Happy St. Patrick's Day

I didn't do a good job of taking pictures in January or February. I also really wish I had taken a picture of the three kids with Milo in December. Even though it's only March 17, I've already taken far, far more pictures this month than I did the last two months put together. I plan on taking pictures of the three kids multiple times this year, and today was the first time I did so for a holiday. We didn't get a single picture of our whole family in 2020. I am determined to get one of all five of us sometime in 2021 and ideally we'll get one of all six of us (Milo being #6). It would be really special if we could get a picture that included the five of us plus our four pets, but given how crazy Milo acts when he sees a guinea pig out of her cage, I can't see how that could happen! I think I'll try to take one picture with the kids and the three guinea pigs at some point this year.   

We've played games together the last three weekends, and Paul is on quite a roll. He has won every single game we've played, and he had never even played Quirkle or Clue before! We also played Suspend and Pit. Maybe one of the kids or I will win a game this weekend? Paul is going to have a tough schedule over the next ten days because Millie is having her second knee replacement surgery, which means Paul's brother needs to stay at home to help her out. I think the main difference will be that Paul will be going in to work very early every morning. I don't think it will mean he'll come home later, as he already doesn't usually get home until around 8pm. His extra hours at work won't affect us because we'll all be asleep during the time he's putting in longer hours. It might mean though that he'll be napping on Sunday afternoon and unable to play a game with us this weekend. Another employee has been out for months following a surgery. Paul is very relieved that thus far the $15 minimum wage legislation hasn't gone through. He said he will have to cut some employees and cut the hours of other employees if that is enforced. 

I checked one thing off my to do list today - I mixed the boxes of cornstarch, water, and food coloring gels. I have four foil pans of the substance drying in the basement to hopefully become color powder we can use later this month as we're learning about Holi. This week I also am starting to learn how to use DaVinci Resolve and watching videos on how to groom dogs as I'm planning to use the clippers on Milo for the first time some time this week. I did a little bit of trimming on his face with scissors today which was not an easy task since he wanted to bite the scissors. 

This is "tech week" for Nancy Blue, the play that Nadia is a part of. That meant they had a rehearsal on Zoom on the last two nights and again tonight. They are recording the performance tomorrow night, and it will be available of people to watch online from Friday night through Sunday night. The rehearsals had been on Monday and Thursday nights the last few weeks so none of those rehearsals had conflicted with Bible Bowl or Youth Group, but she had to miss both today for the dress rehearsal. I didn't drive anywhere yesterday or today, and I doubt I'll go anywhere tomorrow. If we hadn't been invited to a play date at a friend's house on Friday afternoon, I would have gone five days without driving anywhere. Speaking of Zoom, we FaceTimed with Joshua and Wesley today as they turned 14 and 4 years old today! Joshua loves dogs so I imagine he's looking forward to meeting Milo whenever they are able to visit us. We've had him for a little over three months and no relatives have met him thus far.

Nadia said she didn't have any green to wear so I gave her a sweater that had been my mom's.

Spring Forward

 Although in general I'm not a fan of the clocks changing twice a year, I actually prefer to "spring ahead" even though we lose an hour. The kids and Milo got up later than usual on Sunday according to what the clock said, which meant we didn't actually lose an hour of sleep. Nadia got up at her usual time the past two mornings, but Ian and Milo have been getting up at 7:30, whereas they had been getting up at 6:45 prior to the time change. It *felt* like spring last week. It doesn't feel like spring this week even though spring technically arrives this Saturday, on what would have been my Mom's 76th birthday. It snowed here this morning. I walk a lot longer outside when the weather is warmer, but I did walk for at least a little bit the last three days even though it was colder outside (about 1 mile a day instead of 3-4 miles a day). Something is better than nothing, right?

I have started taking a videography course. I have learned that clips should be 5-10 seconds long. I have been taking some short videos with my DSLR as I am planning to make some cinematic home videos - ex. the first one I plan to do about Milo and the second will probably be about Nadia. Today I didn't follow any of the guidance I've been given when I used our camcorder to record Ian practicing the piano. One of the pieces he's been working on lately is an arrangement of Pachelbel's Canon. The piece is four pages long. I recorded the first two pages and the second two pages as two different videos, but even so the video below is 5 minutes long. It's from Alfred Level 6. If I had to list three of my favorite moments each day with Ian they would be: his hugs, listening to him play the piano, and snuggling while I read to Ian and Oliver. I'm really hoping that this summer Ian and I will play more piano duets together. That would be heavenly! Oliver wants me to teach him how to play the recorder.

Today I tried a new recipe - Egyptian sweet cookies. We think it's a bit of a misnomer. The recipe called for four cups of flour and only 1/2 cup of sugar. Most cookies that I make use more sugar than that. I can assure you I won't ever be making them again. The question is - will anyone eat them or will they just end up being tossed in the garbage? Nadia has really been enjoying the Szarlotka that I made on Sunday. I was going to make Irish barmbrack and beef stew for St. Patrick's Day, but the barmbrack recipe looked too similar to the panettone I made a few months ago. The kids aren't fans of dried fruit (aside from raisins) so I decided to go with Irish soda bread instead. We've tried 133 new foods over the past 6 months. We have about 45 more recipes on my list left to try. 

Happy Pi Day!

Traditions are more important to some people than to others, but I think most people enjoy having at least some traditions. Ian reminds me of Maurice in some ways. Traditions were UBER important to Maurice, and they are to Ian as well. Somewhere along the line, the kids started having popcorn on Sunday and now "popcorn Sunday" is very important to them. They each have a special bowl they use for that occasion only. Having donuts for breakfast on their birthdays is also something they really treasure. Over the years I've tried to add a few new traditions along the way. I've been giving the kids each a small gift plus some candy for Valentine's Day the last several years - one year I gave them each a book, another year I gave them each a puzzle, etc. Last year was the first time I bought them each a small gift for Easter. I did so last year because we were in the lockdown of COVID. I decided this year to get them each a little something for Easter again. I ordered Nadia three used books by Beverly Lewis via Thriftbooks that I know she'll enjoy because she read the first books in those two series, and they don't have the rest of the books at the library. I got Oliver a Rubix cube, and I got Ian some baseplates for building Lego creations on.  Yesterday I also got them some candy (Peeps for Oliver, jelly beans for Nadia, and a chocolate bunny for Ian). I think I'm all set for Easter gifts. Now I need to buy the things we need for our Passover seder. 

This year we've celebrated far more holidays than usual as we've been learning about different countries around the world. Paul would definitely like it if we continued to celebrate the Canadian Thanksgiving Day as he liked having two turkey dinners last fall. Since we don't put anything in stockings for the kids, I think we'll continue the St. Nicholas tradition of putting something in their shoe on December 6. The kids want to continue celebrating Three Kings' Day and Chinese New Year, because they liked getting the red envelope with money in it in February and an extra gift in early January, but I don't plan to make those annual traditions. I might make Hamantaschen cookies on Purim each year because Nadia really liked those cookies. I am planning to continue the tradition of making a pie on March 14 each year for Pi Day. Yesterday I used part of a gift card at Pizza Hut. We had leftover pizza for lunch today (which is one form of pie), and I'm making a Polish apple pie called Szarlotka this afternoon so we can have apple pie later today.

Yesterday afternoon we met Nadia's director in Lewisburg to pick up the costumes she needs for the play they're performing on Zoom this week. While we were there, the boys tried another skate park. It's a much bigger skate park than the one I took them to last Wednesday, but there were also a lot of people there whereas we had the other park to ourselves. They had fun though so I'm sure it won't be the last time we go to that skate park. Nadia hung out with Milo and her friend Natalie. Natalie is in 8th grade and also goes to our church an also is in the same play (Nancy Blue). 

Milo loves to take a nap in Nadia's bed when she's reading.

It's a Beautiful Day!

 On a day like today I feel like singing the theme song to Mr. Roger's. A little after 11:00 one of the kids from the neighborhood rang our doorbell and asked if Oliver could come out to play. I was puzzled as our local school district returned to having school in person 5 days a week on March 1. I'm not sure of the reason, but the public school had off today, and the Christian school had a half-day. Since the boys were almost done with our schoolwork at that point and Nadia was already done, I said they could go out after we ate lunch. I admit that the gorgeous weather was a significant contributing factor in my decision. It was about ten degrees cooler than yesterday, but it was sunny out. Milo and I walked for 4 miles. I swept and organized the garage and vacuumed the inside of the van. The kids had already been outside before lunch because I said they could read outside if they wanted to. Nadia read on her large swing with Milo, Ian read his math book on the trampoline, and Oliver read sitting on the spinning seesaw. Milo spent a lot of time outside today with one or more of the four of us. The kids also enjoyed playing with Nya, our neighbor's golden retriever who is 3 months old. Oliver, Ian, and some of the neighbors worked together to build what they call their "fort." 

I hadn't tried any new recipes this week until tonight. We usually have breakfast for dinner once a week. I made two new recipes - blini (since this week is Maslenitsa in Russia) and boxty since St. Patrick's Day is next week. Since Sunday is Pi Day, I'm going to try a new pie recipe - Szarlotka, which is a Polish apple pie. Blinis will be added to our rotation as Oliver, Ian, and I loved them, and Nadia thought they were okay. She liked the boxty better than the blinis. 

We finished another Newbery winner today, Dear Mr. Henshaw. We are definitely fans of books by Beverly Cleary, but we think one of her other books should have been selected for the award rather than that one. 

Ian's expander fell out earlier this week. I called the orthodontist office, and they said to just clean it and bring it on Monday. Ian has appreciated having a brief reprieve from wearing it, and today he chewed a piece of gum, something he's not been able to do the last 3+ weeks. 

On this day

On the radio this morning I heard that it was on this day one year ago the pandemic was officially declared, which means we've entered the second year of COVID-19. I would think that since the vaccine distribution is already underway that over the course of 2021 life will return closer and closer to what it was in February 2020. Recently I received an email from one of the local theatre groups. They talked about what they have decided to cancel, and what surprised me was that they said they wouldn't be offering any summer theatre camps this year. It surprised me because Nadia did attend one of theirs last summer. They followed all the rules (wore masks at all times, took the kids temps, sanitized everything like crazy, kept the kids spread apart, etc.). I had assumed that this summer more things would be open rather than more things would be closed than last summer. I have signed Nadia up for one week of girls' camp at Camp Susque the first week of August and the boys up for one week of camp at PMBC the last week of June. We're planning to spend July 4-10 at Aunt Janet's house. Other than that, I'm not really sure what the summer will be like. Will they offer Camp Good News this summer? Will churches offer VBS? WVIA held their annual ski day at Elk Mountain in January, but they cancelled the one at Ski Sawmill last month because of COVID. I saw they have scheduled a day at Knoebels in May. They haven't said if they'll have their annual event at Montage Mountain waterpark in June or not. Last year the ski dates took place before the lockdowns but all of the events for the rest of 2020 were cancelled. Our membership is expired at the moment, but if it seems like the Knoebels event really will be taking place, I'll renew. Last year I had signed the kids up for the annual PA Wilds Child event. It was cancelled, and they didn't plan an event for this June.

It might be challenging to make summer plans at this point, but COVID doesn't stop us for continuing to enjoy books together! I was perusing the Newbery Award winners for the past 100 years, and I decided to count to see how many we've read or listened to together over the last several years. Nadia read Holes and A Wrinkle in Time independently, and forty-nine other Newbery books we've enjoyed together. We started two others but didn't want to finish them. I don't think we'll attempt The Crossover again, but I think we should give Moon over Manifest another whirl. The 100th book to receive the award was When you Trap a Tiger, and I'm on a waiting list with Overdrive so we can listen to that one in May. I've requested New Kid from the library for Ian, and I've requested Merci Suarez Changes Gears for Nadia. Those were the winners from 2019 and 2020. I highly doubt we'll ever read all 100 of those books, but I'm thinking in time maybe we will read 75 of the first 100 Newbery winners. A few of them I would rank as some of the best books we've read together such as A Single Shard, Doctor Dolittle, The Tale of Despereaux, and Crispin: The Cross of Lead, but many other of my favorites that were also written in the past 100 years weren't selected for the award. 

Today I'm giving thanks:

1. For what a talented artist my niece, Susie, is. She painted a portrait of Maurice on a cardboard box.

2. That the weather has been so nice the last three days. Today it actually got into the low 70's! On Tuesday the kids and I walked to a playground for the first time in many months. Yesterday we drove 4 miles to Montgomery because Oliver has been wanting to try a small skate park there. Nadia and I walked from the park to the library and introduced the librarian to Milo while also getting some books and a DVD. If I had checked the hourly forecast, I wouldn't have waited until Ian was done with his schoolwork at 2pm to go out for a walk. Nadia and Oliver were out for quite a bit, and Ian and I did get some time outside in between the times it was raining. It's not supposed to rain the next few days so hopefully I'll get back in gear with walking tomorrow. My goal was to walk at least 12 miles this week. I didn't make it far today, but I've walked 7 miles over the last 3 days, so I think I can still achieve my goal over the next two days. The boys loved the skate park. I'm planning to take them to a different skate park on Saturday afternoon.

3. Yesterday I asked Paul to come home from work at 7pm so that I could rehearse my flute solo with the pianist at FBC. Usually, he picks Nadia up from church on his way home from work at 8pm. I picked her up after I practiced the flute. It's been awhile since I've played the flute so I was very grateful for the invitation. We'll be attending FBC this Sunday as I'm playing an arrangement of The Old Rugged Cross in the morning service.

4. After playing my flute, I bought some groceries and got gas for the van before getting Nadia. One of the things I bought was Weis brand blueberry crisp ice cream; I tried some this evening. Oh. My. Goodness. I would put it as one of my top five favorite ice cream flavors. Yum!!!

5. Oliver has made the transition to silently reading a chapter book. The downside is that I'll miss having him read aloud to me while sitting on my lap, but he can't stay in that stage forever! 

6. The kids and I are really enjoying The Frog Princess; I've already requested the next two books on CD in the trilogy from the library as we'll finish the first book tomorrow. It isn't just chapter books that we enjoy together. I read the boys three picture books this evening and enjoyed all three of them - Honey Honey Lion by Jan Brett, The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read, and Robert Cade: Gatorade Inventor. One thing I love about homeschooling is that I, as their teacher, am learning new things right along side them. I didn't know anything about the history of Gatorade, and how inspiring to think of a woman learning to read for the first time at the age of 116. Wow! I highly recommend the book The Oldest Student! 

7. My cousin, his girlfriend, and my Aunt put an offer in on a house in Reno, and they are under contract. She's planning to move there in the fall of 2022. I'm happy that she'll be living close to two of her children and also her only grandson (due to be born in July). Hopefully we'll get two more weeks with her on Long Island (this summer and next summer) before she moves to Reno. 

8. I absolutely LOVE listening to Ian play an arrangement of Pachelbel's Canon. I could listen to him play that song every single day.  pia

A typical homeschooling day

Some homeschoolers have a tradition of recording what a typical day is like each year. One of my friends shared hers recently, so I thought it was time for me to do the same again. Here is a description of our day together on March 9, 2021. I'm not sure how many times I've written a post like this, but here's one I wrote in April 2018. 

I usually get up sometime between 6:15 and 7:00. This morning I got up at 6:20 and had showered and gotten dressed before Ian and Milo got up at 6:50. Milo typically gets up between 6:45-7:00, and Ian immediately hands him to me. I hold Milo and get his leash on him while Ian goes to the bathroom and puts on his shoes and coat. While Ian was taking Milo out this morning, I blow dried my hair. 

Sometimes Nadia sleeps in until 7:30, but if she hasn't gotten ahead with her math, then she likes to start her math promptly at 7:00, which means some mornings she gets up at 6:45 to get a shower prior to doing her math. Since we haven't been able to take a shower in our master bathroom for several years,  Nadia  and I have worked out a system that we take our showers on alternating mornings because we otherwise we're both wanting to use the shower at about the same time. I entered the password on the laptop so Nadia could start doing math on Khan academy and prepared my oatmeal and Ian's cold cereal. Paul usually leaves the house before we're up, but sometimes in the winter he doesn't leave for work as early and joins some of us for breakfast. This morning he hadn't left yet so we listened to some of Peace Child while Paul, Ian, and I were eating breakfast and Nadia was doing math. We also finished listening to Julie of the Wolves, discussed the meaning of ten vocabulary words from their grammar text, and started listening to Frog Princess by ED Baker. Oliver came down and ate some oatmeal while Nadia was finishing her math, and then he played with the Snap Circuits set. We interrupted the stories many times while I helped Nadia with her math. The boys also got dressed and brushed their teeth while Nadia continued to do her math. Ian also practiced the piano, and Oliver did part of his math lesson.

After Nadia had finished her math, gotten dressed, and taken Milo out, she started eating her breakfast around 8:30 while we all listened and discussed Judges 1-2 and Psalm 115. During this school year we've been working through the Old Testament. After the Scripture reading was over, I read Elementary Physics lesson 11 (Life of Fred) to Nadia and Ian and they answered the questions at the end. Then all four of us watched today's episode of World Watch News together. These are about ten minutes long. We also read about a country or another religion each day. Today we read about Eritrea using VOM's prayer guide. 

Nadia does science independently this year for the first time, and I've been giving her tests for the first time because starting in the fall of 2022 I have to begin giving her grades in every subject. The boys were learning about valuable minerals today (gold, silver, copper, diamonds, etc.), and they enjoyed the "mining" activity where I asked them to try to remove the chocolate chips from a cookie using only toothpicks. I don't usually let them have a cookie before lunch! While the boys were finishing science, Nadia began reading up in her room with Milo. She has to read at least 30 minutes a day from one of the books I have selected; she had been reading from Audrey of the Outback (an Australian version of Pippi Longstocking), but today she chose to read from Gold Rush Girl by Avi. The rest of the day when she is reading she can read whatever she chooses. She owns quite a few books, and I also get her more from the library. The library books she requested recently are by Beverly Lewis. While Nadia was reading, the boys each did their spelling. Oliver is in All About Spelling Level 3, and Ian is in All About Spelling Level 6. After he finished his spelling, Ian went upstairs and read until lunchtime. Today he read some of Three Go Searching by Patricia M. St. John for his required reading and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel for his leisure reading. While Nadia and Ian were reading, I worked with Oliver on his math lesson which focused on multiplication and division. My goal is for him to learn his times tables by the end of August.

After Oliver finished his math around 11:00, he took Milo out. After he came back in, Nadia and Ian came downstairs and the four of us had lunch while listening to more of The Frog Princess on a CD I got at the library on Monday. Over the course of the day we listened to that book for about one hour. After lunch we reviewed Spanish vocabulary for about 20 minutes. We were focusing on phrases related to going on a walk. 

From 12:00-1:00 Nadia played with Legos in Ian's room. I read the boys three picture books from 12:00-12:20 picture books from the library while they ate some pretzels. From 12:20-12:40 Oliver sat on my lap and read the last two chapters of a book about the Wreck of the Endurance out loud to me while Ian walked Milo and read a little bit more. From 12:40-1:00 Ian and I did some math together (Beast Academy 5C) and Oliver had a 20 minute turn using the Nintendo Switch.

From 1:00-1:45 the kids participated in a webinar about Holi put on by the Penn Museum. Part of the lesson involved them drawing a hibiscus, rose, marigold, and Palash tree. After the lesson was over, all four of us plus Milo went to the playground. The weather was perfect today! It was our first trip to a playground in many months, and it was Milo's very first time at a playground. A good time was had by all! The boys rode their bikes, and  Nadia, Milo, and I walked to playground. We talked to Grandma on the phone part of the time we were at the playground. I got the mail when we got home. Many times we only have junk mail that goes straight to the recycling bin, but today we received three things we appreciated in the mail. Nadia got a letter from her pen pal in Wisconsin. They each write each other two letters a month on average. We also received three Junior Ranger Badges from the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway and six books to use when we celebrate Passover next month. We usually get two free books from PJ Our Way each month, but this was an added bonus for this month. 

After we came back inside, I sat with Ian to help him finish his math while Nadia played Minecraft in her bedroom from 3:20-4:20 while chatting on Zoom with her cousin, Rachel. They typically play Minecraft together twice a day - once when Rachel finishes her online schooling, and the last 45 minutes before Nadia goes to bed at night. During that time Ian played the Switch for 45 minutes and Oliver played outside with kids in the neighborhood. At 4:30 Nadia had her weekly 30 minute voice lesson over Zoom. The kids haven't been able to use the trampoline for a little over 3 months because of a small tear in the mat. By the time the repair kit arrived in the mail, the weather was too cold. The trampoline was covered with snow for the vast majority of the past three months. They had been waiting for Paul to do the repair. Since it was in the low 60's today, I decided it was warm enough to attempt the repair. Paul doesn't usually get home from work until 8pm (M-F), and it's supposed to be cold again starting on Saturday. So I attempted the repair today. Hopefully I did a good job. It has to dry for 24 hours so around 4pm tomorrow we can see if I succeeded. It certainly was a messy job as I had to use a lot of glue, plus I had to kneel under the trampoline part of the time. After I finished cleaning up my hands (which was no small undertaking), I began cooking dinner. Some things I cook take hours to prepare. Thankfully we were having a simple dinner of croque monsieur (ham, swiss cheese, with a béchamel sauce) and applesauce tonight. 

Once Nadia's lesson was over, it was almost time for dinner. In a typical week I cook three dinners by myself, Nadia helps me cook one dinner, Ian helps me cook one dinner, we get takeout pizza once, and we have leftovers once. I use an app for meal planning and have a long list of meals that we cycle through to avoid getting into a rut, plus we regularly try new recipes. I usually schedule one night when we have breakfast for dinner (this week it will be blini because they are celebrating Maslenitsa in Russia this week), one night when we have pasta (Nadia will make baked ziti this week), one night when we have a soup, stew, or salad, one night that we eat a "sandwich" of some sort (sloppy Joe, meatball sub, pulled pork, etc.), and the fifth night is something that doesn't fit into any of those categories. We listened to The Frog Princess some more during dinner. We listened to it for about one hour altogether today. 

After we all had finished eating and I started the dishwasher, Nadia and I took Milo for a 40 minute walk while Ian played Legos and Oliver played outside. Nadia, Milo, and I walked a little over 4 miles total today! After we got home, Nadia also played outside with some of the neighbors. Ian played with Legos, read, and had a 20 minute Switch turn. Oliver really enjoyed playing whiffle ball with the neighbors this evening. After Nadia came inside, she and Ian played Legos together. Once Oliver came inside, he and I chatted. He told me he was hungry. I don't usually let the kids eat after dinner, but I let him have a bowl of cereal after he got on his pajamas.

At 8:15 I called Nadia and Ian down for our family devotions. We just recently finished a two month study of the book of Daniel, and to continue the theme of future prophecy, we've started a study of Revelation. Tonight we read and discussed part of chapter one. After we prayed together, we tucked Oliver in to his bed around 8:30, and then I threw in a load of laundry. Nadia fed the guinea pigs and gave them water prior to her second session of the day of playing Minecraft with her cousin via Zoom. She's been choosing to play Minecraft with Rachel twice a day rather than watch TV lately. Oliver was the only one who watched a little TV today. He finished an Inspector Gadget movie on Disney+ today that he had started earlier this week. 

Some days our schoolwork takes longer than it did today. We do art through Creating a Masterpiece three times a week; that takes a good chunk of time. Whenever Nadia and Ian have a bridge to do in Life of Fred, then math takes a lot longer than usual. This week they will have a bridge on Thursday. We often read part of a chapter book for Social Studies - most recently one it was about Logical Fallacies, but we aren't reading one this week. However we don't typically do a webinar, and I counted that as our Social Studies today as the lesson was on archaeology and anthropology. Finally, I don't have Nadia and Ian do creative writing every single day. They weren't working on a writing project today. Usually Nadia is the first one day, Oliver is the second one done, and Ian is almost always the last one done with his school work. The boys don't use Zoom at all. Nadia uses it to talk to Rachel, for a weekly voice lesson, for a bi-weekly ASL lesson through the public library, and for two 2 hour long theatre rehearsals per week.

Paul carries Milo's crate up to Ian's bedroom each night. Nadia and Ian go to bed around 9:30 after Nadia takes Milo outside one last time. The kids each take him out 2-3 times per day. He used to spend a lot more time in his crate, but his behavior has been improving. Today the only time he was in his crate was when I was out repairing the trampoline. Nadia holds the guinea pigs when she's in her bedroom. Although technically one of the guinea pigs is Ian's, in reality Nadia is the only one who holds the guinea pigs. Because of Milo they have to stay in her bedroom. I usually go to bed shortly after Ian and Nadia go to bed, and that is when Paul usually eats his dinner.

So this is what life is currently like during a pandemic while homeschooling three kids in grades three, five, and seven. Our school year will be ending the end of April so our "summer" will be here before we know it! The main difference between this school year and the last seven school years has been that we've been at home far more - FAR fewer field trips, no Upward basketball, no ice skating lessons, no homeschool gym class, no choirs, no AWANA, no art class, etc. I can't believe that in the fall I will have TWO middle schoolers! I am still trying to decide whether I should hold Oliver back a grade or not. If I could go back in time, I would wait until he was six to start Kindergarten with him, but I can't go back in time. One decision I have never regretted, is our decision to homeschool the kids. I'm so, so glad that Paul had the idea to homeschool our kids and that I am able to be a full-time homeschooling mom. These precious years are just flying by far too fast! 

Thankful Tuesday

1. My Dad and Margie made it back safely Mexico after spending three weeks in Cancun.

2. The Echo dots are a big blessing. It's funny how a device can go from something you've never heard of to something you use in many different ways every day in not that long of a time span. We use them to listen to music, as a Bluetooth speaker for listening to the Bible and books on Hoopla or Overdrive, to hear the weather forecast, to set umpteen timers a day, as an intercom to communicate from the family room to the kids' bedrooms, to listen to books on Audible, ask how to say a particular word in Spanish, etc. Since we don't own a landline and the kids don't own any cell phones, I am very, very, very thankful that they can call my cell phone through the Echo dot when I'm not at home - whether I'm outside taking a walk with Milo or picking up some books at the library. The next time they have a great sale on Echo dots, I want to buy one more and assign that one a different wake word (not Alexa) and have that Echo dot ONLY speak in Spanish. We have our family room Echo dot set up to respond in either English or Spanish.

3. Today through Friday it's supposed to be in the 60's, and we might even get into the low 70's one of those days! The warmer temperatures aren't here to stay yet, but I'll take what I can get! I'm so looking forward to taking long walks with Milo four days in a row this week. He will also be thrilled!!

4. I did some shopping at CVS on Saturday, and I bought nine boxes of cereal for less than $3 total. In general I haven't done much couponing lately, but I have been using coupons at CVS at least once a month for about 18 months. Actually I didn't pay any money at CVS because I used a gift card Al and Millie gave me at Christmas toward the cereal purchase. We'll see how far I can stretch that gift card! :) 

5. We have finally been getting into a routine of playing games together as a family on either Saturday or Sunday. For example, the previous weekend we played Quirkle (it was Paul's first time ever playing that game), and this past Sunday afternoon we played Suspend and Pit. Paul won all of the games! 

6. Paul and I watched a movie together on Saturday night - the Queen of Katwe on Disney+. I thought Paul would enjoy it because it's about a true story of a young chess player in Uganda. It's very rare for Paul and I to watch a movie together so I savored it.

7. Yvonne's husband is slowly starting to recover from COVID. He has been very sick for more than 2 weeks. I am also on the mend. I didn't feel well last Monday through Friday. I began to feel better on Saturday. I'm not 100% back to normal yet, but I'm feeling much better than I did last week.

8. The kids participated in a program put on by the Penn Museum today that was about Holi. I hope to take the kids to the Penn Museum some day, but for now we participated online. Maurice was a tour guide at the Penn Museum during the last 6 months of his life. I've started buying the materials so I can make the color powders for the kids to throw later this month in conjunction with Holi as we're learning about different holidays this year. In the beginning of the pandemic we did more of these virtual field trips. We haven't done any since last spring, but I signed up for two this month. The next one will be a tour put on by Chick-Fil-A. Virtual field trips certainly have the advantage of not needing to spend hours in the van traveling to and from the sites. 

Thankful Thursday

1. Ian got a good report at the orthodontist. He told Ian, "Your mom is a good orthodontist." LOL! He meant I've been doing a good job turning the key in his expander once a day. It did not go smoothly at first, but thankfully I've gotten the hang of it and now can do it quickly, which is a relief to Ian.

2. We finally got back in gear with Spanish yesterday. We've started working on words related to the outdoors and going on a walk. 

3. In January and the first half of February our pastor preached an excellent sermon series on the book of Ruth. Since the series ended on Valentine's Day and we had baby dedications that day, they gave everyone a Baby Ruth candy bar as we exited the sanctuary. My mom used to buy Baby Ruth candy bars for me to give my classmates on my birthday, and at one of my baby showers when I was pregnant with Nadia they gave everyone Baby Ruth candy bars. Ironically, I don't like Baby Ruth candy bars, but Paul was happy to eat two of them as I gave him mine. 

4. I'm very excited about learning how to make quality videos. I took some video clips of Milo running with Ian and Oliver yesterday, which was the first time I used my DSLR camera to take a video. I've been on a plateau for a long time as far as making progress with my photography skills. Although I certainly haven't "arrived" in that skill, I'm excited about developing my videography skills. I downloaded a free version of DaVinci Resolve so I can edit videos. I've had my cell phone for 6 years, but I bought a refurbished phone that was almost 2 years old so my phone is almost 8 years old. I have asked Paul if I could have a new phone for my birthday because my phone doesn't do a very good job taking videos or pictures. I think the only other thing I'll need to purchase is a microphone. There's something invigorating about learning a new skill. My cooking and baking skills have definitely been stretched over the past five months, but I am even more excited about learning how to make quality videos.

5. The Serbian potato moussaka was okay. We didn't have trouble eating it, but I won't make it again. Nadia really, really liked the Hamantaschen cookies we had when celebrating Purim. I really, really like the strawberry pretzel salad I made earlier this week. I have no idea why it's called a salad. It's a dessert in my opinion. Anyhow, I've had it before but never made it before. 

6. I've been under the weather the past four days. I'm thankful that so far no one else in the family has come down with it. Hopefully none of them will. Everyone in Yvonne's family has recovered from COVID except for Joe. He got fluids at the ER on Sunday but still has been feeling pretty lousy. We keep praying for him to feel healthy again and also for Paul's mom to feel better. She's been in a lot of pain lately, but she is doing a little better today, thankfully. 

7. The kids have been on fire with doing Junior Ranger badges lately. Ian earned 6 in February and did 6 more over the past three days!

8. Our Governor removed the travel restrictions on Monday that had been in place since the middle of November! This means once Joe and I are healthy, Yvonne's family can come up to visit us, and I can give two nephews and one niece their overdue Christmas gifts!

9. Paul and Ian have really been enjoying listening to Hank the Cowdog books together. They really crack Paul's funny bone! 

10. We haven't watched many movies together lately, but we did see Flora and Ulysses on Disney+. It followed the book pretty closely. I liked the book better than the movie. The best movie I've seen on Disney+ over the last year is definitely Safety. We wish they hadn't fired Gina Carano from the Mandalorian. Twitter deleted a quote from Mother Theresa claiming it was hate speech, YouTube has banned pro-life videos, Facebook blocks pro-life ads, etc. It seems freedom of speech is only for those of a certain political persuasion in our country these days. We'll just keep praying for our country! Big Tech companies might favor abortion, but thankfully abortion rates are dropping in the US. I think that ultrasounds have been the biggest asset in dispelling the "blob of tissue" lie. I'm always encouraged when I hear of states passing laws to limit abortions. South Carolina last month linked it to when a heartbeat is detected. The fewer babies that are killed the better.

11. Yesterday the weather was GORGEOUS again! Last Wednesday and this Wednesday it was in the low 50's. Last week I walked (and jogged part of the time) with Milo for 10 miles from Wednesday through Friday. Yesterday I walked him for 4 miles. It's much colder today, but next week we're supposed to have several days in the 50's. I absolutely love being outside when it's warmer out!!! Milo likes it too. :)

Two Years in Heaven

 

As of today my brother has been in Glory for two full years. In some ways the grieving process has been similar to what I went through when my mom passed away in July 2016, and in other ways it has been different. The time of shock with my mom came with her diagnosis of stage four cancer about 6.5 months before she died. Although saying goodbye to her was one of the hardest moments of my life, I actually had been praying for the Lord to take her home and bring her suffering to an end. I would have thought my mom would live past the age of 71, but still her life was a little more than twice as long as Maurice's life. With Maurice the shock was receiving the phone call from the police that his body had been found. There was no opportunity to say goodbye. Although I was closer to my mom and spoke to her more regularly over the years, I had always loved my brother very dearly and had become closer to him following our mom's passing. In both instances, the intensity of the grief and loss has diminished over time as I've adjusted to the new normal of life without a mom and then life without a brother. Even though I don't cry nearly as often in response to missing them, there are still times when I grieve their absence in my life. For example, recently I've had nightmares related to Maurice's passing. I take great comfort in the knowledge that they are in a MUCH better place and that I will see them again some day. 

I saw this video (above) a couple of months ago and decided to share it today. Some money was given in Maurice's honor to AVA, the school where he taught in Brazil. They used the money to greatly improve the entrance to the school. The first time I saw the video I cried when they showed the stone with his name on it.  It took almost two years for me to start reading a book called Imagine Heaven that Margie sent me shortly after his passing. At his funeral they shared a clip from a sermon Maurice gave years before. It was more than I could handle to hear his voice at that point, and I have to say two years later I still am not ready to hear his voice, but in general I have come a long way over the past two years in processing this loss. I miss my brother very, very much. I really miss talking to him. I miss his hugs. I wish my kids could have had more years with their Uncle Maurice, but we'll just have to wait until we're reunited some day. I also find comfort in knowing that my Mom and Maurice are together. When life seems to be going in a crazy direction down here on earth, I find myself wishing the Lord would return ASAP, which would also speed up my reunion with my mom and brother. 

Lists and plans

I enjoy making plans and lists. As a homeschooling mom, I have plenty of opportunities to utilize those skills. There is menu planning which leads to online grocery orders or a grocery list if I'm shopping in person.  I have spent almost no time over the last year planning field trips, but that's usually something I really enjoy doing. Requesting library books is another regular task whether I'm requesting audiobooks from Overdrive or Hoopla or physical books from a local library. I check out hundreds of books a year from local libraries - mostly for the kids. Homeschooling three children involves making plans for each of them in various subjects. For example, we are using Creating a Masterpiece for art. I choose exactly which projects we'll do, and then I have to make sure we have all the art supplies that we will need to complete those projects. In recent months I've purchased watercolor pencils, inktense blocks, wooden eggs, various types of paper, and many other things for art. Buying Christmas gifts for thirty-two family members each year also involves a list.

Two lists I've been working on lately relate to Junior Ranger badges and future vacation plans. The kids have earned about 80 Junior Ranger badges thus far. In 2018 and 2019 they were earning them in person. They earned a few in person in 2020, but the vast majority of the ones they earned in 2020 and all of the ones they've earned so far in 2021 have been earned through the mail or online. Because of COVID, some national parks that previously only allowed children to earn badges in person have for at least the time being allowed kids to earn them from a distance. In some instances, they won't give you a physical badge if you earn it from home. I've been trying to only select those who will actually send you a physical badge or patch. My goal is 

for the kids to each earn at least 200 Junior Ranger badges. Because of COVID, some places haven't actually mailed us badges even though I mailed the booklets to them. Maybe we'll get them eventually? I realize some of the rangers are working remotely and may not have access to badges. I've picked out 133 badges that I'm planning to have the kids earn over the next four years (32 online or by mail and 101 in person), and I also have another list of another 37 that we might be able to visit at some point - mostly in NY, NJ, MD, or VA. Printing the booklets, keeping track of which child completed which booklet, mailing them at the Post Office, or scanning them and sending them by email are some of the efforts I put into the kids earning Junior Ranger badges. 

Nadia will be graduating from high school in 2026, which is a little more than five years from now. That is a sobering thought! It causes me to

want to be intentional about thinking through our future vacation plans. 2020 certainly taught us that all our plans can be scrapped right and left, but hopefully that won't be the norm for the next five years. I have done some reworking of previous plans in light of COVID and also in light of the vacations that were cancelled last year. Here is what I'm thinking at the moment:

1. This fall spend about 3 1/2 weeks on a long road trip that includes doing things in 18 states the kids haven't been in before. Some highlights would include Mammoth Cave (KY), US Space and Rocket Center (AL), Shiloh (TN), Oklahoma City, Albuquerque, Mesa Verde, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, Chicago, and Detroit. 

2. Next year fly to Atlanta and spend some time in Georgia before driving to Florida and fly back from Tampa. This trip would be our usual length (between 1-2 weeks) and would add one state to the kids' list of states (Georgia). Highlights would include the Georgia Aquarium, fourteen National Parks in GA/FL, and three amusement parks. 

3. In the fall of 2023 I'd like us to take a 12 day vacation to New England and Canada. Since I was combining what had originally been planned as two different trips, I deleted a few stops such as Quebec City, Acadia, and some sites in CT/RI. Some of the stops are in states we've already visited (MA, NY, and the province of Ontario), but this trip would add three states (Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont) and one province (Quebec) to their list. Highlights would include 20 National Parks, several science museums, a whale watching cruise, and some other historical sites in Salem, Boston, Ottawa, and Montreal. 

4. In 2024 I'm thinking we could fly out west to visit Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, Redwoods, Crater Lake, Portland, Mt. St. Helens, Seattle, Mt. Rainer, etc.  This trip would add three states to the kids' list (WA, OR, and NV) as they've already been to California. 

5. In the fall of 2025 spend about 2 weeks in England and France. 

Other trips that aren't included in this list would be shorter and closer to home such as in Philadelphia and D.C. I also want to take the kids on a short term missions trip sometime in the next 5 years - most likely to Guatemala. If we go on these trips, the kids will have actually done something in 43 states plus DC, Ontario, England, France, Guatemala, and Quebec. The seven states currently omitted include: Louisiana, Hawaii (which has been on my bucket list for many years), Alaska, Nebraska, North Dakota, Kansas, and Missouri. It would be lovely if we could take the kids to the Caribbean at some point. Nadia was there in 2009 when she was 11 months old, Nadia and Ian were on a Caribbean cruise with us in 2011 as well as a trip to Grand Cayman in 2012, but they were too young to remember any of those trips. There are other places in the US that aren't included in the plans that would be great places to take the kids some day if possible such as Carlsbad Caverns, Glacier National Park, the Alamo, Space Center Houston, Acadia, Hoover Dam, Bryce Canyon, White Sands, Zion, and the Everglades. The kids have also expressed a desire to visit their cousins in Quito. If we make it to South America, I'd also like to meet at least some of the kids we currently sponsor as three of our five sponsored kids live in Bolivia and Peru. Our other two live in Kenya and Haiti. We might have to wait until we're in Heaven to meet our sponsored kids.