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

 1. Paul took Oliver to a free maple sugaring educational program at Montour Preserve on February 22. We had taken the kids there in the past, but it had been quite a few years. Oliver has been studying botany this semester in science, and he was too young when we went in the past to remember the program. It's an outstanding program which is free and at a location about 20 minutes from our home.

2. One of the families in our small co-op came over for dinner on March 1, and another co-op family came over on March 9. We enjoyed eating and playing games together with both of these families.

3. Our Montage ski trip was postponed by one week, but I was able to take my three kids plus Nathaniel skiing on March 4. They had a great time and want to go back there again next year!

4. Paul took Ian down to see the ENT for a follow-up appointment. Thankfully they didn't charge us anything for the appointment, and she said the surgery was a success! One nostril is now wide open. The other side has a narrow opening, but air can flow through both nostrils. Hopefully this will alleviate his sleep apnea. 

5. Although it made it hard to get up for church on Sunday morning in light of staying up past midnight on the night we lost an hour due to DST, the kids had a great time with the youth group at Winter Jam. Some of their favorite artists performed that night (Anne Wilson, Colton Dixon, Skillet, etc.), and they had fun with friends.

6. In the middle of February, I paid for one month of access to Angel. We saw several excellent movies including Faith of Angels, Brave the Dark, Lost on a Mountain in Maine, and Between Borders. 

7. We recently discovered that one of Oliver's friends from church lives very close to our home! Oliver has ridden his bike over to James' house a few times so far. Due to his autism, his mom doesn't trust him to ride his bike to our home, but I'm hoping I can provide transportation so that James can play over here from time to time with Oliver.

8. It feels like SPRING this week!!! I am not a fan of cold weather, so I am very, very, very grateful when it starts warming up outside. 

9. Cooper was at our house from the morning of February 21 to the evening of March 9, and he was healthy. Given his age and the fact that he had a stroke 13 months ago, it was an answer to prayer! Milo was looking all over for Cooper in the morning on March 10. He misses having Cooper here.

10. Nadia took the SAT on March 8. I decided to do some grocery shopping and get a haircut in Lewisburg while she took the test as then I took her directly for the last hour of a three-hour Wizard of Oz rehearsal. We will find out on March 21 how she did. I hadn't gotten a haircut in 7 months. I made the mistake of getting a shampoo while I was there. It had been years since I got a shampoo at a hair salon. It added a lot to the cost, so I definitely paid more than usual for this haircut, but I like the way she cut my hair. 

11. Next week I'm going to be taking five girls plus two moms to Cinderella's Closet at the YWCA to shop for prom dresses. The dresses there only cost around $20 each. Hopefully the girls will find dresses they love! The price is definitely right. 

12. Nadia finished her worldview course on March 7, and she earned another A. She's still in the middle of a New Testament course, and she'll begin an American Government class on Monday. 

13. A couple whom I have been friends with for 29 years sold their home that they had lived in for 57 years and moved to Indiana several months ago. They are in their late 80's. I enjoyed chatting on the phone with Kay this week, and we made plans to visit them in June as they live less than an hour from where the kids' Bible quizzing nationals will be held. 

14. After a two-week break, our small (15 kid) co-op resumed at our home on Tuesday. Our kids love spending time with their friends. 

15. I'm thankful for *some* of things Trump has done so far. I do not agree with a lot of his foreign policy (ex. referring to Canada as a 51st state, making Ukraine out to be the villain and Putin the victim, the way he talks about Greenland, talking about taking over the Gaza strip, etc.) or making a priority out of renaming things like the Gulf of Mexico/ Denali, but I am grateful he's trying to reduce the debt and size of the government, pardon some people who were in my opinion treated unjustly (ex. in jail for praying near an abortion clinic), releasing classified documents (and in general increasing transparency), trying to level the playing field when it comes to tariffs, and protecting women's sports. One positive thing as far as his foreign policy is that he's definitely not a "war hawk," which is a good thing. I think in general most Presidents have gone WAY too far with executive orders, so I'm hoping that the Congress will be more involved in many of these changes if for example the Post Office and/or Amtrak become privatized, or the Department of Education is eliminated. I actually debated with my roommate back in 1994 in favor of privatizing the Post Office. We shall see if that ever actually happens. My hope isn't in a President or anyone else in government. My hope is in the Lord! 

Thankful Thursday

 1. Nadia has been hired as a part-time kennel assistant! She starts her training at 7:30 tomorrow morning. It seems for the most part she will only work on Saturdays. They are paying her $12/hour. She is hoping to at least earn enough to pay for her car insurance. 

2. Last weekend Nadia had a nice time with some of the girls she worked with at Camp Susque. I drove Nadia and Melanie to the home they were staying at, and Melanie's dad picked the girls up on Saturday morning.

3. The five of us were able to help pack meals at FBC on Saturday afternoon. Altogether 100,000 meals were packed that day at that church! 

4. The weather has been unseasonably warm. I love it! Not everyone in my family agrees with me. 

5. We enjoy hosting co-op at our home. The messiness of art is not my favorite part but hearing the laughter and watching the kids interact with each other warms my heart. This week's debate was on whether Pluto is a planet or a dwarf planet. Our final two debates will be on AI and whether there should be an age limit for the President, VP, and those in Congress. In art this week the kids began sculpting a turtle out of clay. Paul does two chemistry experiments with them each week. After lunch the kids play games. This week it was Balderdash and Pit for the first 90 minutes. Some kids stay later. This week the kids who were still here after 2:00 played Catan. 

6. Paul was supposed to have jury duty in August. Thankfully they were willing to postpone his until November due to our trip to Alaska. Every Friday evening (for four weeks) he has to check online to see if he's supposed to report at the district court in Williamsport or not. The first two times the answer has thankfully been "no." In light of co-op, we're hoping for the same result tomorrow and next Friday night. 

7. Ian has been using a gymnastic mat as a chair in our family room. I decided we needed to get another chair of some sort, and the kids picked a large bean bag. I used credit card points to get a Walmart gift card and used that gift card to pay for the 5-foot bean bag chair. Ian isn't the only one using that seat! Similarly, I used credit card points to buy a new faucet from Lowe's for the kids' bathroom. Hopefully it won't be too difficult for Paul to install it. 

8. In January Ian's primary care doctor started the process that finally culminated in him having a sleep study in Hershey last night. I usually transport the kids to their music lessons, doctor appointments, etc., but Paul stayed in the room with Ian for his sleep study. We are praying for accurate results so that we will know if Ian has sleep apnea, and if he does have it, how severe it is.

9. I'm thankful that we live in a free country where we have the ability to vote. I'm also grateful for the outcome of the election. Ultimately, God is in control, and my faith is in Him alone certainly not any politician, but given the ages of Alito and Thomas, I have been praying that when it's time for them to retire, they could be replaced with justices who would strictly follow the constitution. It's the first time in my life that every single candidate I voted for won! I am encouraged that Trump won even though Kamala's campaign spent FAR, FAR more money. I think how much money is spent on campaigns is insane and that which campaign has the most money shouldn't be the determining factor in who wins. Personally, my political views are not influenced one iota by all the things that showed up in our mailbox, by billboards, or by ads. Similarly, it is reassuring to know that people can make their own personal judgments despite what the media is constantly telling us (ex. "he is Hitler" - seriously?!?). Is Trump my ideal candidate? Absolutely not. I didn't even vote for him in 2016 because I wasn't sure if he was actually going to be conservative. Ironically (because Paul was the one who talked me out of the "lesser of two evils" philosophy while we were dating), Paul voted for him three times.

10. Paul has believed for four years that Trump actually won in 2020. I have thought it was *possible* that due to election fraud he lost, but I wasn't sure that could be stated as a fact. I changed my mind this week. In 2008 131 million people voted, in 2012 it was 129 million, and in 2016 it was 136 million which puts the average at 132 million over those 3 elections. The total for 2020 was 158 million, and this year the number was probably around 139 million. Hillary got 65 million votes in 2016 (Trump only had 62 million that election), and Kamala got 67 million in 2024. You'd think there would be much more of a draw to elect the first woman president (I hope that does happen at some point in my lifetime!). I can't believe that 20 million extra people actually voted in 2020 when the choice was between two old white guys. I'm more convinced now of the theory that fraudulent mail-in ballots swung that election. Since the numbers came back to "normal" this time, I feel like the election was probably fairer. I'm sure for many decades there has been some fraud involved on both sides of the aisle. I had students at Bloomsburg who would brag about the fact that they voted twice - once by absentee ballot based on their home address and again on campus using their college address, but it seems like in 2020 it was taken to a whole new level. I have to show an ID to board an airplane or check in at a hotel. I don't smoke or drink alcohol, but if I did, I'd need to show ID to make those purchases. I think our elections would be less susceptible to fraud if people had to show ID when they voted. Nadia was inundated with so many text messages encouraging her to vote, and she's only sixteen. The next time we have a presidential election both Nadia and Ian will be able to vote. They are growing up too quickly! 

Thankful Thursday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Winter Olympics

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

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

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

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

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

Stitches again

 

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

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

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

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

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

Thankful Thursday

1. The kids had four more tennis lessons from May 24-27, and their friends Micah and Isaiah also took tennis with them. I was able to talk with Tab in person far more than usual that week. It was also easier for me to log more steps that week as I walked during the lessons. The kids have been playing tennis in our driveway with the neighbors lately.

2. We were able to take a two day getaway to Buffalo that included the Buffalo Naval and Military Park, Theodore Roosevelt's Inaugural site, swimming in the indoor pool at the hotel, and Six Flags Darien Lake. We used four coupons to reduce the cost of our dinner at Chick-fil-A on Friday, and we used gift cards to pay for our lunch and dinner on Saturday. Paul had a four day weekend!!!!

3. Our church had a nice service and luncheon to celebrate the fifth graders promotion into the youth group on Sunday. Ian would have attended youth group last night for the very first time if Paul hadn't offered to take the boys roller skating. He's planning to start attending next week. 

4. I'm very thankful for all who have given their lives in the service of our country.

5. The kids and I enjoyed our annual visit to Reptiland. 

6. Milo is handling our absence better when we leave him in his crate, and we are also very appreciative of the care that Micah and Isaiah give him when we leave Milo at their house. 

7. Tab picked us up at Walmart one day last week on the way to tennis lessons so that we didn't have to wait at Walmart while they rotated the tires on the van.

8. Paul took Karyss, Ian, and Oliver roller skating last night while Nadia and I were at church.

9. Although the mask mandate in our state doesn't expire until the end of this month (or whenever we hit 70% of adults fully vaccinated if that happens first), at most places masks are already optional. Yahoo!!!

10. I don't always vote in the primary election in an off year election, but I did vote this year because of the constitutional amendments that were included on the ballot. PTL the amendments passed. The first two were aimed at limiting the power of a governor in terms of how long a state of emergency can last. I'm absolutely in favor of checks and balances and not giving any one person too much power regardless of what political party currently has control of the legislature or the executive branch. 

Back to the 80's

When I read or listen to biographies or historical fiction, I often find myself thinking how I am glad I live in this time period and have my current "job." When we listened to a biography about Ernest Shackleton, I found myself amazed at what those explorers were willing to endure. I've been listening to Unbroken while exercising lately, and again I am astounded at what some American prisoners of war were able to endure at the hands of the Japanese. When we enjoy books that take place in the early part of US history, I think I would have been a vegetarian as I can't imagine killing animals, skinning them, plucking off their feathers, etc. Up until the last week or so I have never found myself feeling nostalgic about the past. I've heard other people over the years say something along the line of that life was better back in the 50's or some other time period. It might be because they really liked the music from a previous decade, because they feel the morals in our country have declined since that time, or because they have fond memories from that decade. In my opinion in many ways things were better in the 80's than they are now. 

For example in the '80's, three of our recent/current Supreme Court justices were approved by the Senate either unanimously (Scalia) or by a vast majority - 96 votes for Ginsburg and 87 votes for Breyer. That hasn't happened for awhile, and I don't see it happening again anytime in the near future. At that time the media (news on tv/ newspapers) was far less biased. I know that technology has come a LONG way since the '80's, but I'd gladly trade my cell phone for a landline, trade my Echo Dot for a radio/CD player, etc. if other things in our country could go back to how they were 40 years ago. I didn't pick the 50's because that was before the Civil Rights Movement. Yes, there were probably fewer divorces and such in the 50's, but I couldn't pick a time that included so much discrimination based on skin color. I'm probably forgetting something, but I can only think of one area in which there has been an improvement morally in our country over the past 40 years - the rate of abortion has dropped 50% in the US in that time frame. Worldwide there were over 42 million abortions worldwide in 2020 - the leading cause of death. Over 1 million babies have already been aborted in 2021, and it's only January 12. Heartbreaking! 

 2020 was a year I think very few (if any!) will ever feel nostalgic about. 2021 hasn't exactly gotten off to a good start. I am very concerned about the future of our country for a wide variety of reasons. I try not to mention politics on my blog, but it's been on my mind so much lately. Yesterday, when I woke up I was sick to my stomach over the grief I am feeling regarding the future of our country.

• Our obsession with gender related issues - boys can go in girl's bathrooms and vice versa, there is a push to eliminate words like mother, father, sister, brother, etc. from our vocabulary, and words that have NOTHING to do with gender (such as Amen, which is a Hebrew word that means "so be it" are now being modified because the letters "men" are found in the word). Can you imagine adding "wo" to all the words that contain those three letters?!?! I can't believe this is actually happening.
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• The fact that it seems our country is headed toward socialism. Hopefully our country will never resemble what it's currently like in Venezuela, North Korea, China, Cuba, etc. I'm also hoping against hope that spending trillions of dollars left and right doesn't land us in another Great Depression. If the country keeps heading towards socialism, I guess it's possible that some states will try to secede. Hopefully if that happens it won't involve another Civil War. 
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• The legislators who objected to some of the Electoral College certifications are being accused of "not respecting the rule of law" and are being punished in a variety of ways. In the past 20 years some Democrats had done the same thing regarding three other Presidential elections. This was the first time in 20 years that any Republicans had objected. They should not be punished for their objections just because OTHER people were breaking the law outside the Capitol. They had announced their decision to object long before anyone knew of the lawless actions that would take place that day. Personally, I have no idea if the election was "stolen." Paul is one who is convinced it was, and obviously there are people on the other side who are convinced everything was done completely ethically. In my opinion there was likely some fraud involved, but I have no idea whether it was enough to change the outcome of the election or not. However, the fact that 139 Legislators objected, gives me serious pause. Hopefully there will be a significant investigation so that if any of the concerns are actually valid, they can be addressed before the next election. I have no comprehension as to why any Legislator (regardless of their party) should be punished for objecting to the certification of the Electoral College. It feels like there is a double standard at play.
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• Speaking of a double standard, rioting is always wrong in my opinion. Some of the BLM/Antifa protests were peaceful in 2020 and some included murder, arson, destruction of private and public property, etc. Two wrongs never make a right. When those BLM riots took place, people and organizations raised tens of millions of dollars to bail out the violent rioters. The protests were supposedly on behalf of black people, and yet in many cases the arson and violence destroyed the homes and businesses of black people. Murder is wrong whether it's someone protesting against the police or protesting because they believe the election was stolen. I don't think that the consequences should be harsher for one than the other.
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• The one that is bothering me the most is the bias of the media. Because the media hasn't liked Trump the past 4+ years, they can say NOTHING good about him. A stranger standing in line to vote in November said to me, "Trump could have discovered the cure for cancer and the media would find a way to be mad at him about that." If Obama had helped negotiate the peace treaties in the Middle East, that would have been ALL over the news. I have a feeling few Americans know about it. Similarly, the scandal involving Obama in 2016 (Russia/Trump) was so, so much worse than Watergate (I'm not intending any sympathy for Nixon - he deserved to be impeached), and I doubt very few Americans know of what happened because the Media has kept it under wraps. In countries like China, the government controls the media. Our government doesn't control the media, but the media is very strongly biased toward the left, and social media has gone so far as to censor conservatives or even block them from using various platforms. Free speech means that some people are going to say things you don't like or agree with. I don't understand what happened to the Parler app?!? It's scary to think what could happen if Big Business, Big Tech, and the Democrats work together to crush dissenters. I'm planning on permanently deactivating my Facebook account. My friend invited me to join MeWe. We're also considering ending our Amazon Prime membership and trying to shop through Amazon as little as possible (probably use Target..com and Walmart.com more). Considering that exactly 50% of the Senators are Republicans, almost 50% of the Representatives are Republicans, and Republicans have full control of the legislative and executive branch in 24 states (compared to 15 states that the Democrats have full control), it's not as if Republicans are some radical, fringe minority group. Not that I think that minority groups should be censored either....

In our family devotions tonight we were reading from Daniel 2, and one verse in there says that God "deposes kings and raises up others." I believe in the sovereignty of God. He is in control even if it seems that everything is out of control. We are praying for Biden to be the best President possible. Our joy and peace are from the Lord not from our circumstances. Even if a worst case scenario ends up happening and we go through what Venezuela is experiencing right now, our hope, joy, and peace can't be taken away if they are found in the LORD. Ideally I'd like my kids to be able to grow up in a free and prosperous country as Paul and I have experienced for around 50 years, but even if that doesn't happen, their future in Christ can be secure.

Big Day

In April Margie and my Dad said that they would give us a chest freezer for my birthday. It was impossible to buy one in April due to the fact people had purchased them like crazy all over the USA in February and March due to COVID-19. In July I placed an order with Lowe's. Most stores were still not accepting any orders, but Lowe's had a few that could be ordered online. Originally, they said it would be delivered in October, but not long after I placed the order they moved the delivery date to November 3. They called today to confirm that they are actually planning to deliver the freezer tomorrow morning! This means we'll be able to keep our meat in our own basement instead of at Millie's bakery, which is 80 minutes from our house. I'm looking forward to having a place to store food when I find a good sale and want to stock up on something that is perishable. 

I don't win any prizes for being an artsy/craftsy mom, but the boys did have fun with some model magic yesterday morning before we went to church. We discussed All Saint's Day and Day of the Dead this weekend as we're learning about holidays around the world this year. In honor of Mexico's Day of the Dead, we had pan de Muertos (bread) last week, made sugar skulls yesterday afternoon, and ate churros today. We talked about Grandma and Uncle Maurice when making the skulls as that is the point of the holiday - to remember relatives who have passed away. This summer I ordered a deep fryer. I had never owned or used one before, but I saw some of the international recipes I was planning to try included frying. I contemplated buying an air fryer (certainly would be healthier) but ended up buying a deep fryer after reading many reviews. I used it for the first time today when making the churros. Between making the churros, Norwegian waffles, sausage, scrambled eggs, and also some rigatoni noodles as Paul doesn't eat waffles, I spent a little more than two hours cooking dinner plus cleaning up the dishes. Whew. Normally when I make waffles, I just use a buttermilk pancake mix. I have made waffles from scratch before when making something special such as pumpkin waffles. Nadia takes after Paul and isn't a fan of pancakes. French toast, or waffles. She will eat them (whereas he totally avoids them), but she prefers to eat leftovers if possible. The boys and I agreed that the Norwegian waffles were tastier than our usual ones; I think I'll make these again but not necessarily every time I make waffles. I definitely will not make churros very often, but Nadia said she might ask me to make them for her birthday. Yesterday I made chicken gyros, a Kenyan banana dish, and a Vietnamese sweet potato recipe. I'm taking it easy tomorrow in terms of food preparation and picking up pizza from a restaurant in our town! The kids really liked the pita bread, but they weren't fans of the dressing that was used in the gyro. I don't think I'll ever make gyros again, but at least they all know what a gyro tastes like now. It was also Paul's first time eating a gyro. There were peanuts on the sweet potatoes and bananas. Nadia and Oliver picked all the peanuts off. Paul didn't try the bananas or sweet potatoes. Ian and Nadia  ate a tiny bit of sweet potatoes only because I required them to do so. Oliver and I LOVE sweet potatoes. Paul and Ian love peanuts, but if the others are going to pick them all off I think I'll add peanuts to the list of ingredients I will try to avoid when cooking. Speaking of Kenya, one of the five kids we sponsor lives in Kenya. We just received new pictures of Morgan (see above). He's the youngest child that we are currently sponsoring. Isn't he adorable? We've been praying fervently that the kids we sponsor and their families will not contract COVID-19. 

Our getting a freezer tomorrow might be a big deal to us, but it is trivial compared to the election tomorrow. Every year I always look forward to when the election will be behind us. I never like seeing all the political signs up all over the place, even if those signs are for the candidate I am going to vote for. It also means an end to all the junk mail related to the election, and this year it means an end to the incessant text messages I've gotten regarding voting. I never like being in suspense. Sometimes I would get annoyed with how I let myself get too emotionally involved in a football game, for example. The first year I was old enough to vote, it was an off year election. I was twenty years old when I voted in a Presidential election for the first time in 1992. I can't recall whom I voted for in 2000. If I voted for Bush, that is the only time the Presidential candidate I voted for in a general election won. I didn't vote for Bush in 2004. I voted for a third party candidate, which is also what I did in 2016. Although I didn't vote for Trump four years ago, I am voting for him tomorrow. Do I think he's the ideal candidate? Absolutely not. None of us are perfect, but some of our character flaws are more noticeable than others. I wince at times over the things Trump says or tweets. I had very, very low expectations for him after I found out he won the election four years ago. I have been pleasantly surprised by the majority of his actions, and actions are more important than words (albeit it would be heavenly if he could better control his tongue). I have opinions on a wide range of political issues - the environment, taxes, gun control, the size of the deficit, etc., but I think if I had to boil it down to the TWO most important issues to me, they would be #1 is the candidate pro-life and #2 are they going to try to grow the size of the government? My ideal candidate would work to SHRINK the size of the government, but I doubt that will ever happen. I want government to preserve our liberties - freedom of speech, press, religion, right to bear arms, etc., and otherwise I'd like them to create as few regulations as possible. For example, in one place in the US they recently enacted a regulation that grocery stores must display fruits/vegetables in the checkout lines (not candy). Seriously?!? I can't see our founding fathers thinking that is the role of government.

Because I have always voted pro-life, that means if I am voting for someone from one of the two major parties, I'm going to end up voting Republican almost all the time. There was one time when I did vote for a Democrat because he was pro-life and the Republican running against him was pro-choice. Four years ago I was certain that Pence was pro-life, but I wasn't sure if Trump was actually pro-life. Now I am convinced that he is pro-life. His most recent Supreme Court nomination greatly impressed me. If I asked my kids who is one of the worst people ever, I am quite certain they would say Hitler. Hitler was obviously a very evil man - responsible for the death of at least 6 million Jews. However, our "Ally" - Stalin, was responsible for the deaths of between 20-60 million, and the Cultural Revolution in China (Mao) was responsible for the deaths of 20-30 million. Hitler doesn't seem like he'd win the prize for "the worst" if those numbers are accurate. But what about the USA? I think most people view slavery as our worst crime. Slavery was and is very, very awful. 10-12 million slaves were brought to our country. I wish that wasn't a part of our history. I wish that women didn't have to wait so long to be given the right to vote. I wish that blacks weren't treated so terribly (especially in the south) for almost 100 years after the Civil War ended. The list could go on. People aren't perfect, and if you study the history of any country or civilization, you are going to read about atrocities. As awful as slavery was/is, murdering babies is even worse to me. In less than 50 years more than 62 million babies have been killed in our country, which even tops the high estimate for Stalin. People recognize that what is inside an eagle's egg is a baby eagle because there are serious penalties for interfering with an eagle's egg, but some say that if a baby is inside a woman's body, that baby has zero rights. In fact some (ex. the Governor of Virginia) say if the abortion is botched and the baby is born alive, they still don't consider it infanticide to just let the baby starve to death. So we shall see if I actually vote for a Presidential candidate who wins an election for possibly the first time in my life. The bottom line is that God is in control no matter who lives in the White House or which party has the majority in the Senate. Hopefully our country doesn't become a socialistic country. A look at the history of various countries over the past 80 years shows what a train wreck socialism is - Venezuela being one of the most recent casualties. It's easy to feel anxiety over the election and the direction our country might be heading, but I keep reminding myself that God is our sovereign El Elyon.

I'll end on a lighter note. Naturally we all make mistakes when learning a second language. I made a funny mistake today. I was trying to say "please turn off the bluetooth" in Spanish, and I actually said "please hug the bluetooth." LOL! Ian was the one who recognized my error. In my defense the verbs "hug" and "turn off" both start with the letter "a." OOPS! 

12 Years

 

We moved into our current home on September 24, 2008. I have always had a hard time memorizing things with numbers such as dates, phone numbers, and Bible references. I only recall the year that previous moves took place not the month much less the specific date, but we sold the home in Catawissa and purchased this home on the day Nadia turned 3 months old, which made it very easy for me to remember. We moved in on a Wednesday, and two days later our town held its annual community yard sale. Prior to becoming a mom, I had never been interested in shopping at yard sales, but my attitude totally shifted when I was shopping for baby clothes, toys, etc. I didn't want to buy someone's unwanted household goods, but the clothes their baby outgrew - yes! I was rather dumbfounded to see what a big ordeal that a community yard sale can be in this area. More than 100 yard sales taking place within a two mile radius, thousands of people shopping at the yard sales (it's the only time each year it's hard to find a parking spot in our borough), and food trucks. We see more Amish people at the yard sales than we see at any other point in the year in our community. Over the last 10+ years I've enjoyed shopping at our borough's community yard sale in September and Milton's community yard sales in May. Milton didn't have theirs this year due to COVID. I wasn't sure if our borough would also cancel the yard sales this year, but they didn't. On Friday morning we did a little bit of schoolwork and then headed out to the yard sales for a couple of hours. We came home, had lunch, did some more schoolwork, and then headed to gym class. On Saturday morning Nadia wasn't too happy about being out the door before 8:00, as she likes to sleep in on Saturday, but she also likes to pick out clothes that she wants me to purchase. We only shopped for two hours on Saturday morning, which is far less than usual. Many of the years I was pushing at least one child in a stroller at the yard sale. I have to say we were missing the stroller yesterday. Parking is always a problem on the Saturday of the yard sales so we park and walk around the town, which means we're carrying all the bags. A stroller was useful for helping carry the bags, but at least the kids are big enough that they could lend a hand and help carry some of the bags. I had a list of things I was hoping to buy. We succeeded in getting pants for Ian and Oliver as well as some snow pants for the boys. I did buy two pairs of sneakers, but I didn't buy any dress shoes. I didn't have anything for Nadia on the list, but she got some new clothes - mostly dresses and also some books. I wasn't planning on buying Ian a hat, but he asked me to buy the hat (pictured above), and I think he looks rather dapper in it! Our tradition is that I buy four whoopie pies from an Amish food stand (50 cents each). The weather was perfect for the yard sales this year. 

Abby and Evanna came over for a sleepover yesterday afternoon. The girls baked cookies, jumped on the trampoline, played board games, played the Wii, watched Wonder, etc. Their parents will get them at church after the second service. I had planned to go to both services today, but last night Oliver started coughing. He doesn't have a fever. I'm certain he doesn't have COVID as his symptoms include sneezing which is not a symptom of COVID, but in this present time when people are very nervous about coughing, I thought he should stay home from church today. Paul is at work right now. He's going to come home in time so that he can stay home with Oliver while the rest of us attend the second service. It means none of us will attend the worship service, as we attend that at 9:00. I am signed up to be in the nursery during the 10:45 service. Ian will need to go to the elementary boys class as otherwise he'd be attending the worship service by himself. Nadia and her friends will attend the 10:45 youth service. Next Sunday is the last week of the Core 52 sermon series that has lasted a little more than one year because they took a four week break from it last December. Next week Mark Moore (the author of the book) will be preaching on the topic of heaven (Revelation 22), but we will be on vacation. The past two weeks the attendance was definitely up at our church. The number of people attending in person finally exceeded the number attending the service online. Because they removed half of the seats due to COVID, we actually had a little trouble finding seats two weeks ago. Last week we arrived a little earlier than we had been, and that solved the problem. 

We are planning to leave for our vacation on Thursday. I still have moments of thinking we should just stay HOME due to COVID-19 and also because of the protests and rioting. One of the places we are planning to stay during our trip is Louisville, which doesn't seem like a good place to visit at the moment due to the Breonna Taylor decision. In general I don't like to read much about the news because it's rarely good news, but I was happy to read of who Trump has nominated for the Supreme Court. I haven't been impressed with the most recent additions to the Supreme Court. In my opinion there are only two true Constitutional conservatives on the court - Alito and Thomas. Scalia has been greatly missed. I think if Barrett is confirmed, she will be as true to the Constitution as Thomas and Scalia.

Last week Margie was diagnosed with breast cancer. She hasn't had a scan yet. We're praying that the scan will show that the cancer hasn't spread anywhere else. My mom's ovarian cancer wasn't diagnosed until it was already at stage four. We're hoping Margie's was caught much earlier than that. Ever since we found out on Friday night, I've been praying for Margie's physical health as well as for the emotional well being of Margie, my dad, and Margie's three children.