Thankful Thursday

1. I forgot to mention that during our trip to Alaska, I spotted two of the four license plates I was hoping to find. I saw one from Nevada and South Dakota. Usually it's harder to get North Dakota, but for some unknown reason I've seen MANY license plates from North Dakota this year and only one from South Dakota. The two I am still looking for are Hawaii and New Mexico. I haven't found all 50 in one year since 2021. I certainly saw FAR more Alaska license plates than usual this year! 

2. Last Saturday we spent the day in Lititz. Our first stop was the Johannes Mueller House. We had a guided tour that included a lot of interesting information about the Moravians. Then we met 10 out of 11 Towfighis at the high school to see a production of Tuck Everlasting by a group called Servant Stage. I've read the book and seen the movie but never seen that musical before. Their shows and concessions are all "pay what you wish". We had pizza at Nino's before driving back home to Milo. We've certainly seen the Towfighis more often this year than we usually have in the past! 

3. Everything went smoothly with the boys' orthodontist and dentist appointments on Monday. Ian now has braces on his bottom jaw for the first time. Oliver pulled one tooth out at church on Sunday morning, and the dentist pulled two more (at the request of the orthodontist) on Monday afternoon. 

4. Nadia started taking two Bible classes online through Liberty University this week. We're thankful she can earn some credits toward college while she's in high school.

5. They have chosen the Wizard of Oz for the spring musical, which was the one Nadia voted for! All three kids plan to participate.

6. Yesterday the kids enjoyed roller skating with friends (for free) at a homeschool roller skating party from 10-12. The party was *supposed* to be from 12-2. We wouldn't have been able to go if it was held then. I'm thankful Carolyn made a mistake, and that the owner of the rink was able to scramble at the last minute to open up the rink two hours earlier than planned! 

7. Nadia is glad that some of her friends want to go to the homeschool prom with her. She didn't go the last two years, but she's planning to go in May. This means we need to buy her a dress!

8. On Tuesday I took seven kids to PSU. Ben and his sisters followed behind me. I had organized a field trip to the nuclear reactor at PSU. The 2.5-hour program was outstanding. The kids enjoyed eating some M&M's as they learned about half-lives, and they also enjoyed eating some marshmallows after they finished building some atom models. About 20 homeschoolers showed up for the program plus a few moms. We were parked in a parking garage right next to the Creamery, so I decided to treat the ten kids to ice cream after we ate our packed lunches. It was delicious! 

9. When we attended the homeschool potluck on September 6, I tried a new recipe - campfire cookies. They were so delicious that there weren't any left to bring home. I already made them a second time since then. Yum!!

Medical Appointments

Thankfully, the five of us are generally very healthy. Aside from my broken ankle in 2021, we haven't had any surgeries, hospitalizations, or doctor appointments aside from physicals for several years. Despite being healthy, we still see a doctor at least once a year for a physical, see the dentist at least twice a year, and the boys typically see the orthodontist once a month. This year I've made more appointments than usual. Paul has only seen the dentist. I had a pap smear and a mammogram plus an extra trip to the dentist for a small filling. Nadia has only seen the dentist plus had a physical.

Oliver had his twelve-year-old physical yesterday. He grew three inches in the past year and is now 5 foot two inches tall, which puts him in the 87th percentile, and he's still on track to reach his projected height of 6 feet tall. He gained ten pounds over the last year, which means his BMI is still at the 5th percentile. I was happy to see that he weighed 82 pounds because the goal had been for him to weight at least 80 pounds for our zip lining adventure in Alaska next week. He was happy to be told he wasn't getting any shots at his physical, but then when we were at the orthodontist yesterday afternoon, he found out that he needs to have two teeth pulled next month, and he dislikes those shots more than immunizations, and I have to agree with him on that assessment. 

At Ian's physical in January, we mentioned we thought he might have sleep apnea. This led to a referral to the pulmonologist at Geisinger. They had scheduled his sleep study for next week, but we cancelled once we received the estimated charge. He met with a pulmonologist in Hershey where they charge far less for a sleep study. That doctor said he needed to see a cardiologist and an ENT. The cardiologist appointment was a waste of time and almost $400 because he said Ian doesn't have a heart murmur. The ENT appointment last month was a waste of time (not sure yet if it was a waste of money as we haven't received a bill) because they told us they don't do nose surgeries on those under the age of 18, and they knew when I scheduled the appointment that it was for a 14-year-old who has hypertrophy turbinate. She suggested we take him to an ENT at Geisinger, Camp Hill (to see Dr. Wilson), or Hershey. On July 24 I called the office in Camp Hill and left a message. On July 25 I asked the ENT we saw to send a referral there. Having heard nothing in the meantime, I called and left another message at the ENT in Camp Hill on August 12. This morning, they told me that they had received the referral but hadn't contacted us because they don't work with our insurance. I said that we don't have any insurance. They for some reason thought we had UPMC insurance, which we've never had. So later they called back and scheduled an appointment with Ian for December 3 in Hershey. Because they won't repair a deviated septum prior to the age of 18, we are not sure if we should wait so that Ian wouldn't have two nose surgeries. It seems wise to find out the results of the sleep study first. If he doesn't have severe sleep apnea, we might wait until he's 18 to fix his nose and just let him continue to be a mouth breather. I called the pulmonologist in Hershey on August 5 to request that the follow-up appointment after the sleep study be done by phone or video instead of in person given the length of our drive to and from Hershey. I never heard if the doctor approved that or not, so I called yesterday to follow-up as I had said on August 5 we would need to reschedule if it had to be in person. We have to drive down there to get the results because the doctor wants to do another exam. I'm not too thrilled with his examination skills since he thought Ian has a heart murmur, and the cardiologist said he doesn't. But I rescheduled his follow-up appointment by one week so that it won't interfere with our homeschool co-op. Either Paul or I will be taking Ian to Hershey for three doctor appointments from October 29 - December 3. At the orthodontist yesterday, I asked when he would begin working on Ian's lower jaw because he's been in phase two for six months. He said he'll start next month so Ian will have two orthodontist appointments next month, and he's also going to get another x-ray (per the request of the orthodontist) when Oliver is having two teeth extracted. 

We do have dental insurance, and it is definitely worth the monthly premium we pay. We don't have vision insurance. Last week I called and scheduled appointments four of us to see the eye doctor in December/January because the last time we saw the eye doctor was December 2022. We don't have medical insurance, but we've been members of a Christian medical sharing program for almost two years. So far, we've only had one medical bill reimbursed (dermatologist for Paul), but I anticipate receiving reimbursement after Ian's sleep study. I am going to research the cost of health insurance again this fall to make sure we are still making the correct choice by going with Samaritan instead of insurance. The ENT office I spoke with today said the first appointment will cost $250. Since we received $18K back from the insurance this year, the line item on our budget for medical expenses currently shows a negative number despite these extra bills. 

Cold water!

Tuesday morning, we had breakfast at our hotel. They served us an egg (made to order), pan de yuca, avocado, cheese, tomato slices, watermelon, yogurt, bread, pineapple, and papaya. I'm glad it was a hearty breakfast because we had a very, very late lunch. Around 9:30 eleven us were picked up for our white-water rafting adventure on the Pastaza River. First, we picked up our helmets, water shoes, and wet suits. Then we drove to the location where we entered the river. The section of the river we traversed was class 3. Other sections of the river are rated class 4 or 4+, but considering we had kids as young as eight-years-old in our raft, class 3 was more than enough for us. We spent about 90 minutes on the river. It rained part of the time. After we carried the two rafts to the bus and took off our gear, we began our drive to the restaurant where we were to have lunch. We encountered a lengthy delay as there was a mudslide which killed a motorcyclist. We were all served rice and beans. Earlier in the day we had let them know if we wanted beef, chicken, or fish. Oliver had fish, Paul and I had chicken, and Nadia and Ian had beef. Because our meal was so late, I didn't feel like eating dinner. Joe brought back chicken and fries for dinner. 

For breakfast on Wednesday morning we were served a pancake, an egg (made to order), pineapple, mango, dragon fruit, yogurt, and a cheese empanada. Instead of syrup, you could put either jelly or molasses on your pancake. Around 9:00 twelve of us were picked up for our canyoning trip. First, we picked up our helmets, shoes, and wet suits. Then we had a very short drive to the location where we received our other gear and were given instructions as to how to rappel down the waterfalls. There were three sections to rappel down. All twelve of us went down the first section. Joshua, Paul, and I didn't do the second section. In hindsight, Paul and I would have preferred to have done the second section than the first as the only person (not counting the youngest kids who went down with assistance) who didn't become submerged in first section of the waterfall was Joe, whereas none of the nine people who did the second section were submerged. Joshua did the third section, but Paul, Ian, Joel, and I skipped that one. If I had to do it over again, I wish I had just been an observer and taken pictures and videos instead of actually participating. It was challenging enough just hiking to the top of the waterfall. Being submerged in ice cold water pouring over me and then at the bottom being submerged in ice cold water was just plain torture. I felt like I couldn't breathe it was so cold. At the end of the trip, we each shared what were our top two experiences of the trip. All nine of the kids plus Joe ranked horseback riding as number one and most of them ranked canyoning as number two. Paul and I ranked white water rafting as number one and Quito Old Town as number two. If Paul was allowed to pick three, he said he'd pick playing Scumbags and Warlords (a card game) as number three as he enjoyed playing that with Nadia and some of his nephews on Tuesday evening at the Casa Verde and Thursday morning at the Towfighi's house. After eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at Casa Verde, we drove back to Quito. Yvonne served sloppy joe sandwiches and leftover tuna noodle. We really enjoyed the rolls that she used for the sloppy joes. After dinner, Paul and Joe returned the rental vehicle to the airport. 

Because we only had one small vehicle, we just stayed at their home on Thursday morning. Yvonne served quesadillas for lunch, and we packed sandwiches on those delicious rolls to eat on our flight from Quito to Miami. Aside from the waterfall on Monday, white water rafting on Tuesday, and waterfalls on Wednesday, the other time we encountered cold water in Ecuador was when we took our showers. I did manage to get one hot shower while we were in Ecuador, and that was at 6:30am on Thursday. Unfortunately, later that morning their hot water totally gave up the ghost, and they were told it would be at least two days until someone came to try to repair it. They encountered quite a few difficulties within a span of about ten days. First, another driver rearended their small car while Joe was driving. Because no one in Ecuador has car insurance, Joe had to pay for the repairs even though the other driver was at fault. Thankfully, car repairs are much cheaper in Ecuador. They got it repaired shortly before we arrived, but we didn't discover until Friday that one of the headlights needed to be replaced. Joe replaced it on Wednesday evening. We had car difficulties with both cars on Saturday on the horseback riding adventure. The small car's problem was easily rectified. The bigger car ended up being towed and needs a new transmission. They had sold both of their vehicles before we arrived but had been given permission to keep using them until they fly back to the US next week.  Joe was also worried about being pulled over by the Transito as they frequently randomly pull people over. He was pulled over once when I was in the car with him. Hopefully things will go more smoothly for them during their final four days in Ecuador.

I was able to make use of my Spanish in Ecuador. I didn't always understand everything that was said to me, but I understand many things that were said. Similarly, I usually could find a way to communicate in Spanish although sometimes I made mistakes (ex. I used the Spanish word for grandson instead of nephew when I was talking to a guide about Wesley). I wouldn't consider myself fluent, but I've made more progress in Spanish over the last 2+ years than I did when I was in middle school. Although we don't plan to return to South America, hopefully I will have more opportunities to make use of my knowledge of Spanish in the future.

After eating lunch on Thursday, Joe drove us to the airport. It was a tight squeeze to fit six people plus all our luggage in a small car, but it wasn't a lengthy drive. We made it through the passport control and the security screening very quickly. We did some shopping at the airport because during the rest of the week we had only purchased magnets. Oliver got a baseball cap, Nadia got a purse, and Nadia, Paul, and I each got a t-shirt to remember our time in Ecuador. We landed a little early in Miami, which was a good thing because it seems you need two hours to go from one airplane to another in that airport. After we made it through customs and the security screening, we had to almost run to our gate. We arrived when group four was boarding, and we were in group five. None of us slept on the second flight despite the fact we landed in Baltimore around 11:45pm. We took the shuttle to the long-term parking, bought some gas for the van, and then drove home. Oliver had started having diarrhea on Wednesday, and he required a lengthy bathroom stop when we were about 30 minutes away from home. We got home around 3:10 am. Oliver went straight up to bed, and he promptly threw up on his bedding and again on the carpet in the hallway on his way to the bathroom. Due to helping Paul clean up that mess, it was about 3:45 by the time I crawled into bed. 

I was the first one up this morning. I stopped and got a few essentials (ex. milk) on the way to getting Milo. I missed him! Thankfully, he did well at their home. He particularly bonded with Lucy. We did some schoolwork when I got back home with Milo. After lunch I took Ian to the orthodontist because one his wires had popped out while we were in Ecuador. I also did some more grocery shopping on the way home from the orthodontist. Oliver and I went to bed very early (8:15) last night. Nadia, Ian, Paul, and Nathaniel went to see a Tim Hawkins show. They didn't have good seats because a traffic accident added 30 minutes to the length of their drive there, but they really enjoyed the show. Ian and Nathaniel slept some in the van on the way back home. They got home around 11pm. I let Ian and Nadia sleep until 9:05 this morning. They had a two-hour musical rehearsal that started at 10:00. I slept for 10 hours last night and was in bed for 11 hours. Oliver slept for 14 hours straight!!! We've all been able to stay at home since Nadia and Ian came back from their rehearsal at 12:15. The only thing on our agenda for tomorrow is going to church. 

We are very grateful that we were able to spend time in southern Florida and Ecuador. However, we're also very glad to be back at home sweet home. Some things we appreciate about being at home are toilets that can be used to dispose of toilet paper, hot showers, being at a lower altitude, being with Milo (and in Nadia's case Lily), sleeping in our own beds, being able to text/call (we had to keep our phones in airplane mode for a week), being able to drink water from the tap, not needing to pay money to use a public restroom, being able to wear my wedding rings, and in Ian's case, he's been enjoying playing the piano again (he used the Towfighi's electric keyboard some but he prefers a piano). I didn't wear any rings during the entire vacation because Yvonne had said to wear a ring would be to risk having my finger cut off. Literally. I wanted to keep all my fingers, so I left my rings at home. The only place I used my good camera in Ecuador was in Cotopaxi National Park, and I made sure my cell phone was hidden in a pocket that had a zipper. Thankfully, none of us had any encounters with pickpockets. We also won't miss the insects that were biting us in the Banos area. Those bites itch much worse than a mosquito bite. Not fun!

We never made it to Turkey during the fifteen years they lived there. When I booked the trip to Ecuador, they had no idea that their time in Quito would be coming to an end six days after our visit ended. They are moving back to Maryland next week. It will be easier to see them more frequently when they are only living 3.5 hours away from us. Yvonne's physical difficulties in adjusting to the high altitude is the main reason their time in Quito is coming to an end. Next month she is due to give birth to their ninth child. They are planning to come and see one of Nadia and Ian's Seussical performances next month, we are planning to go to HersheyPark with them one day in June, etc. Whenever we fly out of BWI we will probably see them at least a little bit, which will also help us avoid paying for parking at the airport. We plan to do so in August when we fly to/from Anchorage. My kids absolutely love spending time with their cousins!

A new co-op

The weather varies greatly in Pennsylvania in April. Today, April 1, started out as a very rainy day, but the rain cleared, and the temperature soared up into the 70's! After taking Milo on many walks the last few months during which I was wearing a ski jacket, scarf, hat, and gloves, it was heavenly to not need a coat of any kind. Milo won't walk if it's raining so I didn't get my usual 2 miles in at 7am, but after I took Oliver to two Easter egg hunts I was able to take Milo for a nice long walk. Now that the weather has been nicer, I've been trying to get my average closer to 6-7 miles a day. Nadia and Ian were at church for 6+ hours today with their Bible quizzing team. After taking Oliver to his third egg hunt (at which he won a prize of a 1/2 lb. chocolate bunny), I watched the last hour of the quizzing. Three boys and ten girls competed, and the team that consisted of the three boys won! Ian has improved SO much over the last year. I think if he puts in more time studying over the next almost 3 months that he will do well at the Nationals in Indiana at the end of June. He was also one of the top performers in the individual competitions. Usually, I take the kids to Easter egg hunts on the two Saturdays before Easter. This is the first year that Ian is too old to participate. Oliver will be able to participate for two more years, which will be my 16th year of taking at least one child to an egg hunt as Nadia’s first was in 2010. I'm planning to take Oliver to one tomorrow afternoon, and that will be his last one for this year as we'll be in Chicago next Saturday. We're also planning to see the movie "His Only Son" (about Abraham/Isaac) at the theater tomorrow afternoon. 

On Tuesday our friend hosted a game day at her home. The number of kids attending continues to grow. Most of the kids are between the ages of 10-15. I decided to see if some of these families might be interested in forming a new co-op, and there are about eight families who are interested! We have scheduled a meeting for April 18 to discuss ideas regarding what day/time to meet, what classes to offer, etc. The man who is the kids' Bible quizzing coach offered to teach a Bible or history class and/or lead a chess club. Although Nadia's first choice would be to attend the Christian school at our church (MCS) next year, all three kids are excited about seeing their friends more regularly through this co-op. I have scheduled two field trips that many of these families are planning to attend next month - one is a guided tour of Eckley Miner's Village and the other is a VERY local guided tour of a historic church, home, and cemetery that is less than 4 miles from our home. As I have the last two years, I've given Nadia the choice of attending drama (and possibly art) at MCS as she did in 2019 or the CHEF co-op. She's chosen the CHEF co-op the last two years, but I think she's leaning towards choosing MCS for the 2023-24 school year. If so, I will sign both Nadia and Ian up to be in the chorus at MCS, which would mean that they could both perform in that school's spring musical next year. Speaking of musicals, Nadia is attending a performance this evening of Beauty and the Beast with her friends Macey and Christopher and also Macey's parents.

Highlights from the past three weeks would include:

1. Nadia and I saw a performance of Guys and Dolls that some of her friends were in.
2. Our whole family saw a performance of Julius Caesar.
3. Ian had four teeth extracted at the dentist at the request of the orthodontist.
4. Oliver, Nadia, and I attended a Matthew West concert at our church.
5. We saw a passion play with my niece Jenna and her boyfriend, and we all had dinner together at Texas Roadhouse. 
6. The five of us attended an anniversary party for a couple in our church.
7. Ian and Oliver attended a game day for homeschoolers. Oliver and I didn't attend because Oliver was under the weather. 

February

The kids enjoyed skiing with two of their friends - Isaiah and Micah

We didn't have any field trips or special outings in January, but the kids did begin their weekly ice-skating lessons, art class (Nadia and Ian), and drama class (Nadia) last month. Field trips and such have resumed this month. Our first was the Living History fair that the kids participated in on February 3. On February 10th we drove down to Maryland to spend the night at my friend's home prior to spending a day in Washington, D.C. The last time the kids and I were in DC was November 2018. We had planned to return in the spring of 2020, and we hadn't attempted any trips back down there since then. On this trip we visited the World War II, Lincoln, Vietnam, and Korean War Memorials before seeing a production of A Horse and His Boy (C.S. Lewis) at the Museum of the Bible. Nadia and Ian attended a Super Bowl party at church last Sunday, and all three kids attended a homeschool Valentine's Day party at a roller-skating rink this past Tuesday. Despite the fact that the temperatures got into the 60's, the kids and Paul skied at Elk Mountain on Wednesday. Unfortunately, the other annual WVIA ski day won't be happening this year at the ski resort closer to our home. The kids had never taken off their coats while skiing before! It was a first for them to ski when it was that warm outside. Today we participated in a service project for three hours packing hygiene kits for people in Ukraine for the first time since October. Special activities over the last ten days of the month will most likely include seeing a production of Freedom Bound (about the underground railroad), a board game gathering at another homeschool family's home, Nadia and Ian attending the Winter Jam concert with the youth group, and Nadia attending a birthday party at a bowling alley. I was planning to take the kids to a maple sugaring program next Saturday, but in light of the birthday party Nadia is attending and the fact that my new oven is supposed to be delivered that day, I don't think we will be attending that after all. 

Oliver had two teeth extracted at the dentist on January 25th at the request of the orthodontist. Ian had an x-ray at the dentist this past Tuesday in preparation for having teeth extracted at the dentist next month, also at the request of the orthodontist. Ian has been wearing a retainer since June 2021, but the orthodontist told him on Monday that his time wearing it will be coming to a close very soon. 

I read two books that the library had gotten me through interlibrary loan while the kids were skiing on Wednesday. I also worked on a database for Experience Missions this week. I've either read or listened to a total of 19 books so far this year. The last one that I completed was The Book Thief which I selected because Nadia is currently reading it; if I had started listening to it before she read it, I wouldn't have assigned it to her given the language in the book. Lesson learned (hopefully). I'm currently listening to Find Your People by Jennie Allen and A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting by Sophie Irwin. The kids and I have listened to 21 books so far this year (some of them I read aloud). The last two that we completed were Red Falcons of Tremoine by Hendry Peart and Astrid the Unstoppable by Maria Parr. We're currently in the middle of A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park and Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate. We also finished watching the third season of The Chosen earlier this month. The season finale was excellent! 

This month I ordered a new range, which was something we've talked about doing since last summer because one of the burners can no longer be used. I had two contractors give me estimates for installation, and one of them is scheduled to do the work on March 3. The total cost is going to be much higher than I was expecting, but hopefully I will really like the new oven. It does have some features that my 14-year-old oven doesn't have. It's the first time in our lives that either of us have purchased an oven. 

I also purchased airfare for the first time since 2018. Thankfully, I was able to spend less than I was expecting for those tickets as I got them for about $130 each (per person per one-way ticket). We are planning to fly from Pittsburgh to Seattle near the end of August and then fly back from San Francisco a little over two weeks later. I haven't worked out all the details yet, but we plan to spend the first few days in Washington state, followed by two days in Oregon, two days in northern California, three days in Nevada with my Aunt Janet, and our last three days in San Francisco before flying back to Pittsburgh. At one point I considered including two days in British Columbia in this trip, but I've scratched those plans. If we do attempt to visit all or most of the Canadian provinces, we can visit Yoho national park which is located in the eastern part of British Columbia and is only about 20 minutes away from Lake Louise that I thought we'd visit in Alberta. Other things that have been eliminated either due to the cost or because we shortened the length of the trip include North Cascades National Park, Yosemite, a whale watching cruise, and Safari West. I also have scratched our plans to spend a day in Toronto in July because Paul's brother is going on vacation that same week, so Paul needs to be at work. 

I've also begun working on lesson plans for the next school year. Additionally, I've been researching what college classes Ian and Nadia might take while they're in high school. I'm not sure if Oliver will go to college, but I've told Ian and Nadia that the plan is that they each earn at least 30 college credits while they're in high school so that it will only take them three years to finish their college degree. This will save us a lot of money because colleges charge MUCH less for tuition if the student is still in high school, plus the kids will naturally still be living at home while they are in high school. 

18 years later

The last time Paul and I went on a date to see a movie at the theater was in 2004. It's not something we did very often while we were dating or in the early years of marriage. I think the two we saw in the theater together that Paul liked the best were The Perfect Storm and A Beautiful Mind. Generally, we have been content to wait until a movie comes out on DVD, and that has been even more true since we became parents in 2008. Saturday night Paul and I went to see Lifemark because I had received two free tickets through K-LOVE. It was our third date in 2022 after going a few years without any dates! Sam's Club is very close to the theater, so we picked up a few things there before the movie. In hindsight, we could have spent more time at Sam's Club because the previews lasted a full 31 minutes before the movie started. Oi vey! That didn't exactly inspire us to choose seeing movies at the theater over waiting for them to come out on DVD. The movie was excellent. I reflected on the years we tried to adopt and also the experiences of some of my friends who have adopted. The next movie I was contemplating seeing was I heard the Bells, which has been made by Sight and Sound and will be shown in December, but maybe we will return to our pattern of typically waiting to see movies on DVD. Now that Oliver is ten, we aren't paying his siblings to babysit him. There have been three "firsts" in the last month in regard to the kids being left alone. The three of them ate lunch once together at home alone when I went out to lunch with Tab last month, they ate dinner together at home alone once last month when I was at a meeting at church, and Saturday night was the first time that Oliver went to bed when we weren't home and no one else was babysitting. We certainly don't feel comfortable leaving them home alone for extended periods of time yet. We left as quickly as possible after the movie was done. 

Speaking of Oliver being ten, he's now old enough to volunteer with Compassion. Ian and Nadia have volunteered with me on more than one occasion. Next month all five of us are signed up to volunteer with Compassion at a concert featuring Casting Crowns, Anne Wilson, and Cain in Hershey. It will be the first time either Paul or Oliver have volunteered with Compassion. 

Speaking of dates, Nadia had her first date for 2022. She went bowling with Paul yesterday afternoon. They bowled four games. Oliver wanted to have his third (and final) date of the year yesterday, but the weather didn't cooperate. He has requested going to a corn maze for his last date. Technically Nadia's first date was split over two days. Last Sunday evening Paul took her out for pizza and then to a bowling alley, but the bowling alley wasn't open. Our new tradition is for the kids to each get three dates a year with one of their parents. Nadia has two left for 2022, and Ian should have one more. 

Nadia took this photo of her guinea pig, Peppa.

It's been 2.5 weeks since I wrote a gratitude list so here are some things that I am thankful for today.

1. Nadia enjoyed having Macey over for a sleepover at the end of August.

2. Two sixth grade girls joined the Bible quizzing team. One of them lives across the street from us so we will be taking turns driving the kids to their practice at 4:30 on Wednesdays. 

3. We enjoyed having a family from our church over for dinner on August 28. They go to our church, but I met them in 2020 when Nadia and their daughter, Natalie, were in a play together. One of my goals for the year has been to have 12 different families/couples over for dinner this year (not counting our relatives). We've had seven over so far.

4. Nadia and Ian had their first rehearsals with the Susquehanna Valley Youth Chorale on August 29. Their second was tonight because they had last Monday off due to Labor Day. 

5. I am enjoying doing my grocery shopping on Monday evenings at Aldi (and sometimes Walmart) while the kids are in Ninjastics and/or choir rehearsals. 

6. We had a tour of a creamery that is housed in a building that is almost 200 years old. The ice cream is made from milk from their cows. It was SO delicious! We hope to go there again at some point in the future as the peanut butter Oreo ice cream was amazing! 

7. On August 31 Oliver and I were able to help serve food to people who were coming to our church for a food bank distribution.

8. The kids and I participated in a three-hour program at a state park on September 2nd. I was very grateful that I didn't injure myself on the hike. 

9. We enjoyed spending a couple of hours at Panera with the Kinleys. I had invited them to have a meal at our home, but he is highly allergic to guinea pigs, so they treated us to a meal instead. 

10. The boys enjoyed seeing the new Pinocchio movie on Disney+. 

11. Paul loved that they talked about Coolidge (one of his favorite Presidents) on the latest episode of the Tuttle Twins that we watch together as a family whenever new episodes come out on YouTube. 

12. Milo had diarrhea in Nadia's bed once last week. Unfortunately, it happened again in Ian's bed the next night. Yuck! Considering I didn't want to start washing bedding on a daily basis, we had him sleep in his crate the next night. It happened in his crate the third night, but thankfully that was the end of it. After he had a night without any issues in his crate, we resumed having him sleep with the kids. That was the first time in the last 21 months that had ever happened, and hopefully it won't happen again! 

13. Nadia and Ian also came down with a bug last week. Last week Paul was going in to work VERY early (as in leaving our home at 12:30am) so he was also coming home much earlier than usual which was very helpful as I didn't want to leave Ian alone at home if he wasn't feeling well. Ian for the first time in his life managed to throw up in the right place. I wasn't happy that he was vomiting, but I was very, very grateful I didn't have to clean it up. Whew. Nadia came down since on Thursday. I had already cancelled Thursday's field trip, and because the kids were sick, we opted not to go to our church's quarterly Friday evening worship service. Thankfully, Paul, Oliver, and I have escaped this bug. 

14. Nadia, Oliver, and I attended a monarch butterfly class last Wednesday morning. We brought home a monarch egg, and it hatched this past weekend! I also took them to the thrift store to get Nadia some more jeans. Most things are 50% off at that store on Wednesdays. 

15. My Bible study began on Wednesday night. I can already tell that this is a better fit for me than the group I was in on Wednesday nights last spring. 

16. Paul and I enjoyed the movie Lifemark. We'll get it on DVD from the library in the future so the kids can watch it. 

17. Nadia enjoyed bowling with Paul yesterday afternoon. 

18. Paul and I enjoy our Sunday School class. Yesterday I was one of the two people signed up to bring snacks for our class. I made a strawberry pretzel Jell-O salad, German apple cake, and German peach kuchen. It seems like I made the correct amount of food as there was only a tiny bit left of each at the end of class. 

19. The kids enjoyed skating at the homeschool party at the roller-skating rink today. Oliver won the four corners game and received a free popcorn from the snack bar as his prize. Oliver also enjoyed the cookies that they had at the orthodontist office this afternoon. 

20. I've lost 18 pounds since I started dieting on June 1. I'd like to lose five more, but clothes that haven't fit for a year or more are fitting again, which is a great feeling. I've been faithfully walking with Milo for at least three miles a day rain or shine. 

21. Although we weren't able to be there in person, we were able to see a video of my niece, Susie, giving her testimony and being baptized at their church in Chicago on Sunday. 

22. We have no plans to go anywhere tomorrow. I am very thankful for that because today was a hectic day with the roller skating, errands, orthodontist, mowing the lawn, choir rehearsals, Ninjastics, etc. 

23. Our neighbors have agreed to watch Milo this Friday/Saturday while we're in Philadelphia and also for our nine-day trip to New England later this month. So thankful!!!

Thankful Thursday

1. Paul took off work on July 15 so that he could attend the kids' performance at Greenview Alliance Church with me. I'm thankful the kids were able to participate in that theatre camp put on by Family Life Network (radio station in NY).

2. The kids had a blast during the cousin swap from July 16-22. Nadia and Ian had fun with Yvonne's eldest five kids (and Toby) doing things like swimming, bowling, ice skating, playing tennis, playing games, etc. Oliver had fun playing with Yvonne's youngest three kids at our house and also a trip to DelGrosso's Amusement Park with them. 

3. Thankfully, I was the only person in our family who caught the bug that some of the Towfighis had. I'm grateful that Paul took off work on July 21 to go to DelGrosso's and also took off on the 22nd to meet Yvonne half-way to end the cousin swap a day early as I was in bed almost all the time on the 22nd and 23rd.  Thankfully, my energy came back on July 30, my eyes cleared up after I started the medication on July 25, and my ear pain drastically decreased on August 1. I'm still praying for my hearing in my left ear to return. It had been seven years since I last had an ear infection and five years since I last had pink eye. Hoping I go at least seven more years before I go through this again. 

4. The kids had a great time at Camp Good News. Nadia enjoyed being a counselor for the first time, and it was the boys first time to be campers at that overnight camp. An illness was passed around the camp. Thankfully Nadia escaped it, and the boys recovered very quickly from it.

5. Oliver got a good report at the orthodontist on Monday. I'm turning his expander once a day until his next appointment on the fifteenth. Thankfully it has gone smoothly so far, which wasn't always the case when Ian had an expander. The orthodontist said we might be done on the fifteenth! 

6. Our new front door was installed on July 29. We are very thankful that my dad and Margie gave us a new front door for my 50th birthday. Paul and I painted the exterior trim green. We haven't decided what color we will paint the exterior portion of the door (which is currently white). We also need to stain the trim on the inside of the house. The door STAYS closed, is easy to lock, and is in much better shape than our 23-year-old door was. Now we are praying that we can find an electric range to replace ours (which is a fire hazard) without redoing the cabinets or countertop in the kitchen as our twenty-three-year-old range is smaller than most (hopefully not all) ranges that are sold in 2022. 

7. I took the boys and Milo to Knoebels last night. Oliver had picked it as his birthday date with me, and since Nadia is at camp and Paul was at work, Ian was also able to join us. The boys rode fourteen rides in a little over 3 hours. I bought them bargain night handstamps that cost $15 each. I also said they could each have one snack. Oliver chose cotton candy, and Ian had a root beer float. 

8. If I had to choose between buying my kids more "stuff" or spending money on memorable experiences, I'd choose the experiences option the vast majority of the time. Yes, some purchases prove to be very worthwhile. Milo wasn't cheap, but he's well loved. I thought the Oculus would be a hit and so splurged on that as a Christmas gift for the kids last year, but nope it's hardly been used. I am thankful that we can afford to pay for some experiences that aren't frugal. Recently I purchased tickets for a Harry Potter Exhibition, a tour of Battleship New Jersey, made reservations for one night at a hotel in Philadelphia, and paid for tickets for a three-day Christian music festival in New York that will be taking place in July 2023. I'm grateful that we have the resources for those "splurges." The thought that Nadia will be graduating in four years motivates me to keep making plans as I know these years will just fly by. 

9. Looking at the pictures that Camp Susque has posted, it seems that Nadia is having a good week of camp! I can't wait to hear all about it on Saturday morning. 

10. Paul has been working crazy hours this week. He's at home for less than eight hours a day as he's leaving the house at 3:45am and getting home after 8pm. I am thankful this is no longer normal for him. It's only true this week because his brother is on vacation. 

11. Our neighbor took Milo for a walk one time the day we were at DelGrosso's. I feel like they deserve the best neighbor of the year award!

12. Mowing is usually my responsibility, but Paul mowed for me last weekend because mowing has been too much for my allergies lately. I also appreciated that he installed Nadia's new ceiling fan the week of the cousin swap. 

13. Ian has been wanting to buy the Miitopia game for his Nintendo Switch. He was able to do so today because Oliver gave him money toward the purchase and a woman from our church gave him $15 in exchange for one of Ian's Lego sets. 

14. We haven't gone to Kids' Cafe that many times this summer, but we went on Wednesday this week because it was Water Day. The kids played a game with water balloons, a game with buckets of water, and then the fire department used their tanker truck to spray the kids with water. The boys enjoyed getting SOAKED. 

15. The boys enjoyed attending the National Night Out event at our town's Fire Department on Tuesday night. 

Thankful Thursday

1. I'm very, very thankful that Nadia joined our family on June 24, 2008. The kids enjoyed eating some frozen yogurt from Sweet Frog on her 14th birthday.

2. The kids enjoyed kayaking and playing four-square in the air at Isaiah's birthday party at Montour Preserve on June 25. 

3. The five of us made use of a gift card to have dinner at Bonanza on June 27. Ian and Oliver received a free meal and a free drink because it was kids' night. 

4. Nadia and Ian enjoyed painting portraits of Milo and Nadia's two guinea pigs on June 28. 

5. We enjoyed watching Nadia and Ian's performance of Beauty and the Beast on July 1. 

6. Even though Paul lost a game of chess for the first time in 20+ years, we enjoyed having the Seiberts over for dinner on July 2.

7. Wendy and Grace spent four days with us, and Rachel spent three days with us the first week of July. They played games, had lunch at Kids' Cafe, went roller skating, went swimming, saw fireworks, attended a parade, picked blueberries, watched movies, bowled, played arcade games, jumped on trampolines, and played laser tag with us. I'm very grateful that Wendy was willing to make the 9-hour drive to our home! 

8. Nine of the Towfighis spent seven hours with us on July 4. It was the first time since March 2019 that we three sisters had been together. 

9. We enjoyed Colton Dixon's concert at our church on July 9 and the combined outdoor worship service the next day. Over 1,500 attended the service that day, and our sanctuary isn't large enough for that many to attend at one time. 

10. Dave and Marla joined us at church, played Codenames with us, and ate with us at church and at our home. They gave us flowers, chocolates, and some flavored water. 

11. I lost 9 pounds over the last 6 weeks. I'm hoping to lose another 14 pounds by sometime in September.

12. Nadia was given a larger part in the musical "You're Not Alone" that the kids will be presenting tomorrow at noon. It was Ian's first time to be given a speaking part at this camp. I'm also thankful that tomorrow will be my last day of driving them to a non-overnight camp this year. Fourteen days done and one day to go!

Grandpa and Gubba's kitten - Ollie (May 2022)

13. I bought myself new sandals on Tuesday. The ones I had purchased at a yard sale several years ago were very worn out. I value comfort over appearance, but I think these are also prettier than the ones I had been wearing the last few years. 

14. I cannot remember the last time I paid for a carwash. It's been at least 14 years, and it could have been over 26 years. I "splurged" and paid $7 for the van to be washed on Tuesday. I think our white van looks much nicer now!

15. In the middle of May Nadia and I got manicures. It was Nadia's second time to have a professional manicure in her life. Her first was in June 2019. This was the first time either of us had a manicure with gel nail polish. The upside is that it lasted FAR more weeks than usual, but we then learned it's much harder to get it off. Nadia managed to pick hers off a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't as successful so on Tuesday I went to a nail salon while the kids were in theatre camp and paid $5 to have my nails returned back to normal. If I ever get another manicure with gel polish, I now know how to get it off at home. 

16. In general I feel that our town is a safe place to live. We don't hear gun shots like my sister does in Chicago. On Tuesday night when I drove Oliver to VBS I was perplexed to see many, many cars including police vehicles next to a home less than a mile from our house. When I saw a tv station recording a video there on Wednesday night, I looked online and discovered that this week someone had informed the police that a man had been beaten to death in that home and buried on the property in January of 2020. I'm thankful that murder is very rare around here. 

17. Oliver has really been enjoying VBS this week. 

18. Addi, our neighbor, just joined our church's youth group in June because she will be entering sixth grade next month. We carpooled to youth group last night. I took Ian, Nadia, and Addi, and one of her parents picked the three kids up at 8pm and brought them home. With the price of gas these days, I'm always thankful when carpooling is an option!

19. Today I took the kids to see the new Minions movie. We didn't see any movies in the theatre from January 2020 to November 2021. The Minions: Rise of Gru movie was the first time Nadia, Oliver, and I were in a movie theatre in 2022. I used money I had earned through the Upside app (mostly for gasoline purchases) to pay for our tickets. This was the 66th item that we accomplished off our 2022 Bucket List, which currently has 130 first time activities on it. 

20. Unfortunately, our CVS is closing next month. We've known the very kind manager there for almost fourteen years. I probably won't coupon at CVS as often after it closes, but I did manage to pay less than $1 total for a box of Gushers plus six boxes of cereal this week. 

21. Oliver got his first expander on Monday. Thankfully I haven't had any trouble turning it so far!

Photo Credit: All of the photos in this post were taken by Nadia over the last three months.

Here we go again!

I've had an approximately 13-month break from turning an expander. Ian had two expanders last year, but he has been wearing a retainer since then. There were some challenging moments along the way in terms of turning Ian's expander. I don't recall having those difficulties when I turned my own expander 41 years ago. Oliver's first expander was put in his mouth today. I'm hoping turning his expander will go more smoothly. Being an "orthodontist" isn't exactly my favorite job title as a mom!

Today the kids had their first day of a theatre camp put on by a Christian radio station based in Bath, New York. This is Ian and Nadia's third consecutive year to participate in this camp, and it's Oliver's second time. Ian and Nadia both were given speaking parts today. Ian is playing the part of the apostle Paul. Nadia is playing the part of a bully named Jamie. Tomorrow they will be auditioning for solos. Some days I plan to stay up in that area instead of coming home during their four-hour rehearsal because the church where it is being held is almost 30 minutes from our home, but I came home this morning for Milo's sake because I knew we wouldn't be coming home right after I picked them up at 12:30 because of Oliver's orthodontist appointment. I treated the kids to lunch (used a gift card for Oliver at Taco Bell and used some reward points at McDonald's to reduce the cost of Ian and Nadia's meal), and I let Oliver pick out some paper plates and such for his upcoming birthday party at a bowling alley. I am thankful this is the last week of a non-overnight camp because it means less driving for me. There have been summers in the past when I signed the kids up for more weeks of camp - art camp, horseback riding camp, etc., but I wasn't tempted to do so this year.

We haven't been locking Milo in his crate when we leave. We hadn't been doing that if we were going to be gone for much more than four hours, but on Saturday he was alone out of his crate for about six hours, and it went fine. Yesterday morning he was fine when we went to church in the morning, but when we went swimming for an hour in the evening, he pooped in the house. I put the responsibility for that on the child who took him out for a walk before we left. When I take him out for a walk, I give him enough time to poop, but the kids are often prone to taking him out for short periods of time. I've been trying to walk for at least three miles a day, and Milo joins me for most of my walks.

On Sunday Dave (who also works at Kennedy Concrete) and his wife joined us at our church. We worshipped outside. The upside is that we could combine both services which isn't possible indoors. The downside was we don't usually get sunburned during church. The service was a bit longer than usual as it included communion plus fourteen baptisms, and each person shares a testimony before being baptized. After the service the church provided hotdogs, bottles of water, and ice cream. I hadn't realized our church would be providing food that day when I invited them to our home. We ate our main meal a little earlier than usual because we knew it would take Dave and Marla about 90 minutes to get home. I served tuna melt pie, focaccia bread, apple crisp, Jell-O, and a tossed salad. My goal is to have twelve couples or families come to our home for a meal in 2022 (not counting relatives), and they were the fifth. I already have two families scheduled to come in August and have extended an invitation to a third family. On Sunday we played a game of Codenames before we ate our meal. They had never played the game before. 

Nadia started going to VBS in 2011, and Ian began participating in 2013. They both attended every year through 2021 with the exception of 2020 when VBS wasn't held because of COVID. I didn't know it at the time, but 2021 ended up being their last year of VBS because the Methodist church closed (their VSB used to go from age 3 to 12th grade) and the Baptist church lowered the maximum grade from 8th to 5th. Oliver participated in our church's VBS last month. He opted not to participate in the one at the Alliance Church this summer (which at least one my kids attended every year from 2011-2019 and again in 2021), but he did ask me to sign up for the VBS at the Wesleyan church in our town. That is taking place this week starting this evening. Hopefully it won't be too much for him to have theatre camp from 8:15am - 12:30pm and then VBS from 6:00-8:30pm this week.