Giving Thanks

Typically in November I have tried to include a gratitude list in every post. I haven't done so this month, and I've only written two "thankful" posts so far this month as my last one was 10 days ago. So although Friday doesn't start with a "T," here are some things I am thankful for today.

1. Tab, Micah, and Isaiah came over for a visit on November 12. We hadn't spent time together since September 2 so it was great to talk face-to-face. Tab also brought her vacuum so that we could use hers while ours was on the fritz. 

2. Paul fixed the vacuum last Sunday afternoon. I'm thankful that we don't need a new one. 

3. The doctor gave me permission on Wednesday morning to begin bearing weight on my right leg. I didn't make progress that day toward walking, but I made progress yesterday and today. I am by no means walking normally, but at least my hopping days are over. We shall see if I can walk up the stairs this evening for the first time in almost 10 weeks. I was able to walk down them this morning with my back to the railing and both hands holding on to the railing that was behind me. I'm thankful that Yvonne can help me via FaceTime with relearning how to walk. Yesterday morning I was so happy that I could finally make my right leg go forward to take a step, but then I was frozen and couldn't move my left (uninjured) leg an inch. The kids and I all were all laughing. I felt ridiculous, but Yvonne told me that my brain was still working hard to protect my right leg. I've had to readjust my expectations as to what I can accomplish around the house at the moment, but hopefully in another week I'll be back to normal. Walking is VERY exhausting to me at the moment. I was so tired yesterday that I went to bed at 8:30pm, and I slept until almost 7am!

4. Nadia attended a 4-H roller skating party this evening. Her friend's mom came and picked her up, and Paul was able to meet them somewhere convenient afterwards on his way home from work. 

5. Paul's dad came up to our house yesterday. He went to the library for me, took the kids to lunch at Bonanza, helped Oliver learn how to program his Edison robot that my Dad and Margie had given him for his birthday, listened to the boys play the piano, and played Ian in a game of chess. He was with the kids for about 5 hours total. They hadn't seen him for three months. 

6. So far things have gone well for Margie following her second chemo treatment. Her white count is low so we're praying she won't succumb to any illnesses. 

7. We got a very cheap trial of an Amazon Prime channel (99 cents a month), and that enabled Ian and Oliver to see the new Clifford the Big Red Dog movie. Last weekend we watched the Jungle Cruise movie together on Disney+, and Oliver also watched the new Home Alone movie. Nadia and I are hoping that Disney+ will renew the show Turner and Hooch for a second season next year. 

8. Walmart had the grocery order ready on time for Paul last night, which was a relief after the problem we had on Wednesday morning. 

9. After the disastrous experience we've had with our health insurance regarding my ankle surgery, we want to have other coverage ASAP. Instead of trying another health insurance, we're going to go the Christian sharing plan route instead. I'm glad there are other options out there, and I'm still praying that either our health insurance company will pay more toward my surgery or that the hospital will greatly reduce the size of the bill that currently exceeds $21K. Here's to hoping and praying we have a better experience with the sharing plan. 

Baby Steps

The good news is that the surgeon told me today that I can begin bearing weight immediately, and I will likely be able to drive again in 7-10 days. Today was the first time I left the house in four weeks. Ideally I'd like to be able to meet my friend "for coffee" (term used lightly because I don't actually drink coffee) on November 26, and I'd like to be able to go to church in person on November 28. When the surgeon asked me to try standing on both legs, I had my right foot on the floor while standing for the first time in 9+ weeks, but I wasn't really putting any weight on it. Then he asked me to take a step. I couldn't do it. My brain was saying lift your right leg and take a step, but I was frozen like a statue. I felt utterly foolish. I have been walking for about 48 years, and I've forgotten how in 9.5 weeks? When I broke my ankle 28 or 29 years ago, I had no trouble immediately walking once I was able to resume, but that time (in addition to being almost 30 years younger than I am now), I had only been in a cast for 6 weeks, and part of that time was in a walking cast, and I didn't have any pins or plates inserted in my ankle (no surgery that time). The doctor said I can go from the boot to a regular shoe but should wear an ankle brace. He was going to give me one, but when I told him about the fact our insurance says we owe $21,365.83, he said it would be better if we got a brace at CVS or Walmart as it would be cheaper than what the hospital will charge. Similarly, he had been planning to give me a referral for PT, but he suggested I might want to try to forgo it in light of the fact the insurance probably wouldn't pay a dime towards it. Thankfully, Yvonne was an OT, and she gave me some assistance via FaceTime this afternoon.

I have been working for the last four weeks on improving my range of motion with my ankle when it's been elevated. The problem at the moment is my leg muscles have atrophied. I need to strengthen my leg so I can walk again. Plus it's partially psychological. I've been so accustomed to protecting my ankle that my brain is having a very hard time with the concept of actually using it even though part of me really, really, really, really, really wants to be able to walk! The other part of me is scared. The $20K bill isn't exactly helping, as I surely don't want to fall again. Hopefully there will be drastic improvement over the next 7-10 days as right now I can't take even one tiny step with both legs even if I'm holding on to the walker. I'm grateful I have permission, and now I am praying I will regain the ability to actually take advantage of the permission I have been given as I want to be rid of using a walker and walk up the stairs instead of crawling on my hands and knees.

As for the insurance debacle, I made many calls to the insurance company yesterday and got nowhere. Today I called the hospital's billing department to see if they could be of assistance. They are going to try to help. They said on October 6 (day before the surgery) the insurance told them no authorization was needed, but they also failed to mention they would pay less than $1K toward the surgery (which cost over $20K). The only other time I've encountered medical bills this large was with IVF, but in those instances the hospital told us in advance what the insurance wouldn't cover so we had time to save up money. We didn't have informed consent this time around. I would have paid COBRA to extend our previous insurance had I known this one was only going to pay a very small portion of the surgery, but now we're past the 60 day deadline. I have also filed a complaint with the Insurance Commission in PA. I'm hoping that one of these two actions will result in either the insurance company paying more towards the surgery OR the hospital greatly reducing the charges to something more reasonable for us to pay. And I really, really hope we switch to a different health insurance by December 1 as this one is awful!!!

I had placed a grocery order for Walmart to be picked up sometime between 8-9am as my appointment was at 8am and is very close to a Walmart. While we were at the doctor's office I got a text saying it was delayed and not ready to be picked up yet. We drove to Walmart so Paul could buy me a brace, and he asked around 9:30 when the grocery order would be ready. The manager said he had no idea when it would be ready. I needed to get home to homeschool the kids, and Paul needed to go to work so we couldn't wait there indefinitely. So I cancelled the order and later placed another one to be picked up tomorrow night between 7-8pm. Hopefully they will have our ready order tomorrow. 

End of the tunnel

 

Zion National Park  (9/18/21)

When I broke my ankle on September 12, I thought that the worst case scenario was that I wouldn't be able to drive for six weeks, which would be three weeks after we returned home. The ER had told me I could bear weight when using the boot if it wasn't too painful to do so. I hadn't attempted it, but I was hoping that sometime over those six weeks I would be able to walk on two legs. The ER had told me to return to see an orthopedic doctor three days later. I didn't actually see one for a little over three weeks. The surgeon told me the soonest I would be allowed to drive or bear weight would be 6 weeks after the surgery. As of yesterday it has been nine weeks since I've driven or walked on two legs. That *might* be changing in less than 48 hours as I return to the surgeon at 8am on Wednesday. I can't wait until I can walk on two legs to the bathroom rather than hopping to the bathroom using a walker, and I also am eagerly anticipating the day I can clean and organize our house from top to bottom. It wasn't the best timing to read the book The Lazy Genius Way when I couldn't really do things like declutter, but hopefully I can later this week! I'm also really hoping and praying that the insurance company will actually pay for 80% of my ankle surgery. As it stands they are expecting us to pay over $20K because it was the result of an accident. I didn't know that accidents were handled differently by medical insurance.

I've been a hermit the past six weeks. Since Oliver hasn't had a ride to church the past two Wednesday nights, he hasn't gone anywhere except for church on Sunday morning. Thankfully, Tab and her two boys came over to our house for a few hours on Friday afternoon. From October 3 until the end of November our calendar has been/is pretty clear, but that is not the case for December. First, we're planning to see the Christmas with the Chosen in the theatre. We haven't been to a movie theatre in two years. I got an AMC gift card in January 2020, and that is what I used to buy four tickets to see Christmas with the Chosen. Other plans in December include seeing a Christmas show near Harrisburg, going Christmas caroling, a homeschool roller skating party, a Christmas around the World program, spending one night at Great Wolf Lodge, a Christmas Eve service, a dentist appointment, Ian's annual physical, and hopefully celebrating Christmas with extended family. Last year most of those things didn't take place in December due to COVID. This year the usual things like going to a corn maze, carving pumpkins, fall pictures, etc. didn't take place due to my ankle. Here's to hoping that neither COVID nor my leg will impact our lives too much next month.

Since I've spent far more hours than usual sitting, I've had to come up with things that I could accomplish with my leg elevated. Yesterday I addressed the envelopes for our Christmas cards. I'll wait a bit before I put them in the mail, but I'm ready to mail them earlier than usual. One project that I worked on the last several days was to develop some potential vacation itineraries. Because we have a goal of visiting all 50 states, I had mapped out potential vacations to the remaining 14 states between now and the summer of 2030 (when Oliver would graduate from high school and when Nadia might graduate from college if she pursues a four year degree right after she graduates from high school). Those nine vacations would include a trip to New England/Canada, Hawaii, Alaska, England, Ecuador, the Northwest, the Southeast, Texas/Louisiana, the Midwest. I had previously worked on the New England itinerary. Over the last several days I've worked on three other itineraries. None of them are completely fleshed out, and I fully expect they will change, but I've gotten a very good start toward planning them. I'm thinking flights will be involved for 6 of the 9 vacations and that we'd drive for the ones in the Northeast, Midwest, and Southeast. We haven't flown since we went to California in 2018. If we go to the Southeast in 2022 and the Northeast in 2023, we might not board airplanes again until 2024.

1. The 16 day Southeast trip includes stops in 5 states we've already been in (TN, VA, NC, FL, WV) and adds 1 new state (GA).  It includes 18 National Park sites. The battlefields (especially Chickamauga) and forts are what Paul will likely enjoy the most and what Nadia will enjoy the least. The trip includes 2 aquariums, 2 science museums, 2 beaches, 5 amusement parks, and 5 other sites that don't fit any of the above categories (Titanic Museum, St. Augustine Lighthouse, chocolate tour, Ruby Falls, and World of Coca Cola). We also have several opportunities to spend a little time with friends and family in Atlanta, Lynchburg, and in the Jacksonville area. Due to the fact that September is hurricane season, I'm proposing that we take this trip during the last half of May (2022), but that might not work out for Paul. The trip includes 3 nights in Atlanta and 5 nights in Orlando. 
2. The approximately 11 day Midwest trip includes stops in 3 states we've already been in (IN, IL, IA) and adds 3 new states (KS, NE, MO) and includes 7 National Park sites, 3 zoos/aquariums, 2 science museums, 1 children's museum, 1 amusement park, 1 cave, 1 art museum, 1 WW1 Museum, and 1 industrial tour. The length of this vacation will probably depend on how many days we spend in Chicago with my sister's family. 
3. The 17 day Northwest vacation includes stops in California plus three new states (NV, OR, WA). The trip includes 3 nights in Reno (with my Aunt and cousins), 4 nights in San Francisco, 18 National Park sites, 5 science museums, 3 zoos/aquariums, 2 industrial tours, and more. I am thinking we'd fly to Reno and then fly home from Seattle. 

Bryce Canyon (9/17/21)

Thankful Tuesday

Yellowstone - photo credit Nadia

1. On Saturday morning I made some pumpkin muffins for breakfast. I had half of a can of pumpkin leftover from when I made pumpkin waffles the previous week. I can go years without making muffins for breakfast, but Oliver, Nadia, and I enjoyed it so I think I'm not going to let that much time pass before I do that again. I put some raisins in half of them and some chocolate chips in the other half. They were delicious! I really enjoy eating pumpkin foods each fall. I think pumpkin yogurt and pumpkin ice cream sound repulsive, but I love pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin bread, etc. 

2. Oliver wanted to do something special on Friday afternoon while his siblings were traveling to Ohio. He asked if we could make cookies; we ended up making sugar cookies. He would have liked to do cut out cookies with sprinkles. I said we'd wait a few weeks until it was closer to Christmas to do that. Even the toes (on my right foot) were swollen by the time we finished making the cookies and the mashed potatoes for dinner, but I was happy to do something with my youngest!

3. Nadia and Ian had a good experience with quizzing in Ohio this past weekend. They need to put a LOT more time into studying over the next 7 months.

4. Paul took Oliver on a field trip on Friday night. They attended a program about owls at Montour Preserve, which is about 20 minutes from our house. Oliver is studying birds and insects this semester so it was perfect timing. I was thankful the program was from 7-8:30pm, which made it possible for Paul to take him. 

5. I placed an order with Lands End that included some things for the kids but mostly was for me. It was the first time in 2021 that I bought myself new clothes. It felt nice to wear a new outfit.

6. On Sunday I resumed making my bed. The bed has been VERY messy for the last 5 weeks because we haven't been tucking anything in to the end of the bed because it was painful if anything was on top of my foot. Things ended up on the floor or in quite a big jumble on top of the bed. I really love seeing my bed looking neat again. 

7. Paul mowed the lawn on Sunday. Since October 3 Nadia mowed once, a neighbor mowed for us once, and Paul mowed twice. We shouldn't need to mow again until the spring, and I plan to resume that chore at that time. I have also appreciated that Paul has been taking out the garbage, going to the library, and buying groceries, which are three other things that I usually do. 

8. Oliver has really been putting a lot of time into practicing the piano. He's off to a great start!

9. All three kids finished their schoolwork by 1:45pm today. That's much earlier than usual for Ian. 

10. Usually the "fall back" time change has been a struggle for the boys. They have gotten up a bit earlier than usual the last few days, but since their wake-up time had shifted later, waking up a bit earlier doesn't translate to way too early. We shall see how long it takes them to fully adjust to the time change, but I will say time changes go much more smoothly when your kids are older.

11. I've had more time to read lately, which makes me even more grateful for libraries. I recently read Nicholas Sparks' and John Grisham's newest releases as well as Set the Stars Alight by Amanda Dykes. I'm currently reading The Lazy Genius Way. 

12. In the last week my Aunt Janet called me, I chatted with Yvonne via FaceTime, and my friend Kay (who is in her 80's) called me. I can go months (or years in Kay's case) without talking to them so it was a blessing especially during this time when I've only left the house once over the past 5 weeks. 

13. Paul, Ian, and Oliver have had a cold for several days. I'm very thankful that Nadia and I have escaped it so far because I'll have to postpone my appointment that's currently scheduled for the 17th if I come down with a cold due to COVID regulations. None of them have had a fever. 

Sunset at Yellowstone- photo credit Nadia

Best of the best

Yellowstone - Photo credit Nadia

Yesterday as the kids were telling me about their experience quizzing in Ohio, I thought it would be nice to cheer them on at Nationals in South Carolina in June, especially as we were already planning to go to Georgia in 2022 as that is one of the 14 states the kids haven't done anything in yet. We have gone on vacation in June before such as our trip to Myrtle Beach in 2019, but it's not the best month for Paul to travel. I had been thinking we'd fly to Atlanta and then fly back from Tampa or Orlando, but now I'm thinking that even if we go to Georgia and Florida in September we might drive.  As I did research for this particular vacation, I also found myself adding other places to visit to other trips that I'm hoping we'll take in other years. For example as I was trying to decide if we should visit both the Georgia Aquarium and Tennessee Aquarium, I was reading various websites that included reviews of those two aquariums as well as lists that people have compiled of what are the best aquariums in the United States. This lead me to look at other "best" lists, and I found it encouraging to see that in many cases the kids have already been to many of the "best" places on the lists and also I have plans for us to visit some of the other "best" places. We've also been to many children's museums, caves, zoos, amusement parks, etc. that aren't included on any "best" list. The one category I omitted was "Best Art Museums" because we've done very little in that regard, but hopefully we will visit some of the best art museums in the years to come. I hope and pray that during all future vacations no one in our family breaks a leg!

Best Children's Museums: 

• We've been to the Boston Children's Museum, Please Touch Museum (Philadelphia), Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, Strong Museum, and the Port Discovery Children's Museum (Baltimore).
• Because Nadia feels she has outgrown children's museums, I'm not sure if we will make it to any others from the "best" lists. The three "best" ones that might be included in our future trips are in Houston, Indianapolis, and Atlanta. 

Best Caves: 

• The kids have been to Mammoth Cave, a slot canyon similar to Antelope Canyon that was on many lists, and Luray Cavern. I  wanted to visit Wind Cave and Jewel Cave in South Dakota in September, but they were cut so we could visit North Dakota and Montana. 
• Future plans include visiting Natural Bridge Caverns, Meramec Caverns, and Ruby Falls. I would love to take the kids to Carlsbad at some point, but it's not currently in any of the future vacation plans. 

Best Aquariums: 

• We've been to the Shedd Aquarium and National Aquarium. I was a little surprised I didn't see the Adventure Aquarium on the best lists as we were quite impressed with that one in New Jersey.
• Future plans include visiting the Audubon, Columbus, Atlanta, Seattle, and Tennessee Aquariums. 

Best Zoos: 

• The kids have been to the San Diego, Philadelphia, and Smithsonian National Zoos. 
• Future plans include visiting the Omaha, Columbus, Houston, Saint Louis, Woodland Park, and Brookfield Zoos. In the past I've made plans to take the kids to the Bronx Zoo, but we haven't actually made it there yet so that's another one we might visit from the best zoos lists.

Best Living History: 

• We've enjoyed Mystic Seaport, Plimoth Plantation, Colonial Williamsburg, Genesee Country Village, Old Sturbridge Village, and Greenfield Village.
• We hope to visit Camlann Medieval Village, Vermilionville Living History Museum, and the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park in the future.

Best Museums:

• We've visited the USS Midway, Kennedy Space Center, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, American Museum of Natural History (NYC), National Museum of the US Air Force, Oklahoma City National Memorial, Field Museum, and the Henry Ford.
• We plan to visit the National WWII Museum (New Orleans), USS Arizona, Biltmore, 9/11 Memorial, Alamo, Holocaust Museum, World of Coca Cola, National Infantry Museum, Titanic Museum, Eastern State Penitentiary, and Art Institute.

Best National Parks: 

• We've been to Zion, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Badlands, Mesa Verde, Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, and Grand Teton. 
• We plan to visit the Crater Lake, Great Smoky Mountains, San Antonio Missions, Acadia, Mount Rainier, Big Bend, Gateway Arch, Denali, and Olympic. One that is on the best lists that would be nice to visit but isn't included in any future plans at the moment is Glacier National Park. 

Best Amusement Parks: 

• We've been to Sea World, Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Cedar Point, Hollywood Studios, HersheyPark, Knoebels, Six Flags Great Adventure, Dutch Wonderland, and Legoland.
• We hope to go to Epcot, Universal Studios, Carowinds, Six Flags over Georgia, and Islands of Adventure next year.  

Best Factory Tours:

• The kids have toured the Louisville Slugger Factory, Crayola, Hershey's Chocolate World, US Mint (Philadelphia), and Martin guitars. I tried in both 2020 and 2021 to take the kids to the Toyota Factory in Kentucky, but it wasn't possible due to COVID.
• I plan to take them to the Harley Davidson (York), Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, Tabasco, Boeing, Jelly Belly, Utz, PEZ, Cabot Cheese, Herr's, Taza Chocolate, Vermont Teddy Bear, Snyder's, Lake Champlain Chocolate, and Herbaria Soap factory tours in the future. 

Best Science Museums: 

• We've been to MANY science museums. Those that make the best lists include Museum of Science (Boston), MOSI (Chicago), Arkansas Museum of Discovery (I really don't agree that it is one of the best), Liberty Science Center, New York Hall of Science, Maryland Science Center, and the National Air & Space Museum. My kids would argue that the Carnegie Science Center should be on the best list.
• I'm hoping we will visit the Exploratorium, COSI (Columbus), California Academy of Sciences, Pacific Science Center, Oregon MOSI, The Tech, Saint Louis Science Center, and Discovery Place Science Center.

Best Places to Visit: (that don't fit any of the above categories) 

• The kids have been to Times Square, Horseshoe Bend, Central Park, Niagara Falls, and Cape Cod.
• I plan to take them to the Lincoln Memorial, Golden Gate Bridge, Washington Monument, White House, Alcatraz Island, and the Capitol Building (as well as many other places that weren't on the "best" lists I reviewed).

Yellowstone - Photo credit Nadia

Happy Birthday, Grandma

Today would have been Paul's mom's 77th birthday. From December 26, 2019 until her passing in May 2021, the kids and and I only had one visit with her, it was on her 76th birthday which means it's been exactly one year since we gave her a hug and were with her in person. It's been six months since I talked to her. She is greatly missed. I know she's in a better place and am very thankful she's free from the physical suffering she endured, but today it's hard not to cry. 

Within a period of eight days we had electricity issues in our home. Milo electrocuted himself on October 29. Yesterday I decided to try to vacuum the family room. I asked Paul to move the office chair into that room and thought I could vacuum while sitting in that chair. Oliver brought me the vacuum and plugged it in. Unfortunately, he didn't plug it in correctly. I screamed when I saw the sparks and smoke coming from the outlet. Paul was sitting very close to the outlet, and he pulled it out. One of the prongs was still in the outlet. Quite a few things have been broken by the kids during the past month. Nadia broke our hamper; I ordered a new one from Walmart. Nadia also broke part of the kitchen chandelier when she was trying to replace a lightbulb. The kids have put some pretty big gashes in the walls when they've been carrying Milo's crate down from Ian's bedroom in the morning (usually that's my job). If we actually have to replace the vacuum, that will be the most expensive thing that was broken during this time. Paul is going to try to just replace the plug. We're really going to miss the vacuum until he fixes it or we replace it, especially in Nadia's room as the guinea pigs make quite a mess in there. Paul usually goes to work on Saturdays, but he hasn't felt well the last several days so he decided to stay home yesterday. This meant he was able to go to the library and go grocery shopping for me, but it also was a big help that he was here to turn off the breaker and extract the melted prong from the now blackened outlet. 

Last night I went to bed a little after 8pm. I'm not a night owl like my mother-in-law was, but that's very early even for me. I tried to make myself stay up because I thought the night we were turning the clocks back an hour was not the night to go to bed early, but I slept almost 11 hours. Because I went to bed early, I was asleep before Nadia and Ian came home from the Bible quizzing event in Ohio. There were eight teams competing in the event from four different churches. Three of the teams were from our church. I believe our church's teams included three 6th graders, three 9th graders, two 8th graders, and two 11th graders. The competitions include a written portion as well as oral quizzing with buzzers. There are both individual and team competitions. The teams were divided into two divisions. The team Nadia was on won 1st place in the B division. The team Ian was on won 2nd place in the A division. It was Ian's first experience with quizzing. They both had a good experience. This time the quizzing was only on Romans 1-8. In June the nationals will be held in South Carolina and will be over all of Romans and James. There will be two other quizzing events prior to the Nationals - one at our church in January and one in Indiana in May.

As of today it's been seven weeks since I walked on two legs or drove. I decided this morning I was going to figure out how to make our bed while hopping on my left leg. I know it's a little thing, but it felt really good to look at a made bed for the first time in two months. Progress!

First Quarter

Next year will be the first year I think I'll actually have to keep a gradebook so that I can issue report cards for Nadia as she will be in high school. There are several routes homeschoolers can take regarding earning a high school diploma. If, for example, she takes a certain number of college credits while she's in high school, then I wouldn't need to create report cards for her each marking period. Since she has no idea at this point what she might want to study if she went to college, I assume at least in the beginning I should keep a record to keep more options open. Our local school district is having parent teacher conferences today and tomorrow, which usually take place near the end of the first quarter. Today was our 63rd day of school (out of 180), but a large percentage of those were field trip days. I think in terms of days when we do math, spelling, science, etc., we will have completed 1/4th of the curriculum for this school year on November 11. Here's a summary of what we've been up to so far this school year:

Bible - We've memorized the first chapter of James together. Nadia has also memorized all of Romans 1

and most of Romans 2 for Bible quizzing. We've read all of 1 Kings and will finish 2 Kings and Proverbs on November 10. We've finished two inductive Bible studies on the book of Genesis and are more than half way through our third one, which is over chapters 11-25.  

Spelling - Ian is in his last year of the spelling curriculum (level 7); spelling is a breeze for him. Spelling is a little bit harder for Oliver, but he's working through level 3 this year. 

Handwriting - I periodically require Nadia and Ian to copy something related to what we're studying in history in cursive. It takes Ian a VERY long time, but he has beautiful handwriting. Oliver is the only one working through a cursive textbook this year. 

Grammar - Nadia and Ian are working through Little Mermaid (Fix it Grammar) together. To make it a bit easier, I've been letting them just verbally make the corrections and tell me the parts of speech. I haven't started this subject with Oliver yet. We haven't done much writing yet this school year. 

Music - This is going very well for all three kids! Oliver is making great strides in his first piano books, and Nadia has come a long way with learning to play the flute. I love listening to Ian practice the piano; he's in level 6.

Coding - Nadia and Ian are working through a JavaScript textbook. They need to put more time into completing the challenges on the computer. 

History - We're using Mystery of History this year and are studying from Creation through the time of Christ. History and Bible are the only two subjects all three kids do together. Some of the audiobooks we listen to together correlate with what we are studying in history. This is our first year of each child having a Book of Centuries. So far so good! 

Science - Nadia and Ian are studying physical science. Hopefully their scores will improve on future tests. Paul is helping with some of their labs. The only two subjects where Nadia and Ian are graded at all are math and science. I have yet to grade anything Oliver has done. Oliver is studying flying creatures this semester. 

Math - Nadia and Ian are working through Life of Fred: Pre-Algebra 1 while Oliver has almost finished Life of Fred: Dogs. Nadia completed lesson 26 in the

Saxon Algebra I book today; she did very well on one test, but in general it has been a challenge for her. Ian is using Teaching Textbooks for the very first time (Math 7), and he loves it. It's the first time he's worked on math without much assistance from me, but it takes him a VERY long time. Oliver is working through the 2C book of Beast Academy now.

Reading - We continue to enjoying listening to audiobooks together seven days a week; we finished 35 books over the past four months. The three we are listening to now are The Last Battle, The Way of the Wilderking, and Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians. The kids also read independently every school day. Nadia definitely reads the most. Some books that Ian has recently enjoyed reading have included Detectives in Togas, Mystery of the Roman Ransom, and the Heartwood Hotel series. He also recently started reading the first Harry Potter book. Oliver has been reading Imagination Station and Magic Tree House books.

Spanish - All five of us have been using the Duolingo app on a

regular basis. Nadia has been putting the most time into learning Spanish. When we used Talkbox.mom last year we actually used Spanish more throughout the day. It feels like we are spending more time learning Spanish but use it far less. Hopefully at some point during this school year the Spanish we are learning will be used throughout the day. Personally, my ability to understand Spanish is far better than my ability to speak it. For example, conjugating in the preterite tense is very hard for me right now.

We haven't done much with keyboarding, creative writing, art, or gym yet this school year. This is partly due to the fact I had signed the kids up for co-op classes, but we haven't been able to attend the classes due to my broken ankle. I'm planning to sign the kids up for a homeschool gym class starting in January. Oliver might join the kids' choir at our church at some point this year as the choir was restarted in September for the first time since March 2020. Nadia is signed up to be in a drama class starting in January. School has been taking longer than I would like it to for Ian. He takes at least an hour to eat breakfast and at least an hour to eat lunch, and he struggles with staying focused when he's doing his work. I am hoping that he will show improvement in his ability to be be more efficient and stay focused during the school year so that it won't take so many hours for him to finish his work. I know he'd like to have more time to play with Legos, read for leisure, etc. Thankfully, homeschooling is something I can still do while sitting with my foot elevated. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to teach my three children!

Thankful Tuesday

 1. It's now just 15 days until my doctor appointment when hopefully I will be given permission to bear weight on my right leg and drive our minivan. I'm also thankful that the pain level has decreased significantly recently, and I'm also beginning to tolerate it dangling down a little bit more each day. It never feels anything close to what it was like before I broke it, but I am feeling definite progress. 

2. On Monday a friend left some beef vegetable soup on our front porch. Last Wednesday a woman at church brought a meal for us to eat. I greatly appreciate the kindness, generosity, and thoughtfulness of these two women!

3. About a month ago I purchased two sets of prayer cards from Not Consumed. One set follows the ACTS pattern for prayer, and the other follows JOY (Jesus, Others, You). Altogether we now have 59 cards that each have different prompts. In the past the kids were prone to often saying the same things when they prayed. These cards help them think of different people to pray for each night when we have family devotions (homeless, missionaries, pastor, single mothers, police, military, church, those who are going to bed hungry, etc.). 

4. Melinda has been picking Nadia and Ian up around 4:15 each Wednesday to take them to church. She is also going to take them around 11:45am this Friday as the Bible quizzing team is headed to Ohio this weekend. Finally, she has made two trips to the library for me as the library we've been using for the last 14 months is very close to her home. I'm very thankful for her help! 

5. In the past week I purchased our tickets for a Christmas show at a large church near Harrisburg and made reservations for a night at Great Wolf Lodge. We have enjoyed going to Easter and Christmas shows there in the past, but naturally they cancelled their Christmas show in 2020 and their Easter show in 2021. The church is about 15 minutes from where my niece is living while she's studying at Messiah University so I bought 6 tickets as she's planning to join us for the show and dinner afterward. I also was able to make reservations with a homeschool group for a night at Great Wolf Lodge a few days before Ian's birthday in December. We'll have to wear masks in the hotel but not in the waterpark. Corning Museum of Glass is offering something for Christmas this year (they didn't last year), but when I checked it out I decided we'd wait until December 2022 when hopefully it will be back to normal or at least closer to normal. I'm thankful though that we can resume some of our December traditions this year that we couldn't do last year. 

6. The kids were able to attend a trunk or treat and also go trick or treating with Milo on Saturday. Paul did a great job making the shields and weapons for their dwarf costumes. 

7. I've been able to get some things on Shutterfly for great prices recently such as 12 thank you cards (that feature pictures of the kids) for $1.99 total. 

8. Math has been much easier this week than usual for Oliver as he's been studying measurement. Since math is usually a huge challenge, I'm thankful for any "easy" lessons along the way. 

9. Paul has done a total of three physical science experiments with Nadia and Ian over the last month. They're still behind, but three is far better than none!

Happy Reformation Day!

 

I find it rather ironic that the year we put the most time and energy into making the boys' costumes happens to be the year I can't take nice pictures of them. I usually take portrait type photos of them in their costumes, but this year we just have what I would call "snapshots." I'm thankful we have a phone that Paul can use to take a snapshot, and maybe they will wear these costumes again next year, which will give me another chance to take some nice photos of them. I'm not sure if it's clear from the picture, but Nadia made Milo a black robe and a tie so he could be "Hairy" Potter. Paul decided to stay home from work yesterday so he could take them to the trunk or treat at the Methodist Church which was moved indoors due to the rain. It was a much smaller event compared to the Legoland one at our church, as 700 kids attended the trunk or treat at our church on Friday night. Paul also went to the library and did some grocery shopping for me yesterday morning. I miss grocery shopping. I haven't done that since the first week of September. Thankfully the rain stopped last night shortly before it was time to go trick or treating in our town. Usually trick or treating is held on October 31, but our town always holds it on October 30 when the 31st falls on a Sunday. Milo had a blast as he loves to meet other dogs. He received some dog treats. The kids came home with candy, and Paul said the boys received a lot of compliments regarding their beards. 

Prairie Dog in North Dakota

My doctor appointment was moved up two days, which means the countdown now stands at 17 days until I will hopefully be given permission to walk on two legs and drive. I cannot wait to end my time of feeling like I'm just sitting on the sideline. Thankfully there are some things I can still do like homeschooling the kids, and this weekend I worked on making a photo book for August through October. It was hard on Friday night as originally the plan had been that I would take Nadia and Ian to a For King and Country concert in Hershey as volunteers with Compassion. "Plan B" had been that the kids would attend the Legoland Trunk or Treat at our church, but just stay at home is what actually happened. I always vote in the elections that are held every year in Pennsylvania. I have missed some primary elections, but I don't recall missing any general elections. It didn't cross my mind until it was too late to request an absentee ballot. I can pray about the elections on Tuesday, but I won't be voting this time as I don't plan to leave the house until my doctor appointment on November 17. Seven weeks down, and 2.5 weeks to go. The worst is over!

Bison in Yellowstone

An electrocution and 2 beards

I'm not sure if dogs have nine lives like cats do, but I do think Milo used one of his "lives" this morning. None of us noticed that he was chewing on an extension cord that we keep under the couch for my laptop until he started yelping in pain, and when I saw his body jumping in weird contortions I screamed and asked Nadia who was right beside him to pull the cord out of his mouth as I knew he was being electrocuted. He continued to have the cord in his mouth even while it was zapping him! She pulled it out of his mouth, unplugged it, and threw it away. Milo continued to jump in these odd ways around the room and continued to yelp in extreme pain. It was awful to see and hear. Ian started crying. I wasn't sure if he was going to die. He continued to shake for quite a long time, but I wasn't sure if that was because he was scared or if it was from the electric shock still having an effect on him internally. Eventually the shaking stopped. I wasn't sure if he needed to go to the vet, but since I can't drive, that wasn't really an option. Thankfully over time he seemed to be acting normally, and it doesn't appear that he burned his tongue. He had previously chewed through an Echo dot cord.

Buttercup, one of our guinea pigs, chewed through another Echo dot cord. Those times our pets escaped unscathed, but not this morning. I hope and pray he has learned his lesson and won't chew any more cords, as it was very traumatic for the kids and I to see and hear what he went through this morning. A few weeks ago Nadia asked if she could invite one of her friends from camp over to our house for a play date or sleepover. I don't feel comfortable supervising any other children aside from my own three during this time because I can't drive if there is an emergency, and today's experience was case in point for me. Thankfully this was our only emergency so far, and Milo doesn't seem to have needed to see the vet. Hopefully we won't have any more incidents, especially during this time when I'm unable to drive. 

The boys have been interested in The Hobbit lately so they said they wanted to be dwarves for Halloween. Paul planned to make them weapons out of cardboard. He bought yarn and asked me to make them beards. I made two beards over the past 3 days. It took hours to

make each one. The kids were planning to wear their costumes tonight at our church's Trunk or Treat. My original plan was to ask one neighbor if they could take the kids to the trunk or treat tonight (the ones who attend our church) and another neighbor if she could take the kids to the trunk or treat tomorrow at the Methodist church a mile from our home, but Paul told me not to arrange a ride for them for tonight as he was planning to take them. I'm not sure of the reason why, but he came home far too late to take the kids, and he didn't call me to tell me he wasn't going to be home in time, which meant they didn't go with the neighbors when they left. Today's trunk or treat at our church (Legoland theme) was moved inside because of the rain so they could have used the cardboard stuff tonight, but I don't think they'll be able to use them tomorrow unless the weather forecast is incorrect. Maybe next year? I am NOT a crafty person. I usually purchase costumes either at yard sales, thrift shops, or after Halloween sales. Nadia made her drink box costume last year, and she made one for Milo this year. Ian and Nadia took it in stride that they weren't able to attend the event this evening, but Oliver was in tears. The good news is they did attend one trunk or treat last Saturday evening so they at least go to attend one such event this year if that ends up being the only one. The boys weren't dwarves last week.