100th Day

Today was our 100th day of school. When I was a student, that wasn't something that was celebrated, but through my Facebook feed as well as my time in various schools observing student teachers, I have learned that in many younger classrooms, the 100th day of school is a big deal. As of Monday, we will be half-way through our school year in terms of number of days that we do schoolwork at home. Including field trips, I think we'll end up with 187 days of school this year (7 more than required) by May 10, which I anticipate being our last day of school this year. I have chosen next Thursday to be the final day of the second marking period for Nadia because she will finish the first semester of Biology on that day. During the second half of the school year Nadia and Ian will be taking a weekly art class at the homeschool co-op, Nadia will also be taking a drama class at the co-op, and all three kids will be participating in a ten-week ice skating class which began yesterday evening. Here are some highlights of what we've been up to during the first 100 days of school:

1. Read and discussed Matthew, Mark, Acts, Romans and 1 Corinthians together. 
2. Memorized Ephesians 1:1-4:10; Nadia and Ian have also memorized select verses from Acts 1-9.
3. Oliver has been studying earth science, and Nadia is half-way through biology. Ian started the year doing biology with Nadia, but part-way through I switched him to General Science. I recently ordered Ian another Python book as he wants to learn more about coding. 
4. Ian currently has earned an A in Algebra I, and Nadia currently has a B in Geometry. Oliver completed Beast Academy levels 3C and 3D. This week he began 4A. In Life of Fred Ian and Nadia are half-way through Beginning Algebra. Oliver completed Honey, Ice Cream, and Jelly Beans. 
5. In Social Studies we have covered about 1,000 years of history so far this school year as we read about Leif Erickson today. The kids will be participating in a living history homeschool event in early February. Nadia is researching Joan of Arc, Oliver will be doing the Apostle Paul, and Ian is reading about Marco Polo. Marco Polo wasn't Ian's first choice, but I couldn't find books at the library for his first few choices. I wish I had been able find more books about Leif Erickson (one of his choices) as getting him a Viking costume would have been much easier than finding something for him to wear when he portrays Marco Polo. We haven't read any Shakespeare yet this year, but we will be studying Macbeth starting on Monday. 
6. Nadia completed unit studies four biographies about Joni Eareckson, Corrie ten Boom, C.S. Lewis, and Rifka Bary in addition to ones on the Screwtape Letters and The Green Glass Sea. For leisure she has been reading books by Karen Kingsbury. Ian read Beorn the Proud, Twice Freed, Augustine Came to Kent, and Son of Charlamagne. For leisure he has been reading books by Brandon Sanderson, Andrew Peterson, and J.K. Rowling. Oliver and I have been reading Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books together. 
7. Nadia has completed two personal finance courses through Dave Ramsey, and Ian is part-way through one finance course. 
8. Nadia and Ian sang in the Susquehanna Valley Youth Chorale.

Yesterday Ian had his annual physical. He currently is 59.5 inches tall, which puts him at the 26th percentile for height. He grew 2.25 inches over the past year, and his height percentile didn't change that much as last year he was at the 30th percentile. When Nadia was twelve years old, she grew 3.25 inches and was 5ft 1.25 inches tall, which moved her from the 29th percentile for height to the 41st percentile. Ian lost a little weight over the last year. Yesterday he weighed 76 pounds, which put him at the 6th percentile. Last year he was at the 20th percentile for weight. Because of this his BMI is currently only at the 3rd percentile, which classifies him as underweight for the first time since he was an infant. I'm going to have him weigh himself periodically just to make sure he doesn't lose any more weight. For the last few years Oliver has been the slenderest member of our family, but Ian now holds that position. I was very pleasantly surprised that the clinic had ended the mask mandate since the last time we were there! It was the first time in almost 3 years that we could enter a medical facility without wearing face masks! I had started to think that might be a permanent change. I'm glad I was wrong!

Acadia, Lowell, and Minute Man National Parks

Thankfully, the weather was much nicer on Friday during our second day in Maine. We needed to wear winter coats for part of the day for the first time in months, but it didn't rain at all. We spent about seven hours in Acadia National Park. It was the first time in Oliver's life that he spent the night on an island as our motel was in Bar Harbor which is also on Mount Desert Island. After we got the Junior Ranger booklets from the Visitor Center, we first went to Sand Beach and then walked to Thunder Hole. That site is best to visit at high tide, which wasn't possible for us as we were asleep during the first high tide and eating dinner in Augusta during the second high tide of the day. Our next stop was Jordan Pond. I thought that Acadia wouldn't be overcrowded since it was September. Well, it took a very long time to find a parking spot anywhere near Jordan Pond. It honestly felt like a miracle that we finally got a spot. We weren't able to try a popover from the restaurant there due to really long lines, but we were able to hike the 3.2-mile trail around the pond. Some parts of the trail were easy to walk - walking on boards or a pretty smooth trail. Other parts of the trail were far more challenging - scrambling over rocks, etc. After that hike, we drove to Cadillac Mountain as I had a reservation to go up the mountain at 2pm. The views from the top of the mountain were breathtaking. We hiked short trail around the summit. We probably would have spent more time up there, but it was VERY windy up there. After we came back down the mountain, we returned to the Visitor Center to get the kids' Junior Ranger badges. According to my phone, I took over 20,000 steps that day. We then drove to Massachusetts. We had dinner at Texas Roadhouse in Augusta on the way. Oliver and I both ordered a sweet potato, Ian had chicken nuggets and applesauce, Nadia had a salad and pulled pork, and Paul had a steak dinner. We all enjoyed the complimentary rolls. 

I used credit card points for our two-night stay at Hampton Inn. The breakfast was excellent. On Saturday morning we didn't leave until about 9:40am to head to Lowell National Historical Park. Nadia was hoping to sleep in, but she couldn't because the five of us share a room. I usually am up before 6am, but I am quiet until at least 7am. The boys are not quiet once they get up. The kids earned a badge at Lowell, and we rode a trolley and also a boat ride in the canal during a 90-minute tour. Because of COVID, our boat wasn't able to go through the lock because no one is manning the lockhouse. Our second stop was at Minute Man National Historical Park, which was one Paul was particularly looking forward to visiting. First, we took a guided tour at the site of the North Bridge Battlefield in Concord. Then we attended a program at the other visitor center in Lexington. This site had an extremely easy way to earn a Junior Ranger badge. Our last stop was at Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House where we had a guided tour. Nadia had requested that we include that stop in our trip. I certainly didn't object as she was one of my most favorite authors when I was in fifth grade. Of all the places we've visited on trips in May through the present, it was the first place where we were required to wear face masks. We then attempted to have dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, which would have been a first for us, but the restaurant was SO understaffed that we were waiting for a long time in the lobby (along with many other people) and during that time an employee never came to put anyone's name on a waiting list. There were many, many empty tables in the restaurant, but they were so short staffed that they weren't seating anyone at the tables. We opted to have dinner at Subway instead. Now that we have a gift card for Buffalo Wild Wings, we'll definitely have to go there at some point in the future. It was nice not to spend much time in the van today. We'll be doing more sightseeing in and around Boston tomorrow and Monday. 

Thankful Thursday

1. We were able to attend Aunt Debbie's 70th birthday party. Paul and Oliver enjoyed taking a ride in his cousin's Tesla. I wish I had taken a picture of Oliver that day. He looked very dapper!

2. Nadia had a good week at camp, and I am very glad to have her back at home with us!

3. Seven of Oliver's friends came to his birthday party at the bowling alley.

4. I'm very grateful that Oliver has been part of our family for a decade! He appreciated the gifts he got from his friends, his parents, and my dad/Margie. One of our gifts to him was a two-person tent. It hasn't been used outdoors yet, but Paul and Oliver did sleep together in the tent in our living room one night, ha ha! 

5. I was able to help at Experience Missions on August 11 as part of the newly formed Volunteer Leadership Team, and the kids and I were able to help pack aid for Voice of the Martyrs on August 13.

6. August 11 was our 21st anniversary. My dad and Margie sent us a card and some money to use toward a date. I am not as skilled at planning dates with Paul as I am with scheduling field trips, but I will come up with something at some point. I wore a t-shirt that I got during our honeymoon on St. Lucia, and I purchased 4 steaks at the grocery store (something I very rarely buy) that Paul grilled on Sunday. Oliver and I didn't eat any of the steak, but Ian, Nadia, and Paul enjoyed eating the steak on Sunday and Monday. 

7. We enjoyed having the Schrecks over for dinner at our house on Saturday.

8. I really enjoyed teaching a lesson Nahum chapter one in our Sunday School class on Sunday. It was the first time Paul ever saw me teach. I was very grateful for the positive feedback I received afterward. 

9. On Monday the orthodontist said we are done turning Oliver's expander! He now has some braces on his top jaw. The orthodontist also made some adjustments to Ian's retainer. We don't need to return for a month. 

10. It's been 3+ years since we've been to an eye doctor. Our vision insurance ended when my employment ended in 2019, and then we dropped our health insurance on December 1, 2021, because of the fiasco with my ankle surgery. It pays to call around because I again found a big difference in the price that eye centers charge self-paying customers. I made appointments for four of us at a place that charges $85 for an exam. Ian, Paul, and I wear eyeglasses. I am curious to see whether they will say if Oliver needs to wear them or not. 

11. I was able to run one of the games that the children played at Kid's Cafe last Friday and will be helping out with another activity there today. 

12. This summer I've been enjoying eating salads at home with Panera's poppyseed salad dressing. It has VERY few calories, and it tastes amazing! The only downside is the price, but I've purchased several bottles at Weis as it's still MUCH cheaper than buying a salad at Panera. 

13. August 16 was the final day of the season at our swimming pool. I'm not planning on getting a membership again in the future, but I'm thankful for the times we were able to swim there the last three years. Last week Oliver won a door prize through the library that resulted in the kids being given a $5 certificate to buy snacks at the pool. They enjoyed that as I never buy them snacks at the pool. 

14. I haven't been very diligent with trying new recipes this year, but we recently tried two new ones that will be added to our meal rotation - a chocolate eclair (no bake) dessert and a copycat recipe of Olive Garden's Five Cheese Ziti Al Forno. Both were recipes Nadia wanted to try. 

15. Although we've had an enjoyable break from "school," I am very ready to resume homeschooling. I'm very thankful that I can begin my tenth year as a homeschooling mom. Assuming that Oliver graduates in 2031, I am exactly at the middle of my time as a homeschooling mom - nine years under my belt and most likely nine years to go. The final three years I'll only have one student (Oliver).

16. I had plans to take my friend out to lunch when the kids were at camp in July. Those plans were cancelled because I was sick. I'm feeling fine now aside from the fact I can't hear much of anything out of my left ear. I took her out yesterday while her boys were in a class at the Children's Museum. Yesterday was her actual birthday. Going out to lunch with a friend is a very rare treat so I really enjoyed having that one-on-one time with her. 

17. The weather has been cooling off a little. Although I'm not a fan of winter weather, I also don't prefer really hot temperatures unless I'm in water. I've resumed mowing the lawn and have continued take Milo on walks every day. 

18. Although I've hit a bit of a plateau lately, I'm thankful for the thirteen pounds I have lost so far and the fact that more of my clothes fit me at the moment. 

19. In March 2020 I wondered how long it would take for life to get back to normal. It has been a gradual path back towards normal, but I feel like our lives are almost 100% back to normal as of August 2022. People are shaking hands again. Events that had been cancelled the last couple of years are taking place again - in person! A minority of people still choose to wear masks, but the only places we are required to wear a mask is in all medical facilities except for the dentist office. On August 11 the CDC said that those exposed to the virus are no longer required to quarantine, it's no longer recommended to screen those without symptoms, students can stay in school after being exposed to the virus, and unvaccinated people now have the same guidance as vaccinated people. My unvaccinated kids can see a Broadway show without taking a COVID test. Their unvaccinated status is preventing us from visiting Canada at this time, but at least within the USA the fact that they didn't receive the COVID vaccine (which frankly is a rather ineffective vaccine in my opinion) is not an issue. When I mentioned that life was getting back to normal to the kids, Oliver asked if the prices had come back down. I wasn't specific enough. No, inflation is still out of control, the "supply chain" issues haven't gone away, and there are many other things happening that are just plain nuts to me; I meant in terms of how life changed in response to COVID. In other ways it seems our world is veering off in a direction that would have seemed unfathomable not that long ago. Here's just one of many examples. If you had asked me ten years ago if I thought that 50% of our senators would vote that biological males can become pregnant, I would have said that would never happen. But it did even though for thousands of years of human history not one biological male has ever been pregnant.  I'm not sure if life will ever get back to "normal" in some ways, but I am very thankful that life has almost completely returned back to normal in regard to COVID.

We definitely went on more field trips during the 2021-22 school year than we did in 2020-21, but I feel like we will truly be back to normal in terms of field trips during this school year. The last time we took the kids to a Broadway show was 2019, and now we're planning to see one in NYC in December and another in St. Louis in April. Some of these plans might be cancelled, and it's very likely that more field trips will be added throughout the year, but here is the current list of field trips that I have planned for the 2022-23 school year. The ones with question marks are ones that haven't been scheduled into our calendar yet. The vast majority of these field trips are to places we haven't been before. This fall I have signed Nadia and Ian up to participate in the Susquehanna Valley Youth Chorale and for Ian and Oliver to take a Ninjastics class. Beginning in January, I have signed Nadia and Ian up for an art class and Nadia for a drama class. I am planning to sign all of them up for ice skating lessons that would also begin in January. We're also hoping to go skiing once or twice in the winter. 

1. A Midsummer Night's Dream
2. National Canal Museum, Lehigh Valley Zoo, and Roasting Ears of Corn Festival at the Museum of Indian Culture
3. Tour of Old Mill Creamery
4. Waterfalls and Hydrogeology three-hour program for grades 7-12 at Ricketts Glen State Park 
5. Dotterer Dairy
6. Monarch Butterfly class
7. Howard Nursery
8. National Constitution Center, Betsy Ross House, Firemen's Hall Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Eastern State Penitentiary, and Harry Potter Exhibition
9. Battleship New Jersey, Thaddeus Kosciusko National Memorial, Franklin Institute, and Edgar Allen Poe National Historic Site
10. Martin van Buren NHS and Saint Gaudens NHS
11. Sugarbush Farm, Marsh Billings-Rockefeller NHP, Ben & Jerry's Factory tour, Cold Hollow Cider Mill, and Vermont Teddy Bear factory tour
12. Marginal Way Walk and whale watching cruise
13. Acadia National Park
14. Lowell NHP, Louisa May Alcott's Orchard house, and Minute Man NHP
15. Bunker Hill, USS Constitution, Boston Lights at Franklin Park Zoo, and Adams NHP
16. Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters, Cry Innocent show, and Freedom Trail
17. Roger Williams Zoo, Roger Williams NM, John Brown House, Newport Mansions, and Newport Cliff Walk
18. Weir Farm NHS and PEZ Visitor Center
19. Homeschool program at Sinnemahoning State Park???
20. PA Renaissance Faire 
21. Waterdale Environmental Education Center
22. Belle Grove & Cedar Creek NHP
23. Wolf Sanctuary of PA
24. Outdoor Adventure Skills classes at Camp Susque (Nadia/Ian)
25. Full STEAM Ahead at Community Arts Center 
26. Local History Tour in McIntyre
27. Homeschool retreat at Camp Susque (two days)
28. Christmas Wonderland at Christian Life Assembly
29. Corning Museum of Glass
30. African Burial Ground, Federal Hall, Castle Clinton, and National September 11 Memorial
31. Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway, ice skating at Bryant Park, seeing the Christmas lights in NYC
32. Freedom Bound at Community Arts Center
33. Julius Caesar at Community Arts Center 
34. Easter show at Christian Life Assembly 
35. Indiana Dunes NP, Art Institute of Chicago, and Navy Pier
36. Pullman NM, Herbert Hoover NHS, and Bob Kerry Pedestrian Bridge
37. Henry Doorly Zoo and Homestead NHP
38. Brown vs. Board of Education NHP and National WWI Museum
39. Roasterie tour, Science City, and Meramec Cave
40. Ulysses S. Grant NHS, Herbaria, St. Louis Science Center, Gateway Arch NP, and Wicked show
41. Children's Museum of Indianapolis and COSI
42. Refreshing Mountain Homeschool Day???
43. Outdoor Adventure Skills overnight trip (Nadia and Ian)
44. Blue Angels Air Show
45. Fort Washington Park, Oxon Cove Park & Oxon Hill Farm, and Thomas Stone National Historic Site
46. Hampton National Historic Site, Maryland Zoo, and Rock Creek Park
47. Eckley Miners Village???

Boys are back!

On Friday I had a few brief spurts of energy, which were greatly appreciated after not having any energy for the previous seven days. Thankfully I had even more energy yesterday. I still have a little bit of a cough, but aside from my left ear, I mostly feel back to normal. My left ear is still painful, and my hearing in that ear is still pitiful. On Friday morning the contractors came back to install our front door. The first time they showed up to do that was in June, but due to some complications they couldn't install it that day. My PCP sent a prescription to CVS for ear drops for me on Friday morning, but I waited until the contractors were done to go to CVS. Since I was home alone most of the week and also lacked energy, it was a boring and lonely week for me. The first few days I kept myself occupied with reading books, watching a movie, doing Duolingo, and working on vacation plans, but as the week progressed, I struggled with loneliness and boredom. The last time I remember feeling either of those feelings was when I was hospitalized for many weeks in 2012. One of the significant things I learned while planning future vacations last week was that I needed to make a specific reservation for what time we wanted to drive on the road that takes you up Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. I hadn't planned on being that specific with our itinerary that day. Hopefully my choice of 2:00pm will work out. Another was that they have a rodeo in Puyallup (near Seattle) in early September. I had tried to include a rodeo in our trip last fall, but in those states, I couldn't find any that took place after Labor Day. I thought the only chance we'd have to take the kids to a rodeo would be in Houston in March 2025. If we go to the rodeo in September 2023 in Washington and the kids don't want to go to another rodeo, then we can be more flexible about when we go to Texas/Louisianna in 2025. 

Saturday morning, I drove to Mountain View Bible Camp to pick up all three kids. In 2019 at Camp Good News (day camp), Ian was chosen to receive a cooperation award and Nadia was chosen to receive a leadership award. Yesterday at Camp Good News overnight camp, Ian was chosen to receive a sportsmanship award. Those are the three awards for character traits that they give out each year. Nadia was a junior counselor for a group of eleven-year-old girls. For the morning activity she and Macey led a group of girls who chose macrame as their activity. In the afternoons she helped with crafts on Monday and then helped with a group of girls who chose chess as their afternoon activity the rest of the week. They didn't have Wi-Fi, so she didn't actually use her phone at all at camp. The kids each received one letter from me in the mail, and Ian sent me a postcard from camp which arrived in our mailbox on Saturday afternoon after I picked them up. Oliver really wanted to pick riflery as his morning activity, but he missed the minimum age by 8 days, so he chose tie-dye because that is what his friend, Xandir, chose. He is proud of the things they made at camp. In the afternoons both boys chose outdoor games. The other afternoon choices were crafts or chess. In the morning Ian chose archery. He received an award for winning third place in his age group. Unfortunately, the boys came down with an illness the last couple of days at camp. We stayed home from church today and aside from an orthodontist appointment tomorrow morning for Oliver, we don't have any plans for the next several days so we can just stay at home sweet home. We haven't decided if we're going to give them COVID tests or not.

Nadia wants to be a junior counselor at Camp Good News again next year. She would be old enough to be a full-fledged counselor in 2024, but she'd rather be on staff at Camp Susque in 2024 because that's a paid position whereas the counselors at Camp Good News are volunteers. Ian wants to be a junior counselor at Camp Good News in 2024. Of the three camps where the kids have gone for overnight camp, Nadia ranks Camp Susque #1 and Camp Good News #2. Oliver ranks PMBC #1 and Camp Good News #2. Ian ranks Camp Good News #1 and PMBC #2. Next year I plan to send the boys to PMBC as campers, and Nadia to Camp Good News as a junior counselor and Camp Susque as a camper. The last year Nadia could be a camper at Camp Susque would be 2024, but she has decided that next year will be her last because she wants to be in their "staff in training" program for four weeks in 2024 which means she can be a counselor there for 5-8 weeks each summer starting in 2025. Nadia fell in love with Camp Susque in 2015. She only attended PMBC in 2020 because Camp Susque didn't have camp that summer. They do take pictures at Camp Good News and show them during the closing program, but they don't provide access to any of them so I don't have any pictures from last week. I'll receive pictures this week from Camp Susque, and I can send Nadia an email every day this week that they will print out and deliver to her. 

After we got home, I started a load of laundry so that Nadia could have clean clothes to pack. We had lunch and then the boys both fell asleep. They can go years without taking a nap. They are sick! Nadia is in the Apache tent this week. A friend whom she made at camp last year is in her tent again this year. I am thankful that my energy had returned because I drove for more than 2.5 hours yesterday. Nadia was home for a whopping 3.5 hours yesterday, but I appreciated getting a little bit caught up on what she had been up to at camp. I'm thankful that when I pick her this Saturday morning, she'll be home a lot longer than 3.5 hours! Hopefully she will have an awesome week this week! If she wasn't at camp this week, I'd have signed Nadia and Ian up for a choral workshop that's taking place next Saturday. I did sign them up for auditions on August 18 to be in the youth chorale. Nadia wants to move up to the Valley Singers (high school group), and Ian wants to move up to Camarata (middle school group that Nadia was in back before COVID). Oliver is old enough to be in the youngest choir, but he chose instead to be in a Ninjastics class on Monday nights.

Chauffeur

As a mom I have a variety of job descriptions including housecleaner, chef, teacher, travel agent, lawn mower, laundress, shopper, photographer, event planner, financial planner, etc. Some moms have a lengthier job description. For example, my friend, Tab, raises chickens for meat, keeps chickens for eggs, gardens, and cans fruits and veggies from their gardens and fruit trees. In the summer, one that takes up more of my time than it typically does the rest of the year is chauffeur. It's not exactly my favorite task, but it's also not the worst (cleaning up vomit would be an example of something that is definitely worse). For example, on Monday I drove Nadia and Ian to theatre camp and stopped at the library and Walmart on the way home, drove Oliver to an orthodontist appointment, and stopped at Aldi and Surplus Oultlet on my way to pick up Nadia and Ian from theatre camp. Altogether Oliver and I were in the van for more than two hours yesterday. Ian and Nadia only spent about 40 minutes of that time in the van. Oliver had orthodontist appointments two weeks in a row, but he will only have one in July and so far, only has one scheduled in August. The kids are signed up for 15 days of theatre camp this summer, and today is the 8th day. The other two weeks that the kids have camp it's for overnight camp, which means far less driving. Nadia and Ian are too old for VBS. Our neighbor took Oliver to the VBS at our church, and I'm planning to take him to another VBS in July. Our schedule in June and July has been/will be pretty full, but August looks like it will be a lot more laid back.  Two weeks in July we will have cousins visiting us! Wendy and two of her girls are coming next week, and then we're doing a cousin swap with some of Yvonne's kids the third week of July. 

Yesterday I took Nadia for her annual physical. She grew 2.25 inches over the last year. She'll have to grow another 2.5 inches to be as tall as I am now (she'd have to grow 3 inches taller to reach the height I was when I was 12 as I already shrank 1/2 an inch). Time will tell! I am assuming that Oliver will be taller than me some day. She didn't need to get any shots. We had to wear masks. I think it was the first time Nadia wore a mask this year. We no longer have to wear them at the dentist office, but it seems the doctor's office is a different story. On our way to picking up Nadia and Ian at 5:00pm, Oliver and I stopped and got pizza. After we got Nadia and Ian, we drove to a state park we used to visit regularly when they had a naturalist who did many programs for homeschoolers, but we haven't been there for several years. A homeschool mom organized a "paint your pet" event. Nadia painted Peppa and Jenna on a canvas, and Ian painted a picture of Milo. Oliver wore his bathing suit but decided the water was too cold. He and I walked around the park some. 

Below you will find the video I made this past weekend that includes pictures and videos from the past 12 months of Nadia's life. I can't believe she's already fourteen years old!

2022 Bucket List

Although things were definitely closer to normal in 2021 than they were in 2020, in 2022 we have continued to make even more strides back toward normal. Making future plans was a very precarious thing to attempt over the last two years, but I am feeling more optimistic at the moment that fewer things will be cancelled due to COVID. I've made a bucket list for several years each summer, but I thought this time I'd make one for all of 2022 instead. My bucket lists in the past have included some activities that were "firsts" for the kids or the whole family as well as some that weren't. This time around I'm only going to list things that would be "firsts" for us. If our trips this year go as planned, we will cross five states off the list - Georgia, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, which will bring us down to just nine states left to visit! On that note, we're planning to visit Kansas, Arkansas, and Missouri during our spring break trip in April 2023; if that happens, we will only have six states left as of April 13, 2023. Our last six would be Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Louisianna, Hawaii, and Alaska. I'm sure over the course of the year things will be added to and deleted from this list, but hopefully I'll be able to write "Done" by most of them before 2022 comes to a close! Hiking at Worlds End State Park has been on previous lists but not been accomplished yet. Hopefully we can make it to that park sometime this year. 

1. Nadia dog sits for another family -Done!
2. See a production of The Secret Garden - Done! 
3. Watch Home Team on Netflix - Done!
4. Nadia and I see "Les Misérables" at Lewisburg High School - Done!
5. Paul and I see Fiddler on the Roof (touring Broadway) - Done!
6. Nadia and I see "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" at MCS - Done!
7. Oliver attends Winter Jam with Uncle Al - Done!
8. Ian sees Sonic the Hedgehog 2 at AMC - Done!
9. Nadia, Rachel, and I see Shrek, Jr at WRMS - Done!
10. See "David" at Sight and Sound - DONE!
11. Visit Wheatland (home of James Buchanan) - Done!
12. Eat a meal at Shady Maple Smorgasbord - Done!
13. For King and Country concert (Nadia and Ian) - DONE!
14. See "Stars on Ice" in Pittsburgh - Done!
15. Have Witkowski family over for dinner - Done!
16. Have Artz family over for dinner - Done!
17. Have the Sweigard family over for dinner - Done!
18. Have dinner at the Rowley family's house - Done!
19. Oliver and Ian attend a sleepover at Xandir's house - Done!
20. See "Matilda" in Dover, Delaware - Done!
21. Cape Henlopen Beach - Done!
22. Tour Union Country courthouse - Done!
23. Tour a snowboard factory - Done!
24. First State National Park - Done!
25. Ruth and Paul go ballroom dancing at the Methodist Church in Muncy - Done!
26. Attend Valley Fest - Done!
27. Air Command Mobility Center - Done!
28. Longwood Gardens - Done!
29. Brandywine Battlefield - Done!
30. Georgia Aquarium - Done!
31. Titanic Museum - Done!
32. Great Smoky Mountain - Done!
33. Chattanooga Battlefield - Done!
34. Chickamauga Battlefield - Done!
35. Ocmulgee NM - Done!
36. Martin Luther King, Jr. NHP - Done!
37. Medieval Times - Done!
38. Andersonville NHS - Done!
39. Castillo de San Marcos NM - Done!
40. Canaveral National Seashore - Done!
41. Fort Frederica NM - Done!
42. Whetstone Chocolate - Done!
43. Harper's Ferry NHP - Done!
44. Catoctin Mountain Park - Done!
45. Fort Pulaski NM - Done!
46. Kingsley Plantation - Done!
47. Fort Caroline - Done!
48. Fort Matanzas - Done!
49. Shenandoah National Park - Done!
50. Swimming with manatees - Done!
51. World of Coca Cola - Done!
52. Universal Studios Florida - Done!
53. Busch Gardens Tampa - Done!
54. Carowinds - Done!
55. Daytona Beach - Done!
56. Nadia participates in "Forgotten" with the Homegrown Players - Done!
57. Islands of Adventure - Done!
58. Tybee Island Beach - Done!
59. Pirate's Island miniature golf - Done!
60. See Spider-Man: No Way Home on DVD - Done!
61. See Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers on Disney+ - Done!
62. Watch Obi Wan Kenobi on Disney+ - Done!
63. Nadia and Ian participate in a two-week drama camp - Beauty and the Beast - Done!
64. Oliver attends PA Wilds Child - Done!
65. Nadia and Ian participate in Bible quizzing in South Carolina - Done!
66. See Minions: The Rise of Gru in the theatre - Done!
67. Oliver has a birthday party at a bowling alley - Done!
68. Have Schreck family over for dinner - Done!
69. Listen to all of the audiobooks in the Lamplighter Club - Done!
70. Boys attend overnight Camp Good News and Nadia serves as a junior counselor - Done!
71. See The Tiger Rising on DVD - Done!
72. Have the DeWald family over for dinner - Done!
73. Attend Homeschool Expo - Done!
74. Attend a Midsummer Night's Dream - Done!
75. Oliver and Ian take a Ninjastics class - Done!
76. National Canal Museum and ride canal boat pulled by mules - Done!
77. Lehigh Valley Zoo - Done!
78. Nadia joins the Valley Singers - Done!
79. Ian joins the Camerata choir - Done!
80. Roasting Ears of Corn Festival - Done!
81. Paint your pet program at R.B. Winter State Park - Done!
82. Tour Old Mill Creamery - Done!
83. Have a meal with the Kinleys - Done!
84. See new Pinocchio movie on Disney+ - Done!
85. See the movie Lifemark - Done!
86. National Constitution Center - Done!
87. Betsy Ross House - Done!
88. Fireman's Hall Museum - Done!
89. Edgar Allen Poe House - Done!
90. Eastern State Penitentiary - Done!
91. Battleship New Jersey - Done!
92. Thaddeus Kosciusko National Memorial - Done!
93. Martin Van Buren NHS - Done!
94. Saint Gaudens NHS - Done!
95. Sugarbush Farm - Done!
96. Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHS - Done!
97. Cold Hollow Cider Mill - Done!
98. Vermont Teddy Bear tour - Done!
99. Marginal Way walk - Done!
100. Acadia NP - Done!
101. Lowell NHP - Done!
102. Lousia May Alcott's Orchard House - Done!
103. Weir Farm NHP - Done!
104. PEZ Visitor Center - Done!
105. Newport Cliff walk - Done!
106. Tour The Breakers (one of the Newport Mansions) - Done!
107. Boston Lights at the Franklin Park Zoo - Done!
108. Roger Williams NM - Done!
109. Adams NHP - Done!
110. USS Constitution - Done!
111. Bunker Hill - Done!
112. Freedom Trail - Done!
113. Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters - Done!
114. See the Cry Innocent show in Salem - Done!
115. Minute Man NHP - Done!
116. Harry Potter Exhibition at the Franklin Institute - Done!
117. Nadia and Ian participate in an Outdoor Adventure Skills class at Camp Susque - Done!
118. Local history tour of McIntyre - Done!
119. Nadia and Ian attend Fallout retreat at LOVEhill - Done!
120. Casting Crowns concert with Cain and Anne Wilson - Done!
121. Chesapeake and Ohio Canal NHP - Done!
122. Eat at Buffalo Wild Wings - Done!
123. Cedar Creek and Belle Grove NHP - Done!
124. Waterdale Environmental Center - Done!
125. ZooAmerica - Done!
126. Oakes Museum of Natural History - Done!
127. Watch the second season of The Mysterious Benedict Society on Disney+ - Done!
128. Have the Paulhamus family over for dinner - Done!
129. Four of us attend a two day homeschool retreat at Camp Susque - Done!
130. Wolf Sanctuary of PA - Done!
131. See Disenchanted on Disney+ - Done!
132. Panera and Christmas show at CLA with Toby and Jenna - Done!
133. For King and Country Christmas concert- Done!
134. Begin watching the third season of The Chosen - Done!
135. Christmas Spectacular at the Radio City Music Hall - Done!
136. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway - Done!   
137. Nadia attends Freeze Camp for high schoolers at Camp Susque December 28-31- Done!
138. I Heard the Bells movie - Done!
139. Nadia makes a glass flower, and the boys make icicles at Corning Museum of Glass - Done!
140. Ice skating outdoors in NYC - Done!
141. Seeing the Christmas lights in NYC - Done!
142. Castle Clinton NM - Done!
143. Federal Hall NM - Done!
144. National September 11 Memorial and Museum - Done!
145. African Burial Ground NM - Done!
146. Christmas in Lynchburg with my side of the family - Done!
147. Begin watching season one of the Wingfeather Saga - Done!

Spring Forward

This weekend we change our clocks again. Paul never likes losing an hour. As a parent I have found that falling backward is harder for the kids to adjust to than springing forward, but now that Ian has changed to being a kid who likes to sleep in, I don't think "falling backward" an hour will be as challenging as it was in the past. March is one of those months in our state where the weather is typically ALL over the map. Just this week we've had temps as high as the 70's (yahoo!!!) and then it snowed on Wednesday and Saturday. I did take my first walk in six months on Monday. I didn't go nearly as far as I would have gone prior to breaking my leg and there was a lot more pain involved, but I just couldn't stay inside on such a pretty day. Next week, on my mom's birthday, it will officially be spring. Winter is my least favorite season, so I always eagerly anticipate the arrival of spring. Yvonne and Joshua flew to Maryland to be home during Jenna's spring break. Yvonne, Joshua, Jenna, and Toby were planning to come up yesterday and leave today, but when they learned that we were supposed to get snow today, they changed their plans and spent 24 hours with us starting at 5:30pm on Thursday. They met us at the ice-skating rink for the second half of the kids' ice-skating party. Because of our guests, I gave the kids the day off of school yesterday. I don't usually cook a hot breakfast, but because we had guests, I made a bacon cheese frittata for breakfast yesterday and chicken parmesan for dinner. Not long after they left, the kids and I left to attend a worship service that our church holds four times a year on a Friday night. Today we are just staying at home sweet home all day long, which hasn't happened for me since March 1. Tomorrow we're having pie day at Sunday School since it's one day before Pi Day (3/14), and I signed up to bring a lemon meringue pie so that is one item on my to do list for the day. 

I haven't written a gratitude list since February 24, so here goes:

1. Margie had her sixth round of chemo, which means she's DONE! Her completion of chemo is a much happier ending than my mom experienced in 2016. 

2. I was pleased with Nadia's standardized test scores. I was nervous about how she would do on the math test. It was her lowest score, but I was fine with the score she received. Next year we get a break from standardized tests because 7th and 9th graders don't need to take a test, and I am going to consider Oliver to be repeating fourth grade, which means we'll wait a year on having him take the 5th grade test.

3. Ian and Nadia did well on the written portion of the Bible quizzing on James on February 26. We had memorized James 1-4 at that point which helped them out!

4. Nadia got a 95% on her physical science test yesterday, which was on electricity and magnetism.

5. I attended a women's conference that was broadcasting a simulcast from Texas on March 4-5. The church that hosted the event didn't charge anyone a dime, and they really went above and beyond providing nice touches to the event such as fresh flowers at the table, very delicious food both days, etc. The speakers included Francis Chan, Jennie Allen, Curt Thompson, Ann Voskamp, a pastor who spoke live from Ukraine, etc. They asked for donations to an organization called Illuminations which is working to coordinate the efforts of ten different Bible translation organizations around the world. They estimate that by 2033 (or sooner) the Bible will be translated in EVERY language on the globe which was astounding to me because I know there are still MANY people around the world who still have no way to access a Bible in their language. Last year women around the world who "attended" the conference gave over 2 million dollars towards translating the Bible into some of the languages spoken in Iran, and the same thing happened this year! It's obviously a VERY risky activity to work on translating the Bible in Iran. My friend, Cheri, attended the event with me, which made it even better! We have seen each other on four different occasions so far this year and it's only March 12! That's far more often than usual.

6. The homeschool gym class resumed on Monday. We hadn't participated in it since the spring of 2019. I enjoyed chatting with Tab during the 90 minutes the kids were in gym class. Paul's dad watched the kids in the gym, took them to lunch, and the worked with Ian on programming the Lego robot. Ian has worked on the Lego robot more since he was here. He's made three of the five different types of robots so far.

7. It was lovely to be able to have my sister, Jenna, Toby, and Joshua at our house for about 24 hours this week. We definitely see them more while they are living in Quito than we did when they lived in Turkey. This is primarily due to the fact that their kids are older and need to be in the US to attend college, get their driver's licenses, work at Chick-Fil-A, take the SATs, etc. Yvonne and the kids plan to come back the end of May and stay through some time in August. Yvonne told me I should buy a "tennis elbow" brace for my right warm, which should relieve the pain I have had in that elbow for almost 6 months due to injuring it when I wasn't able to use my right leg. As for my foot, Yvonne pointed out the places where I still have inflammation and tightness and suggested that I use massage and also ice to decrease the pain. She suggested a massage therapist might be more helpful than a physical therapist at this point as she thinks I have probably regained full range of motion. She also suggested I might need to use a knee walker on our vacation in May. I really hope that's not the case. I hope that massage plus ice can bring about a lot of improvement over the next two months. 

8. Although it didn't count as one of her "dates" with a parent, I took Nadia to see Les Misérables at a local high school last Saturday afternoon. I also am planning to take her to see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers later this month. The kids and I had to wear masks and they had everyone really spread out when we saw Secret Garden in February. There wasn't any social distancing at Les Misérables, the crowd was MUCH bigger, and no masks were required. I am very thankful for the easing of the COVID regulations.

9. Paul's brother took Oliver to Winter Jam last week at PSU. Nadia and Ian could have attended with the youth group, but for whatever reason they didn't sign up to go. Oliver is too young to go with the youth group, and one of his favorite artists (Skillet) was part of the tour. Uncle Al made the evening very special for Oliver. He liked the food they ate, Al bought him a t-shirt, and they attended a meet and greet with some of the artists. One of the highlights for Oliver was when Matthew West was walking up to the stage, he walked through and aisle. One of the people whom he gave a high five to was Oliver! 

10. Albeit I am ready for spring weather, Oliver is having fun playing in the snow today. 

11. I love my new laptop. If my old laptop had continued to work, I wouldn't have asked for a new one, but wow the new one is much faster! I don't think my new microwave is an improvement over the one that died, but at least it consistently works, which couldn't be said for the old one. 

Dogsitting

Earlier this week a mom sent an email to people in the homeschool co-op in her search for a teenager to dog sit their female cavapoo for ten days. Nadia got the job, and Cookie was delivered to our house last night. Nadia loves dogs, cats, guinea pigs, etc. so she was excited at the prospect of having two dogs for ten days, plus she likes to earn $100. She's only earned money from someone other than me one other time in her life (she and her friend babysat a boy together once). I'm happy that someone else is paying her this time! Milo usually alternates between Nadia and Ian's beds. Last night it would normally have been Nadia's turn to have Milo, but because Cookie was crying in her crate for an extended period of time, Cookie slept with Nadia, and Ian had Milo two nights in a row. Normally Cookie sleeps in a crate, but it seems that in a foreign environment she preferred to snuggle with someone. We were told that Cookie doesn't have accidents in her crate but does have accidents in the house. She's had one accident so far. We thought Milo would be thrilled to have a playmate, but so far Cookie, despite the fact she's smaller than Milo, has been aggressive toward Milo (growling and jumping on him). Hopefully they will learn to get along as we hate having to keep Milo in his crate just to keep the two of them separate. 

In early December I joined Sam's club for the first time in my life. Time will tell if I keep the membership more than one year. It definitely made sense the first year as they refunded the membership fee during my first shopping trip. I had done one online order in December, but this Tuesday was the first time I actually went into the store. It was a quick trip because I didn't want to leave the boys at home longer than necessary and also because my ankle still swells up if I walk around too much. What I gleaned so far was that they don't carry everything we typically buy (ex. no skim milk), but they do have good prices on some things. The "find" that put the biggest smile on my face was turkey. Lunchmeat has been very scarce at Weis, Walmart, and Aldi, and also the prices have been skyrocketing. The package contained 2.5 lbs., which is more turkey than I usually buy at one time for Paul, but the price was good, and they had plenty in stock. I put some of it in the freezer. I didn't buy hotdogs there because I thought the price wasn't good. Then I went to Walmart after dropping Nadia off at her drama class and found out that the price of hotdogs had skyrocketed very recently. I hadn't purchased bacon or beef stew meat for months due to the price increases. I purchased them at Sam's. I paid more than I have ever paid per pound for those in the past BUT the price increase was smaller than it is at Lingle's, which is usually where I find the best prices for meat. I've also never purchased so many pounds of beef stew meat at one time. I shouldn't need any for at least a year! I'm not sure if I'll renew the membership in light of the $45 annual fee, but for at least the next about ten months I'm sure I'll shop there from time to time. It is definitely the best place to get Dorito's at the moment. I don't plan on buying eggs there again as #1 it wasn't the best price and #2 you have to buy at least 36 at a time which is definitely more than I usually buy at one time. 

Ian enjoyed his date with Paul last Saturday. They shared a pizza and bowled. The kids really enjoy these dates. Next year I'm planning to expand it so that they each get three dates a year. Today Oliver is going on a date with Paul to Treasure Castle Playland and KFC.

I'm very encouraged to see that some states are ending their mask mandates except for kids in school. Many have stated that masks other than N95 masks aren't that helpful, and I rarely see anyone wearing an N95 mask. Paul heard about a study recently that showed that the N95 masks are only helpful with Omicron if someone sneezes, coughs, or spits in your face. You need something even more powerful (a gas mask?) to prevent breathing the miniscule particles that are just floating around in the air. We've been using an air purifier at home that Paul's dad purchased. I'm even more thrilled to see that the cities which instituted vaccine mandates several weeks ago are already ending them or talking about ending them in the near future (Salem, Boston, Chicago, etc.). I was very encouraged when I saw that Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and England have scrapped their COVID restrictions, and I hoped the USA would follow their pattern. I have made most of the plans for our vacation in May. I'm still holding off on planning our fall trip, but now I have far more hope that we can take our unvaccinated kids on a road trip to New England or the Midwest. 

Winter Olympics

When Paul and I were in Beijing in 2006, they were preparing for the summer Olympics to be held in that city. We saw the partially completed Bird's Nest. Ever since I was a child, I have enjoyed watching the Olympics, and I have found ways for my kids to watch the Olympics even though we rarely have access to cable tv. This is the first time in my life I am very torn as to whether I will watch any of the Olympics, and it's because I feel that we should have boycotted these Olympics due to China's many human rights violations - genocide against the Uyghurs, persecution of Christians, and other serious issues related to their treatment of people in Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan, etc. If I had to pick my ten least favorite American politicians from my lifetime, Nancy Pelosi would be on that list, but I agree with her that we should have boycotted the Winter Olympics this year. We are planning to see some of the Olympic ice skaters in person in Pittsburgh in May. We shall see if we watch any of the Olympics this year or not.

Speaking of China, we had tickets to see the Peking Acrobats at Bucknell next month, but that show has been cancelled due to COVID. Those cancellations were such a shock in 2020, but two years later we've gotten very accustomed to rolling with that kind of punch. The hardest thing to grapple with right now related to COVID is that you can't walk into an aquarium or an art museum in many cities in the US without showing proof of vaccination. I really hope that isn't the case for a very long period of time as I certainly don't want to make a medical decision for that reason. Paul and I are still concerned about the lack of longitudinal data and do not feel it's worth the risk for our kids, especially given how many triple vaccinated individuals have still come down with COVID. 

I got the bill in the mail today from when Oliver received three stitches. The charge was $632, which seems ridiculous for an appointment that literally lasted less than ten minutes, BUT the good news is that they applied a "self-pay discount" in the amount of $507, so we actually were charged $125 for the appointment. Ten ice skating lessons for three kids cost a total of $180, and then one fall on the ice cost $175, but that's nothing compared to my fall in September. Speaking of broken ankles, a dad broke his on the ice last night right before Ian and Nadia's lesson was supposed to begin. Their class was shortened as they waited for an ambulance to arrive. As far as my hospital bill, the insurance commission said that because we knew the policy was limited, there wasn't any violation even though the salesman (who recommended this particular plan) had said it was only limited in three ways (maternity, mental health, and substance abuse). At this point our only hope for seeing the $20K bill shrink is what the insurance calls a network appeal. It would be lovely if the discounts would amount to 80% off like they were for Oliver's stitches, but I'm not expecting that. We should find out in the next week what we will have to pay. If the bill comes down a lot, I want to see a physical therapist. I still experience pain if I do much in the way of walking or standing over the course of a day. I know we'll have to pay for the physical therapist bill, but I hope it would be worth the expense. However, with a $20K bill hanging over our heads, I'm trying to avoid incurring any additional medical bills if at all possible. 

In my spare time I've been reading and working on learning Spanish. I read ten books (plus started some others) in January. I want to get back in gear with photography. I have barely taken any photos over the last 4 months. I snapped the picture in this post at Ian's request. He was working on programming that Lego robot and asked me to take a picture with my phone and send it to Pop Pop. 

On Wednesday as we were driving to church, I asked the kids what age they thought was a good age to start dating. Ian said, "Never." Nadia said, "18," and Oliver agreed with Nadia's idea. Eighteen works for me! I was almost 25 years old when I started dating, but I certainly hadn't wanted to wait that long. We shall see if Ian changes his opinion at some point along the way. 

Stitches again

 

It seems that for every day of the year people have assigned a celebration of some sort - national cheesecake day, pi day, Star Wars day, etc. In other instances, we are encouraged to celebrate or focus on something for a month - Black History month, Women's History month, breast cancer awareness month, etc. Next week is the 12th annual National School Choice week. I'm very thankful that we still have school choice in our country. A majority of children attend their local public school, but some parents choose to send their child to a charter school, send their child to a private school, or homeschool them. I'm not sure what impact COVID has had on the enrollment of private and charter schools, but I do know that the number of parents choosing to homeschool their children has gone up dramatically. The states that have the largest percentage of homeschoolers include Alaska (27.5%), Oklahoma (20.1%), Montana (18.3%), and Florida (18.1%). Although homeschooling is typically quite different than remote learning at home through a public school, a vast majority of parents did get at least a taste of homeschooling in the spring of 2020. I don't think homeschooling is the right choice for everyone, but we do believe it's the right choice for our children. 

On Wednesday night Paul called me and said he was taking Nadia and Ian to the hospital because he thought Ian needed to be seen at the ER due to an allergic reaction to having eaten something with a tree nut at youth group. The other time eating a tree nut caused Ian to have breathing difficulty was in June 2020. Benadryl was enough that time, but the Pediatrician did give him a prescription for epi pens at that point. Paul decided to come home first, and Benadryl was enough. His whole body was shaking for a long time afterward, and his throat was in a lot of pain as his reaction is due to eosinophilic esophagitis. He had asked his youth group small group leader if the food had nuts, and the leader had said "probably not." Ian now understands "probably not" means he needs to definitely avoid eating the food. 

On Thursday night I did take Oliver to an urgent care clinic because he fell at the beginning of their ice skating lessons. It's his third time to have stitches on his head over the last four years. The most noticeable scar is from his sledding accident in 2018. The same physician assistant who sewed him up under his chin last summer is the one who sewed him up above his right eyebrow last night. This time he only needed three stitches. The Lidocaine injection is definitely the worst part of the ordeal. I was torn how long to wait to take Oliver. In the end I let Nadia and Ian stay for about 40 minutes of what would have been a 75-minute lesson. A man at the ice-skating rink who helped clean Oliver up also gave him two candy bars and a bottle of water. Oliver gave one candy bar plus a majority of the second candy bar to his siblings as he felt badly that they had to miss part of their lesson on his account. I was planning to take Oliver to the closest urgent care clinic, but when I called, they said they weren't taking any more patients that night because the current wait time was 2.5 hours. I didn't want to take him to the urgent care clinic run by the same hospital where I had my ankle surgery in light of how unhelpful they have been with my surgery bill. The clinic I took him to didn't have any wait, and it was the best one for Paul to meet me there on his way home from work so that he could take Nadia and Ian home with him. They charged me $90 since we don't have insurance. I'm hoping there won't be an additional bill. When I took Ian to his physical earlier this month, I paid $50, but then I received a bill in the mail for another $190. Thankfully, when I called, they said it was a mistake and they wrote off the rest of the bill. I was told his sutures should come out on Wednesday, and I made an appointment with his primary care physician since I think that they will charge me $50, and I'm guessing it would be another $90 if we returned to the urgent care clinic. Also, the PCP is about 22 miles closer to our house. I hope that Oliver will do a better job of protecting his head and not need any more stitches! Thankfully this scar won't be visible because his eyebrow hair should cover it up. 

Today I paid for a photography membership that I considered signing up for on Black Friday. It was cheaper that day, but at that point I wasn't convinced I should take the plunge. I have taken a very small number of pictures over the last four months; I'm sure it's a record for the fewest pictures I've ever taken in that time span over the past 13.5 years not counting the time I was in the hospital during Oliver's pregnancy. I'm hoping that this membership will #1 help me get back in gear in terms of taking more pictures and #2 help me get off the very long plateau I've been on in terms of growth as a photographer. 

As I read in the news recently, I am hoping we WILL follow the pattern of the UK in at least two regards and will NOT follow the pattern of Canada in another. I was thrilled to see that the UK is now treating COVID as endemic = no more mask mandates or vaccine mandates and such in that country. It is now being treated the same as a seasonal flu. I really, really hope that our country will follow suit in the not-so-distant future. Also, they have raised interest rates in the UK, which is something that needs to happen here to help curtail inflation. People didn't like the high interest rates in the US in the 70's, but it brought inflation down and helped bring about the economic boon of the 80's. As for Canada, they have recently partially done away with freedom of speech and freedom of religion as pastors, rabbis, and imams will now face criminal charges if they speak about sexual topics. Unfortunately, it's not hard to envision that will eventually also happen in our country, but I would love to be wrong. Although there's plenty of things in the news that are disturbing, there are some that are encouraging such as the Supreme Court ending the OSHA vaccine mandate, and the filibuster being upheld in the Senate. The Democrats might not want the filibuster now, but won't they want it the next time the Republicans have the majority in the Senate? I don't actually think there should be a vaccine mandate for employees, but if that was to happen, it should come through the legislative not the executive branch.

Thankful Thursday

 

1. Margie was able to have her fourth chemo treatment, which had been delayed when she had COVID. This means she only has two more to go! She has decided to decline the radiation treatments that were to follow. 

2. Ian and Nadia participated in a Bible quiz on Romans chapters 1-14 on January 7-8. Nadia did better than she had at any previous quizzing event. She won't be able to attend the quiz in Indiana in May because it interferes with one of her drama performances, but she's looking forward to attending the finals in South Carolina in June. Hopefully she'll do even better than she did at the last quiz. 

3. I have really been enjoying the fact that for the first time in my life I have a heated seat in my vehicle. I really, really love that feature! My Aunt Janet has raved about how she loves a heated steering wheel so maybe I'll be able to enjoy that additional feature at some point in my life. 

4. The kids enjoyed their first ice skating lesson since 2020 on January 13. The lessons are longer than they were in the past without an additional charge!

5. Paul didn't have a severe case of COVID, and he didn't lose his sense of taste or smell. He slept on the couch for 6 nights to decrease the chances that I would catch it, but he returned to sleeping on our bed on Tuesday night. Also, it seems that at least Ian, Nadia, and I didn't come down with it. Oliver had a fever for a few hours on Tuesday evening. If he had COVID, he had an extremely mild case. I realize that other respiratory bugs still exist so he might have caught something else. He still has a runny nose. We quarantined for a few days. None of us went to church the past two Sundays first because of an ice storm and then because of Paul having COVID, but I did drop Nadia and Ian off at church yesterday afternoon for Bible quizzing and youth group. I missed my ladies Bible study last night because Oliver hadn't gone 24 hours without a fever at that point. I ordered our four "free" COVID tests. I use the word "free" loosely because obviously taxpayers are paying for them. If I had a test, I would have used it on Oliver last night even though I know it's easy to get a false positive with those. 

6. A twelve-year-old girl who attends the Christian school at our church was finally able to have a surgery to remove a malignant tumor. For many months, her parents couldn't find ANY surgeons willing to attempt the surgery, but finally a doctor in Minnesota agreed, and the surgery was a success! This was the answer to the prayers of many! 

7. Things went smoothly at the kids' dentist appointments on Tuesday afternoon. I'm thankful that so far none of them have ever had any cavities. 

8. Nadia was able to attend her drama class on Tuesday for the first time since September 6. Here's to hoping she is actually able to participate this semester, which didn't happen last semester due to my broken ankle. 

9. It's getting much harder for me to stick to my price points when grocery shopping, but I still occasionally can get a good deal. Recently I bought 3 boxes of Frosted Mini-Wheats (the bigger size box) for a total of $4.50. I submitted the receipt online, and Kellogg's rewarded me with a $5 gift card to Amazon. I like being paid to buy cereal, especially as that is one of Nadia's most favorite kinds of cereal. 

7. I had gotten stuck on a plateau as far as making progress with learning Spanish, but I recently got back in gear and have been making progress. Duolingo has leagues. The highest league is the diamond league. I've been in that league for 25 weeks. Recently the had a tournament in the diamond league which lasted a few weeks. My first attempt in the tournament I only made it to the semifinals, but last week I won in the finals, which according to Duolingo puts me in the top 0.5% of Duolingo users. Well winning that tournament doesn't actually mean anything, but hopefully I can eventually become fluent in Spanish. I have a long way to go before that happens. Conjugating verbs in the past tense is so hard for me! Hopefully I will keep plugging along. 

8. I love it when read aloud books lead to independent reading by the kids. For example, Ian really enjoyed the book, Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians, and now he's begun reading the rest of the books in the series on his own. We listened to the five Penderwicks books a while ago, and Nadia recently just finished reading all of them. Next, she's planning to read the five Vanderbeekers books which we also listened to together previously. 

9. We've seen Paul a lot more over the last five months than usual due to a variety of reasons - our vacation, his back injury, my ankle surgery, and the fact he had COVID. It's nice to have him around more!

10. We got a couple of inches of snow on Sunday night. The kids enjoyed playing in it on Monday. Proof that I am still making progress with my ankle would be that I shoveled the driveway. It was definitely the most cardiovascular exercise I had gotten in four months. 

11. I've made a lot of progress with planning our trip to the southeast in May. I started to put more thought into our trip in September, and then I found out that other cities have enacted COVID vaccine requirements for everyone ages 5+. I'm hoping and praying that these will just be temporary, especially considering that this vaccine is not incredibly effective (Paul's office manager/salesman had all three shots including the booster and still tested positive for COVID last week). I'd hate to think we'll have to avoid a long list of cities for years to come just because our kids haven't had this one vaccine. My kids have had every vaccine their doctors have ever recommended they have except for the HPV. In light of the fact that we'd be very limited in cities like Chicago and Boston, at the moment we're thinking maybe in September we'll go to Texas and Louisiana instead. Houston and San Antonio don't have vaccine mandates. New Orleans does, but it wouldn't interfere with any of our sightseeing plans. We'd just have to eat outdoors or get takeout in New Orleans if the vaccine mandate in that city isn't lifted over the next eight months. Who would have thought you'd need to show your driver's license and a medical record to enter a science museum or a restaurant in the USA?!?! I never would have dreamt this would happen. I remember needing to show our passports when we went to church in China in 2006, but that's the only other time in my life I remember needing to show ID to enter a building. Thankfully, I don't think any of the places we plan to visit in May in Florida, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, or Tennessee have a vaccine mandate in effect. 

12. Nadia got an A on her last physical science test! It was on Newton's laws and other similar topics. Yesterday I gave Nadia and Ian a test in history for the first time in their lives. Ian got an A, and Nadia got a B. It's a little tough for her to swallow when her younger brother does better on her when they take the same test, but I was just pleased that they both did well. I'm trying to ease Nadia into the concept of grades since I have to start giving her report cards in the fall when she's in high school.

13. Ian accidentally ate something with tree nuts at youth group last night. Paul called me and said he was going to the hospital as he thought Ian needed to go to the ER. Thankfully some Benadryl did the trick at home. Ian was very shaken up due to the difficulty he had breathing. I'm very glad that he's okay, and I hope he will be more careful not to eat anything with tree nuts in the future!