreciate opportunities for lengthier conversations with my sisters and female friends. 

11. Ian's college classes came to an end on April 30. Despite a few missteps on his part (ex. not realizing an assignment was due by 11:59 pm and trying to submit it after midnight, forgetting to take a picture when we entered Sight and Sound for his humanities assignment, etc.), he earned an A in Humanities and a B+ in Old Testament this semester, which puts his cumulative GPA at Cedarville University at 3.675 (he's earned 12 credits total so far). Today I registered Ian for his fall classes at Cedarville - Introduction to Programming with C++ and a Physical Activity course (5 credits total). Next year I want him to begin taking some CLEP tests in addition to the dual enrollment classes.  

12. Nadia and Oliver are done for the school year. Nadia's Introduction to Research class doesn't technically end until May 15, but she submitted the final assignments and took her last test early due to our trip to Europe. Ian will hopefully finish English (King Lear) and Physics by May 8. He has the incentive of spending time with a friend on Saturday if he accomplishes those goals. He'll have until the end of June to finish Precalculus (he's currently finished 3/4 of the class through ASU). Normally I'm excited about the end of a school year although I know by August, I'll be itching to start the new year, but this year it's bittersweet since it means Nadia has graduated from high school. I look forward to seeing her soar at Liberty next year. 

13. I'm thankful that Aer Lingus was willing to change our flight to Manchester since they cancelled our flight to Liverpool and that it wasn't hard to change our rental car reservation. I'm also hoping the War in Iran is truly over because there was a significant risk of the airlines in Europe not having fuel by the time we'd be trying to fly home from Dublin on May 26. I wasn't in favor of the war from the start so naturally I've been praying for it to end ASAP. I think our country's track record after WWII has been pretty much a total disaster when it comes to our involvement in wars (Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, etc.), which is why I wasn't at all keen on the idea of starting a war with Iran. Sadly, I'm not sure anything good came out of it, but I'm grateful it's hopefully over. I had hoped that Trump wouldn't start any wars just like he didn't during his first term, but unfortunately, that hasn't been the case this time around. Thankfully, I know the Lord is ultimately in control, which is very reassuring when I'm not liking the actions/words of our current President. 

14. I recently read a book that I really, really, really enjoyed called Theo of Golden. I hope Allen Levi writes more books in the future!

15. I've been elected to the school board at Meadowbrook Christian School. Praying that I can be a blessing to them over the next few years. I'm also hoping to begin leading a small group on Isaiah on Wednesday nights starting in September. So far three other couples (in addition to Paul and I) have said they'll join the group. Praying we get a few more people to join us between now and then. Another woman requested we do an OT prophecy book (because we're in the NT in Sunday School), and Paul asked for Isaiah in particular. I'm grateful for opportunities to serve. 

Field Trip

We used to take a LOT of field trips. We go on far fewer field trips than we used to, but I haven't totally stopped scheduling them. On February 26, we went to see a performance of Riverdance; it seemed a fitting year to do so since we're planning to go to Ireland in May. Our homeschool group went on a field trip to Harrisburg today. Eighteen of us toured the capitol building, and twenty of us toured the Pennsylvania National Fire Museum. None of us had ever been to the fire museum before. Nadia and I had toured the capitol before, but it was the first time Ian and Oliver were there. I'm thankful the kids have had these opportunities. Other things I'm thankful for:

1. The VanHorns came over for dinner at our house on February 28.

2. I was able to be the substitute teacher for our Sunday School on March 1. I taught on Zechariah 1-4. If I am asked to teach again later this year, I plan on continue in Zechariah.

3. I was in a LOT of pain after my dentist appointment on March 4, which is not a usual experience for me. I am very thankful that after about four days of discomfort, the pain resolved on its own, and I'm hoping not to have the same experience in six months. 

4. Toby, Jenna, and Joshua spent about eight hours at our home on March 7. The boys (plus Nadia) played games. Jenna and I chatted. Jenna, Nadia, and I went for a walk. Paul beat Jenna in chess, which was the opposite outcome from the previous time they played most recently. I think everyone had a good time! 

5. We had a few days when it was absolutely gorgeous out (got up into the 70's!). It's back to cold weather now, but we took advantage of the beautiful weather on Tuesday. Usually, the kids play games inside our house from 12:30-1:30 when we have co-op, but this Tuesday we went to the park and most of the kids played wiffle ball.

6. Ian played the keyboard for the youth worship the last two Wednesday nights, and this week he didn't feel the need to rehearse the songs with his piano teacher. He's growing in confidence! I played the piano in the foyer after the first and second services this past Sunday. We don't use hymnbooks at our church, but I used a hymnbook when I was playing the piano.  Music is a gift from God! 

7. The kids have been obsessed with Gordon Korman books lately. I found another book that they are enjoying that is by a different author - No Purchase Necessary by Maria Marianayagam. 

8. The university Ian is taking college classes through was on spring break last week. He did some work ahead of time last week which meant that not only was last week a lighter week than usual for him, but this week has also been more relaxed. 

Fourth Quarter

 

We have officially entered the fourth quarter of our school year. The kids have already finished their Life of Fred books (Pre-Algebra with Physics for Oliver and Trigonometry for Nadia and Ian). Some subjects won't be wrapped up until May 7. I had planned on having Nadia and Ian read The Scarlet Letter and That Hideous Strength during the fourth quarter. Nadia read That Hideous Strength during the third quarter instead of Crime and Punishment. Ian is still going to read That Hideous Strength, but Nadia has opted to read Hamlet instead of Crime and Punishment. Both of them have selected Dracula instead of The Scarlet Letter. I still plan to have Ian read The Scarlet Letter sometime in 11th or 12th grade, but it seems unlikely Nadia will ever end up reading that book as she doesn't need to take any literature courses at Liberty. Oliver is currently reading Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelan, and his other book for the fourth quarter will be The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum. He read six books from The Chronicles of Narnia in addition to A Wrinkle in Time during the first three quarters of seventh grade. 

Technically our last day of school won't be until May 25 because of the "field trips" we'll be taking in Europe in May. For months they've been showing availability to take one (expensive) tour of Buckingham Palace through the end of March, and then they had far more options starting in July. Yesterday they finally had tickets available for the expensive tour in May. Paul really wanted to go to Buckingham Palace. He didn't want to see the changing of the guard (which is free). We didn't go there when we were in London in 2002, and since Paul and I will probably never be in England again, Paul was willing to splurge. Most of the places we are visiting in May will not be "repeats" for Paul and me. I think the Tower of London will be our only repeat in the United Kingdom, and we'll visit four places we've already been during our one day in Paris. 

I only have two months left of homeschooling a daughter. The time has flown by. She is very excited about her new upcoming adventure. She and Maddie went shopping for clothes recently, and they got matching peasant skirts that they are both planning to wear on the first day of the semester at Liberty in August. In terms of my years of having at least one child at home (who hasn't yet graduated from high school), almost eighteen of the twenty-three years have been completed. I'm in the "last quarter" of my years as the mom of a baby, toddler, preschooler, or homeschooler. Nadia is taking three courses through Liberty this semester. The only math she's doing right now is preparing to take the College Algebra CLEP test. The only subjects I'm giving her a grade in this semester are economics and English. I had intended for her to do physics this year with Ian, but she really doesn't like physics, already had enough science credits for high school, and if she doesn't want to go to graduate school, she doesn't need to take physics in her undergraduate program. 

I've started to put a little bit of thought into plans for the next school year. It will be strange only having two kids at home. Oliver and Ian are not accustomed to doing science together, but I'm planning on having them both do biology next year and do the dissections with the coop in the fall. I think next year will be the only year the two boys do science together because Ian wants to do forensic science during his senior year, and I think Oliver will do general science when he's in 9th grade. I did Fix it Grammar with Nadia and Ian and had been doing it with Oliver, but it wasn't working this year with him, so I switched to the Giggly Guide to Grammar, which was a good fit, but it's just one book. This week I chose another grammar book for Oliver to do next year. I never did a vocabulary textbook with Nadia or Ian, but I started having him use Wordly Wise this year, and I plan to continue that next year. For social studies, I decided to have the boys do a year of World Geography by Notgrass. I used a Notgrass book for the first time in the fall (government), and I liked it. I'm not as crazy about the Basic Economics books I chose for this semester. Previously the kids had done four volumes of Mystery of History and four volumes of The Story of the World. For math Ian will do calculus (Life of Fred), and Oliver will do Pre-Algebra through Teaching Textbooks. One school related thing that will be new next year is that it looks like I'll be starting a three-year term on the MCS school board.

We have had at least one guinea pig in our house since December 2016. Most of the years we had two guinea pigs. Our time with Lily came to an unexpected end on Sunday. We have been dog sitting Cooper for fifteen days (he'll be with us for ten more days). Unfortunately, while we were at church on Sunday he pushed open Nadia's bedroom door, dismantled the guinea pig cage, and killed Lily. It was so shocking and heartbreaking. We know he was just acting on instinct, but it was very sad. Cooper has been in our house many months over the last 2+ years, so it really caught us off guard. If Nadia wasn't about spend the summer at Camp Susque and then move to Virginia in August, we'd get a replacement guinea pig for her but given how little time she has left at home and the fact that she was the only one who interacted with the guinea pig, we are not replacing Lily. Milo is our only pet. There's an elderly couple that lives near our home who has a 16.5-year-old Bichon Frise. Hopefully Milo will also live a long life and not have an untimely death like Lily did. Other unexpected (but much happier) news would be that my dad has recently become engaged. He and Karen are planning to get married this summer. The other unexpected, happy news is that my sister is expecting her tenth child. I say "unexpected" because my sister is 51 years old. I think my dad's third wedding and my sister's tenth delivery might both take place in July. Life is full of so many twists and turns. 

Thankful Thursday

1. The kids were able to participate in a Bible quizzing competition that our church hosted on January 9-10. Ironically the teams closest to us (also in Pennsylvania) didn't come, but some teams from two different churches in Indiana participated. Ian's team came in second place, and he also tied for fourth place in the individual part of the competition. I served as an official from 6-10 pm on Friday night and from about 9-4 on Saturday. I'm thankful the kids can participate in this program, and I'm praying that all three of them will put more time into studying I & II Corinthians over the next five months. 

2. While I was serving as an official, Paul took the van for an oil change and tire rotation. Typically, I'm the one who takes our vehicles for all their appointments, so I was happy to relinquish that duty this time around. Unfortunately, I forgot to give him a coupon he could have used at the appointment. 😞It was possible for us to be doing two things at the same time because we are back to owning two cars for which I am very thankful.

3. On Sunday afternoon Nadia, Abby, and her older brother went ice skating.

Nadia made this in art class at MCS - Lion Witch and the Wardrobe inspired

4. There are two shows that I look forward to watching the new episodes each year - All Creatures Great and Small on PBS and The Chosen. The newest season of All Creatures was released on January 11. Paul and I have watched three episodes together so far, which are sort of like little dates. I had planned for us to attend a ballroom dance at a Methodist Church on Saturday night, but Paul wanted to work on spackling in the kitchen. Hopefully, we'll make it to the next dance I have on our calenda (March 7). Wendy got me my first pair of ballroom dancing shoes for Christmas, and I want to try them out! My first ballroom dancing lesson was on January 31, 1997. It's about time I actually own the correct shoes 🤣. I've read or listened to quite a few of James Herriot's books. I'm not sure how many seasons PBS will make of the show, but they have no lack of material to use from his many books! 

5. Nadia drove the Subaru for the first time on January 10 while I was in the vehicle. She began driving herself to work and herself plus her brothers to church for art class, Little Mermaid rehearsals, and youth group starting on January 12. Thankfully, all has gone well so far. I don't take that for granted. I also appreciate a temporary reduction in the amount of chauffeuring. Ian plans to get his learner's permit this summer, but for the next about four months I shouldn't need to drive as much as I usually do. 

6. Ian's piano teacher was flexible and allowed us to move Ian's piano lesson from Friday to Tuesday so she could help him prepare for being part of the youth worship team on Wednesday night. In addition to working on his recital piece by Rachmaninoff, he also has begun working on one by Bach.

 7. Paul and I joined a new small group on Wednesday nights. We are discussing the book Hearing God by Dallas Willard. 

8. Our co-op resumed on Tuesday. We have 16 students participating this session as Ben has moved to New York and two girls have left our co-op to join one that just started this month. This session will be much easier for me as another mom is teaching art, Paul is doing chess and physics, and one of the students in the co-op is teaching ASL. I created the lesson plans for the ASL class, but the only things I am teaching are photography and book groups. In art the students studied some of Grandma Moses' artwork and then began drawing a sketch of a project they will be painting with watercolors. Some weeks I might be babysitting the art teacher's three youngest children for 90 minutes, but this week she didn't need to bring them along. Each week I have two different students choose what games are played from 12:30-1:30. This week Julianna chose Dutch Blitz and Lydia chose Jackbox Games. 

9. I'm continuing to make progress with planning our vacation to Europe, which is only four months away. We have our rental cars, lodging, and airfare. I've booked a few of the activities. Would you believe the time slot I had originally chosen for touring Jane Austen's house was already booked? For many of the attractions it's still too soon to book the tickets. Unfortunately, the Palace of Holyroodhouse will be closed on the days we will be in Edinburgh, but so far that's the only thing I've had to completely scratch from the itinerary. 

10. For most of the day yesterday I was unable to make or receive phone calls due to a problem Verizon was having. Thankfully, Nadia's and Paul's phones were not impacted so I was able to use their phones to make a few phone calls. Today I found out Verizon is giving me a $20 credit on our next bill due to the inconvenience.

11. I recently listened to The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge. I did so because he's one of Paul's favorite presidents. I didn't know that much about him prior to listening to this book. I agree with Paul's assessment. I wonder if we'll ever have a president like him again. I am not at all happy with our current president, but I rest in the knowledge that God is in control. I am thankful that over the years *some* of our presidents have been excellent albeit it's been a while since we've had one I'd put in that category. 

7th trip to Elk Mountain

The first time my kids went skiing was in February 2017 when my dad and I took Nadia and Ian to Ski Sawmill. We could have also gone skiing for free at Elk Mountain that year, but we didn't begin taking our kids to Elk Mountain until January 2020. Ironically, February 2020 ended up being the last time that WVIA offered a free ski day at Ski Sawmill. Our kids have been skiing 4 times at Ski Sawmill, 7 times at Elk Mountain, and 1 time at Montage. I'm planning to take my three plus Nathaniel skiing at Montage again next month. The last time I went skiing was on January 19, 2021. I broke my ankle later that year and decided to retire from skiing and ice skating due to the plate that is now in my leg. We get four free passes through WVIA which we had been using for 3 kids plus 1 parent, but the last four years we've been inviting a friend to use the fourth pass. Jill, Nathaniel, and Julianna all went skiing with us in the past. Of those three kids, Nathaniel definitely seemed to enjoy it the most. We had invited him to join us again this year, but he is on a mission trip in Honduras with his church this week. He plans to join us at Montage next month. When we found out Nathaniel couldn't come to Elk Mountain, we invited Nadia's friend, Abby, instead. She took to skiing like a fish to water! Maybe she will also join us at Montage next month? 

Here are some things I am thankful for today:

1. Paul's dad was able to spend several hours with us on December 19 to celebrate his 84th birthday and Christmas. 

2. The five of us were able to help with packing meals for a food distribution our church did on December 20.

3. Although it was hard to drop Milo off at the kennel, I was very grateful to learn on our return that we would get a 50% discount due to the fact Nadia works there. 

4. The kids had a blast spending time with their cousins while we were in Chicago from December 22-27. We were also grateful that the Benners were willing to host the large group and that we didn't encounter and snow or ice while driving there and back. They played a lot of games, went bowling, (outdoor) ice skating, and (indoor) rock climbing.

5. Nadia and Ian enjoyed their time at winter camp at Camp Susque. Nadia was able to go sledding and also do some ice skating while she was up there. 

6. We celebrated Paul's 56th birthday on January 3 by having dinner at Texas Roadhouse. 

7. I found out on January 2 that Liberty expects the fall 2026 semester bill to paid in January. That totally caught me by surprise. My maternal grandpa paid for all twelve of his grandkids to go to college, and his money is now being used to pay for all of his great grandchildren to go to college, which is utterly amazing to me. I've been the one helping with the paperwork of getting the bills paid for my nieces and nephews, so I know from experience that most universities expect to be paid in August or September. Nadia's roommate paid her bill on January 2 so she was able to request a room in the dorm they had selected, and she indicated that she wanted Nadia to be her roommate even though Nadia can't accept that request until the bill is paid. The girls found each other through the Bunky app. Thankfully, the trust issued a check to Liberty this week which means in the near future Nadia will be able to request her dorm and roommate. It also means she can take her technology and math assessments over the next couple of months as those need to be completed before she registers for classes in early April. Thank you, grandpa!!! Nadia and her roommate (Carolina) have been making various plans including picking out a rug for their room, comforters for their beds, etc. There will be a total of seven girls in their suite, and they have picked two of their five suitemates so far. I hope the girls have a wonderful year together! 

8. Nadia is starting a weekly Bible study with a friend (in our town) who is also going to Liberty next fall. She also has a friend from church who is going to Liberty next fall so we have carpooling possibilities. 

9. Oliver enjoyed roller skating at Faith's birthday party on December 30. Nadia and Ian weren't able to attend due to being at Camp Susque. 

10. Paul had bloodwork done at the end of December, and his cholesterol had dropped some from last year. PTL!

11. Everything went smoothly with our skiing trip yesterday. Milo was very glad that Paul stayed at home. We stopped a Red Robin on the way home for dinner. I had received a $75 gift card to Red Robin from the co-op parents in November. Because it was the first Wednesday of the month, Ian and Oliver's meals were free, and they also each received a free ice cream sundae! This meant that even including the tip, we didn't use the full value of the gift card yet, which was great considering five people ate at a sit-down restaurant. 

12. We test drove a 2022 Subaru Impreza on Tuesday and paid a down payment on it. We hope to complete the purchase today. Paul's car was totaled a little over two months ago, so we are very grateful for the prospect of having two cars and are praying that we won't need to buy another car for the foreseeable future. At least this car is NOT gray (for a while both our minivan and Paul's Mazda were the same ugly gray). This car is red. It already has a lot of miles on it, but we only plan to use this car for short drives so we're hoping it will last for several years despite how many miles the first owner put on it in a short time span. I'm looking forward to a little break in the amount of chauffeuring due to Nadia being able to drive herself to work, take herself and her brothers to art and Little Mermaid rehearsals, etc.  

13. When the kids were little, I remember how Paul would laugh and laugh when I'd read a Ramona the Pest book aloud. We have discovered another author (Gordon Korman) who makes us all laugh, and his books are more geared for teenagers than the Ramona books. He's written over 100 books, so I doubt we'll read/listen to all of them, but we've enjoyed the seven we've finished so far. I think my top three so far (in no particular order) would be The Unteachables, Old School, and Slugfest. I used to read aloud to my middle schoolers in the early 90's. I'm confident my students would have adored his books if they existed back then. I'm glad we found another author we really enjoy! 

Thankful Thursday

1. I had several months where I wasn't getting my usual amount of sleep due to Milo being in our bed and then my body took a few weeks to adjust to the time change. I am very grateful to be back to getting an average of nine hours of sleep each night, which is optimal for me. 

2. I recently purchased a new bath towel for myself. It is SO soft. I think the rest of my family thought I was crazy for caring, but I really, really like my new towel.

3. We've been down to one vehicle for a month. Most of the time it hasn't been a problem, but this weekend was going to be a bit crazy. Thankfully, Nadia found out that a friend from church is also working at Camp Susque this weekend, and her friend is going to give her a ride to/from Camp Susque, and I also found someone who can give the boys a ride to a Christmas party on Sunday evening. I will be taking Nadia to that same party after she gets off work, and I will pick all three kids up after I attend a candlelight service at Bucknell with Cheri. 

4. We had our first snow (that accumulated) on Tuesday. The boys had fun throwing snowballs at each other. I was thankful we didn't have any plans to go anywhere that day (which is rare for Nadia) as I don't like driving in the snow or ice. 

5. A friend recently posted about how it is helpful to have not only a Philadelphia Free Library card (which I've had since 2019 thanks to her recommendation), but also one from Pittsburgh. I signed up for one last week, and we have already begun enjoying some books that we could get through Libby through that library that we couldn't get through our other library cards. I only sign up for Audible when it costs 99 cents a month, but they do that fairly often so between getting some books for $1.05 each (after tax) through Audible and most of our books for free from Libby, our budget for audiobooks is very small. Recently, we di

6. I used credit card points to fully pay for the rental of an SUV for 12 days while we're in Wales, England, and Scotland in May. We'll need to pay for renting an SUV for one day in Dublin and two days in Northern Ireland, but that will be it! 

7. I usually decline purchasing an extended warranty, but I did pay for an extended warranty on the eyeglasses that I purchased for Ian and Oliver in February. That turned out to be the right call as Oliver broke his glasses last week. We will be receiving a replacement at no charge. For the time being he's wearing his previous pair of glasses. 

8. Nadia continues to help a lot with cooking and baking. For Thanksgiving she made the yeast rolls, a cheesecake, and a peanut butter pie. She also used a recipe from Camp Susque to make sticky buns for us last week. 

9. I was asked to play the piano in the foyer again this past Sunday. I played a couple of Christmas carols and then had Ian play two hymn arrangements of Christmas carols. He played both songs after both services. He was very nervous at first even though it's a very low-key situation as people are walking by, talking, etc. It's good to be stretched out of our comfort zone sometimes. I'm thankful he had the opportunity. 

Thankful Thursday

1. Teaching a teenager to drive is definitely not my favorite thing to do, and letting a teenager drive independently, especially when all my children are in the vehicle, is a bit nerve wracking at first. Thankfully, all has gone smoothly over the first almost three weeks of driving solo.to both of her jobs, picked up pizza for our family for dinner, and driven herself and her brothers to art class at our church. Three of those places are located 5-15 minutes from our home. Camp Susque is about 40 minutes away. The first time she drove there, she took the wrong exit and then got back on the highway headed the wrong direction. Thankfully, she had left early enough that she wasn't late for work despite the drive taking longer than normal. She had no trouble coming back home from Camp Susque. Hopefully things will continue to go as smoothly as possible when she's driving in the days, weeks, months, and years to come. 

2. On October 3, Tab met me at Ian's piano teacher's house so that we could walk and talk during his 45-minute lesson. What a treat that was!

3. Paul, Ian, Oliver, and I were able to pack meals at Experience Missions on October 4, and all five of us were able to help pack meals at our church on October 11. 

4. Jenna and Toby joined us for dinner at Applebee's in Hershey on October 5. 

5. Our family really enjoyed a Matthew West, MercyMe, and TobyMac concert on October 5. Paul said it was one of the best concerts he's ever attended in his life. Knowing that Nadia is a senior, it's possible that concert might end up being the last one the five of us attend together. Time will tell, but the days are numbered. 

6. The past two Mondays we found out Ian was scheduled to play the keyboard with the youth praise team on Wednesday night. His piano teacher moved his lesson from Friday to Tuesday both weeks so that she could work with him on the songs. 

7. I am thankful for the ability to be flexible with homeschool curriculum. I decided that Fix It Grammar wasn't sufficient for Oliver. So, I purchased a used copy of Giggly Grammar that I'm using with him this year. Also, since he hasn't listened to or read nearly as many books as his siblings had at his age, I decided he needed a vocabulary textbook. We've added that to his daily schedule. 

8. Since Nadia is a senior, I decided to go a different direction in the resources used for Bible class/ family devotions this year. The first book wasn't a big hit (The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges), but the family really enjoyed the last three books - The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi, and Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman.

9. Ian and Oliver attended Xandir's 13th birthday party on October 12. Birthday party invitations are a rare treat for my kiddos, so they are greatly appreciated. 

10. I think that finding deals for our trip to Europe will be few and far between, but I used some leftover Alaskan airline miles to reserve two free nights of lodging in the United Kingdom in May. I realize you get more bang for the buck if you use miles for a flight, but after using Alaksa Airlines for multiple trips from August 2024- August 2025, I don't think that will be the case in the next few years so getting anything for the miles we had seemed to be the wisest course of action. I've begun the lengthy process of planning out the nitty gritty details for the trip. I bought tickets for our flight from Scotland to Northern Ireland, and I've booked our lodging for eight out of fifteen nights so far. I'm trying not to think about how much I paid for one night at the Holiday Inn at the Glasgow Airport! Getting two other nights for free helps to compensate for that expensive night. I did book two inexpensive nights (about £100 total each night including the hefty VAT). 

11. Our tradition we started a few years ago of having dates with the kids has mostly fallen by the wayside. Oliver is the only one who still requests to have dates with Paul or I. Paul took him to see the new Tron movie on Tuesday night. Tickets are 50% off at that theatre on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and I had a gift card, so he paid less than $5 total for their tickets. Now the popcorn and soda they shared were another story although they did use a $10 off coupon to bring down the price of that also. It was the first time any of us had been in a movie theatre this year, so it was a special treat. 

12. We really enjoyed our last audiobook - Boys without Names by Kashmira Sheth, and I am quite certain that will be true for the one we started today, Ms. Pennypickle's Puzzle Quest because we have loved many books by Chris Grabenstein in the past. 

13. We dog sat Cooper for eight days recently. At one point we were concerned about how he was doing physically, but thankfully he bounced back the last day he was with us. 

14. I can go months without watching anything on tv, but Paul and I watched a good movie recently on Prime called Last Breath. Movies based on true stories are typically my favorite type of movie. 

Thankful Thursday

1. As our country celebrated its 249th birthday last week, I'm thankful that I'm an American. We were together as a family of five on July 4th with one extra dog (Cooper). We had corn on the cob, hot dogs, baked beans, hamburgers, etc., played Skyjo, and watched a movie together. Oliver used some of the fireworks he had recently purchased. We were not celebrating the "big bill" that Trump signed that day (and we certainly don't want to use the adjective "beautiful" to describe it), but we are very grateful for the freedoms we have as citizens of the USA. 

2. I have received some text messages from Nadia while she's at Camp Susque. I am looking forward to picking up the three boys on Saturday morning. I sent Ian and Oliver each one email a day for the last five days. The staff print out the emails and deliver them to the campers at lunch. I'm thankful the camp posts pictures that they've taken of the kids so I have gotten some small glimpses into what they've been doing this week.

3. I enjoyed teaching a lesson on Titus 1 on Sunday. I am looking forward to teaching on Titus 2-3 in three days.

4. While the kids have been away Paul and I have enjoyed having time for just the two of us. We played Scrabble, watched 6 episodes of The Testament, etc. I also have had the time for some lengthy phone conversations with Tab, my dad, and Joyce. 

5. Yesterday I was able to help at Experience Missions for a few hours. We were working on preparing supplies for babies in Zambia. 

6. Last year my mammogram cost me $300. I was pleasantly surprised that my mammogram yesterday "only" cost $200 because I had it in a mobile unit. Given most things have gone UP in price a lot over the last few years, I'm always thrilled when something comes down in price. 

7. I was able to make our reservations for the Diamond Head trail today. I have to wait until July 25 to make our reservations for Ford Island and until August 4 for Hanauma Bay. Hopefully I will also have success with those. 

8. It wasn't beastly hot or humid when I mowed the lawn early this morning. PTL! 

9. I get a haircut about three times a year on average, and it was nice to take care of that today while Paul was away helping his dad and the kids were all at camp. 

10. I found another legal thriller author whose books I enjoy - Rick Acker.

11. I sanded, primed, and painted two more doorframes in the upstairs hallway this week. Progress.

12. We haven't received any bills related to the plastic shield that was damaged under the van we rented. Since it's been more than six weeks since we returned the vehicle, I'm hoping that means we're not going to receive any bills. That would be wonderful. 

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. 

New School Year!

I haven't finished writing about our trip to Alaska. I will get caught up on that eventually, but this is our first week of school. The schools in our area had been in session for about 8 days before we got started due to our trip. We started our school year on Labor Day as that isn't really a holiday we celebrate. To celebrate our new school year, I told the kids we'd go to Becky's, which is an ice cream place not that far from us. On Tuesdays from 6:00 to closing, they offer dogs a free small dish of vanilla soft serve, and we had never taken advantage of that offer although we'd talked about doing it many times over the last few years. Today was the day! After we ate dinner, Nadia drove the kids and I to the park for our back-to-school pictures, and then she drove us a few more minutes to Becky's for ice cream. Milo didn't finish his treat. It was too much for a little dog. He loved it, but he was shivering like crazy after he stopped eating. He's never had something that cold before to eat! I said it was also an early birthday treat for him as he turns four at the end of this month. 

Nadia will begin her classes with Liberty University on September 16, and the co-op at our home will begin on September 24. Two other kids might be joining our co-op later this year. Nadia had her first voice lesson today, and Ian will continue to have piano lessons on Mondays with Lyn DeVito. Nadia has been faithfully practicing the piano, and she's planning on auditioning for district chorus. She has set a goal of finishing two levels this year in piano. Tomorrow the kids will attend art and chorus for the first time this school year at MCS. It will be Oliver's first time ever taking any classes there. All three plan on auditioning to be in the spring musical. We've been told they'll either be doing Willy Wonka, the Wizard of Oz, or Barnum. Bible quizzing and youth group also resume tomorrow, which again are firsts for Oliver. Our first field trip (not counting the ones we took in July/August) will be to the PSU Nuclear Reactor on September 17, and their first homeschool party is at the roller-skating rink on September 18. Here are some things the kids will be studying this year:

1. Ian and Nadia are studying chemistry (Life of Fred and Apologia). Oliver is completing an elementary level chemistry/physics and also an elementary level botany science textbook. Paul is doing a chemistry lab during the co-op.
2. In math the kids are doing Pre-Calculus (Nadia), Geometry (Ian), and 6th grade math (Oliver). We use Life of Fred plus Teaching Textbooks. Ian will also be using Art of Problem Solving. 
3. In history we are studying from 1708 to the present. 
4. Oliver is working on his typing skills, level 7 of spelling, and level 3 of Fix it Grammar. 
5. Nadia and Ian are completing a University Ready Writing course through IEW. 
6. Nadia is learning French through Duolingo, and Ian is studying Spanish.
7. Nadia is learning how to drive, and she wants to get a job so she can have enough money to pay for her car insurance once she gets her license. She has applied for a job at Lingle's (grocery store) but is hoping to get a job at a horse farm or Warrior Run Petcare. 
8. We are working on memorizing verses (or in the case of Ian and Nadia chapters) from the book of Luke. 
9. I'm giving more specific assignments for literature for Nadia and Ian. This week they both started reading Uncle Tom's Cabin and soon they will also be starting The Two Towers, as that is a book many of the kids will be discussing at co-op this fall. Sometimes I will choose what Oliver needs to read on school days, but other times it will be his choice. Right now he's reading books from the Dead Sea Squirrels series, but he'll be reading Sign of the Beaver for co-op later this month.
10. We've started our fifth year of watching World Watch News five days a week all year long. 
11. We continue to listen to audiobooks together as a family. Currently we're listening to The Night War by Kimberly Bradley and Stellarlune by Shannon Messenger. 
12. In our fall session of the co-op we'll be doing chemistry lab, art, book groups, debates, and geography. In the spring session we'll be doing book groups, personal finance, drama, and chemistry lab.

I'm very grateful to be starting my twelfth year as a homeschool mom! Praying for the kids to grow physically, academically, spiritually, and emotionally over the coming year! 

White House, monuments, and more

Friday morning, we left our house bright and early (6:00) and dropped Milo off at our friends' home on our way to the White House. I had requested a tour through our Representative. Two weeks before our tour date, the White House confirmed that we could have a tour at 10:00 am, and we were told to arrive 15 minutes early. I had prepaid for a spot in a parking garage for the day ($18), but I didn't realize it was valet parking. Oliver had gotten carsick on the drive down to DC which added to the "adventure" of the morning. We walked rather quickly to the meeting spot for the tours only to find out that we were allowed to enter the tour line any time between 10:00-12:30. Seriously! So, if you ever sign up for a public tour, just keep that in mind! We wouldn't have left our house at 6:00 am had we known that. Also, I forgot that no bags were allowed. I had remembered they didn't allow cameras with detachable lenses, so I had left my camera at home, but I was using a small purse. Because the van was parked by valet, it didn't seem feasible to walk back to the parking garage and attempt to put my purse in the van. The park ranger said there was a hotel nearby that would store bags for a fee. If the purse hadn't been my mom's, I would have put the contents in my pockets and thrown the purse away, but it had enough sentimental value that I was willing to pay a fee for it to be stored for one hour while we toured the White House. It had been decades since I had toured the White House. Back in the day, we were taken into more of the White House and didn't go through nearly as much security, but I'm glad my kids have at least been in part of the White House.

Jefferson Memorial

After I retrieved my purse, we went to the White House Visitor Center, and the kids each received a Junior Ranger Badge. Our next stop was the National Gallery of Art. We explored a significant part of the West Building. We've studied quite a few different artists this year since we've been studying the Renaissance. It was exciting to see original paintings from many of the artists we've studied. The disappointment was that the one part of the museum I was most looking forward to seeing (French Impressionistic paintings from the 19th century) was closed as they are doing renovations. We each got one thing from a vendor (I set a limit of $4 per person) for our "lunch." I don't recommend buying a soft pretzel. Paul and I did so, and they were very stale. Our next stop was the Museum of American History. As a child, my favorite part of that museum was the First Ladies' inaugural gowns. That museum has changed a LOT over the last few decades, but they still have some gowns on display. 

Our next stop was the Washington Monument. I had been trying for years to take the kids up there. First, they had it closed due to replacing the elevator, then it was closed due to COVID, and then I had trouble getting one of the $1 tickets. Paul and I really enjoyed seeing the views from the top of the monument. We planned to visit the Jefferson Memorial on Saturday morning, but the weather was beautiful on Friday, and it was supposed to be raining on Saturday. So, we decided to walk to the Jefferson Memorial on Friday afternoon. The kids weren't thrilled because they were tired of walking. Who would think that two adults in their 50's would have a much higher tolerance for walking than three kids between the ages of 11-15? I had gotten our National Park passports stamped at the White House and the Washington Monument, but due to renovations, we were unable to get ours stamped at the Jefferson Memorial. Two monuments in DC that the kids haven't been to yet are the ones for Roosevelt and Martin Luther King, Jr. The visited the Korean War, Vietnam War, WWII, and Lincoln Memorials last year. After we walked back to the parking garage, we drove to Alexandria, Virginia. We had dinner at a pizza place and then attended a Steven Curtis Chapman concert at a church that is located in a shopping mall in Alexandria. The concert was the reason we headed to DC. Nadia would have liked it if we drove back after the concert because they had to miss a Seussical rehearsal on Saturday morning, but we wouldn't have gotten home until 1:00am (at the earliest).

Because it was raining on Saturday, the only place we visited was the Holocaust Museum. Four of us selected cards at the beginning that were of Jews who survived. I was the only one who had been there before, but Paul and I have both (separately not together) visited concentration camps in Europe. The museum had changed some since I was there (when you go more than 20 years in between visits that's likely to occur), but the part that had been the most impactful when I was there decades ago (the exhibit with the shoes) was currently under renovation (no shoes for the time being). In addition to the main exhibit, we walked through one about the more recent genocide in Burma as well as the children's exhibit called "Daniel's Story," which is based on an excellent book I used to read my students back when I was a classroom teacher.

We had eaten breakfast at the hotel in Alexandria, and the kids were grateful we left the hotel at 10:00 considering it had been 6:00 the previous morning. State College is the same distance from DC as our home, and so we drove to PSU from the Holocaust Museum to attend a concert called Winter Jam. On the way we stopped at Roy Roger's (my request) because I haven't been to one of those in many years and as a kid, I loved their strawberry milkshakes. Those milkshakes were our "lunch." In State College we stopped at Wendy's for dinner (using a gift card). It was raining in DC, raining during the entire drive, and raining while we stood outside the Bryce Jordan Center waiting in line to enter the arena. There were about 15,000 people in line. I am not exaggerating. You don't buy tickets in advance but just pay $15 at the door. Nadia and Ian joined the group from our church's youth group. They had been waiting in line for 2.5 hours, so they were at the front of the line and got in long before Paul, Oliver, and I did. But we all got seats. Four of us (Oliver being the exception) had the same favorites - Katy Nichole and Cain. I also really enjoyed the song "Arise my love" by Newsong. I was very grateful for my ear plugs for the entire event, and I walked around the concourse during two of the artists (the two Oliver liked the best). In the future, I doubt Paul and I will attend Winter Jam. We'd prefer just to let the kids go with the youth group, but this one time it was nice to go as a family. We skipped the last artist (Crowder) because I wanted to leave before most people did to avoid the massive traffic jam on the campus when that many vehicles are all trying to leave at the same time. The other reason I didn't want to stay until the bitter end was because we were losing an hour of sleep that night due to DST.

We picked Milo up around 12:30 after church as the people he was staying with live about 5 minutes from church. Thankfully while we were in Florida and Ecuador, Milo really bonded with their eleven-year-old daughter. Milo loves Lucy! Honestly, he gets as excited to see her as he does to see Ian, Nadia, or myself. Prior to her I had never seen him show that much affection for anyone outside our immediate family. He also likes their dog, Cooper. It's such a blessing to know he is happy to be at their house while we're away. We are scheduled to watch Cooper for about 10 days in July, and they are scheduled to watch Milo for one week at the end of May/early June and for another week at the end of August. I'm hoping that Lucy can continue to be our dog sitter for years to come! Milo was so excited when she came over to our house for co-op last Tuesday. 

It's been harder lately to find audiobooks that Nadia really enjoys. I recently hit the jackpot when I got the first book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. All three kids, especially Nadia, really enjoy this series. Typically, Ian is the one asking when we can listen to a book on a road trip. Now it's Nadia who is asking! The first few books in the series are each between 12-16 hours long, whereas many books we listen to are between 4-6 hours long, but we're already on the third book. I'm not sure if we'll listen to all ten books. Maybe the kids can read the last few if I get them from our local library? We shall see, but it's nice to find a series that Nadia really, really wants to listen to. 

View of the White House from the Washington Monument