Thankful Thursday

The vast majority of the time I've had this blog, a small number of people have visited it on any given day. For some unknown reason, the numbers drastically spiked at the end of June. For that reason, in early July I decided to make it private - meaning I'm the only one who can read the blog at this point and time. I started this blog at the end of 2006. We shall see if I ever open it up again. I've received very little feedback or comments over the last few years so for me the change to private is not a big one. I considered ending the blog when my mom passed in 2016, and it turns out that 2023 might be the year I cease to write posts that others can read. I have periodically deactivated my Facebook account. Currently my account is deactivated, and I'm giving serious consideration to permanently deleting it, which would be a first for me. Here are some things I'm thankful for today.

1. The boys really enjoyed the Stronghold camp last week. I think they're going to join a club in the future.

2. Nadia had a great week of camp at Camp Susque last week. She chose arts and crafts and pottery for her electives. 

3. Last Saturday night I chose for my family fun night that the five of us would go swimming at the Exchange Pool. We didn't get a membership this year. It was the second time the kids and I swam there this summer and the first for Paul. 

4. We were able to visit the Eisenhower National Historic Site on Sunday. It definitely wasn't one of my favorite National Park sites, but we did learn a little about President Eisenhower. The kids each earned a Junior Ranger badge.

5. On Sunday we also spent a few hours with Yvonne's family. Some played in the creek at Messiah University while others played tennis or went for a walk. All sixteen of us had dinner at Primanti Brothers. Joe treated everyone as they wanted to celebrate the sale of the company, which is now scheduled to take place on July 31. 

6. On Monday we drove to Six Flags Darien Lake for Kingdom Bound. Nadia had been throwing up starting at 2 am so we left seven hours later than planned. We made it in time to hear some of Cain's concert as well as the entire concerts of We are Messengers and Matthew West. I had purchased five tickets. Paul wasn't able to come, and then at the last-minute Cheri changed her mind.  Due to our late arrival, we didn't ride any rides on Monday. On Tuesday we had breakfast at Denny's and then spent about 6 hours riding rides. I rode a wooden roller coaster with Oliver and Superman with Ian. It was Ian's very first time going on that ride. Oliver and Ian rode their favorite roller coasters quite a few times over the two days. On Tuesday we attended several concerts including Anne Wilson and We the Kingdom. Both nights we arrived at the Econo Lodge around 11 pm. On Wednesday morning, Oliver threw up, so we went to a Tim Horton's instead of Denny's for breakfast. The two concerts we attended were of Katy Nichole and the Newsboys. The kids spent the majority of the day in the water park although they did spend some time riding dry rides again. They enjoyed spending some time with Ean and Ivan at the concerts on Tuesday night and in the water park on Wednesday. Oliver and Nadia were interested in the Skillet concert, but given it wasn't supposed to start until 9:15 pm and I had to drive a little over 3 hours to get home, we left after the Newsboys. It also started raining at that time. We got home a little before midnight. I viewed it as a once in a lifetime experience. I'm thankful that after Paul sells the company and helps the new owner through the transition, he will be able to join us on outings like this! 

Thankful Thursday

Last week was a humdinger of a week for Paul and I emotionally. Something rocked our world at a level in the same ballpark as when I learned that my brother had passed away. Thankfully, our stress level began to recede last Thursday. When I'm feeling completely overwhelmed, it can be challenging to appreciate the blessings in life, but by Sunday I had regained my ability to do so. Today I'm giving thanks:

1. Margie is a believer. We know that when her suffering comes to an end (in the probably not so distant future as last Friday she stopped eating), she will be in a much better place. Every day I pray for her to be as physically comfortable as possible and for the Lord to strengthen and comfort her family and friends who will grieve her absence (her two sons, her daughter, my father, her grandkids, her nieces and nephews, etc.). 

2. From the pictures I've seen, it looks like Nadia is having a great time at Camp Susque this week. 

3. The boys are having a great time at the Stronghold camp this week. Four of their friends are also participating, and I'm thankful that two other moms have been carpooling with me. It's a foam sword fighting class. They want to join a Stronghold club. 

4. On Monday morning I called the dentist to see if they had any cancellations this week because we will be losing our dental insurance at the end of the month. They had one for that morning! We're looking forward to Paul selling the company, but I was also grateful to get one more free cleaning before his company stops paying for the insurance. 

5. We've been paying $600+ a month for the medical sharing program for 20 months and had never submitted any medical bills for reimbursement. Over the last about four weeks we had more than $4K in medical bills. Almost exactly half of that was for Paul's skin biopsy. I decided to submit that to Samaritan even though the result was good (benign). They gave initial approval to our submitting the bills. If they approve the bills, then we will be reimbursed approximately $1,600. 

6. On Tuesday morning while the boys were at camp, I was able to walk around Bucknell with my friend Cheri, and then we had lunch together at Gram's before I picked up my van at Bastian and five boys at camp. Yesterday morning I was able to talk with my friend, Joyce, on the phone during their camp. We've been friends since 1996 but haven't spent much time face to face since 2000. We don't talk that many times a year, but we always really enjoy getting caught up. Today I took the van back to Bastian because the tires failed the inspection on Tuesday, and I also did some grocery shopping while they were engaged in archery and sword fighting. 

7. Last Saturday morning Ian, Nadia, and I auditioned for the Sound of Music. Ian didn't prepare a monologue because he only wanted to be in the chorus. It turns out that for this particular musical they aren't having any boys his age in the chorus. He did an amazing job singing Hakuna Matata (had the judges laughing!), but it was pointless. Nadia's audition didn't go well. I only auditioned because Nadia has wanted to be in a musical at our church for many years and figured if I was going to be chauffeuring her to rehearsals, I might as well participate. I was confident I'd be chosen to be in the chorus (as a nun), but I was pleasantly surprised because almost seventy people auditioned, and I was one of twenty-four who were assigned a speaking part. About half of those were given one of the main roles. I was given one of the smaller parts - Frau Zeller, who is the wife of the primary antagonist. I will also be a Nun in the chorus. I sang a song from Fiddler on the Roof and performed a monologue as if I was Mother Gothel for my audition. In prior years I had never given any thought to participating in the musicals at our church. At first, I wasn't sure if I should accept since I had only planned to do it with my kids, but in the end, I accepted, and I'm excited! I haven't been in a choir for two years, and pretty much my entire life revolves around my kids. The rehearsals begin on August 22, and the five performances are in November. The director knows I will miss five rehearsals when we are on vacation out west. Depending on how this goes, I might decide never to audition again, or this might become something I do on an annual basis. Time will tell, but I am very thankful for this opportunity.

8. I had a really, really delicious nectarine today. YUM! 

9. I saw the movie Sound of Freedom with Cheri on July 6. I thought it wouldn't be appropriate for the kids, but that isn't the case. I'm planning on having them see it once it comes out on DVD. I'm thankful for people who are trying to rescue those trapped in sex trafficking. 

10. The kids and I were able to help the First Baptist Church youth group at Experience Missions for two days earlier this month. 

11. Although the closing has been delayed, it appears that it will happen next week. We are very, very thankful! Paul will still work FT until he completes two projects and trains the new employees. We're looking forward to seeing him a lot more. I am hoping to sign us up for some ballroom dancing lessons.

12. Paul took down and hauled away our dilapidated shed and swing set! He also cut down some branches and weeds from two of the three evergreen trees in our backyard. I'm hoping the next two projects will be to finish the third tree and also install a new mailbox that I recently purchased. 

Quinceanera!

 

As of today, Nadia is fifteen years old! She completed her first year of high school last month and last week started her first job. After she came home from her first day of work, she selected a one-year-old girl named Abi from the Philippines to sponsor through Compassion. Last month she was in a production of Mary Poppins, and she's trying out next month to be in a performance of The Sound of Music in November. Recently she has been spending more time doing jigsaw puzzles and playing chess. As a family, we recently completed two 1,000-piece puzzles. She's been playing chess more often because she knows that a chess club will be part of our homeschool co-op in the fall. Since she began reading independently, she has read mostly fiction as well as some biographies. Recently she has begun reading nonfiction library books about animals since she is planning to study zoology and wildlife biology in college. In the last month she got rid of all her Disney Barbie dolls and also the large collection of fabric that she used to make new clothes for the dolls. Very recently she started sitting in the front passenger seat of the minivan when she and I are the only two people in the vehicle. In another year she'll be able to be in a driver's seat! She's had a cell phone for one year but not a phone number because we haven't been paying for a cell phone plan for her. She can only use it on WIFI. She's excited about getting cell service next month. 

That's Nadia sitting next to the pilot. She enjoyed the free flight! 

We began her birthday celebrations last Saturday. The Seiberts were already scheduled to come over for dinner, and because it was a day that Faith is with her mom, I also invited Faith and Macey to join us for dinner. Jill, Faith, and Macey had a sleepover with Nadia, and they went to church with us on Sunday morning. Nadia requested that we have fruit pizza for her dessert on the 17th and s'mores pizza today on her actual birthday. I made two fruit pizzas last Saturday which lasted through June 20, and I made a third one on June 21 since I had purchased enough strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries to do so. Nadia worked an 8-hour shift on Monday and then had Tuesday through Friday off which worked out well due to our plans for Montage Mountain and then helping out with VBS at our church on Wednesday through Friday. Nadia is working a 7-hour shift at Reptiland today on her birthday. 

I sometimes think that food could be one of Nadia's love languages. So I've tried to include treats for her over the past month including the following: she and I had a dinner date at Olive Garden last month, string cheese, two big boxes of hot pockets, Pizza Hut pizza last week and today, one gallon of peanut butter Oreo ice cream from Old Mill Creamery (1/2 gallon has already been consumed by the kids and I), fruit pizza (x3), a box of Wheat Thins and a bag of Sun Chips were in her gift bag that she opened this morning, scalloped potatoes last week with lots of cheese, frozen yogurt from Sweet Frog today, and tomorrow morning we'll have donuts for breakfast. 

Here are fifteen of her favorite things:

1. Her pets - Milo and Peppa

2. Her friends - Rachel (cousin), Macey, Faith, and Jillian are her closest friends right now

3. Ice skating and skiing in the snow - She's wanted to try water skiing for several years. Hopefully that will happen before she turns sixteen! 

4. Listening to Christian music - She gets a LOT of use out of her earbuds. Some of her current favorite artists include Matthew West, Cain, For King and Country, Ann Wilson, Stephen Curtis Chapman, and Mercy Me. She loves to attend their concerts and has a growing collection of t-shirts and sweatshirts from her favorite artists. Nadia is looking forward to hearing Matthew West, Ann Wilson, Cain, Katy Nichole, We are Messengers, and We the Kingdom at the music festival we plan to attend at the of July. She's never seen Mercy Me or Toby Mac in person, so she's also excited about attending a concert featuring those two artists and also Zach Williams in November in Buffalo. Nadia is determined to improve my skill at being able to identify artists when we are listening to a Christian radio station in the van. 

5. Produce - blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines, red grapes, and romaine lettuce. One of her favorite things about Camp Susque is that she typically has a salad at both lunch and dinner. Her idea of the perfect salad is one that contains romaine lettuce, croutons, cheddar cheese, and ranch dressing. 

6. Snacks - Wheat Thins, Cool Ranch Doritos, Nacho Cheese Doritos, Sun Chips, potato chips, pretzels, tortilla chips, Motts fruit snacks, and string cheese.

7. Candy - Tropical Twist Trident gum, Sweet Watermelon Extra gum, Swedish fish, gummies

8. Staying up late and sleeping in the next day

9. Authors - Karen Kingsbury, Karina Yan Glaser, Kate Albus, and Chris Grabenstein

10. Color - blue

11. Language - Most of the last year she was learning Spanish on Duolingo, but for the last few months she's been learning some French.

12. Restaurants - Red Robin (macaroni and cheese), Pizza Hut (stuffed crust pizza), Old Mill Creamery (peanut butter Oreo ice cream), and Olive Garden (five cheese ziti al forno, salad, and breadsticks)

13. Activities - She enjoys reading, drawing, riding roller coasters, visiting zoos and aquariums, going to camp, singing in a choir, participating in drama, playing Quiplash, and zip lining. She has already requested to go sky diving when she turns eighteen. 

14. TV shows - The Cosby Show, Full House, Wonder Years, Saved by the Bell, Sabrina, Family Ties, Boy Meets World, Brady Bunch, and 7th Heaven

15. Games - her two favorites at the moment are Quiplash and Spontuneous 

Thankful Thursday

1. Nadia had her first day of work at her first job on June 12. She worked 17 hours last week over three days, and she worked from 8:45-5:00 this week on Monday. She's scheduled to work seven more hours on Saturday. 

2. I hadn't had routine blood work done in quite a few years. I took care of that on June 15, and I'm thankful that even with us paying cash (no insurance) the bill was less than $30 and all of my results were normal. 

3. Oliver attended a birthday party at a trampoline park on June 16. Nadia and I did some shopping together and picked up some pizza from Pizza Hut, which we typically only visit in June each year as it's a birthday treat to get stuffed crust pizza from Pizza Hut for Nadia's birthday.

4. All three kids were able to participate in a free Young Eagles flight on June 17. Ian flew in a red airplane from the 1950's that is similar to my grandpa's airplane which I flew in many times. Oliver went up in a helicopter, and Nadia flew in a sleek airplane. 

5. We had nine people join us for dinner at our home on June 17. Three of the girls spent the night with Nadia, and we took them to church with us in the morning on the 18th. 

6. Paul's dad came up to spend several hours with us on Father's Day. Ian, Nadia, Paul, and Pop Pop had steak for dinner.

7. I took my three kids plus three of their friends to Montage Mountain water park on Tuesday. Our admission was free due to our WVIA membership. 

8. Yesterday and today Ian and Nadia helped with the 2nd graders at our church's VBS, and I helped with the four-year-old girls. Tomorrow morning will be the last day of VBS. Oliver has been attending as a participant. 

9. On Tuesday Margie decided to do one more radiation treatment to try to alleviate the pain in her ribs. Today she began three new medications that she will take as long as they help with the quality of her life. If they don't help, she will switch to hospice. One of the drugs (Ibrance) would have cost them $2,643 every month out of pocket, but they have been approved to receive the medication for free!

10. They recommend having your first colonoscopy when you turn 50. Paul had his first in 2020. I "should" have had my first one last year. I didn't because of our gigantic ankle surgery bill. The Christian medical sharing program doesn't allow members to request reimbursement for screening measures. We had to pay in full for the mammogram I had last year.  Because I don't have a family history of colon cancer and a colonoscopy costs thousands of dollars, I opted to go the Cologuard route instead. The test is much easier to complete than a colonoscopy (no prep for one thing!), and because we prepaid, the company gave me a $299 discount which brought the cost down to $381. It's definitely not the most exciting way to spend money, but I'm thankful for the prompt pay discount and as long as I get good results from the Cologuard analysis, I won't need to have a colonoscopy. 

11. Things are still progressing well for Paul at work. Closing is supposed to happen the week of July 10. PTL! 

12. The drought has ended! The grass is green again! 

13. I made a LOT of pulled pork last Saturday. Five pounds of potatoes wasn't enough for leftovers on Father's Day, but I've been enjoying leftover pulled pork. I make a salad that rivals the one I love at Panera. Mine contains their poppyseed dressing, strawberries, blueberries, romaine lettuce, pulled pork, and sometimes I also add pineapple. YUM!!!

14. I've seen a lot of animals on my walks lately! I usually see birds, chipmunks, rabbits, squirrels, and groundhogs. Lately I've seen a black bear, deer (that allowed me to walk rather close to them), and a mink! 

Ian was in this airplane.

13.5 years old!

Ian's shirt was white when he arrived at church last night.

Ian has been a teenager for six months (and three days)! Here is a brief description of what he's been up to lately. 

1. He finished Algebra I at the end of May, took one week off, and then started Algebra II. I decided to have him take Algebra II before Geometry so that he and Nadia would both be doing Algebra II this coming school year. Since the beginning of Algebra II is just a review of Algebra I, he has already completed eight lessons and the first test. 

2. For a few months he had been studying German on Duolingo, but I asked him to switch back to Spanish for the time being because we're planning to visit Ecuador in less than eight months. 

3. He has been waiting for more than a year for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to come out on the Switch. He purchased it as soon as it came out. Oliver chipped in $20 toward the game. 

4. Although most of his screen time is used to play on the Switch, he also plays Brawl Stars on the iPad.

5. Not counting the books that he read for school, over the last six months he read three Harry Potter books (two of which were 752 and 896 pages long) as well as The Winter War by Priscilla Shirer and the newest Diary of a Wimpy Kid book. Ian listens to far more audiobooks than his siblings do. 

6. He enjoyed learning more about coding (Python) over the last few months. 

7. In March Ian had four baby teeth extracted by the dentist at the request of the orthodontist. He's been wearing his retainer for two years now. 

8. He took a weekly art class at the homeschool co-op from January through May and ten weeks of ice-skating lessons from January through March. He spends a fair amount of time drawing each week.

9. He has continued to attend the youth group on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights and Bible quizzing on Wednesday afternoons. The Bible quizzing team is headed to Indiana in two weeks for the national competition over the book of Acts. Ian did very well at the practice quiz in Indiana last month. 

10. I think Ian is now willing to ride any ride at an amusement park as he rode the Impulse at Knoebels for the first-time last month.

11. Currently, his favorite musical artist is Toby Mac. 

12. He's gained two pounds over the last five months. I looked online, and he's still underweight, as his BMI is at the 2nd percentile. The doctor wants his BMI to be at least at the 5th percentile. He's currently 5 feet tall and weighs 78 pounds. Hopefully we can get more weight on him before his next physical.

13. Recently he has been enjoying creating rules for new games using Lego minifigures and existing game boards such as Sorry, Clue, and Labyrinth. Oliver and Paul have played some of his new games with him. 

Thankful Thursday

Life is full of twists and turns. Some represent little bumps in the road, and other times major changes. Rolling with the punches is an important skill to have, and we had more opportunities to refine that skill than usual in 2020. Awhile back I had signed my kids up for a (free) 4-hour fishing/kayaking trip. They were originally scheduled to do this from 1-5pm next Monday. The director of the program emailed me last week and asked if they could come on June 6 from 8:00-12:00 instead. We had very little snow this past winter, and then the last few weeks we've been in a significant drought. The lawns around here usually look lush in June, but now they mostly are brown. The historic low water level wasn't helpful for kayaking, but the kids still had a good time. On Monday and Wednesday, I took five kids to the Kid's Cafe (free lunch) in our town's park. One of our neighbors is teaching summer school so I also took her two kids with us. Her kids also hung out at our house for a few hours this week on those two days.

Today I thought that I'd be driving those 5 kids plus Cheri and myself to a field trip located one hour west of us. This morning as I was walking Milo around 7am, I received a text from one mom who was backing out because of the poor air quality due to the fires in Canada. I called another mom who I knew was on the fence because of the same issue. When she also decided to back out, I decided to reschedule the trip because those 11 people represented half of the group. Cheri was on her way out of her driveway when I texted her to tell her that we were going to reschedule. She had lined up an aide to watch her uncle and really wanted to go somewhere with us today. As I ate my breakfast, I tried to come up with another idea. I remembered that the Rodale Institute offered tours on Thursdays in the summer. I went on their website and paid for a tour at 11:00 for the five of us. Cheri had also mentioned a couple of weeks ago that she hadn't toured a cave since she was a child (and she's 66 years old). She asked that we schedule a tour of a cavern. I had previously taken the kids to two other caverns in Pennsylvania, but we hadn't been to Crystal Cave which is about 15 minutes from Rodale Institute. These places are 2 hours from our home. To be honest I wasn't thrilled with the idea of driving for more than 4 hours today, but my friend has been dealing with some really challenging situations as the primary caregiver of her uncle who has Alzheimer's. The kids and I left our home at 8:45 and picked her up at a meeting spot at 9:10. A little after 10:00 we found out from the Rodale Institute that they had cancelled the tours for today because of the air quality. At that point we were only about 20 minutes away from the site, so we opted go in the Visitor Center to get a map and take the self-guided tour. Several other individuals showed up for the 11:00 tour, but it didn't happen today. Air quality was not an issue in an underground cave. I wasn't impressed with Crystal Cave. It definitely wasn't a great field trip, but Cheri was very grateful, and I enjoyed having hours to talk with her in the van. I also am very grateful that we plan to stay at home sweet home tomorrow and Saturday. Actually, over the next seven days I don't plan to drive farther than 15 minutes away from our home which is fine with me! Since Paul enjoys history, I've decided to reschedule the tour of Curtin Village for some time when he will be able to join the group. 

Nadia is starting her job at Reptiland on Monday at 10:00am. We only found that out a little before 5pm today. The school district is closed on Fridays in the summer, and I need to get her a work permit. Hopefully I can get that taken care of prior to 10:00 on Monday morning. I'm hoping that this will be a good experience for her! It's much easier to get a job when you are sixteen years old. I am grateful the manager was willing to hire her albeit she will only be turning fifteen on June 24. 

Margie had an appointment with her oncologist today. She had planned to request to be switched to hospice, but she changed her mind and is going to have one more radiation treatment and try some other medications. We are praying that these will not result in difficult side effects and will be helpful in improving both her quality of life and possibly extending the length of her life here on earth.

Last August I purchased four tickets for a Christian music festival to be held at a Six Flags in NY in July. I purchased four at first because Nadia was at camp, and I didn't know if she wanted to go. At first, she said she didn't want to go because she thought she had a schedule conflict, but then she changed her mind, and I bought a fifth ticket (and there actually wasn't a schedule conflict). Then a few months later Paul found out that he won't be able to attend with us as his brother will be on vacation that week. Cheri was telling me today how she really wanted to be able to get away with someone for 3 days. She had tried to work something out with one of her sisters. Long story short, she found someone who will care for her uncle and her dogs for the three days of the music festival, and she is going to use Paul's ticket! She hasn't been able to travel away from home for quite a while because she is her uncle's caregiver. I am thankful that she will be able to enjoy the Christian music and also the rides with us for three days in July!

Although Paul can't go with us to Darien Lake, it seems he will be able to travel with us a lot more in the future. He is scheduled to sell the company to someone at the end of this month. This is a HUGE answer to prayer. It feels like a miracle to us. Provided this actually comes to fruition in three weeks, he will continue to work FT until the end of July and then will work PT for the new owner for an undetermined length of time, but the end goal will be for him to transition to a job that he can do from home which will be fabulous because he currently drives 100 miles a day (round trip) to work six days a week. He also will have more flexibility in terms of taking a day off for a field trip or taking a week or two off for a vacation. The kids and I are very excited about the idea of spending more time with Paul starting in August!!! Thank you, Lord!

Cousins and a concert

Ian is 18 months older than Joel, but Joel is much taller than Ian!

 Although May 8th was officially our final day of school, in some ways it didn't feel like summer started until after Nadia's play was over at the co-op. We definitely felt like we were on summer break last week as we spent about 74 hours at Great Wolf Lodge with my sister's family. The only other times we've been to Great Wolf Lodge it has been in December which means we've never been in their outdoor pool or used the high ropes course. That is still a true statement because the resort is undergoing massive construction, and the outdoor activities were closed. In the past we've only stayed one night, which typically translates to us being there for about 29 hours. Just as we have done in the past, we went with a homeschooling group from New Jersey because we pay less than half of the usual rate. Another family from the co-op where Nadia did drama was also at Great Wolf Lodge last week. Paul didn't join us on the trip, but Jenna's boyfriend did. The Towfighis paid for two rooms, and we paid for a third room. There were fifteen of us altogether. Five females shared one room, and the ten males shared the other two rooms. I shared a bed with ten-year-old Julianna. We ate breakfast and lunch before we arrived on Tuesday, and we all went to Taco Bell for dinner that night. Because it was Joel's 12th birthday, I made him a carrot cake with cream cheese icing which everyone ate for dessert. Some kids spent a lot of time in the indoor water park. Some of them spent very little time in the water park although between the hours of 11-4 on Friday they didn't have many options because we had to check out of our rooms by 11:00. Nathan broke his nose and two bones in his arm on Memorial Day, so he was unable to get wet the first two days we were there. He was wearing a splint on his arm and saw an orthopedic doctor today to get a cast. We're praying he won't need to have a surgery on his arm. Toby wasn't feeling well for a majority of the time, and Yvonne and Joe were dealing with unpleasant cases of poison ivy, but the rest of us were doing well physically. We had brought food from home to eat for our breakfasts and lunches on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Yvonne and I ran to Domino's for pizza on Wednesday and to Subway and Dunkin' for subs and donuts on Thursday. My kids and I got food from Wendy's for dinner on Friday during our drive back home. Milo wasn't a fan of our trip to Great Wolf Lodge because he was home alone by himself far more hours than usual, and Paul was the only one here at home in the evenings. My kids love to spend time with their cousins, and that was the main reason we spent a few days at Great Wolf Lodge! I had promised the kids a special treat once we listened to 1,000 books together. This was their reward albeit we still have five more books to go to reach our goal. 

Yesterday Nadia spent six hours at Faith's house, and her brother, Xandir, spent 4.5 hours at our home. Today was a normal Sunday with the exception that we attended a free outdoor concert by the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra this evening. They performed music from a variety of movies such as Star Wars, Frozen, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Spiderman, etc. The vast majority of the concerts we have attended as a family have been of Christian contemporary music. I'm grateful for opportunities to expose them to some other types of music. Naturally I was thinking of my favorite violinist, Wendy. 

Memorial Day weekend

 Aside from wearing red, white, and blue clothing, we don't usually do anything special to celebrate Memorial Day. Paul usually goes to work that day, and the kids and I usually stay at home all day. That will still be the case tomorrow, but if we are talking about the entire three-day weekend, we attended a military air show on Saturday and a picnic this afternoon. I saw the Blue Angels perform when I was a child, and for several years I've tried to make plans for us to see them. The airshow that they were supposed to participate in in 2019 in Wilkes Barre was cancelled. Then I planned for us to see them in Annapolis in 2020, and that obviously didn't happen. A show at the Naval Academy would have been free, but this year I opted to attend one at the Pocono Raceway instead. I thought paying the $ for the tickets was worth it because of the fact that the drive would be much shorter. I imagine it must be just as bad when they hold NASCAR events there. It turns out it's an absolute nightmare to drive to or leave that venue as the road can't handle the volume of traffic. We are spoiled where we live in that we almost never deal with traffic of any kind. Paul occasionally encounters a traffic delay on I-80 when there is a significant accident, but that's about it. On the way there the traffic added 40+ minutes to what was supposed to be a 75-minute drive. The police officer wouldn't allow us to turn right out of the venue, and this created a much longer delay. Paul had only been to one other air show in his life - a WWII one we attended at an airport in Reading two years ago. He really enjoyed the F-22 Raptor demonstration as well as the Blue Angels. Other performers included a aircraft called the Vampire and two pilots who performed a wide variety of stunts. Rob Holland's were particularly impressive! I think the kids enjoyed at least parts of the air show, but I don't think they were as enamored with it as Paul and I were. 

Some of the activities that I anticipated for years experiencing for the first time with my kids they DID love as much as I thought they would (ex. circus, Disney on Ice, Sea World, Tran Siberian Orchestra, amusement parks, seeing their first Broadway show, Stars on Ice, and skiing). Other experiences that I greatly anticipated were not nearly as special to the kids as I thought they might be. The two things that would fit that description from the past six months would be seeing the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall and seeing the Blue Angels yesterday. Paul often comments when I say that I want the kids to experience xyz before Nadia graduates, he will add "and Paul" because in most cases they are also new experiences for him. I'm glad Paul and the kids were able to see the Blue Angels for the first time, and I never plan to return to the Pocono Raceway! 

This morning we allowed Nadia and Ian to attend the youth service at 9:00. Oliver joined us in the 9:00 worship service. We left at 10:20 which unfortunately was a little bit before the prayer time ended at the conclusion of the service because we were attending the 10:30 service at another church so that we could see the kids' friend, Micah, be baptized. After that service, we came home to let Milo out and change our clothes prior to going to a picnic with other friends and family of Micah at Montour Preserve. The weather was gorgeous! The kids had fun playing with Ean, Ivan, Micah, and Isaiah. This I believe the first time we attended a picnic near Memorial Day or Fourth of July in I'd guess more than 15 years. I am extremely grateful to those men and women who have given their lives in the service of our country. 

Nadia has been offered her first job! We have no idea what her salary will be, but the manager is willing to hire her. If Nadia does well during her probationary period, she can work as many as 30 hours in a week and can continue to return as an employee in the summers for years to come. I am thankful that Reptiland is less than 4 miles from our home since Nadia is too young to drive herself to and from work. She will be doing a wide variety of tasks - helping in the gift shop, cleaning, etc. Probably the only time her responsibilities will involve animals will be if they need her to sell feed sticks where the budgies are located. She could have started work this Tuesday, but the kids and I will be spending four days at Great Wolf Lodge with Yvonne's family and Toby. The manager hasn't told us yet what her start day will be. I hope that this proves to be an excellent experience for Nadia. She's had a phone for a little less than a year, but she doesn't have a phone number so she can only use it where there is Wi-Fi available. In light of this job offer, Paul and I are planning to start paying for a monthly plan for her phone. Paul and I have only been paying $5 a week (total) for both of our cell phone plans through his company, but that will likely be changing in the near future. In doing a little shopping, it seems that it's cheaper to go with a family plan, but we need four phones for a family plan. Ian would have been due to receive his first phone this December, but he might be getting his first phone sometime this summer if we choose a plan that involves having at least four phones on the plan.

New co-op taking shape

The homeschool game days have morphed into a new local co-op. Twenty-one adults and children attended our first field trip at Eckley Miners' Village on May 9. Yesterday about forty adults and children attended our second field trip at the Historic Warrior Run Church. The church was first formed in 1769, but the first two buildings were burned down. The current structure was built in 1835. We also visited the cemetery and a home near the site of the Battle of Fort Freeland. A retired schoolteacher graciously conducted the 4-hour program at no charge. During the last hour of the day the students had two hands-on experiences with making rope and using a loom. Our third field trip has been scheduled for June 8. This Friday afternoon I am hosting the fifth game day for the group (second time we've had it at our home). I'm working on planning more field trips for the group over the coming months. 

Last night some parents gathered to discuss ideas for our new co-op. Nadia says we need to come up with a name for our co-op. We haven't figured that out yet. Our first session will last six weeks in the fall (October/November) and will include Health and Nutrition, Speech, Marine Biology lab, a chess club, lunch and a book club. I gave a list of 15 different books to some of the moms in an attempt to narrow down the list to probably 3 choices. The kids will be able to choose which group to be in based on which book they have chosen. Nadia and Faith already chose Much Ado About Nothing because Faith hasn't read any Shakespeare yet. I want Oliver to read one of the books from the Chronicles of Narnia. Ian is leaning towards either joining Oliver or reading The Hobbit. We're waiting to see what the other students choose. So far we have 13 students planning to join us, and more are considering joining us. The students are between 5th-12th grade, and 69% of the kids currently planning to attend are in 8th-10th grade. Ian will be one of five eighth graders. Eight of the kids will also see each other on Wednesday evenings at Bible quizzing as three younger siblings (Xandir, Lucy, and Oliver) plan to join their older siblings (Faith, Ben, Jill, Ian, and Nadia) in September. We haven't chosen the dates for the next session (winter/spring) because some of us are hoping to go on a mission trip to Guatemala, and the dates for that haven't been chosen yet. As of now we are planning to meet in our home. If the group outgrows our home, we'll see if a local church will allow us to use their facility. Even though we are adding this co-op to our plans for the upcoming school year, it doesn't mean we'll discontinue what we have been doing. Nadia, Ian, and I have scheduled auditions to possibly be in a performance of The Sound of Music that is to take place in November. I'm also probably going to sign the kids up for art and chorus at the Christian school at our church (if we don't do drama at the CHEF co-op again next year). Whether I sign the kids up to be in the Susquehanna Valley Youth Chorale again in the fall will depend on whether we are participating in Sound of Music and also what days/times those rehearsals are held. 

Nadia spent some time making crepes today with Tab. I had a long overdue physical today. I haven't had a colonoscopy and given how expensive those are (and our medical sharing plan doesn't cover them), I have opted to go the Cologuard route instead. The physical cost $50, and she said that the bloodwork she ordered will total less than $50. The Cologuard will cost more than that, but it still will be far less than a colonoscopy. Today I also signed the boys up for a babysitting class the local hospital offers. Nadia took it four years ago. I don't know if the boys will do any babysitting, but I think it's worthwhile for them to learn how to do CPR and such. 

Step in Time

This week has been tech week for Nadia, which translates to spending about 50 hours at the church where the homeschool co-op meets. About forty of the students in grades 8-12 chose to participate in the spring drama program this year. They invited one seventh grade boy to play the part of Michael Banks. His sister, who is in high school, played the part of Jane Banks. Nadia was in three of the twenty-four scenes of the musical - Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, Step in Time, and Anything Can Happen. She wore the costume of a chimney sweep and star dancer for the latter two scenes. The students who played the parts of Bert, Mary Poppins, Miss Andrew, and the four members of the Banks family all did a particularly excellent job. This semester I was the chair of the hair/makeup committee and a member of the publicity committee. This week I primarily was helping in the kitchen as we served about 100 people one meal a day plus snacks throughout the day.  I brought in a batch of brownies and a batch of Rice Krispie treats and also applied foundation to some of the boys on Wednesday for the dress rehearsal and yesterday for the first performance. Nadia had four people in the audience last night who came to see her - Tab, me, Mia, and Macey. One of our pastors was surprised to see me there last night as he didn't know that Nadia was in the show. Tonight, I believe there will be ten people who are coming to see her - five Kennedys (including Paul's dad), Jill, Faith, Xandir, Lucy, and Melinda. Last year fewer were able to come to one of her performances because they conflicted with a Bible quizzing event. 

Last year the boys also spent the week with us during tech week. Ian was on the stage crew, and Oliver played with other kids. This year I made other arrangements for the boys. They spent Monday and Tuesday at Tab's house. Because they spent the night at their house, I took Nadia out to dinner at Olive Garden on Monday night for a mom/daughter date. On Tuesday the boys joined some other families at a state park. They had a blast and needed to take showers before I took them home as they had been playing in the mud at one point. Paul dropped Milo off on Monday morning when he took Ian and Oliver to their home. Unfortunately, Milo was not a good boy on Monday, so Paul had to pick Milo up on his way home from work on Monday night. Milo spent many hours at home alone on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Today he'll have far fewer hours at home alone because Paul's dad is coming up to spend several hours at our home with the boys before going up to see Nadia's show. The last two days the boys spent the day at Xandir and Faith's home. Each morning I dropped them off at their home. Paul picked them up at church at 6:30 on Wednesday after the Bible quizzing practice, and he picked them up at Melinda's home last night. The boys were already in bed by the time Nadia and I got home after 10:00 pm last night. Although I'm glad that Nadia had the opportunity to participate in this musical, I'm also very, very glad that today is the last day as this is a very exhausting week for me which translates to headaches, etc.

Margie had surgery to place a pin and rod in her hip and femur to prevent those bones from breaking. She's very thankful to be back at home as she ended up spending several days at the hospital following the surgery. Her PET scan this week revealed the good news that although she has innumerable tumors in her skeletal system (primarily near her pelvis), the cancer hasn't spread to any of her vital organs. We are praying that the radiation treatment that she will have in the near future will be helpful in greatly reducing her pain, and we are praying for wisdom regarding other treatment decisions.