What a week!

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Bridal Shower

 

Jenna with her three aunts at her bridal shower

1. My niece, Jenna, is getting married on February 7. I won't have trouble remembering the date of her anniversary because Paul and I met on February 7, 1997, and we started dating a few weeks later. She had a surprise bridal shower on January 2. Her mom, aunts, and Toby's mom hosted a shower for her yesterday at Toby's parents' house. At one point I wasn't sure if Nadia and I would be able to attend, but thankfully, we were able to drive down, attend the shower, and drive back home before it started snowing. I purchased the favors for the shower, took photos, and planned the three games that we played. Jenna wore a white dress and her very cute white boots that she will be wearing at the wedding. It was Nadia's first bridal shower. 

Here are some other things I'm thankful for today:

2. The window above our kitchen sink has been broken since 2018. Since it's a Pella window, it cannot be repaired. We have gotten estimates twice over the last several years for replacing it. The most recent estimate by Window World was far more reasonable than the first estimate we had several years ago. We decided to take the plunge, and on Friday we put down 50% toward replacing one window plus our sliding glass door. Thankfully, the salesman honored the quote we were given last May despite the fact the price of the door went up $800 over the last 8 months. 

3. I enjoyed taking my friend, Cheri, out for lunch on Thursday to celebrate her 69th birthday. 

4. When the boys had an orthodontist appointment last week, I visited the library that is across the street from the orthodontist. I discovered that you could check out board games! I checked out Blank Slate. We played it at co-op last week, and we've played it twice as a family over the last week. 

Jenna with Toby's Grandma and two of his sisters

5. I'm not a fan of cold weather. The last four years I walked outside almost every day no matter what the temperature was. A couple of months ago I decided to switch to exercising on the elliptical in our basement. When the weather is nicer, I definitely prefer being outside in the fresh air as I enjoy seeing plants, animals, and the sky, but I am very grateful we own an elliptical. We purchased it in 2016, but I haven't used it that much over the years. I don't go as many miles, but my heart rate is elevated far more as I can up the incline and the resistance level. I've gotten my time for completing 2 miles under 30 minutes, which is a big improvement for me. I know for some that would still be a snail's pace, but I'm pleased with my progress.

6. Paul and I were able to attend an 80th birthday party for a woman in our Sunday School class last Sunday afternoon. 

7. Our church cancelled the in-person service today. Thankfully, they had recorded a service on Wednesday night that they streamed today. So far, we've gotten 14 inches of snow today. As an added bonus, our former senior pastor (who retired in 2021) preached the sermon. I miss him!

8. A few weeks ago, Ian asked if he could start cooking a meal every Saturday. I was thrilled that he took the initiative with that. Since I was gone most of the day yesterday, Ian (and I) cooked our dinner tonight. I'm hoping we make this a habit so that by the time he graduates from high school he will know how to cook a variety of dishes. Nadia makes the majority of the desserts we consume. She made a delicious peanut butter pie today. Yum!

Thankful Thursday

1. On Friday afternoon Paul rented scaffolding for finishing painting in our foyer. This was nerve wracking for both of us to put it mildly, but thankfully he wasn't injured while he painted on Saturday and Sunday. There was a very tiny section near the top of the steps that he couldn't reach even when we had the scaffolding on the stairs, but he should be able to reach that part with just a ladder. He was also able to clean the chandelier and one side of the window while he was up there. If we ever move to another home, I don't want to live in another house that has this high of a ceiling. I love the new paint color. The part Paul painted hadn't been painted in 26 years. We had originally planned to hire a painter due to the difficulty, but we saved a lot of money by doing it ourselves. Paul returned the scaffolding on Monday morning. 

2. Last Friday I decided not to walk for 3 hours during the boys' Stronghold camp as I had the previous four days. Instead, I bought some clothing for myself and Nadia at Salvation Army (2 skirts and 2 pairs of shorts for less than $11 total) and had my first pedicure in more than a year. The boys enjoyed the camp last week. The last day (Friday) they stayed an extra hour. Afterwards, I treated them to a trip to Rita's. Yum! 

3. The boys enjoyed swimming at a pool party hosted by our church on Saturday night.

4. Last Friday evening the tickets to tour Ford Island (at Pearl Harbor) on August 8 became available at 9:00 pm. I logged in a little before 9:00 pm and tried to buy five reservations (only $1 each) right when they became available. I wasn't the first person to click "purchase" as some were already gone, but thankfully I was able to get 5 of the 40 reservations available for that day. They were gone in minutes. Paul would have been devastated if I hadn't been able to get them. Thank you, Lord! I am going to attempt a similar feat on Monday at 1:00pm when I will attempt to get reservations for Hanauma Bay. If I'm unsuccessful it won't be as devastating as there are many places to snorkel but only one USS Oklahoma and USS Utah. 

5. Shopping for bathing suits isn't exactly my favorite activity. Although I was never one to spend a lot of time in shopping malls, I definitely prefer trying shoes/clothes on before buying them. I know in some places shopping malls still exist, but they have become a thing of the past in our area. I had planned to try to buy a bathing suit at Kohl's prior to our merengue lesson last Friday night, but Paul was so exhausted from setting up the scaffolding, he just wanted to stay home last Friday night. On Sunday I decided to order a bathing suit on Amazon. I was thrilled to discover I had chosen the right size and liked it, especially since it only cost a little over $20. I'll be wearing a bathing suit more than usual while we're in Hawaii, so I'm thankful I have one I like and isn't one I inherited from my mom after she passed in 2016. 

All the counselors for girls' camp

6. I *think* our first vacation in 2026 will be to Europe in May. I can't plan that trip yet because I'm waiting to find a good airfare deal. We think our other trip in 2026 will be to the northeast part of Canada in August 2026. I can start planning that trip because we will be driving our own vehicle to get there. I am not going to be making any reservations for lodging or activities anytime soon, but I have begun to flesh out an itinerary. I like to do it well in advance and then revise and tweak it. I sometimes feel like it's a massive jigsaw puzzle as certain places are only open certain days of the week. I have us visiting some National Park sites in New York on the way up to Canada and some others in Massachusetts on the way back home that I hadn't been able to include in previous trips to that area due to the dates they were closed (or in the case of JFK the whole site was closed for renovations the last time we were in MA). I have a tentative initial itinerary (places to eat and places to spend the night are generally TBD) that is for 11 nights/ 12 days. Two days are in the US, one day each in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, and 4 days each in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. When I was growing up, we went on several vacations in Canada. I had expected to like Prince Edward Island the best due to my strong affection for Anne of Green Gables, but my favorite province was actually Nova Scotia. I've never been to Newfoundland. It was tempting to exclude Newfoundland again due to the time and expense involved in taking a ferry to get there from Nova Scotia, but it looks like there are some amazing sights to see in Newfoundland, and we doubt we'll be in that area again in the future, so Paul and I decided to include Newfoundland. So far, the kids have only been in Ontario, but I'm hoping over the next few years that we can visit all the other provinces. I doubt Nadia will visit all of them, but I do think she can join us to visit these four provinces. I enjoy learning more about different places through all the research I do prior to planning a vacation. Did you know that the only place on earth where you can walk on the earth's mantle is in Gros Morne Park in Newfoundland? The Bay of Fundy has the highest tidal range in the world. We're planning to visit Hopewell Rocks, and Oliver is hoping it will work out for us to go on a tidal bore rafting trip in Nova Scotia at high tide. If this trip does happen, I'm planning to buy a photo map of the provinces of Canada that I can hang on the wall and fill like I have done for the states of the US over the last several years. Since there are only ten provinces in Canada, the kids will have been in half of them after this trip since they've already been to Ontario. 

7. It's been very hot over the last week. I'm thankful for air conditioning, and I'm thankful it's not as hot today as Paul and I have only been walking Milo once a day lately due to the heat.

8. Even though the warehouse isn't air conditioned (it was 90 degrees inside while we were there), we didn't let that stop the three of us from volunteering at Experience Missions yesterday morning. We were packing kits for Voice of the Martyrs. Thankful for an opportunity to serve. 

9. Our separation from Nadia is *almost* done! I will be picking her up on Saturday evening. I'm looking forward to talking to her later today. I haven't talked to her in eight days. I'm thankful she's been able to work at a Christian camp this summer. 

10. The mirror cover is going to be replaced on our van at 1:00 today. Thankful!

11. On Monday night Oliver asked to go on a date with Paul to Bonanza. We hadn't eaten there since December 2022. Monday is family night, which means the adult and children's prices are reduced a little, and Oliver will only qualify for the kids' rate for a few more days as he turns 13 next week. They enjoyed their meal. Oliver is the most proactive of our three kids when it comes to requesting to have a date with one of us. 

Thankful Thursday

1. Our new refrigerator was delivered on Tuesday morning! 

2. I got to talk on the phone with Nadia for a little over 30 minutes yesterday afternoon!

3. I had an appointment more than a month ago for an oil change, inspection, and tire rotation. The shop went out of business, and the other shops in that chain weren't able to do inspections for more than a month. I went elsewhere for the oil change prior to our trip to Indiana, but I was finally able to get the inspection done on July 22, and they didn't charge me anything for the tire rotation, which was the reason I didn't get that done in conjunction with the oil change last month. The insurance has been dragging their feet as far as approving the replacement of the cover for the driver's side mirror that was cracked by the deer in March, but they finally approved that this week. 

4. The boys have been involved in a Stronghold (foam sword fighting) class from 9-12 this week. It's their third year to participate. The camp only costs $10 per kid! Since it's been held at a location that is a little over 30 minutes from our home, I've been walking during the camp. I've been walking over 10 miles a day this week! I also have talked on the phone with some friends and family while I've been walking. Tomorrow I'm hoping to treat myself to my first pedicure in more than a year. 

5. Oliver and I had a date on Saturday afternoon. I took him to see a performance of the musical Annie. The director was the same pastor who directed the performances of Sound of Music that I was in.

6. I had my annual mammogram on July 9, and they called me yesterday to tell me the results were normal.

Thankful Thursday

 1. Paul and I had our first merengue lesson on July 11. So far, we prefer salsa, but maybe the next three lessons will change our opinion. 

2. Ian and Oliver came home on Saturday!!! They had a good week at camp, and I am very grateful to have them back at home. We saw Nadia for a few minutes before we left, and we talked to her on the phone a little on Monday. I loved hearing all the boys sing (very boisterously) "Victory in Jesus" at the closing ceremony of camp on Saturday morning. 

3. The Seiberts picked Cooper up on Saturday evening. I'm so glad we can swap dog sitting services. I would estimate the dogs spend about 3 months a year together (some of that at our house and some at theirs). 

4. I received a lot of positive feedback after I taught a lesson on Titus on Sunday morning. 

5. Ian enjoyed participating in the youth group's talent show on Wednesday night. 

6. The boys and I were able to help at Experience Missions this morning. One of the projects we were working on was packing aid for moms/newborn babies in Zambia.

7. We've lived in this house for seventeen years, and we've never had the house pressure washed. One side in particular was needing to be washed. The house was pressure washed today. Given how much it costs I don't want to do it frequently, but I have a feeling it's the first time it's been done on this house, and the house is 26 years old. The exterior of our house looks much better now!

8. Last Friday we discovered that the ice cream in our freezer was melting, which led to the discovery that both sides of the refrigerator were not at the correct temperatures despite the fact they were set to the correct temperatures. On Saturday Paul began to try several different things to see if he could fix it. Once he figured out at least one of the problems, we decided it was better to just get a new refrigerator because there was no guarantee replacing one part would be sufficient. The refrigerator is nine years old, and it seems the average lifespan for one is 10-15 years. In light of that, it seemed it wasn't worth it to put significant money into one that was 9 years old. Thankfully, we have a freezer in the basement, so we were able to move everything that had been in the freezer side of our refrigerator downstairs. The trickier part was keeping what had been in the refrigerator side chilled. We moved some things to the freezer side. I did research on Saturday and chose a freezer from Lowe's. I paid for two-day delivery. On Sunday night we were told they would deliver it between 1-5pm on Monday. At 2:11 on Monday I got a text saying we were their next stop. We unplugged the refrigerator, emptied it, and put Milo in the crate as instructed. Two hours later I called to ask where they were and was told that I had requested the delivery be rescheduled. What?!?!? After several phone calls with the delivery service and also with Lowe's, I found out that the soonest they could deliver it now was Wednesday. Given I had paid extra for two-day delivery and that I had narrowed my search to those available for delivery on Monday, I cancelled my order. I also wasn't wanting to give my business to Lowe's if the delivery service they use was going to outright lie to me. On Tuesday I called a local (small business) appliance store. I selected another refrigerator. It was supposed to be delivered tomorrow, but he called me this evening to say that the delivery truck was missing three items, and my refrigerator was one of them. Now it's scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday. Wow this has been an ordeal. Thankfully, a family member has generously offered to pay for our new refrigerator, which was unexpected and greatly appreciated as aside from a tax refund from the IRS, we haven't had any income for 9 months. I'm also thankful that our refrigerator is partially working. We have our milk in the section that's supposed to be the freezer. I'm hoping that it will continue to at least partially work until our new one comes, and hopefully there won't be any more delays. Patience is a virtue, right? 

9. The last several days we've been playing games together. The four of us played monopoly three times (I won twice, and Oliver won once). The boys and I have also played Quiddler, Connect Four, Milles Borne, and Backgammon multiple times. Ian and Paul played chess. 

10. Today is my sister's 49th birthday. We typically go many months without touching base, so it was nice to chat with her today for about 30 minutes. 

Home Sweet Home

While we were at my sister's house, I did three loads of laundry. On the way to our house on Thursday evening we stopped and got some groceries, dinner, a new phone charger for Paul (the one he and Nadia had been sharing was accidentally left at the hotel in Phoenix the morning we flew back to BWI), and got Milo. Although he really loves the Seiberts (which is such a blessing!), he was thrilled to see me when I went in to pick him up. Once we got home, it was time to unpack and mow the lawn. I had paid one of the kids in our development to mow the lawn once, so it wasn't ridiculously tall. I also did two more loads of laundry. Paul got back to working on spackling and sanding in the living room, which was a project he started 6+ weeks ago. I was thrilled to sleep in my own bed. In general, I got a decent amount of sleep on the trip, but the last two nights that wasn't the case. As proof that Oliver also didn't get enough sleep the last two nights, he fell asleep in the van on the drive home (in the middle of the afternoon), slept until after 9:00 am the next day (very late for him), and took another nap on Friday afternoon! When he woke up from the nap on Friday, he thought it was time for breakfast even though I was actually cooking dinner. 

Nadia worked the afternoon shift on Friday and the morning shift on Saturday. After Paul finished sanding and spackling on Friday evening, we both began painting the room. We finished the first coat on Friday night and the second coat on Saturday morning. I also finished sanding, priming, and painting the trim (going from stained wood to painted white). We managed to finish and get the room mostly put back together before some of Nadia's friends came over for her 17th birthday party. Paul's dad came over to deliver Nadia's sugar cookies from Aunt Millie's bakery and also to take Oliver shopping at Walmart for an early birthday present of a new bike. He played chess with Ian and Oliver. When we bought this house all the walls except for the ones in Nadia's room were painted some shade of white. During the first several years I painted many of the rooms a non-neutral color (green in Ian's room, yellow in Oliver's, blue in our bedroom, orange in the living room, green in the dining room, etc.). Lately I've been reversing the trend and going back toward a neutral color - various shades of grey. This year we painted the living room and dining room the same color, and I changed the trim from stained wood to painted white in both rooms as well. I also went from miniblinds to sheer curtains and drapes in both rooms. I really like the new look! I also recently got navy blue room darkening curtains for our bedroom because I was waking up too early. I love them!

At 1:00 today I drove Leila, Jillian, and my three kids to Xandir's house. Ian and Oliver stayed at his house, and Faith joined the other three girls as we went to Centered Earth. Julianna had planned to also join us, but she was recently diagnosed with Chron's disease and was admitted to the hospital earlier this week. Abby joined us a bit later as she had ballet at 1:00. The girls each picked what bisque they wanted to paint with a glaze. Nadia chose a stack of turtles, Leila chose a mermaid mug, Jillian chose a vase, Abby chose an ice cream bowl, and Faith chose a yard bowl. When we got home after I walked Milo and finished putting the living room back together, I served chicken wraps and fruit for dinner as well as cookies or ice cream for dessert. The girls played games such as Wits and Wagers, Quiplash, Apples to Apples, and Spontuneous. Jill left around 9:30. The other three girls stayed for a sleep over with Nadia. Ian and Oliver are spending the night at Xandir's house. We'll meet back up at church tomorrow morning. Three of the girls who came are on the Bible quizzing team, and Abby is planning to join the team next year. Tomorrow afternoon Jenna and Toby will be joining us for a meal, and I'll be doing an engagement photo shoot for them. Nadia will be working tomorrow afternoon. On Monday morning we will be dropping the van off so it can be repaired. I am very excited about that as it has been dented since the end of March when the deer ran into me. 

Thankful Thursday

1. We're thankful that Nadia is able to work at Warrior Run Petcare year-round, and that she also has been hired to be a counselor at Camp Susque this summer.

2. The three performances of the musical went very well. Overall, more than 1,400 people purchased tickets to see the Wizard of Oz. Seven of Yvonne's kids, Yvonne, Toby, my dad, Paul's dad, and Tab all saw one of their performances. I'm thankful they had this experience and that some of their family and friends were able to come and see them perform. I am also glad the rehearsals are DONE. Our schedule is much less hectic. This year I helped with serving meals to the cast. Next year I think I'll go back to volunteering to help with concessions.

3. On April 6 all 17 of us went to church together. My dad then drove to Pittsburgh for his cousin's funeral. The rest of us drove to Camp Hill to have lunch at Panera/Chipotle and see a passion play. I didn't think my dad would be able to see the kids' performance AND attend his cousin's funeral, but he was able to do so when they scheduled the funeral for Monday. 

4. I've taken at least one child to multiple Easter egg hunts every year from 2010 to 2025 with the exception of 2020. This is Oliver's last year so this phase of life as of April 20 will have come to an end. On April 12 I took Oliver to an egg hunt at the Alliance Church which is very close to our home. Because it was raining that morning, they moved the egg hunt into their gym. They had over 6,000 eggs on the floor!!! Oliver filled a LARGE basket once, dumped it out, and filled it a second time. There were still eggs on the floor when he decided to call it quits as far as collecting more eggs. He had found one prize egg - which meant he was given an Easter basket filled with an assortment of goodies (peeps, stuffed animals, etc.). Paul took him to another egg hunt in the afternoon at the park in our town. Usually, this egg hunt features hard boiled eggs for all the older kids, but I assume due to the cost of eggs these days, they had plastic eggs this year. Oliver found four prize eggs! I believe that's a record for him. All four prizes were solid chocolate bunnies. He shared some with his siblings. He plans to attend two more egg hunts this Saturday, and that will be the end of egg hunts for our family.

5. On Sunday I dropped Nadia off at church at 7:00 am so that she could ride to Philadelphia to participate in a ministry to homeless/ drug addicts in Kensington. She returned back around 6:00 pm. I am thankful she had a desire to serve in this ministry!

6. From 1992-2008 I owned plants that I kept either in my classroom, home, or office. When we moved to our current home in September 2008, I got rid of my plants, and I haven't had any plants in the home since then for any significant period of time. Last week I purchased two plants for the dining room - a monstera and a snake plant. Over the last month we've painted the dining room ceiling white, painted the walls grey, and painted the baseboards and window frames white (which had been stained for the last 26 years). We also removed the miniblinds, installed a curtain rod, and hung some drapes. I also hung up some additional artwork which included buying a frame for one my grandma's paintings that Aunt Janet gave me in 2020 before she moved to Reno. Next up is to change out the light fixture, and then I think the update in that room will be done. I really like the new plants, painted white trim, etc. Oliver also really likes the plants. I hope these plants are hearty enough to be able to go without being watered for two weeks while we're on vacation. I'm planning to tackle the living room next in terms of sanding, priming, and painting the trim and window frames. I will wait to paint the living room walls until after Paul does some spackling and sanding in there. 

7. Last week I had to cancel co-op at 7:30 am, which is about one hour before the first kids usually arrive, because some of us were sick. We're not all 100% healthy yet, but I'm thankful we were able to have co-op this week. We plan to meet three more times before taking a break for the summer.

8. On Sunday the boys attended a birthday party for a younger sibling of one of their friends at a playground. Ian went fishing with Ben, and they both caught trout! Ben is doing us the favor of chopping off the head and such, freezing it, and giving the fish Ian caught back to him so that he can eat it after I cook it. 

9. In October I permanently deleted my Facebook account. On March 22, I created a new account because I wanted to give away two curio cabinets. I have a whopping one friend right now, and I only sent her a friend request because she wanted to send me a video of her son's ninja competition via Messenger. I think this is the best of both worlds. I have spent zero minutes looking at a FB news feed for six months, but now if there's something I need to look up on a church or business's FB page, I can do so, and now I can resume selling things or giving things away on FB marketplace. This week Oliver sold some of his Paw Patrol toys for $50, and I gave away some plastic lawn chairs we hadn't used for more than 17 years. When I went on a FB yard sale page to list the Paw Patrol toys, I noticed a lot of 1,000-piece puzzles, which I proceeded to buy for Nadia on Monday. The seller met me at the dentist office while the kids were getting their teeth cleaned. I don't plan on posting anything on my wall or adding more friends as I don't plan to read a news feed, but there are other ways Facebook can be useful it seems (unfortunately). Anything that helps me with decluttering is appreciated. Paul made a trip to Goodwill to donate a trunk load after he took the boys to the birthday party on Sunday afternoon.

10. Nadia and Ian have recently started going on a walk together every day. A few weeks earlier Ian and Oliver started getting some exercise together outdoors. Ian often runs while Oliver is riding his bike or roller blading. Ian is the one getting the most exercise since both of his siblings ask him to join them! Milo is also getting more exercise because he's still walking with Paul and I twice a day, and now he also often joins Ian and Nadia. 

11. The battery on Paul's iPhone wouldn't charge. Thankfully he was able to get an appointment right away at Best Buy. They said it would cost over $400 to repair it so they suggested he purchase a wireless charger instead which was much cheaper than buying a new phone or repairing the phone. 

12. I'm thankful for Paul's help with the dining room update. I bought him a sledgehammer recently so that he could begin breaking up the piece of concrete in the yard that the spinning seesaw had been attached to. A few years ago, we had quite a few things in our yard - trampoline, spinning seesaw, shed, fence, and a slide/swing set. Gradually we've gotten rid of all of those things. The only things that remain are our grill and the two concrete pads. I'm not sure what we're going to do with the one that had been under the shed, but I figured if he broke apart the smaller slab, we could put a little bit in the garbage each week until we finally get rid of the entire thing. 

13. The plan *had* been to not take classes at MCS next year. Nadia and Ian have changed their tune. The school just changed the policy for homeschoolers. Up until this year homeschoolers have had to be in chorus to be able to audition for the musical. Starting in the fall, the policy is that homeschoolers can audition as long as they are taking one class at MCS. All three want to only take art at MCS next year, and Nadia and Ian want to be in The Little Mermaid musical in April 2026. The last two years they've taken art and chorus on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Wednesdays are rather hectic because they also have Bible quizzing and youth group from 4:30-8:00 pm. I asked if their second section of art could be on another day. They could take art on Mondays. I asked Ian's piano teacher if Ian's piano lessons could be moved from Monday to Friday, and they can. The kids have been at church from 1:15-8:00 on Wednesdays. I'm grateful that won't be the case next year, and the kids are grateful they don't have to take chorus next year. 

14. Nadia, 100% of her own initiative, has been helping out rather regularly in the kitchen with baking, cooking, reheating, etc. I want all three kids to be adept at cooking and baking before they graduate. I'm trying to do a better job of asking the boys to help at least once a week to develop their skills as well. It means a lot when Nadia offers to help of her own initiative.

Off to see the Wizard!

Winter is my least favorite season, so I'm always thrilled when the weather starts to turn warmer, the grass gets greener, the trees begin to blossom, etc. I always think of my mom on the first day of spring because her birthday was March 20. She would have turned 80 this year if she was still alive, but she passed away in 2016. Rita's and Dairy Queen give a free treat to all their customers on the first day of spring. The boys and I took advantage of these offers this year, which was a first for us. I intended to last year, but I didn't realize that in a leap year the first day of spring is one day earlier than usual. In some locations ice skating rinks are open year-round. Ours closes at the end of March. Several of the kids from our co-op plus some of their younger siblings went ice skating together on March 21. We had two free passes, so we only had to pay $5 for the three kids to skate since Nadia already owns her own ice skates. 

Ian had his annual physical on March 14. Usually, it costs $50 for us to see the doctor, but awhile back they started charging us $100 for the kids' physicals because they said the hearing/vision screenings also cost $50. This time I asked if those screenings could be declined. She said they could. Ian had just been to the eye doctor the previous month, so I knew the screening wasn't necessary and was happy to save $50. The boys got their new eyeglasses last month. I have to say in both instances I liked their previous glasses better than the ones they picked out this time around. Ian's glasses are more similar to a pair he had previously so that wasn't as big of an adjustment. Oliver's have definitely taken some time for me to get used to seeing them on his face. This is only his second pair of glasses. I prefer his first pair, but to each their own. The good news is that he's gotten much better about wearing his glasses. We have had to buy a few different nose pads for Ian's new glasses because they were sliding down his nose. Ian's sleep study plus nose surgery was the first time we had a significant expense to submit to Samaritan (our health sharing program). So far, we've received checks for a grand total of $5,852 (most of them were $139 each). We are only waiting for the last $278 to come in, and then we will have been reimbursed for everything we paid. It's reassuring to know from experience that this system does work. 

On March 21 five girls from our co-op had an appointment at YWCA's Cinderella Closet to shop for prom dresses. Four of the girls found a dress. They are normally $20 each, but someone had paid for the next twenty-five girls to get their dresses for free, and we happened to be the first four to take advantage of that kind offer! Nadia also got a free pair of heels. Nadia picked a purple dress. I think all of the girls looked beautiful in the dresses that they chose! Five girls and two boys from our co-op are planning to attend a prom together on May 3. Ian, Ben, and Lydia opted not to participate in the prom. The other kids in our co-op are in middle school and therefore not eligible to attend yet. After this year's prom then we can decide whether next year Nadia will be attending the prom OR her cousin Andrew's graduation from Cedarville University as they are going to be held the same day. 

Over the period of March 24- April 5 the kids had Wizard of Oz rehearsals or performances 12 out of 13 days. Their only day off was Sunday (March 30). I'm helping with serving meals to the cast/crew this week. Paul, Paul's dad and Tab will attend on Friday, and the Towfighis, Toby, and Grandpa will attend the matinee on Saturday. I think this will probably be the last time my three kids will be in a musical. I attended the dress rehearsal last night so that I could take pictures. I overheard another mom telling someone else how funny Ian was and that he was going to "steal the show." Last week and this week I would have appreciated if Nadia had her driver's license, but it was worth all the driving for the kids to be able to participate in the musical together. The rehearsals have been going until 10:30 pm this week, which is definitely past my bedtime. Paul has done most of the late pick-ups.

Last Monday Paul and I painted the dining room. When we purchased the house in 2008 that room was painted white. I painted it light green in 2016. This time Oliver and I picked out a light grey. Last Saturday I sanded, primed, and painted the trim that had been stained for 26 years. It's now painted white. What a difference that makes to go from stained to painted white trim! I think it looks much better. I'm planning on doing the living room next. I have no idea how many months or years it will take me, but eventually I'd like to redo the trim in the whole house. It will make the house easier to sell whenever we decide to move.

None of our relatives passed away in 2020, 2022, or 2024, but I've had two relatives pass so far in 2025. My mom's sister's husband died at the age of 83 in January. My dad's one and only cousin died at the age of 87 last week. The last time our family saw Charlie was in August of 2023 when we had dinner with them at a restaurant in Pittsburgh. I spoke on the phone with him a couple of times last year after I read his book that he had recently written. We also exchanged Christmas cards in December. I would have attended his funeral except for the fact that #1 we already had plans with Yvonne's family for this weekend (we have tickets to see a passion play on Sunday afternoon) and #2 a deer plowed into the van on March 27 when I was driving home after dropping the kids off at a Wizard of Oz rehearsal. The auto body guy says it's drivable, but I'm wanting to drive it as little as possible until it's repaired, which won't be until June unfortunately. The earliest available opening conflicted with our upcoming vacation to New Orleans/Texas. 

I can't recall any President in my lifetime who has been working to do SO many things in such a short amount of time like Trump is in his second term. Although I like a fair amount of what he's doing domestically, I think he's turning into a train wreck when it comes to foreign policy. In his first term he negotiated the Abraham Accords in the Middle East which seemed like a very positive thing. This time around I don't understand why he's being so hostile to Canada, friendly to Putin, or making ridiculous assertions like possibly considering using the military to annex Greenland. WHAT?!?!? I also find it equally disturbing that he thinks there is ANY chance he could serve a third term. I don't want any President to be able to serve a third term. George Washington, the best President we've probably ever had, saw the wisdom in stepping down after two terms. If another country has been imposing tariffs on us, I think a reciprocal tariff on them makes sense, but it seems like Trump is going WAY overboard with the tariffs - far beyond just making them reciprocal. I'd love to see an end to the war in Israel and the war in Ukraine, but I don't think just letting Russia take whatever they want from Ukraine is a good idea. I wish the people of Russia would do something about replacing Putin. The Russians have already sacrificed more than 800,000 people to this cause of attacking Ukraine. Why are the Russian people allowing this to continue? I certainly hope Trump's actions don't cause more countries to get nuclear weapons because they now realize they can't count on the US to help them if Russia continues to try to expand its borders. I hope Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania aren't Putin's next targets. God is in control.

Nadia as one of the tornado dancers

Thankful Thursday

Today is July 4th! Most years that meant attending the parade and fireworks in our town, unless we were on Long Island on July 4th, but this year the boys are at overnight camp. Nadia came home late last night from Chicago. Aside from the fact I'm wearing a patriotic shirt, we aren't really doing anything to celebrate today. Here are some things I'm thankful for today:

1. Ian placed 8th in both the written competition and the individuals at the Nationals in June. Both kids showed a lot of improvement. Ian's team placed 1st in the team competition, and Nadia's team placed 4th.

2. We enjoyed visiting the CN Tower, Ripley's Aquarium, Fort York, Toronto Zoo, and Canada's Wonderland on June 23-24. I'm thankful it wasn't a rainy weekend. 

3. I'm SO thankful that the Lord gave us Nadia on June 24, 2008! It is such a privilege to be her mom!

4. The kids and I were able to help out at our church's VBS from June 25-28. Oliver helped with the four-year-olds, I was one of the leaders of the 1st grade girls, Ian helped with 3rd grade boys, and Nadia helped with the 4th grade girls. In my 1st grade girls' classroom, our attendance ranged from 18-20 students every day. 

5. We've enjoyed watching seven of the episodes of The Chosen season 4 so far. Paul and I were tempted to watch the season finale, but we decided to wait until Saturday so that the five of us can watch it together. 

6. Paul and I have been working on removing the fence. Paul has been digging up the posts. I fill the holes back in, which is certainly the easier task. There were 36 posts to remove. As of this moment, there are 7 left to remove. The end is in sight! When we purchased this house almost 16 years ago there was a shed and a playset in the backyard. We added a fence in 2009 and farther down the road added a spinning seesaw. Over the last year we've removed the shed, the fence, the playset, and the spinning seesaw. The only remnants of the shed and teeter totter are the two concrete slabs still in our yard. I'm grateful I don't have a fence to clean any more, and I also now need to do far less weed whacking. 

7. On June 28, Oliver and Paul went camping overnight at Glacier Pools Preserve along with more than 100 other people. They went on various nature walks, cooked their dinner and S'mores over a fire, etc. Oliver had a blast. Paul enjoyed camping a lot more when he was Oliver's age than he does at the age of 54. Oliver and Ian are planning on camp out one night in August at Xandir's uncle's house with other boys from the youth group. Oliver would definitely like to have more opportunities to go camping!

8. Nadia had a wonderful five days in Chicago. They spent one night at Great Wolf Lodge, had one meal at Olive Garden, saw the movie Inside Out 2, made a mystery dessert that turned out much better than the last one, had their traditional "sleepover," etc. Her flight was delayed last night so she spent more time than anticipated at the airport in Chicago, but she made it home safely a little before midnight last night. Wendy, Grace, and Rachel returned to the airport today to join Adam and Drayton in Africa. I'm thankful Paul picked her up last night at the airport. I had taken her to the airport last Friday. This was Nadia's first experience flying solo.

9. Nadia passed her learner's permit test! I've taken her to a few parking lots to practice. She did better in Paul's car than she did in the minivan. We haven't been using Paul's car much over the last year. If we're going to start to use it more, we need to get new brakes and tires for that vehicle. There are some things I enjoy teaching a child, and there are other things that aren't my favorite such as potty training and teaching them to tie their shoes. I will say teaching them to drive is in that category, but just like potty training it's a very important skill so I will do the best I can! I won't say she's a natural, but I'm sure she'll improve with practice. 

10. We are dog sitting Cooper right now. We've had him since Sunday, and we'll have him until July 9. I'm thankful that we've found a family who can often watch Milo while we're on vacation, and I'm very happy to return the favor!

11. I've been working on planning our vacation to New Orleans and Texas (May 2025). Louisianna is one of our last three states, but we barely spent any time in Texas in 2021. I've planned a two-week trip that involves us flying to New Orleans (four free tickets using American Airline miles) and flying back from Denver (five free tickets using Alaska Airline miles). Not counting the two travel days we'd spend 2 days in Louisianna, 7 days in Texas, 2 days in New Mexico, and 2 days in Arizona. Highlights would include 11 National Park sites, 2 zoos, 1 aquarium, 2 amusement parks, 2 caves, 1 beach, 1 factory tour, 1 battlefield, 1plantation tour, 1 Cathedral, 1 swamp tour, 1 space center, 1 arboretum, 1 stockyard, 1 aircraft carrier, and a few museums such as the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, the National WWII museum in New Orleans, and the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas (JFK).  If we only went from New Orleans to Dallas there would be a lot less driving involved, but I feel like places like Carlsbad Cavern, White Sands, and Saguaro National Parks will make it worth the extra driving. Because of the extra driving that would be required, I didn't include Big Bend National Park although I've heard so many positive things about that site. I'm so thankful for the opportunities to travel as a family! If things go as planned, by August 2025 we will achieve our goal of taking the kids to all fifty states. I haven't started planning the trip to Hawaii, but that will be the next one I work on!  

Do you see the baby rhino in between the parents?

12. The boys are at PMBC this week. The weather has been nice. I am assuming they are having a great time. I can't wait to hear all about it on Saturday! I'm thankful their friend, Xandir, went with them so they could have this week together plus it enabled us to carpool. Paul took the three boys out on Sunday, and Melinda is picking them up on Saturday morning.

13. Although our country is far from perfect, I'm very thankful to be an American and pray that for years to come we will continue to be a country where we have many freedoms. May God bless America!