Thankful Thursday

 

1. On January 30 we visited Cairn University, which is near Philadelphia. Paul and I were very impressed with the computer science professor. This is one of the colleges Ian is considering. We are planning to visit Cedarville in June, which is currently his top choice since his cousin Nathan also plans to go there. Cedarville is my alma mater. I'm hoping he'll make a decision this summer as I'm planning on enrolling him for dual enrollment classes starting in the fall. 

2. On January 31 the kids participated in the living history fair for the fourth time. They answered questions for an hour as parents and grandparents walked around to see each of the displays. I bought the display boards in 2018. The first time we used any of them was for a science fair at a Children's Museum. 

3. Oliver and I were able to help at a food packing event at Experience Missions on February 1.

4. Ian was unable to participate in the piano recital on February 2 due to having a 101-degree fever that day, but Nadia and Oliver attended a roller-skating party hosted by our church that evening. 

5. Our spring session of co-op began on February 4. At least 7 of the 10 high schoolers in our co-op are planning to attend the homeschool prom together, and four of the girls have an appointment to shop for dresses together at the YWCA. On February 18 twelve of the fifteen kids stayed for lunch and games. The kids had a blast playing Outburst and Telestrations together. After some of the kids left, a smaller group played Bubble Talk. 

6. The kids enjoyed attending a Super Bowl party hosted by the youth group. The Towfighis are Eagles fans, so they were very happy with the outcome to that game! 

7. Nadia and Oliver attended a homeschool roller skating party in the morning on February 12. 

8. Our family celebration of Valentine's Day this year included buying some brownie batter donuts from Dunkin' (something we do only once a year), I made heart shaped food for lunch on February 14 (heart shaped pancakes and toast with an egg in the middle shaped like a heart), and we saw the play A Wrinkle in Time together that night. Nadia worked on Valentine's Day, and she received some chocolates from her boss and a $5 tip from a customer.

9. On February 16 we attended a potluck after the second service at church. This was a new concept for everyone in our family except for me. 

10. Nadia spends time almost every day working on a jigsaw puzzle. Typically, she does 1,000-piece puzzles by herself. I purchased some puzzles at the library (the prices ranged from 50 cents to $1 each), and one of the puzzles I bought had 3,000 pieces. Nadia asked for help with that one. Oliver and Julianna each helped a tiny bit. Paul, Nadia, and I did the lion share of the puzzle. It was a great feeling when we finished it!

11. I'm planning to take four kids (including Nathaniel) skiing at Montage on Tuesday. They've been to the outdoor water park there many times in the summer but never gone skiing there. I found a deal that the lift ticket plus ski rental is only $45 per person! Paul is going to stay home because we're dog sitting Cooper starting tomorrow and didn't want to leave the two dogs home alone for that many hours. 

12. Oliver has adjusted to wearing glasses, so I decided to order him a new pair with his new prescription. Ian saw the eye doctor earlier this week and got a new prescription. At the eye doctor they told me I could just buy new lenses and use his existing frame, but when she said that it would cost $300 AFTER a 25% discount, I said no thank you. Then as I was paying for the appointment, she said if we got a new frame plus lenses there is a special for $125 as long as we didn't get the blue light blocking on the lenses. How does that make any sense whatsoever? I am thankful that there are websites like Zenni that make it so much cheaper to buy glasses. I got two pairs of glasses (one for Ian and one for Oliver) with the blue light blocking for about $108, which included paying extra for a warranty. I almost never purchase a warranty. The kids haven't broken any glasses recently, but they have certainly done so in the past, so it seemed worth the small fee to do so in this instance. Ian chose a green frame (which was what he had been wearing prior to getting the frames he's had the last 2 years), and Oliver went with an aviator style (like Tom Cruise, ha ha). 

Thankful Tuesday

I can't believe it will be February 1 in just 4 days. It would have been Maurice's 41st birthday. It's been very cold, so I don't mind if winter flies by as I prefer the warmer weather. Here are some things I am thankful for today.

1. The kids were able to participate in a Bible quizzing competition at our church on January 10-11. I served as a scorekeeper on the 11th. Ian and Nadia have recently stepped up the amount of time they've been studying the book of Luke so we shall see how they do at the next competition.

2. The eldest member of the Bible quizzing team (Isaiah) recently turned eighteen. All three kids were invited to his birthday party.

3. Isaiah and three of his siblings are joining our co-op starting next week. We will have 8 boys and 7 girls, and if you go by grade level, we'll have three 6th graders, one 7th grader, one 8th grader, five 9th graders, two 10th graders, two 11th graders, and one 12th grader in our co-op this spring. 

4. Ian's surgery went well on January 15. The first few days were rough partially because there was a mix-up over his pain medication. He slept in my lazy boy recliner the first eight nights, and it took longer than that for him to be able to resume wearing his eyeglasses, but life is back to normal at this point. The surgeon removed the splints and some of the stitches last Tuesday. She wasn't able to tell yet if the surgery was a success or not because there is still too much blood in there. He can't breathe through his nose yet, but hopefully that day is just around the corner. Paul will be taking him back for the next follow-up appointment in early March. I'm also thankful the surgery only cost $2,948. We should be reimbursed for all of that eventually through the medical sharing program, but even if we weren't that's so much better than the $20K I was charged for the ankle surgery in 2021. 

5. Nadia didn't work much at all for four weeks, but thankfully that changed starting on January 17. We're also thankful for the flexibility of her boss. Nadia missed a Wizard of Oz rehearsal on January 18, but her boss didn't schedule her for any Saturdays in February due to the musical. 

6. Since the stock market was closed on January 20, Paul took the opportunity to go spend the day with a friend in Carlisle.

7. Oliver and I saw the eye doctor on January 21. Oliver hadn't been wearing his glasses that he got a little over two years ago. The doctor changed the guidance from wearing them only when he is reading to wearing them all the time. This did NOT go over well with Oliver, but thankfully over the past week he's adjusted to wearing his glasses. We had to reschedule Ian's appointment as it would have been too painful for him to have an eye appointment last week due to his nose. 

8. Paul got the flu shot and pneumonia vaccine on January 22. They didn't tell him until after they stabbed him that the vaccine costs almost $300. The last time he got a flu shot he was really sick afterwards. He didn't feel well the first couple of days after the shot this time around, but his side effects weren't as severe, thankfully. 

9. I took my friend out for dinner to celebrate her 68th birthday. 

10. We enjoyed watching the movie White Bird as a family last weekend. I had checked it out of the library.  Paul and I enjoyed watching the 5th season of All Creatures Great and Small on the PBS app.

11. I used to shop at CVS 1-2 times a month until the CVS in our town closed. I have hardly shopped at a CVS since then, but I've recently been resuming that habit due to the fact that they haven't had much of a cereal selection at Surplus Outlet. A few weeks ago, I paid less than $1 per box of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes at CVS! I do love finding a good bargain. 

12. Ian is finally caught up. We switched back to Teaching Textbooks for geometry, and he got everything turned in by the end of the second marking period for all the other subjects. I hope he never gets that far behind again. 

13. Ian finally picked his song for the piano recital (February 2) on January 20. I told his piano teacher let's pick his song MUCH earlier next time around. She agrees. Thankfully he is managing to pull it off despite choosing much later than normal. The piece was too long (12 minutes), but she picked out parts for him to play as she likes the pieces not to be longer than 4-5 minutes so that the recital isn't too lengthy. 

14. One of the books I recently listened to was Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Quereshi. It was outstanding! I highly recommend it! Some books we've enjoyed together as a family recently would include: Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai, Wink by Rob Harrell, The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman, The Red Umbrella by Christina Gonzalez, and The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis. 

15. My parents each grew up with one sister, and so I only had two uncles. My dad also has a half-sister, but she never married. Uncle Bill passed away in 1992 at the age of 49. Uncle Dick passed away last week at the age of 83. Wendy lives the closest to Indiana, so she is attending the burial today as the representative of our family. I'm thankful Wendy can attend on our behalf. 

16. I go in spurts when it comes to working on planning future vacations. Recently I used Turo gift cards I got through credit card points to almost completely pay for renting a minivan on Oahu for four days and on Maui for 2.5 days. I still need to rent one on the Big Island for a week. 

Septoplasty

Today Ian went under general anesthesia for the fifth time in his life. The first four times took place within less than two years, so it had been almost 12.5 years since the last time. We were told to arrive by 11:15. For his sake, it would have been nice if it was a little earlier since he wasn't allowed to eat after midnight. He always has breakfast, and most days we eat lunch around 11:00. The surgery center is about 90 minutes from our home. There are other hospitals closer to our home, but this pediatric ENT has above average ratings, and this surgery center is far more affordable than the closer hospitals. We've already paid the fee to the surgeon and the surgery center, and the grand total so far is $2,248. The only bill we haven't paid yet is for the anesthesiologist. In contrast, we were billed over $20K for my ankle surgery despite the fact that Ian's surgery took more than twice as long as my ankle surgery did. The pulmonologist told us that he had turbinate hypertrophy, but the ENT today said that was not the case. However, he had a very deviated septum; she said it was the worst case she had ever seen. The surgery lasted about 100 minutes. The surgeon didn't think he'd be able to breathe air through his nose until next week, but on the drive home he said he could already feel air coming through his nose for the first time! His follow-up post op appointment is next Tuesday in Hershey. The splints will come out then. She said it would take a few months for the stitches to dissolve. He struggled coming out of the anesthesia and with the pain. I offered to buy him a treat around 4:30 pm. I gave him a few choices. He picked a PB cup Blizzard from Dairy Queen. I figured it would help ease some of the discomfort in his throat, give him something pleasurable while he was in pain, and also give him some calories as he had skipped breakfast and lunch. It definitely perked him up. He's coughing a bit as a result of the anesthesia, and his nose hasn't stopped bleeding yet, but he's been watching a movie with Paul while sitting in my recliner. The recliner will be his bed for the next couple of nights as he's supposed to keep his head elevated. We left a little after 9:30 this morning and got back home a little after 5:00 this evening. I'm thankful it's over. It's hard to watch your child when they're suffering. Due to surgical complications I've experienced in the past (ex. lung collapsed due to aspirating), I have to work not to let myself be overtaken by anxiety. 

I'm thankful for everyone who prayed for Ian's surgery! His piano teacher prayed over him at his lesson on Monday, our senior pastor prayed over the phone with him yesterday, another pastor from our church prayed over the phone for him this evening, and my dad and a mom from our co-op texted me to say they were praying this morning. My dad called me as we were driving down and prayed for Ian's surgery, and he called me again after Ian's surgery to see how he was doing. We appreciate all the prayers! 

All three kids were able to sleep in this morning. I asked Nadia and Ian to make sugar cookies this morning because we hadn't had those for probably more than a year. Paul dropped them off at church at 1:15 for art, chorus, Bible quizzing, and youth group. He picked them up at 8:00. Tomorrow, we plan to have a regular day of school although Ian will not be going to art or chorus. He also won't be attending the Wizard of Oz rehearsal tomorrow night. The first time Ian *might* leave the house again will be Saturday morning if he's feeling up to a musical rehearsal at that time. Time will tell. Nadia is scheduled to work Friday morning. I got the movie The Wild Robot on DVD from the library on Monday, and we plan to watch that together either Friday or Saturday. Friday is the last day of the first semester for this school year. It will be our 89th day of school - 9 co-op days, 69 "regular" school days, and 11 field trip days. 

Thankful Thursday

 1. I'm thankful for Nadia's two employers - Camp Susque and Warrior Run Petcare. Nadia has an opportunity to make some money, learn new skills, and be a blessing to others. Her boss gave her a very generous Christmas gift.

2. I'm thankful for the Bible quizzing program at our church. In addition to studying God's Word, this group has been where they have developed friendships at church. We're not planning on allowing Oliver to compete in Oklahoma this summer, but he did compete at a competition at our church last month and will do so again this weekend. I served as a score keeper at the quiz in December.

3. We appreciated being able to spend time with extended family in December. When I asked the kids what was the most memorable thing that happened in 2024, Ian's response was spending time with cousins in Maryland as we celebrated Christmas. We were able to celebrate Christmas with my dad, my sisters, their husbands, and their children for the first time in ten years, and no one got sick! 

4. The kids enjoyed having three friends join us as we celebrated Ian's 15th birthday with an overnight trip to Camelback Resort's indoor waterpark. 

5. The kids were able to participate in the Christmas program at Meadowbrook Christian School. 

6. Paul was able to take each of the boys on a date to see a movie. Oliver chose the newest Lord of the Rings movie, and Ian chose the newest Sonic movie. 

7. Nadia, Cheri, and I enjoyed a Christmas concert by Tasha Layton. 

8. Cheri recently purchased a home and some furniture through an auction. She gave Nadia one of the dressers that she didn't have use for. It's gorgeous! I think Nadia now owns the nicest dresser in our house. She needed a second dresser to store her clothes. 

9. Oliver and Xandir enjoyed spending a couple of hours at Kaos at an event for homeschoolers.

10. The Van Horns had us over for dinner on December 22 at their home. 

11. The small group Paul and I have been in on Wednesday nights since September 2023 came to an end recently. Paul and I discussed various options and finally decided that I'd see if I could lead a small group Bible study. Most of the midweek groups resumed yesterday, but our group's start date is January 22 due to skiing yesterday and Ian's surgery next week. I'm enjoying studying Zechariah!

12. The kids enjoyed ice skating with their cousins in Maryland, and Paul took Oliver to a free ice-skating party on December 29.

13. Ian and Nadia enjoyed Freeze winter camp. It was Ian's first time. Nadia really enjoyed working during Blast camp. Next year she plans to work during Freeze and attend Blast. 

14.  Since 2017 we've been taking the kids skiing at least once a year for free through our membership with WVIA. The first three years we skied at Ski Sawmill. In 2020 we took the kids skiing twice as we also went to Elk Mountain for the first time. 2020 ended up being the last time WVIA had a ski day at Ski Sawmill. We receive four free rentals/lift tickets. Sometimes we've invited one of Nadia's friends to use the fourth one. Jill and Julianna both went skiing with us once. This year we invited quite a few different people to use the fourth one, and in the end, it was Nathaniel who said yes. He learned how to ski very quickly! Paul and I played games in the lodge. Nadia and Ian joined us part of the time because it was VERY cold out yesterday. We had dinner at TGI Fridays. It seemed to me that they lowered their prices compared to the last time we were at one of those restaurants which was a pleasant surprise! We hadn't been to one since September 2022. We are hoping to ski one more time this winter with the Towfighis.

55 years old!

The church that we've been going to for 10.5 years has a group that for most of the years we've been attending there was called Best Year's Fellowship. They changed their name a couple of years ago to Classics. The minimum age requirement for joining the group is 55. Our kids have been frequently reminding Paul how many years he had until he qualified to join the group. We became eligible this fall because they let you join a few months before your 55th birthday. Most of the people our age don't have kids as young as we do so we're going to hold off on joining the group albeit almost all of the people in our Sunday School class are in the Classics. The age when you are eligible for a senior discount varies from place to place, but the lowest minimum age I've seen for a senior discount is 55 so Paul will begin to be eligible for a senior discount from time to time. One disadvantage to turning 55 is the amount we pay each month for our medical sharing program is dependent on the size of our family AND the age of the oldest member. Our premium has gone up this month because the price for 55+ is higher than what we've been paying. Paul and I started dating shortly after he turned 27, so we've been together for more than half of his life. Paul says he didn't feel old when he turned 50, but he thinks 55 is another story. Maybe it's because now he's closer to 60 years old than 50 years old? Praying that God will give him good health for many years to come! 

To celebrate his birthday, I tried to serve some of his favorite foods this week. I got a pizza from Aldi yesterday. I had a taco salad instead. All four of us had Georgian egg and cheese bread on Wednesday night, which Paul likes just as much as pizza (which is a high compliment as he would happily eat pizza every single day for weeks on end). Oliver and Ian each made him a birthday card. Oliver bought him some Twizzlers and peanut butter cups at Surplus Outlet. I gave him the option of choosing the menu or picking a restaurant for his birthday dinner. He chose to eat at Texas Roadhouse. We picked Nadia up from Camp Susque a little after 3:00 before heading to the restaurant. Nadia tried something different (salad), but the rest of us got what we usually do at that restaurant - chicken tenders kid's meal (Ian), macaroni and cheese kid's meal (Oliver), steak (Paul), and sweet potato (me). We all love their rolls! Paul also loves that they give out bags of peanuts that you can take home. It was his turn to pick what we did for a family fun night tonight, and he chose watching one of the Mission Impossible movies. Finally, we picked up donuts to have for breakfast tomorrow morning. 

Paul has had a cough for four months. He went to the doctor for it in November. The medications he took at that time did bring about significant improvement for a time, but it never completely went away and flared back up again in December. He went back to the doctor on Monday night. The doctor gave him a different medication to try, and he had another chest x-ray. We're assuming it was normal because they didn't call him with the results. His lab results weren't good in terms of his triglycerides, good cholesterol, or bad cholesterol. I'm hoping those numbers improve before his next physical, and we're praying that his cough will totally go away as soon as possible! 

2025 first-time experiences

For many years I used to post a list of goals at the start of the year. Lately, I've switched to posting a bucket list for the year that I modify throughout the year. Last year, we logged 138 first time experiences. Below is the current list of places I think we might visit, movies we might see, concerts we might attend, etc. for the first time over the next year. I'm sure things will be added and deleted throughout the year. That's not to say that we don't have goals that we're working toward or in some cases habits we've formed that we want to maintain. For example, I'm thankful we've finally gotten in the habit of having one family fun night a week (when the schedule permits). We're still working to visit all 50 states (48 so far), all Canadian provinces (1 so far), 40 zoos/aquariums (38 so far), 200 National Park sites (158 so far), and six continents (kids have been to 2 and Paul and I have been to 4 so far). One goal we achieved in the past year was that we visited our 30th amusement park. We have plans to visit two amusement parks we haven't been to previously in Texas in 2025 and one in Ohio in 2026. 

I realize I do more planning than the typical person, but I find there are many opportunities for planning as a homeschool mom - what meals we'll have each week, lesson planning for my kids and for our co-op, planning vacations, preparing for my upcoming small group Bible study, and planning field trips and various other outings (movies, concerts, etc.). Life certainly doesn't always go as planned, and ever since 2020 I've done fairly well with handling those types of curve balls, but I think there are many things that do happen which wouldn't have if we didn't make the effort to make these types of plans. Planning farther in advance gives me more time to do research and tweak the plans many times along the way. For example, in the last few days I've begun to research a trip to Eastern Canada for August 2026. I enjoy learning more about other places, and I can refine the tentative plans over the coming months. I can't believe Nadia will probably be living in Virginia when we go on that trip. It will probably be the first family vacation that she'll miss out on. We're hoping she can join us for one trip a year while she's in college. Time flies!!!

1. See The Wild Robot on DVD - Done!
2. Nadia works at Blast winter camp at Camp Susque - Done!
3. See All Creatures Great and Small season 5 on PBS app - Done!
4. See White Bird on DVD - Done!
5. Cairn University computer science day - Done!
6. See Wrinkle in Time by Riverstage- Done!
7. See Wicked on DVD - Done!
8. See Moana 2 on Disney+ - done!
9. See Homestead on the Angel app - done!
10. Go skiing at Montage Mountain - done!
11. Nadia takes the SAT - done!
12. All three kids in three performances of Wizard of Oz - done!
13. Nadia attends a Prom - done!
14. See Paddington in Peru - done!
15. All three kids in the spring program at MCS - done!
16. Music Instrument Museum - done!
17. Casa Grande National Monument - done!
18. Saguaro National Park - done!
19. Chiricahua National Monument - done!
20. Arizona Sonora Desert Museum - done!
21. White Sands National Park - done!
22. Guadelupe Mountains National Park - done!
23. Carlsbad Caverns National Park- done!
24. Perot Museum of Nature and Science- done!
25. Fort Worth Zoo- done!
26. Dallas Arboretum- done!
27. Fort Worth Stockyards- done!
28. Six Flags Fiesta- done!
29. Six Flags over Texas- done!
30. Sixth Floor Museum - done!
31. San Antonio Missions - done!
32. Alamo- done!
33. See the bats at Bracken Cave- done!
34. Riverwalk boat cruise- done!
35. Padre Island National Seashore- done!
36. Texas State Aquarium- done!
37. USS Lexington- done!
38. Houston Space Center- done!
39. San Jacinto State Historical Park- done!
40. Big Thicket National Park - done!
41. Vermilionville - done!
42. Eat at Bon Temps Grill- done!
43. Tabasco Factory Tour- done!
44. Laura Plantation tour- done!
45. Honey Island Swamp Tour - done!
46. Jean Lafitte National Historical Park- done!
47. Saint Louis Cathedral- done!
48. Eat at Cafe Beignet- done!
49. National WWII Museum- done!
50. Audubon Zoo- done!
51. Eat at Dat Dog- done!
52. Eat at Parkway Bakery and Tavern- done!
53. See the musical Into the Woods- done!
54. See a performance of The Play That Goes Wrong - done!
55. Nadia is a camp counselor at Camp Susque - done!
56. See the movie Rule Breakers on the Angel app - done!
57. Nadia learns how to parallel park
58. See The Chosen season 5 on the app - done!
59. Oliver, Ian, and Xandir spend a week at Camp Susque - done!
60. Paul and I take lessons in salsa and merengue - done!
61. Lanikai Pillbox trail - done!
62. Kailua Beach - done!
63. Nuuanu Pali Lookout - done!
64. National Memorial Cemetery - done!
65. Parasailing - done!
66. Manoa Falls - done!
67. Tantalus lookout - done!
68. Swim with dolphins - done!
69. Eat at Ray's Cafe- done!
70. Eat at Rainbow Drive-In - done!
71. Eat Coco Puffs at Liliha Bakery - done!
72. Eat at Steak Shack - done!
73. Eat Malasladas from Leonard's Bakery - done!
74. Diamond Head monument - done!
75. Punalu'u Black Sand Beach - done!
76. Makapu'u Point Lighthouse - done!
77. Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park - done!
78. Eat at Punalu'u Bake Shop - done!
79. Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum - done!
80. USS Arizona Memorial - done!
81. Ford Island bus tour - done!
82. Rainbow Falls - done!
83. Surfing lesson - done!
84. Iolani Palace - done!
85. Eat at Tex Drive In - done!
86. Waipi'o Valley Lookout - done!
87. Kua Bay Beach - done!
88. Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden - done!
89. Eat at Patricio's Mexican Taqueria - done!
90. Sea Horse Farm - done!
91. Lavaloha Chocolate Farm - done!
92. Drive along the Hamakua Coast with a stop at Akaka falls - done!
93. Pu'ukohola Heiau NHS - done!
94. Hapuna Beach - done!
95. Eat at Ultimate Burger - done!
96. Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park - done!
97. Snorkel with manta rays at night - done!
98. Greenwell Farms coffee tour - done!
99. Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park - done!
100. Eat at Manago hotel restaurant - done!
101. Eat at Manuela Malaslada - done!
102. Eat at L&L Hawaiian Barbecue - done!
103. Snorkeling at Honaunua Bay - done!
104. Snorkeling at Kahalu'u Beach Park- done!
105. Eat at Laverne's Big Island Ale House - done!
106. Kahekili Beach Park- done!
107. Vanillerie  - done!
108. Kona Sea Salt tour - done!
109. Eat at Island Cream Co. - done!
110. Black Rock Beach - done!
111. Ho'okipa Beach- done!
112. Eat shave ice - done!
113. Kua Cove Beach- done!
114. Ku'au Beach - done!
115. Napili Beach- done!
116. D. T. Fleming beach - done!
117. Kapalua Beach- done!
118. Haleakalā National Park- done!
119. See a performance of A Tale of Two Cities by Servant Stage - done!
120. Nadia gets her driver's license - done!
121. Ian takes the PSAT - done!
122. Paul and I take intermediate East Coast Swing lessons - done!
123. See a performance of Arsenic and Old Lace - done!

2024 by the Numbers

1 - We went horseback riding once (Ecuador), ziplining once (Alaska), and canyoning once (Ecuador). Ian was on our church's top Bible quizzing team this year, and they won the national competition. Nadia and Ian participated in their first musical (Seussical) at Meadowbrook Christian School. Almost the entire year we have only had one guinea pig (Lily) as Peppa passed away very early in the year. I organized one field trip for homeschoolers this year - to a nuclear reactor at PSU.

2 - We went white water rafting twice (Ecuador and Alaska). Also, Ian played piano with the youth worship team on Wednesday night twice this year, and he performed in two piano recitals this year. Nadia and Ian sang in two programs at Meadowbrook Christian School (once for Oliver). The kids attended two roller skating parties at Trout Pond Park this year. We visited two waterparks this year - Montage Mountain (outdoors) and Camelback (indoors). 

3 = the number of (private) ice skating lessons the kids had this year. I hosted three game days at our home for homeschoolers. We saw three Broadway quality shows - Daniel at Sight and Sound and Prince Caspian and Pilgrim's Progress at the Museum of the Bible.

4 - Milo turned four in September. Since we visited Ecuador in February, Paul and I have now been to four continents (for the kids it was their 2nd continent).  Nadia was the captain of our church's "B" quizzing team this year, and they came in fourth place at the national competition in New York. Not counting relatives, we had friends come over for dinner only four times this year, which was less than the past two years. Paul and I attended four lessons of Intermediate Cha Cha. 

5 = the number of guitar lessons Nadia had this year. We visited five amusement parks this year Knoebels, Hersheypark, Kings Dominion, Canada's Wonderland, and Busch Gardens. Ian saw five specialists this year - two pulmonologists, two ENTs, and one cardiologist. These resulted in a diagnosis of sleep apnea and the scheduling of a surgery on his nose. 

6 - Nadia completed six college courses this year - three through Grand Canyon University and three through Liberty University. She has earned a grand total of 27 credits over the past 15 months. 

7 = the number of books Ian read this year. Sadly, the number keeps decreasing.

8 = the number of voice lessons Nadia had this year. We also visited 8 new zoos/aquariums this year, which brings our grand total to 38. 

9 = the number of days Nadia has worked at Warrior Run Petcare since she started that new job on November 8. 

10 = the number of books Nadia read this year. Sadly, the number keeps decreasing. Milo had his annual physical this week. He weighed exactly the same as he did last year - 10.4 pounds.

11 - Some members of our family saw 11 different movies at AMC this year. Some of these we saw as a family, and some of them only a couple of us went to see the movie. The first one Nadia, Cheri, and I saw this year was Cabrini (in March) and the most recent time was when Ian and Paul saw the new Sonic movie on December 21. 

12 - Oliver turned 12 in August. Nadia's current salary is $12/hour. 

13 = the number of kids who attended Oliver's 12th birthday party which featured playing bubble ball and glow-in-the- dark dodgeball at our church. 

15 - Ian turned 15 earlier this month.

16 - Nadia turned 16 in June. 

17 - The kids each earned 17 Junior Ranger badges this year bringing their totals to 217 (Nadia), 219 (Ian), and 203 (Oliver). Oliver read 17 books this year. After being on Facebook for 17+ years, I deleted my account in October.

18 = the number of days we hosted the homeschool co-op in our home this year.

22 = the number of days the boys both spent time at a camp this summer - 6 at overnight camp at PMBC with Xandir, 4 at a manufacturing camp, 5 at a theatre workshop, 2 at an overnight youth retreat at Camp Susque, and 5 at a Stronghold camp with some of their cousins. Ian spent an additional three days at Camp Susque for winter camp. It was his first time attending a winter camp, and he loved it! 

23 - Paul and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary in August.

28 = the number of days Nadia worked at Camp Susque this year. She's actually there working there right now (from Dec 31- Jan 3). She also spent an additional five days there with as a camper or on a retreat. We visited 28 National Park sites this year bringing our grand total to 158. 

41 = the number of piano lessons Ian had with Mrs. DeVito this year.

48 - This year we saw the license plates for 48 of 50 states (plus DC and several Canadian provinces). The states we never spotted were Hawaii and New Mexico. Last year the only state we didn't find was Wyoming, and in 2022 we didn't see North Dakota or Hawaii. We found all of the license plates in 2021. This year we visited our 48th state - Alaska.

49 = the number of books I read or listened to independently. This number was down from previous years primarily because Paul joined me for far more walks which meant I wasn't listening to an audiobook while walking Milo. 

51 = the number of field trips the kids went on this year.

52 - I turned 52 in April.

54 - Paul turned 54 in January.

58 = the number of posts I wrote this year, which was almost identical to how many I wrote in 2023.

65 - Nadia logged 65 hours driving on her learner's permit. 

83 = the number of books we listened to together or I read aloud. This was down from 94 last year, but this year one series we listened to was Keeper of the Lost Cities, and those books are LONG (one of the books was more than 24 hours long). 

1,246 - In October I achieved a 1,246-day streak on Duolingo. For 169 of those weeks, I had been in the diamond league. I was unimpressed with the daily refresh material available upon completing the Spanish course, so I deleted the app from my phone and my streak came to an end. 

12,836 = the number of steps I averaged a day this year (a little less than last year)

$18,158 - the amount of money we received back from the insurance company to pay for my ankle surgery in 2021

Merry Christmas!

We began our Christmas celebrations on December 8 when Al & Millie came up to our house; we put up our Christmas tree and decorations a day or two prior to that. We didn't see them at all in 2022. In 2023 and 2024 we saw them one time a year - both times on a Sunday afternoon in December at our house. The kids attended a homeschool Christmas party at the roller-skating rink on December 11, a youth group Christmas party that same night at church and sang in a Christmas program at MCS on December 12. Nadia and I attended a Christmas concert with Cheri on December 13, and our family attended a Christmas concert at our church on December 14. We decided to skip going to MCS on December 18-19, which meant I was able to take Oliver and Xandir to Kaos for two hours on December 18. Originally, we planned to celebrate Paul's dad's 83rd birthday on December 20, but due to the snow that day we postponed it to December 23, which is when the kids also received their Christmas gifts from him. We miss not being able to see Ellie. On December 24 we gave the kids their Christmas gifts and attended one of our church's Christmas eve services.

On December 25 we drove to Maryland; including one brief stop it only took us 3 hours and 10 minutes, which was shorter than usual. Nadia drove the first hour, and Paul drove the rest of the way because I was holding Milo the whole time. In 2022 and 2023 we brought him to Virginia and Chicago. This was his first trip to Maryland. We had to keep him on a leash most of the time for a variety of reasons including the fact that their cat, Skittles, was not a fan of Milo. It was the first time in ten years that we all celebrated Christmas together. The number of people (23) was identical to how many were gathered together in 2014. We lost two (Maurice and mom) and gained two nephews (Wesley and Brendan). The last time we were together for Christmas Micah was the youngest (3 months old) and Jenna was 12. Since the kids are older this time around, Jenna's boyfriend, Toby, and Joshua's girlfriend, Esther, also spent some time with us. This time the youngest is Brendan (8 months old) and Jenna is 22. A photo canvas in my home is from that Christmas. The photo is of Jenna, my mom, and Maurice. Jenna is the only one still alive ten years later. I miss Maurice and mom very much. Ten years ago, Oliver became very sick while we were in Maryland, and we had to cut the visit short earlier than planned to take him to the hospital in Pennsylvania. I'm thankful he's outgrown his premature lungs.  Now that the Towfighis are living in Maryland, I doubt I'll ever host the large family gathering again at Christmas as I don't think our house is big enough for 23 people, and that number will likely grow as our nieces and nephews begin to get married and have kids. Activities included playing many games, jumping on the trampoline, playing pickleball, watching The Secret Life of Pets, opening gifts, and going ice skating. Nadia and Rachel continued their tradition of making a mystery dessert. They went a more conservative route in selecting the ingredients, and the cupcakes were delicious! Their sleepover was different as they didn't create a detailed schedule, and Susie and Andrew joined them. We wrapped up our Christmas celebrations today when Paul took Oliver to a free Christmas party at the ice-skating rink in Sunbury. I'm not sure if we'll go to the free ice-skating party on Tuesday, but if we do, Oliver will have been ice skating three times within five days!

We left the Towfighi's house after lunch on Saturday, ate dinner, and then I drove Nadia and Ian to Camp Susque where they will be attending Winter Camp for high schoolers from Dec 28-31. This will be Nadia's last year attending Freeze Camp because after you serve as a counselor (which she plans to do in the summer of 2025), then they have you attend Blast Camp (college/young adults) even if you're a senior in high school. Ian hasn't ever attended a winter camp. I signed him up without asking him if he wanted to this time because I knew it would be the only year he could attend with Nadia. I'll give him a choice in the future. I'll pick Ian up at 11:30 on December 31, but we won't pick Nadia up until January 3 as she's working as a member of support staff for Blast Camp. She'll be cooking meals, doing dishes, and cleaning. Normally we resume our schoolwork on January 2, but due to Nadia being at Camp Susque, we won't resume until January 6. From December 21-January 17 the kids will end up having a whopping 8 days of school due to Christmas break, skiing at Elk Mountain on January 8, and Ian's surgery on January 15. Our second marking period will end on January 17. Our co-op won't resume until February 4. 

16.5 years old!

Six months from today Nadia will turn seventeen years old! Here are some ways that she changed over the past six months.

1. She quit practicing the guitar, so I ended her lessons. She has sporadically been practicing the piano. 
2. She had voice lessons for two months this fall. Due to the fact she is only in the ensemble of The Wizard of Oz and didn't make it into the district choir, she stopped taking voice lessons. 
3. She visited Alaska for the first time, which was her 48th state!
4. She completed three classes through Liberty University this fall (7 credits) - Old Testament Survey, Evangelism, and 20th-21st Century Art. She earned 3 A's. Altogether she's earned 27 credits so far. 
5. She worked at Camp Susque for four weeks. She is scheduled to work during their Blast winter camp from December 31-January 3, and she has applied to be a counselor there next summer. She received a care package in the mail from Camp Susque earlier this month that included some snacks and a book by Paul David Tripp.
6. She has begun working at Warrior Run Petcare. Sometimes she works there from 4-6pm, and other days she works from 7:30-noon. She enjoys her job working with dogs! Her boss gave her a very nice gift bag last week that contained super comfy socks, a $100 gift card to Amazon, hot chocolate, chocolates, lip balm, and a mug that looks like a dog. 
7. She has had her learner's permit for almost exactly six months! She has completed the 10 hours of driving at night as well as the requirement to drive for at least 65 hours altogether. She thinks she'll try to get her license at the end of January. She needs to learn how to parallel park before then.
8. She's been studying chemistry. It's not her favorite subject, but she has to take chemistry in college so hopefully this will prove helpful in the future. She's completed 7 out of 16 chapters so far.
9. She's been completing Pre-Calculus through Teaching Textbooks. It's also not her favorite subject, but she has to take Calculus at Liberty in the future. She's looking forward to not having a math class next school year! 
10. We had her first official college visit at Liberty University when we attended College for a Weekend. While there we submitted the only college application that she plans to submit to begin as a residential student at LU in August 2026. She won't find out if she's been accepted until after we submit her HS transcript in May 2025. 
11. She's begun preparing to take the SAT in March. Her goal is to do well enough that she won't have to take another math class at LU prior to taking Calculus. 

Fifteen years old!

Ian Alexander joined our family fifteen years ago! We began his birthday celebration on December 8. Uncle Al, Aunt Millie, and PopPop came up after church. I served shrimp, pot roast, breadsticks, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and vegetables. Al and Millie brought cookies and a birthday cake for Ian/ PopPop which had a photo of JoJo and some gummies that looked like Legos. Ian received his birthday and Christmas gift from Al and Millie that day, and I also let him open the birthday card from Grandpa. We all played Wits and Wagers and then the kids plus Uncle Al and Paul played some Jackbox games while I did the dishes.

Usually, we don't do schoolwork on Ian's birthday, but this year we didn't do schoolwork on December 9-11 and did do it on his actual birthday. On December 9 Xandir, Julianna, and Nathaniel joined us at Camelback resort in the Poconos. We left our home around 11:00 and arrived at the resort around 12:30. After we checked in, the kids enjoyed the water park for about 3.5 hours. We've been to Great Wolf Lodge many times. Last year we tried Kalahari, and next year we're letting Nadia pick which indoor water park she wants us to visit. The Bobinis family had spoken highly of Camelback last year. On Monday we had dinner at Red Robin. I was impressed that (before tip) the total for six kids' meals and two adult meals plus one soda for $75. The kids enjoyed the fact that many of the things that were served were bottomless. The room we stayed in had two bunk beds (four boys), a king size bed (Paul and I), and a queen size sofa bed (Nadia and Julianna). Five of the kids played Phase 10. We had breakfast sandwiches and donuts at Dunkin Donuts the next morning. The kids were in the water park for almost 7 hours on Tuesday. Paul and I participated a little. We went to a pizza place for dinner before driving home. The next day the kids went to a homeschool roller skating party from 10-12, had lunch at home, and then were at church from 1:15-8:00 for art, chorus, Bible bowl, and a youth group Christmas party. 

Paul's dad came up to our home on Ian's birthday. He played chess with Ian before dinner. I served PopPop beef stew, and the rest of us had Georgian egg and cheese bread, which was Ian's request. The kids sang in the Christmas program at Meadowbrook Christian School that night. The middle school/ high school chorus sang five songs. Their least favorite was O Come All Ye Faithful because they sang it in Latin. The birthday gifts Ian received over the course of the week included money, Sonic game for the Nintendo Switch, Legos, Phase 10, Super Mario book, Sonic comic books for the Kindle, and a laptop. I think he had a good birthday! We love him SO much and are so glad he's part of our family! Below here are some ways he changed over the last six months. 

1. Ian's voice finished changing.
2. He was on the A team at Nationals in June. Their team won first place. Ian came in 8th place both in the written and individual competitions. Unfortunately, he hasn't gotten off to a good start this year. Hopefully he will put a lot more time into studying Luke over the next six months.
3. Ian has been assigned the roles of a crow and Nikko (head of the flying monkeys) in The Wizard of Oz. 
4. In school he's studying English, Geometry, Chemistry and modern history (1707 to the present).
5. This fall he's read Uncle Tom's Cabin. The Two Towers, and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for English. He's currently reading To Kill a Mockingbird. 
6. He was diagnosed with a mild case of sleep apnea after having a sleep study done in Hershey.
7. He's scheduled to have a septoplasty in Mechanicsburg next month.
8. He visited Alaska, which was his 48th state. 
9. He now has braces on his bottom jaw and has rubber bands that are used to connect his two jaws when he's not eating. 
10. The transition to high school has NOT gone smoothly for him. He's temporarily lost the privilege of having a cell phone until he gets caught up with his schoolwork. 
11. His closest friends at the moment are Xandir, Ben, Nathaniel, and his cousin, Joel. 
12. I never have to remind him to practice the piano. In fact, sometimes I actually ask him to stop practicing so that he can get other work done. 
13. He has been waiting SO long to see the new Sonic movie that he plans to see at the theater with Paul next week.