Home Sweet Home

Although it is nice to be able to visit other places, there's nothing quite like being at home. I always feel like I have to hit the ground running when we return as there are usually a list of tasks that need to be done as soon as possible such as doing laundry, putting away the suitcases, mowing the lawn, calling the orthodontist to reschedule the boys' appointment for June as it conflicted with Ian's work schedule, and buying eggs, milk, and produce. Ian and I were affected by jet lag the most as we were both waking up far too early the first few days after we returned home. Susie's 22nd birthday was on Wednesday, but due to jet lag plus the fact that she's in California, I waited until Friday to talk with her. The only thing on our calendar on Wednesday was Bible quizzing for all three kids plus Nadia's small group met after that. On Thursday Ian and I went to the high school to get him a work permit. Nadia worked the morning shift on Thursday, and Ian worked his very first shift that afternoon. Abby and Faith came over in the afternoon on Thursday and stayed until Friday afternoon to spend time with Nadia. She is seizing these opportunities before she heads off to work at Camp Susque and then moves to Virginia after that. The boys both had a tooth extraction on Friday at the dentist, which was at the request of their orthodontist, and Oliver also got his first filling. Nadia and Ian haven't had any cavities yet. Nadia and Ian worked a shift together on May 30 which was special. Nadia has worked at the kennel since November 2024.

Being at home also meant a return to our church. On May 3 and 10 we attended only one service at our church, and we were in Europe on May 17 and 24. This meant Paul and I had missed four weeks of our Sunday School class. We're studying the book of Acts currently. We were able to attend both services on May 31, and I was asked to play the piano in the foyer after both services. And being at home means Ian has his first piano lesson today since May 8. It will actually be his only piano lesson this month. Next month he is scheduled to have five piano lessons and four voice lessons. I also was able to go to the library and get a DVD for us to watch as a family (Soul on Fire) and also a book for myself. I've been busy preparing for Nadia's graduation party which is this Saturday. I've put MANY hours into making a 16-minute slideshow that will be playing on repeat during her two-hour party at the roller-skating rink. I've taken thousands of pictures of Nadia over the last almost eighteen years. I selected about 400 of them for the slideshow.

Although we are back at home, at least for Nadia and Oliver, they are not back to doing schoolwork. Ian is still finishing his precalculus class through ASU. We shall see if he finishes it by the end of the month or not. Oliver knows that I expect him to do three things every day - read, study I and II Corinthians, and get some exercise. He has really enjoyed listening to audiobooks for some time, but thankfully he has recently become more of a reader and has progressed to reading longer books. Nadia has begun the process of going through her bedroom to figure out what to give away, throw away, leave at home, and take to college.

My faith in the USPS has definitely fallen over the past several months. I had an incident awhile back where a Christmas card I sent to Annapolis took more than six months to come back to me. In December I mailed a 9x13 envelope to the PA Dept of Treasury with tax documents from the trust. It came back to me about one month later. The accountant showed the image of the envelope to someone at the PA Dept of Treasury, and they couldn't understand why it wasn't delivered because they said it was the correct address. They gave an alternate address to use, and I mailed it again in January. Unfortunately, the accountant accidentally put an extra 1 in the zip code. The employee at the Post Office caught the error, but instead of deleting the extra 1 in the middle of the zip code she just took off the list digit. That 9x13 envelope has yet to be delivered OR come back in the mail to me (4 months later), and we only live a 90-minute drive from the state capitol. At the beginning of May I mailed the documents a third time, but this time I used UPS instead of USPS, and they delivered it the very next day. Similarly, I mailed Susie her birthday card before we went on vacation, and while we were away it came back in the mail to me. I showed her a picture of the envelope. She said I had addressed it correctly but that she frequently has the issue of mail bouncing back. So, I took a picture of the card so she could see what I had written, ripped up the check, and sent her money by Zelle instead. I remember debating with my friend, Joanna (who is a lawyer in Annapolis) back in the early 90's that I thought the USPS should be privatized, and my opinion has not changed over the last 30+ years! 

Here are some additional random observations from our trip to Europe:

1. I was never asked to show a credit card or ID when checking into a hotel or any other type of lodging. I remember 20+ years ago being asked to show a passport, and of course here in the US I'm usually asked for a credit card and a driver's license. 

2. Often when traveling to a foreign country you have the issue of encountering a different language. The only time this happened on this trip was during our day in Paris, but English was easily spoken by ever person we spoke to on the trip. In Ireland and the UK English is spoken, but of course with a different accent than we have here in the US. In our experience, the Scottish accent was the one that was the strongest and sometimes made it harder for us to understand what was being said. While we were on vacation, I started listening to a book series (The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion) which is read by a British actress. There are eight books in the series, so I've continued to listen to them since we arrived back at home. There are also instances where different words are used than we typically do here in the US. Garbage is rubbish. The place where rubbish goes is called a bin (not a trash or garbage can). Bathrooms are either labeled toilets or WC. Traffic circles are roundabouts. Parking lots are car parks. Chips are steak fries, and what we call chips are called crisps. 

3. We did get confirmation on Friday that our second parking ticket would be cancelled because we submitted proof we had paid for parking prior to the ticket being issued. We were very grateful for the rare instances when we had free parking. This happened in Alnwick and also when we visited the C.S. Lewis Square in Belfast. 

4. As I said, we usually attempt to curtail how much we spend on food on our vacations. One way we did this on this trip was to buy meal deals at some convenience stores. They varied in price but were often around 5-6 pounds per person and included a main dish (ex. a ham and cheese toastie) plus a drink and a snack (usually candy or crisps). The kids would often choose an energy drink in this instance. When we were punting on the River Cam, our tour guide informed us that it was actually illegal in the UK for Oliver to have an energy drink because he was under the age of sixteen. Oops! They let kids have wine at a meal starting at age sixteen, and they can have any liquor at age eighteen, but they are stricter with energy drinks.

5. Nadia and Ian definitely consumed more caffeine than they usually do. Nadia and Ian had coffee almost every day, and Nadia also had many cups of hot tea. Ian almost always orders a mocha. One time he had a double shot of espresso in his mocha. Nadia had at least one latte in France, Ireland, Scotland, England, Norther Ireland, and Wales. All but one time she had a vanilla latte. She broke that trend and had a caramel one the last time. The coffee machines available with the Holiday Inn free breakfast even made lattes and such. I'm the only person who didn't consume any caffeine on the trip. I had only two hot drinks - hot chocolate both times. The first time I was grateful for the warmth it provided my hands because I got it after we climbed to the VERY cold and windy summit of Snowden Mountain. I wasn't keen on the taste, and after I had a free cup of hot chocolate at a Holiday Inn I then came to the conclusion that I like hot chocolate better in the US, so I just stuck with water from that point onward.

 

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. 

She's registered!

Nadia and her friend, Maddie from when they attended a Josiah Queen concert together

 I have gotten in the habit of putting it in my calendar when I need to make a reservation for something. Sometimes I only am aware of the earliest date I can make a reservation, but other times I am also aware of the specific time I need to be online if I want to have a chance to get the tickets. I knew that the tickets for the Ford Island bus tour at Pearl Harbor and also the Big Ben tour tickets would disappear within an extremely short period of time. Unfortunately, I didn't figure out what precise time I needed to get the tickets for the Eiffel Tower. Thankfully, I was still able to get ones to the second floor, but the summit was sold out. I knew that the Kilmainham Gaol tickets were released 28 days in advance, so I attempted to get some on Monday for May 11. Sadly, I hadn't realized that the tickets are released at midnight (Dublin time). It would have been easy for me to get them on Sunday night at 7:00 pm, but I had no idea they sell out extremely quickly every day. Since we're only spending one day in Dublin, it was easy for me to pick something else to do instead. I've known for a while that Nadia's class registration for the Fall 2026 semester would open on April 15, but I only found out yesterday the exact time it would open - 12:01 am. They don't have morning people in mind with that schedule! I asked Paul to wake me up a little before midnight so I could register Nadia for her classes. I finished the task around 12:45, and then it took me until 2:00 am to fall back asleep. By next month she will have earned 50 college credits (20 through Grand Canyon University and 30 through Liberty University). Over the next three years she's hoping to earn a BS in Zoology and Wildlife Biology and minors in Psychology and Photography.  I signed her up for Chemistry, Biology, History of Life, Probability and Statistics, and a one credit university seminar that new students must take. Altogether those add up to fifteen credits, which will be the most she's ever taken in one semester, but of course the last three years she's been taking both high school AND college classes, whereas she'll only be taking college classes next year. 

Here are some things I'm thankful for today:

1. I love the warmer temps (although I don't need it to be in the 80's in April), and I love seeing all the beautiful flowers, green grass, and blossoms on the trees. Gorgeous! 

2. The kids and I packed food at Experience Missions on April 8. We started doing this in the fall of 2020, and given Nadia is about to go to college, this was probably her last time helping at this ministry. The project manager (Paul) says that we should cross over the line of packing the one millionth meal this fall (taken six years to accomplish that feat). We are experts at putting vitamins, dried vegetables, rice, and lentils in a bag. :) While we were there that day, Paul gave me a large container of coins to separate, count, and roll. I deposited the rolled coins into Experience Missions' bank account on Monday morning. As proof that I counted a LOT of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters - the total came to $541.32. I did keep the foreign coins I spotted separate, and I also kept a 1941 silver dime separate as it's worth more than ten cents. I'll give those back to Paul the next time I see him. 

3. On the last day of co-op, I received gifts from two students. One family gave us a board game which was about the National Parks! What a great idea they had! We played it for the first time on Friday night. Another student gave us some candy, a candle, brownie mix, and a dish towel. We appreciate their thoughtfulness! 

4. Paul enjoyed attending a men's prayer breakfast at church on April 11. It was his first time attending one of those, but he plans to attend more of them in the future. 

5. Ian was offered a job to be a SIT at Camp Susque this summer. He turned down that job offer because he decided he'd rather work at the kennel. Nadia's boss will be interviewing Ian in the near future. 

6. Paul and I haven't taken any ballroom dancing lessons for the last five months, but this week we decided to sign up for two classes that will take place in June and July. In one class we'll do eight weeks of intermediate rumba, and in the other class we'll do four weeks of beginning shag and four weeks of beginning bachata. We've done the rumba before, but the other two will be first time experiences. 

7. We got a new window above the kitchen sink and a new sliding glass door on Monday. They both look SO much better than the ones that were removed. I finished painting in the family room, but we haven't finished painting in the kitchen yet. 

8. Nadia earned A's in the first two college classes that she took this semester (Earth Science and Theology). Her research class doesn't end for another month. Ian's Old Testament class ends this week. I don't know what grade he'll earn, but I am very grateful that he'll be done with one class so that will hopefully give him more time to work on Precalculus through ASU and also for studying I Corinthians for Bible quizzing. 

9. Ian played the piano for youth worship last Wednesday, and he received positive feedback from both of the adults who were leading the youth worship that night. Even though we don't often sing hymns at church, his piano teacher has been teaching him how to improvise when playing hymns. This week he's been working on Victory in Jesus along with songs by Bach and Gershwin. 

10. Nadia continues to enjoy her friendship with Maddie. They do a variety of things together - go shopping, go for a walk, do a Bible study together at a coffee shop, get frozen yogurt, etc. Last week they made a run to Wendy's on a day they were giving customers a free frosty and a free small fry. Both girls will be attending Liberty in the fall. 

11. The directors revealed last Saturday that next year's musical will be Newsies. They had given the kids a "bracket" that contained I think 16 different musicals and gradually had eliminated ones from the competition. Nadia from the beginning had correctly predicted it would be Newsies. Oliver's first choice from the list was Frozen, and Ian's first choice was Matilda, but Ian is fine with Newsies. Lydia (from our co-op who is also in the musicals at MCS) was hoping for Frozen or Newsies so I'm certain she's also happy with the outcome.  I hope Nadia is able to see Ian in Newsies next year! I am planning on signing Ian up for some voice lessons now that I know he enjoys having a solo in a musical.

He is Risen!

 

I used to take pictures of the kids every year on Easter. That habit fell by the wayside somewhere along the way. I also used to buy Nadia a new dress for Easter when she was younger back when it was possible to shop in a store like JCPenney or Sears. This year I decided to order Nadia a dress on Amazon. Our former senior pastor retired in 2021, and over the past almost five years that Pastor Brandon has been the senior pastor, there has been a definite shift towards more casual dress on Sundays. Although Nadia had worn (dressy) pants to church in the past, she didn't switch to wearing jeans (with a sweater or something along that line) until more recently. I personally haven't worn blue jeans to church on a Sunday morning, but it's pretty common these days. Easter is a different story. People still get dressed up for church on Easter Sunday. I have to say I enjoyed seeing all the dresses, dress shirts, ties, etc. Nadia does wear a dress once a week at Camp Susque in the summer, and she might have occasions to wear this new dress while she's in college so hopefully today won't be the only day she wears it. I thought she looked beautiful! It is a short sleeve dress. Yesterday it was almost 80 degrees out, but today it was much colder, so she wore a jean jacket with it, which I thought looked nice together. Our Sunday School class was cancelled today, so we gave the kids the choice of which service they wanted to attend. Nadia asked for the 10:45 service as she likes to sleep in. I gave the kids the day off of school on Friday, but Nadia couldn't sleep in as she had to be at work at 7:30 am. Milo doesn't like being left home alone so I'm sure he was glad we were home more today than we usually are on a Sunday. I planned to stop at the park on the way to church to take a picture, but it was raining. Thankfully, it wasn't raining as we got near the park on our way home. Paul's dad joined us for dinner and games. The six of us played Bubble Talk and Telestrations. Ian beat Pop Pop in a game of chess while Nadia was at work this afternoon. Both boys played Labyrinth with Pop Pop. Paul joined the three of them for a game of poker. I think everyone had a good day. 

Today I'm thankful for:

1. The love of Jesus that led Him to die for my sins. He rose from the grave! Hallelujah! 

2. Normally Ian and Nadia go to the youth service at 9:00 and to the main worship service at 10:45. This means that Oliver is usually the only one who joins Paul and I for the 9:00 service. They didn't offer a youth service today so the five of us sat together today, which I really enjoyed. The music was outstanding today. After the sermon a male quartet led us in singing "Arise my Love" which is a song that I really love. Tears were streaming down my face multiple times in church this morning (happy tears). 

3. The boys enjoyed playing baseball with some of their friends at a birthday celebration for Daniel on March 22. 

4. The boys and Paul enjoyed seeing the movie Project Hail Mary on March 24. Tickets on Tuesdays and Wednesdays are only $4.24 each, and I used part of a gift card that Toby's parents gave me as a thank you for the wedding photos to get a gift card to AMC, so the outing didn't actually cost us any money. Nadia prefers to read a book before seeing a movie based on a book. She's reading the book now, but that's why she didn't see it at the theater.

5. Nadia and Ian enjoyed seeing a dress rehearsal performance (of a local public school) of The Hunchback of Notre Dame with other cast members from The Little Mermaid.

6. Nadia and I were able to attend Jillian's sixteenth birthday tea party. 

7. The kids enjoyed attending Winter Jam at PSU with the youth group on March 28. 

Faith took this very creative shot of Nadia during photography class at co-op last week!

8. I was able to help out at Experience Missions on April 1. A local Mexican restaurant provided a free meal for the volunteers that day. Yum! The kids appreciated that I brought treats home for them that evening - a free iced coffee from Dunkin (thanks to an April Fool's promo code) and blizzards from DQ for the boys (one of which only cost $0.99 thanks to a coupon). I enjoyed a free cup of custard from Rita's thanks to another coupon. Yum! 

9. We were able to focus on Jesus' death at the Good Friday service.

10. We had fun playing Taboo together on Saturday night. We don't have family fun night every single week, but we achieve that goal most weeks, for which I am thankful. 

11. A couple of weeks ago I resumed working on the project of painting the stained trim in the kitchen. In eight days, we are scheduled to have one kitchen window replaced (it's been broken for several years) and also the sliding glass door replaced. I thought it would be a good goal to finish painting the walls in the kitchen as well as painting the trim. I'm not sure if we'll achieve that goal because Paul has been fixing some cracks which is quite an undertaking. So, I switched gears on Friday and began tackling the family room. I did two of the windows and began painting the walls in that room. Tomorrow is another day off of school for our family, so I'm hoping to finish painting the room tomorrow. I also got new window treatments for the five windows in the kitchen and family room. We've lived in this house for almost eighteen years, and these were two rooms I hadn't previously painted or changed the window treatments. I am not sure if I'm crazy about the curtains I got for the two family room windows, but I really love the ones I got for the three kitchen windows. Paul helped with installing curtain rods for two of the windows. 

12. Although the weather was chilly and blustery today, we've had some really nice weather recently (even in the high 70's). I love the warmer weather. Milo doesn't share my opinion, ha ha! 

13. My nephew, Joshua, had a major facial reconstruction/jaw surgery on Monday. I'm grateful that it was a success and that the worst part of the recovery process is behind him although he's by no means out of the woods yet. 

14. We've had another good session of co-op. Sixteen kids have been part of our group this spring. This Tuesday will be our tenth (and final) day of class for this session. I try to find something special to do on the last day of each session, and this time I've made plans for our group to head up to AMC after lunch to see A Great Awakening that was produced by Sight and Sound. The main characters are Ben Franklin and George Whitefield. It's been over a year since Nadia or I entered a movie theater, but only two weeks since the boys saw a movie. They would have preferred that I had chosen the new Mario movie, but the good news is that Paul plans to take them to see it next week. As much as we enjoy hosting co-op at our house, I'm also looking forward to a break. We plan to resume in September. Nine kids from our co-op (including Nadia and Ian) are planning to go to the prom together on April 25. Nadia is thrilled that I convinced Ian to go. :)

Oliver DOES know how to smile, but I don't have much success capturing those smiles lately.

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. 

Giving Thanks

 

1. Paul and I enjoyed our Intermediate East Coast Swing class. We made it to 7 of the 8 classes.

2. All of us (except Nadia) attended a performance of Arsenic and Old Lace at a church in our town. None of us had seen that play before.

3. Nadia has completed two courses so far this semester through Liberty University. She earned an A in her theology class, and she currently has an A in her Developmental Psychology class. She had an A in her astronomy course, but she accidentally didn't complete one of the quizzes due the final week of that class, and that zero brought her grade in the course down to a B. Ian's Bible and the Gospel class came to an end through Cedarville University on November 21. He earned an A- in that course. His speech class doesn't end until December 11. I will say that the courses Ian has taken through Cedarville are MUCH more challenging than the ones Nadia has taken through Grand Canyon and Liberty. 

4. I've been able to play hymns on the piano at our church in between the first and second services and after the second service in the foyer three of the last five Sundays. I also enjoyed teaching our Sunday School class on November 9. Paul and I enjoyed packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child at our church on November 15.

5. Unfortunately, Nadia was in a car accident on November 7 on her way to Camp Susque. She had only had her driver's license for six weeks. Thankfully, she wasn't injured, and she didn't hit any other vehicles. She was driving Paul's Mazda 3, which is a very low riding vehicle, and she ended up in some mud and tall grass. She had no cell service. We feel the Lord did a miracle in that #1 the vehicle wasn't stuck in the mud and #2 that she was able to drive another 10-15 minutes despite the fact the radiator fluid was draining out. Paul worked on the vehicle on November 14 (removing the bumper that was barely hanging on, etc.), but after he discovered the condition of the radiator, he knew we couldn't drive it home. We are supposed to be receiving $800 for it from a salvage company; they retrieved the car from Camp Susque for us on November 17. We opted to take the loss of the vehicle without reporting it to our insurance so that our rates wouldn't skyrocket. Nadia has been saving up money, and we're planning on going in with her to purchase a vehicle in January that she and Ian can use. We don't allow her to drive our minivan so for now I've gone back to being the chauffeur. Cars are replaceable (even if that doesn't happen immediately), but daughters are irreplaceable!

6. Nadia has been working at Camp Susque most weekends. The weekend of November 14-16 all three kids attended a retreat there with our church's youth group. Nadia has earned the nickname of the "dish fairy" because she often does the dishes in the morning at 6:00 am so the dishes are done before the others show up in the morning. Even the weekend she was there on a retreat she (without earning any money) went into the kitchen bright and early and did the dishes and helped prepare breakfast. I'm very proud of her and glad all three kids had a good weekend there with friends. 

7. Paul and I attended our first Classics social. We played games for about three hours. Paul had an easier time guessing the name the pastor had put on his back (Shakespeare). I had a much harder time coming up with Roy Rogers. Another man at our table had a very challenging one - solar eclipse! We introduced another couple to the game Quirkle.

8. Twenty-one months ago, we purchased 1/4 of a grass-fed cow from someone in our church. We finished that beef recently and this month bought another 1/4 of a cow from him. It's definitely more affordable than buying beef at the grocery store, especially considering how lean it is. 

9. The kids were able to audition to be in Little Mermaid at the Christian school. Nadia will be Aquata (one of Ariel's sisters) and also a princess, Ian will be Chef Louis, and Oliver will be in the ensemble. Ian was really hoping to be Sebastian, but we think he'll also have fun being Chef Louis. Their friend, Lydia, (who is also in our co-op and was Tinkerbell in Peter Pan) did get the part she auditioned for - Scuttle, and we were very happy to hear that. One of Nadia's closest friends, Leila, will also be a mersister, and that is also a blessing. 

10. Our performance of Peter Pan went well on November 21. Nadia was Wendy, Ian was Captain Hook, and Oliver was Nana (the dog) and the crocodile. A little over 40 people came to watch the show so there were about 60 of us eating dinner together afterward. After the play was done the kids surprised me with flowers, a card, gifts cards to Red Robin and Panera, and one of the girls gave a little speech about how much she appreciates being in the co-op. It was very sweet and unexpected. The flowers are very pretty! We had a dress rehearsal at 4:30 and let the guests come in at 5:20 for the performance. Thankfully the performance went far more smoothly than the dress rehearsal. Ironically, when I was a child, I directed a performance of Peter Pan that my sisters and some of our neighbors put on for our parents. In that instance we wrote the script ourselves and had far fewer people in the cast. I didn't write the script we used this time, and we had eighteen kids in the play. Ben was the only student from our co-op who didn't participate in the play. He went and picked up the pizzas from Domino's during the performance.

11. Nadia had been driving herself and her brothers to art class twice a week, but I've been driving them since her accident. Last Monday I was able to sit and talk with a friend (another homeschool mom) during the art class, which was a treat! 

12. We began another week of dog sitting last Friday. Thankfully, Cooper is doing MUCH better than he was the last time he was with us. Also, Milo has been sleeping in a crate in Oliver's bedroom for several days. I really, really appreciate not having a dog in my bed at night. PTL!

Thankful Thursday

 

1. On January 30 we visited Cairn University, which is near Philadelphia. Paul and I were very impressed with the computer science professor. This is one of the colleges Ian is considering. We are planning to visit Cedarville in June, which is currently his top choice since his cousin Nathan also plans to go there. Cedarville is my alma mater. I'm hoping he'll make a decision this summer as I'm planning on enrolling him for dual enrollment classes starting in the fall. 

2. On January 31 the kids participated in the living history fair for the fourth time. They answered questions for an hour as parents and grandparents walked around to see each of the displays. I bought the display boards in 2018. The first time we used any of them was for a science fair at a Children's Museum. 

3. Oliver and I were able to help at a food packing event at Experience Missions on February 1.

4. Ian was unable to participate in the piano recital on February 2 due to having a 101-degree fever that day, but Nadia and Oliver attended a roller-skating party hosted by our church that evening. 

5. Our spring session of co-op began on February 4. At least 7 of the 10 high schoolers in our co-op are planning to attend the homeschool prom together, and four of the girls have an appointment to shop for dresses together at the YWCA. On February 18 twelve of the fifteen kids stayed for lunch and games. The kids had a blast playing Outburst and Telestrations together. After some of the kids left, a smaller group played Bubble Talk. 

6. The kids enjoyed attending a Super Bowl party hosted by the youth group. The Towfighis are Eagles fans, so they were very happy with the outcome to that game! 

7. Nadia and Oliver attended a homeschool roller skating party in the morning on February 12. 

8. Our family celebration of Valentine's Day this year included buying some brownie batter donuts from Dunkin' (something we do only once a year), I made heart shaped food for lunch on February 14 (heart shaped pancakes and toast with an egg in the middle shaped like a heart), and we saw the play A Wrinkle in Time together that night. Nadia worked on Valentine's Day, and she received some chocolates from her boss and a $5 tip from a customer.

9. On February 16 we attended a potluck after the second service at church. This was a new concept for everyone in our family except for me. 

10. Nadia spends time almost every day working on a jigsaw puzzle. Typically, she does 1,000-piece puzzles by herself. I purchased some puzzles at the library (the prices ranged from 50 cents to $1 each), and one of the puzzles I bought had 3,000 pieces. Nadia asked for help with that one. Oliver and Julianna each helped a tiny bit. Paul, Nadia, and I did the lion share of the puzzle. It was a great feeling when we finished it!

11. I'm planning to take four kids (including Nathaniel) skiing at Montage on Tuesday. They've been to the outdoor water park there many times in the summer but never gone skiing there. I found a deal that the lift ticket plus ski rental is only $45 per person! Paul is going to stay home because we're dog sitting Cooper starting tomorrow and didn't want to leave the two dogs home alone for that many hours. 

12. Oliver has adjusted to wearing glasses, so I decided to order him a new pair with his new prescription. Ian saw the eye doctor earlier this week and got a new prescription. At the eye doctor they told me I could just buy new lenses and use his existing frame, but when she said that it would cost $300 AFTER a 25% discount, I said no thank you. Then as I was paying for the appointment, she said if we got a new frame plus lenses there is a special for $125 as long as we didn't get the blue light blocking on the lenses. How does that make any sense whatsoever? I am thankful that there are websites like Zenni that make it so much cheaper to buy glasses. I got two pairs of glasses (one for Ian and one for Oliver) with the blue light blocking for about $108, which included paying extra for a warranty. I almost never purchase a warranty. The kids haven't broken any glasses recently, but they have certainly done so in the past, so it seemed worth the small fee to do so in this instance. Ian chose a green frame (which was what he had been wearing prior to getting the frames he's had the last 2 years), and Oliver went with an aviator style (like Tom Cruise, ha ha). 

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.

Opting out

 I don't recall exactly when I joined Facebook, but I'm guessing it was no later than 2007. From at least 2016 until 2024 I have had times where I have temporarily deactivated my account for varying amounts of time, but I never considered permanently deleting my account. However, that's the step I recently took. For a period of thirty days, I have the opportunity to undo that decision. Once the thirty days pass, it will truly all be gone. I decided that the "cons" outweighed the "pros." I have never used Twitter, and I had an extremely short stint of looking at Instagram. I do post the videos I create onto YouTube, but I view things on YouTube very infrequently - sometimes to watch church online or to watch a Bible Recap video or the like. I used to read far more blogs, but most of the people I used to follow no longer post on their blog or they do so very infrequently, so I don't spend much time in a year reading blog posts that others have written. I think this means that if I find out something about someone I know, it's going to be the old-fashioned way - because they told me, emailed me, or texted me about it. When I deactivated my account, I was still able to use Facebook Messenger. I don't have access to it any longer because I went the deletion route this time. I had a private Facebook group that I used with my homeschool evaluator, but I've let her know I'll be switching to sending her a monthly email instead, which is one of the options she provides all of her families. I might be in the dark about some events in the future because of this choice I've made, but in general I don't think we'll feel too much of an impact by my choice. I created an account for Paul many years ago, and he's never accessed his account. Paul has done fine with never using Facebook for the past 17 years. It can be done! Paul uses Twitter now because of his new investment "job."

I've also decided I am done using Duolingo because I finally finished the Spanish course! It "only" took me 1,244 days to accomplish that feat. I currently have a 1,246-day streak, but I'm planning to let that go. I'm also on a lengthy streak when it comes to being in the diamond league (169 weeks), and my friends quest streak is also fairly long. I've earned the monthly badge every month from June 2021 to October 2024. On Sunday night I won the final round of the diamond tournament for my 6th time. My current Spanish score is 120 out of 160. Since I finished the course, I now have access to the "Daily Refresh," but I have been very unimpressed with that feature of the program, which is why I'm planning on letting my "streak" drop from 1,246 down to 0. Most days I spend 30 minutes on Duolingo. Hopefully what I've learned in Spanish will be useful at some point in my life. I can understand the letters we get from the Compassion kids we sponsor who speak Spanish without reading the translation into English. As is normal for learning another language, my receptive comprehension is far better than my expressive skills, especially when it comes to all the verb tenses. Duolingo can only take you so far, but I know now far more words in Spanish than I've ever known at any other time in my life. 

All of the photos in this post are from the homeschool co-op that meets in our home on Tuesdays. We've been having debates (first one was on whether cigarettes should be banned in the US, the second was on animal testing, and the next one will be about zoos), doing artwork (completed three of the six art projects I planned for this session, and we've started the fourth project which is an acrylic painting of a lighthouse). discussing books (Sign of the Beaver, The Two Towers, and Listening for Lions), playing games, and doing chemistry lab experiments (this last Tuesday one involved hydrochloric acid and an egg). I haven't touched my camera in quite a few weeks. I don't plan to opt out of that though! I need to do a better job of taking pictures more often. 

Here are some other random updates from the past three weeks:

1. This month our church began a campaign to raise 4 million dollars over the next 3 years to pay off existing debt (1.7) plus build a new, bigger facility for the Sunbury campus and Recovery Church (2.3). 

2. Nadia had a sleepover at a friend's house two weekends in a row. She was one of three girls from Meadowbrook who auditioned to be in the district chorus. Unfortunately, they didn't make the cut. Nadia has been taking two Bible classes through Liberty for six weeks. On October 21 her third class through LU began - an art history class. I recently registered her for three classes (7 credits total) for the spring semester - two Bible classes plus a government class. She also has a job interview on November 1 for a job that involves grooming dogs. She has logged around 35 of the required 65 hours of driving so far. We found out today that the dates of the Nationals for Bible quizzing next summer won't interfere with the dates Nadia will hopefully be a counselor at Camp Susque. PTL!!!

3. Ian and Oliver spent several hours at a friend's house last Saturday. Ian played the piano for the youth worship team for the first time ever on October 9. 

4. All three kids auditioned to be in the Wizard of Oz at MCS. Oliver and Nadia will just be in the ensemble. Ian was given two parts - a crow plus Nikko (head of the flying monkeys). All three kids are looking forward to going to a glow-in-the-dark dodgeball birthday party tomorrow afternoon. 

5. All five of us helped pack meals at our church on October 12 (collectively packed 125,000 meals for people in Uganda and Ecuador) and at Experience Missions on October 22. All five of us also attended a Colton Dixon concert at our church on October 18. Ian, Nadia, and I were volunteers with Compassion that night. Twenty-two kids were sponsored!

6. Oliver attended two trunk or treat events on October 19-20. This is his last year of being eligible for these events due to his age. The boys will be helping as candy runners at the trunk or treat at our church on October 25 while Nadia and I attend a For King and Country concert with Cheri in Hershey as Compassion volunteers.

7. I was the substitute teacher for our Sunday School this past Sunday. I taught a lesson on Haggai.

College for a Weekend

Once Nadia decided she wanted to major in Zoology, this greatly narrowed down the list of possible colleges for her to attend. Fewer than 40 colleges offer that major in the US. Liberty University offers two different tracks, and one of theirs is for those who do not want to become veterinarians. This past weekend we attended College for a Weekend at Liberty University. On Thursday morning we left our home around 10:00, dropped Milo off at the Seibert's home and then drove to Maryland. We spent around an hour with the Towfighis before Nadia, Paul, and I continued driving to Lynchburg. We stopped at a Wendy's to get dinner. We didn't arrive at Liberty until around 7:15pm. Stopping in Maryland added two hours of driving time, but Ian and Oliver were able to spend three days with the Towfighis. Micah turned ten on Friday. I think it was the first time the boys were with him on his birthday. After we parked in a parking garage, we walked to the Student Union to check-in to the event. Nadia then joined her friend Rory for games and ice skating while Paul and I went to my dad's house. Paul came back to pick her up a couple of hours later.

Friday morning, Nadia and I left bright and early so that we could park and walk to a biology classroom for an 8:15 class. I returned to my dad's house after we found the classroom. Nadia attended a second biology class at 9:20. Paul and I met her for convocation. The Vines Center seats about 9,500, but that wasn't room for everyone at 10:30 on Friday because of the extra people on campus for Parent's Weekend and CFAW. They use the basketball arena, which seats 4,000, for overflow when needed. We ended up in the overflow because Paul and I had to park much farther away when we returned. In addition to a time of singing, we heard from Cole Hocker, who won the 1,500 at the Paris Olympics this summer. Convocation is mandatory for those living on campus and is held twice a week. About 6,000 students also voluntarily attend a chapel service on Wednesday evenings. Although we went to church with my dad at Heritage Baptist on Sunday morning, Nadia will most likely attend Thomas Road Baptist (on campus) on Sundays while she attends Liberty. Our church isn't small, but our church is about 25% of the size of TRBC. After convocation we went to the dining hall for lunch. The amount of food choices available was impressive. After lunch we visited two different dorms, went on a "Surviving your first year" tour, and bought a sweatshirt at the bookstore before Nadia attended a digital photography class. While she was in class, I submitted her application, paid the enrollment deposit, and picked up the "free" t-shirt and blanket offered for those who applied and paid their deposit. The application fee was waived because we were there for CFAW. After her class was over, we visited one more dorm before we drove back to my dad's house. The four of us went to Logan's Roadhouse for dinner. My dad said he hadn't had a steak in at least 20 months. Later that night Paul dropped Nadia off for late night games on campus and picked her up two hours later. 

Saturday morning all three of us left bright and early for a tour that started at 8:00. Parking was no trouble at that time on a Saturday! After the "academic" tour, we went to the Snowflex Centre where Nadia tried their ski slope and also did a little tubing. We paid $10 for a two-hour pass, but she only stayed for 30 minutes. She prefers skiing in Pennsylvania. After having lunch in the dining hall, we took a third student-led tour before meeting my dad to see a performance of Anastasia. After Anastasia we ate dinner at the dining hall. In hindsight, it would have been better if we had eaten dinner on campus on Friday night and eaten at Logan's Roadhouse on Saturday night because they had very limited options on Saturday in the dining hall because there was a football game at 6:00. That evening we played games with my dad at his house and Nadia worked on her online college classes. 

On Sunday morning we attended the 9:00 worship service at my dad's church, and then we drove to Maryland to pick up the boys. We left his church around 10:30 and arrived home about nine hours later. Our stop at the Towfighis was much briefer than it was on Thursday, but we made brief stops for lunch, dinner, picking up Milo, and buying a few groceries at Aldi. If we drive from our home to Liberty, it takes about 6 hours including a stop for gas and/or food. There are usually other students from our church attending Liberty each year, so I don't think we'll need to drive down and back every time Nadia has a break during the school year. Rory is taking dual enrollment classes now just like Nadia, and both girls plan to start at LU in the fall of 2026. Rory's brother is currently attending Liberty. Although this was Nadia's first and we presume last official college visit, she has visited (and taken tours on some) other colleges including IWU, Houghton, SWU, OKWU, and Messiah. Ian isn't sure where he'd like to go to college so we might be visiting more than one with him. I think Cairn will be the first on our list to visit with Ian. Considering that Paul and I are in our 50's, it doesn't seem abnormal to have a child who is getting close to graduating from high school, but on the other hand it feels like the past sixteen years have just flown by. Liberty is certainly bigger than all of the colleges I attended or taught at. Praying for the continued growth emotionally, spiritually, physically, socially, and academically for all three of our kids! 

The last two pictures were taken from the top of the tallest building on campus.

Thankful Thursday

1. On July 12 and 19 Paul and I attended two more lessons of Intermediate Cha Cha. Paul didn't want to go on July 26 and doesn't want to go tomorrow, so it seems we only will have attended 4 of the 8 lessons we paid for. Maybe this means we should just wait seven years before we try again, but I'm thankful we had at least four nights of dancing together for an hour and learning some new steps.

2. On July 13 four of us toured Fort Roberdeau and attended the Napoleonic Grand Tactique at Old Bedford Village. 

3. The boys attended a manufacturing camp from 9-3 July 15-18. It wasn't their favorite camp, but there were parts of it that they enjoyed such as the tour of Playworld. 

4. On July 20 we were able to visit Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site for the first time and spend four hours with 10 members of the Towfighi family, which meant we met Brenden for the first time. 

5. From July 20-27 Micah, Joel, Nathan and Julianna spent a week with us. The cousins had a blast! Five of those days they attended a Stronghold foam sword fighting camp from 9-12 in Danville and then had a free hot lunch and played on the playground in Watsontown.

6. I enjoyed teaching a lesson (as a substitute) on the second half of Amos in our Sunday School class on July 21. 

7. We were able to talk to Nadia on the phone on July 21. Talking only one time over a span of four weeks has been challenging for me, especially as I've also received very few text messages from her. Hopefully I'll hear from her more often when she goes to college as this has been hard for me, but I'm grateful she could have this opportunity to serve at this Christian camp. Now it's only TWO days until she's back at home. I can't wait to hear all about her time there!

8. Paul has done really well on the stock market over the last two months. We are grateful! 

9. Yvonne got a good report at the cardiologist this week. This is an answer to prayer! 

10. My nephew, Adam, was baptized this week in Lake Michigan in Chicago. I really enjoyed watching the videos of his testimony and baptism! This was also an answer to prayer!

11. The boys have been participating in a theatre workshop at our church put on by a Christian radio station in New York (Family Life). Nadia and Ian had attended their workshops at another church (farther from our home) in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Last year they didn't participate due to schedule conflicts. Ian and Oliver both have small parts. Ian is Galileo, and Oliver is C.S. Lewis. Pop Pop plans to come up tomorrow to see their performance at noon. 

12. Oliver's birthday party was a success. We celebrated early so that four of his cousins could participate. Micah, Isaiah, their cousin Dominic, Nathaniel, Xandir, Sincere, Andrew, Pop Pop, and Ben also joined us for bubble ball soccer, glow in the dark dodgeball, pizza, chips, and cake!