Bridal Shower

 

Jenna with her three aunts at her bridal shower

1. My niece, Jenna, is getting married on February 7. I won't have trouble remembering the date of her anniversary because Paul and I met on February 7, 1997, and we started dating a few weeks later. She had a surprise bridal shower on January 2. Her mom, aunts, and Toby's mom hosted a shower for her yesterday at Toby's parents' house. At one point I wasn't sure if Nadia and I would be able to attend, but thankfully, we were able to drive down, attend the shower, and drive back home before it started snowing. I purchased the favors for the shower, took photos, and planned the three games that we played. Jenna wore a white dress and her very cute white boots that she will be wearing at the wedding. It was Nadia's first bridal shower. 

Here are some other things I'm thankful for today:

2. The window above our kitchen sink has been broken since 2018. Since it's a Pella window, it cannot be repaired. We have gotten estimates twice over the last several years for replacing it. The most recent estimate by Window World was far more reasonable than the first estimate we had several years ago. We decided to take the plunge, and on Friday we put down 50% toward replacing one window plus our sliding glass door. Thankfully, the salesman honored the quote we were given last May despite the fact the price of the door went up $800 over the last 8 months. 

3. I enjoyed taking my friend, Cheri, out for lunch on Thursday to celebrate her 69th birthday. 

4. When the boys had an orthodontist appointment last week, I visited the library that is across the street from the orthodontist. I discovered that you could check out board games! I checked out Blank Slate. We played it at co-op last week, and we've played it twice as a family over the last week. 

Jenna with Toby's Grandma and two of his sisters

5. I'm not a fan of cold weather. The last four years I walked outside almost every day no matter what the temperature was. A couple of months ago I decided to switch to exercising on the elliptical in our basement. When the weather is nicer, I definitely prefer being outside in the fresh air as I enjoy seeing plants, animals, and the sky, but I am very grateful we own an elliptical. We purchased it in 2016, but I haven't used it that much over the years. I don't go as many miles, but my heart rate is elevated far more as I can up the incline and the resistance level. I've gotten my time for completing 2 miles under 30 minutes, which is a big improvement for me. I know for some that would still be a snail's pace, but I'm pleased with my progress.

6. Paul and I were able to attend an 80th birthday party for a woman in our Sunday School class last Sunday afternoon. 

7. Our church cancelled the in-person service today. Thankfully, they had recorded a service on Wednesday night that they streamed today. So far, we've gotten 14 inches of snow today. As an added bonus, our former senior pastor (who retired in 2021) preached the sermon. I miss him!

8. A few weeks ago, Ian asked if he could start cooking a meal every Saturday. I was thrilled that he took the initiative with that. Since I was gone most of the day yesterday, Ian (and I) cooked our dinner tonight. I'm hoping we make this a habit so that by the time he graduates from high school he will know how to cook a variety of dishes. Nadia makes the majority of the desserts we consume. She made a delicious peanut butter pie today. Yum!

Thankful Thursday

1. The kids were able to participate in a Bible quizzing competition that our church hosted on January 9-10. Ironically the teams closest to us (also in Pennsylvania) didn't come, but some teams from two different churches in Indiana participated. Ian's team came in second place, and he also tied for fourth place in the individual part of the competition. I served as an official from 6-10 pm on Friday night and from about 9-4 on Saturday. I'm thankful the kids can participate in this program, and I'm praying that all three of them will put more time into studying I & II Corinthians over the next five months. 

2. While I was serving as an official, Paul took the van for an oil change and tire rotation. Typically, I'm the one who takes our vehicles for all their appointments, so I was happy to relinquish that duty this time around. Unfortunately, I forgot to give him a coupon he could have used at the appointment. 😞It was possible for us to be doing two things at the same time because we are back to owning two cars for which I am very thankful.

3. On Sunday afternoon Nadia, Abby, and her older brother went ice skating.

Nadia made this in art class at MCS - Lion Witch and the Wardrobe inspired

4. There are two shows that I look forward to watching the new episodes each year - All Creatures Great and Small on PBS and The Chosen. The newest season of All Creatures was released on January 11. Paul and I have watched three episodes together so far, which are sort of like little dates. I had planned for us to attend a ballroom dance at a Methodist Church on Saturday night, but Paul wanted to work on spackling in the kitchen. Hopefully, we'll make it to the next dance I have on our calenda (March 7). Wendy got me my first pair of ballroom dancing shoes for Christmas, and I want to try them out! My first ballroom dancing lesson was on January 31, 1997. It's about time I actually own the correct shoes 🤣. I've read or listened to quite a few of James Herriot's books. I'm not sure how many seasons PBS will make of the show, but they have no lack of material to use from his many books! 

5. Nadia drove the Subaru for the first time on January 10 while I was in the vehicle. She began driving herself to work and herself plus her brothers to church for art class, Little Mermaid rehearsals, and youth group starting on January 12. Thankfully, all has gone well so far. I don't take that for granted. I also appreciate a temporary reduction in the amount of chauffeuring. Ian plans to get his learner's permit this summer, but for the next about four months I shouldn't need to drive as much as I usually do. 

6. Ian's piano teacher was flexible and allowed us to move Ian's piano lesson from Friday to Tuesday so she could help him prepare for being part of the youth worship team on Wednesday night. In addition to working on his recital piece by Rachmaninoff, he also has begun working on one by Bach.

 7. Paul and I joined a new small group on Wednesday nights. We are discussing the book Hearing God by Dallas Willard. 

8. Our co-op resumed on Tuesday. We have 16 students participating this session as Ben has moved to New York and two girls have left our co-op to join one that just started this month. This session will be much easier for me as another mom is teaching art, Paul is doing chess and physics, and one of the students in the co-op is teaching ASL. I created the lesson plans for the ASL class, but the only things I am teaching are photography and book groups. In art the students studied some of Grandma Moses' artwork and then began drawing a sketch of a project they will be painting with watercolors. Some weeks I might be babysitting the art teacher's three youngest children for 90 minutes, but this week she didn't need to bring them along. Each week I have two different students choose what games are played from 12:30-1:30. This week Julianna chose Dutch Blitz and Lydia chose Jackbox Games. 

9. I'm continuing to make progress with planning our vacation to Europe, which is only four months away. We have our rental cars, lodging, and airfare. I've booked a few of the activities. Would you believe the time slot I had originally chosen for touring Jane Austen's house was already booked? For many of the attractions it's still too soon to book the tickets. Unfortunately, the Palace of Holyroodhouse will be closed on the days we will be in Edinburgh, but so far that's the only thing I've had to completely scratch from the itinerary. 

10. For most of the day yesterday I was unable to make or receive phone calls due to a problem Verizon was having. Thankfully, Nadia's and Paul's phones were not impacted so I was able to use their phones to make a few phone calls. Today I found out Verizon is giving me a $20 credit on our next bill due to the inconvenience.

11. I recently listened to The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge. I did so because he's one of Paul's favorite presidents. I didn't know that much about him prior to listening to this book. I agree with Paul's assessment. I wonder if we'll ever have a president like him again. I am not at all happy with our current president, but I rest in the knowledge that God is in control. I am thankful that over the years *some* of our presidents have been excellent albeit it's been a while since we've had one I'd put in that category. 

7th trip to Elk Mountain

The first time my kids went skiing was in February 2017 when my dad and I took Nadia and Ian to Ski Sawmill. We could have also gone skiing for free at Elk Mountain that year, but we didn't begin taking our kids to Elk Mountain until January 2020. Ironically, February 2020 ended up being the last time that WVIA offered a free ski day at Ski Sawmill. Our kids have been skiing 4 times at Ski Sawmill, 7 times at Elk Mountain, and 1 time at Montage. I'm planning to take my three plus Nathaniel skiing at Montage again next month. The last time I went skiing was on January 19, 2021. I broke my ankle later that year and decided to retire from skiing and ice skating due to the plate that is now in my leg. We get four free passes through WVIA which we had been using for 3 kids plus 1 parent, but the last four years we've been inviting a friend to use the fourth pass. Jill, Nathaniel, and Julianna all went skiing with us in the past. Of those three kids, Nathaniel definitely seemed to enjoy it the most. We had invited him to join us again this year, but he is on a mission trip in Honduras with his church this week. He plans to join us at Montage next month. When we found out Nathaniel couldn't come to Elk Mountain, we invited Nadia's friend, Abby, instead. She took to skiing like a fish to water! Maybe she will also join us at Montage next month? 

Here are some things I am thankful for today:

1. Paul's dad was able to spend several hours with us on December 19 to celebrate his 84th birthday and Christmas. 

2. The five of us were able to help with packing meals for a food distribution our church did on December 20.

3. Although it was hard to drop Milo off at the kennel, I was very grateful to learn on our return that we would get a 50% discount due to the fact Nadia works there. 

4. The kids had a blast spending time with their cousins while we were in Chicago from December 22-27. We were also grateful that the Benners were willing to host the large group and that we didn't encounter and snow or ice while driving there and back. They played a lot of games, went bowling, (outdoor) ice skating, and (indoor) rock climbing.

5. Nadia and Ian enjoyed their time at winter camp at Camp Susque. Nadia was able to go sledding and also do some ice skating while she was up there. 

6. We celebrated Paul's 56th birthday on January 3 by having dinner at Texas Roadhouse. 

7. I found out on January 2 that Liberty expects the fall 2026 semester bill to paid in January. That totally caught me by surprise. My maternal grandpa paid for all twelve of his grandkids to go to college, and his money is now being used to pay for all of his great grandchildren to go to college, which is utterly amazing to me. I've been the one helping with the paperwork of getting the bills paid for my nieces and nephews, so I know from experience that most universities expect to be paid in August or September. Nadia's roommate paid her bill on January 2 so she was able to request a room in the dorm they had selected, and she indicated that she wanted Nadia to be her roommate even though Nadia can't accept that request until the bill is paid. The girls found each other through the Bunky app. Thankfully, the trust issued a check to Liberty this week which means in the near future Nadia will be able to request her dorm and roommate. It also means she can take her technology and math assessments over the next couple of months as those need to be completed before she registers for classes in early April. Thank you, grandpa!!! Nadia and her roommate (Carolina) have been making various plans including picking out a rug for their room, comforters for their beds, etc. There will be a total of seven girls in their suite, and they have picked two of their five suitemates so far. I hope the girls have a wonderful year together! 

8. Nadia is starting a weekly Bible study with a friend (in our town) who is also going to Liberty next fall. She also has a friend from church who is going to Liberty next fall so we have carpooling possibilities. 

9. Oliver enjoyed roller skating at Faith's birthday party on December 30. Nadia and Ian weren't able to attend due to being at Camp Susque. 

10. Paul had bloodwork done at the end of December, and his cholesterol had dropped some from last year. PTL!

11. Everything went smoothly with our skiing trip yesterday. Milo was very glad that Paul stayed at home. We stopped a Red Robin on the way home for dinner. I had received a $75 gift card to Red Robin from the co-op parents in November. Because it was the first Wednesday of the month, Ian and Oliver's meals were free, and they also each received a free ice cream sundae! This meant that even including the tip, we didn't use the full value of the gift card yet, which was great considering five people ate at a sit-down restaurant. 

12. We test drove a 2022 Subaru Impreza on Tuesday and paid a down payment on it. We hope to complete the purchase today. Paul's car was totaled a little over two months ago, so we are very grateful for the prospect of having two cars and are praying that we won't need to buy another car for the foreseeable future. At least this car is NOT gray (for a while both our minivan and Paul's Mazda were the same ugly gray). This car is red. It already has a lot of miles on it, but we only plan to use this car for short drives so we're hoping it will last for several years despite how many miles the first owner put on it in a short time span. I'm looking forward to a little break in the amount of chauffeuring due to Nadia being able to drive herself to work, take herself and her brothers to art and Little Mermaid rehearsals, etc.  

13. When the kids were little, I remember how Paul would laugh and laugh when I'd read a Ramona the Pest book aloud. We have discovered another author (Gordon Korman) who makes us all laugh, and his books are more geared for teenagers than the Ramona books. He's written over 100 books, so I doubt we'll read/listen to all of them, but we've enjoyed the seven we've finished so far. I think my top three so far (in no particular order) would be The Unteachables, Old School, and Slugfest. I used to read aloud to my middle schoolers in the early 90's. I'm confident my students would have adored his books if they existed back then. I'm glad we found another author we really enjoy! 

2026 first time experiences

Nadia and her friend, Abby

I used to post goals on January 1 on my blog, but in 2022 I started the tradition of posting a bucket list of sorts for the year by posting a list of first-time experiences. I modify the list throughout the year by adding things as well as deleting others, and I mark them off when they are accomplished. Last year's list ended up containing 123 experiences in the end. Two got deleted last week when we didn't go to the Art Institute or Indiana Dunes National Park. The majority of the items on the list are usually things we will see and do on one of our vacations. 

1. Take Abby with us when we ski at Elk Mountain - Done!
2. Watch season 6 of All Creatures Great and Small on PBS - Done!
3. See Riverdance performance at CAC - Done!
4. Ian and Paul attend a concert by the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra - Done!
5. Ian and I attend a reception at the Lycoming College Art Gallery - Done!
6. Tour the Pennsylvania Capitol and the Pennsylvania National Fire Museum - Done!
7. See Joshua at Sight and Sound  - Done!
8. See the movie A Great Awakening  - Done!
9. All three kids participate in The Little Mermaid musical at MCS - Done!
10. Ian gets his first job - done!
11. Have Nadia's graduation party at Trout Pond Park - done!
12. See the play It Runs in the Family at CWC - done!
13. Tower of London - Done!
14. British Museum - Done!
15. Kensington Palace - Done!
16. Big Ben - Done!
17. Westminster Abbey - Done!
18. Churchill War Rooms - Done!
19. Punt on River Cam - Done!
20. Camera Obscura - Done!
21. St. Giles Cathedral - Done!
22. National Museum of Scotland - Done!
23. Arthur's Seat - Done!
24. Alnwick Castle - Done!
25. John Knox house - Done!
26. Eat at The Piemaker - Done!
27. Kelpies at the Helix - Done!
28. Battle of Bannockburn - Done!
29. Stirling Castle - Done!
30. National Wallace Museum - Done!
31. Riverside Museum - Done!
32. Loch Lommond cruise - Done!
33. See Paddington the Musical - Done!
34. Eilean Donan Castle - Done!
35. Kilt Rock - Done!
36. Quiraing - Done!
37. Titanic Bellfast - Done!
38. C.S. Lewis Square - Done!
39. Gobbins Cliff Path - Done!
40. Blackhead Coastal Path - Done!
41. Carrik a Rede rope bridge - Done!
42. Giant's Causeway - Done!
43. EPIC Irish emigration museum - Done!
44. Eat at Leo Burdock's Fish and Chips- Done!
45. Christ Church Cathedral - Done!
46. Trinity College Book of Kells - Done!
47. Ha'penny bridge - Done!
48. Little Museum of Dublin - Done!
49. Eat at Indulgence Cafe - Done!
50. GPO Museum - Done!
51. Eat at Lemon Jelly Cafe - Done!
52. St. Patrick's Cathedral - Done!
53. Conwy Castle - Done!
54. Caernarfon Castle - Done!
55. Snowdon Mountain Railway - Done!
56. Caerphilly Castle- Done!
57. Jane Austen's House - Done!
58. Buckingham Palace - Done!
59. eat Welsh cakes at Cardiff Market - Done!
60. Cardiff Castle - Done!
61. St. Fagan's National History Museum - Done!
62. Sainte-Chapelle - Done!
63. Notre Dame de Paris - Done!
64. Musee d'Orsay - Done!
65. Eat at Moo Pie Gelato - Done!
66. Eat at Haggis Box - Done!
67. Explore Greyfriars Kirkyard - Done!
68. Eat ice cream at The Rinkha - Done!
69. Eat at Jack's Gelato - Done!
70. Arc de Triomphe - Done!
71. Eiffel Tower - Done!
72. Eat crepes, baguettes, and pain au chocolat in Paris - done!
73. Ride a train from Belfast to Dublin - Done!
74. Eat at Makar's Mash Bar - Done!
75. Ian attends cybersecurity camp at Messiah University - Done!
76. All three kids compete at Nationals at Houghton University - Done!
77. Vanderbilt Mansion* - done!
78. FDR* - done!
79. Eleanor Roosevelt* - done!
80. Saint Croix International* - done!
81. Fundy National Park~ done!
82. Hopewell Rocks - done!
83. Cavendish Beach and Cliffs in Prince Edward Island National Park - done!
84. Green Gables Heritage Place~ done!
85. Eat ice cream from COWS on Prince Edward Island - done!
86. Halifax Public Gardens - done!
87. Go kayaking with seals in Nova Scotia - done!
88. Peggy's Cove - done!
89. Maritime Museum of the Atlantic - done!
90. Halifax Citadel - done!
91. Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site~ done!
92. Walk on the earth's mantle - done!
93. Fortress of Louisbourg - done!
94. Take ferry to and from Labrador - done!
95. Gros Morne National Park~ done!
96. Western Brook Pond boat tour - done!
97. Spillars Cove - done!
98. Dungeon Provincial Park - done!
99. Cape Bonavista Lighthouse - done!
100. Elliston puffin viewing - done!
101. Skerwink Trail - done!
102. Signal Hill National Historic Site~ done!
103. Cape Spear Lighthouse - done!
104. Salem Maritime* - done!
105. Saugus Iron Works* - done!
106. JFK* - done!
107. Nadia moves into a dorm at Liberty University - done!
108. See the elk in Benezette, PA
109. Compass program at Ricketts Glen State Park
110. Kinzua State Park
111. Army Expo in Carlisle
112. Nadia completes her first semester as a resident student at Liberty University
113. Ian gets his learner's permit
114. Watch six episodes of Chosen in the Wild with Bear Grylls
115. Watch six episodes of season 6 of The Chosen

~Denotes a place the kids can earn an Xplorers reward (Canada)

*Denotes a place the kids can earn a Junior Ranger badge

Thankfully, Oliver's cousins were happy to play Monopoly with him

*

2025 by the numbers

My dad with all 16 of his grandchildren

1 - Number of vehicles we currently own. Also, the number of times anyone in our family went to see a movie this year. Nadia, Ian, and I didn't go to a movie theater this year. Oliver and Paul saw one movie together. Ian had one surgery this year (septoplasty). Paul and I attended one of the Classics events at our church, which was a first for us. Nadia attended one prom (which was a new experience for her).

2 - Ian visited two colleges this year - Cairn and Cedarville. He's hoping to attend Cedarville. Nadia has had two jobs this year - working in the kennel that is two miles from our house and working at a Christian camp and retreat center that is 32 miles from our house. The kids went skiing twice this year - once at Elk Mountain and once at Montage Mountain. We had two car accidents this year. A deer ran into our van while I was driving home from church in the spring, and Nadia totaled Paul's car in November while driving to Camp Susque.

3 - Number of people in our household with driver's licenses as of September 26. All three kids performed in a musical together at MCS for the first time. They were in three performances of The Wizard of Oz. We went to three amusement parks this year - Knoebels, Six Flags Fiesta, and Six Flags over Texas. Our family helped out with service projects at our church three times this year - packing meals and packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. We didn't fare well in terms of the goal to have dates with each of the kids. I don't think Ian or Nadia had any dates this year. Oliver had three dates this year - a movie with Paul, a dinner with Paul at Bonanza, and seeing Annie (musical) with me. I taught our Sunday School class three times this year as a substitute. 

4 - We visited four zoos or aquariums this year - two in Texas, one in Louisiana, and one in Arizona. We rented four vehicles - one that we drove from New Orleans to Phoenix, one on Oahu, one on Maui, and one on Hawaii. 

5 - Milo turned five years old in August. We went on five boat trips this year - one in Louisiana, one in Texas, two off of Oahu, and one off of Hawaii. I had five comments on my blog this year, which is far less than I used to get in the early years of this blog (considering I received over 1,800 comments altogether) but also an improvement as I had only 1 comment in 2024 and 0 in 2023.

6 - Number of credits Ian earned through Cedarville University this year. Milo spent six days at the kennel this year. It had been 28 months since he had been in a kennel. I volunteered at Experience Missions six times this year. Some of those times some members of the family joined me. Some people in our family attended six concerts this year. I went to 5 of the 6 (all but Winter Jam). Paul attended 3 of the 6 concerts. My favorite of the year was the Point of Grace concert in December, and Paul's favorite was the concert in Hershey that included TobyMac, Matthew West, and MercyMe. 

8 - Number of states we spent time in this year not counting our home state (Maryland, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Indiana, Hawaii, and Illinois). 

9 - We saw nine plays or musicals this year. Some of them we saw with our whole family (and the Towfighis joined us for two of those), and others only a part of our family attended.

10 - We boarded ten flights this year - 2 to get us to New Orleans, 2 to get home from Phoenix, 2 to get to Honolulu, 1 to Hilo, 1 to Maui, and 2 to get home from Maui.

13 -Oliver turned thirteen in August in Hawaii. Paul and I attended thirteen ballroom dancing lessons this year - 4 in salsa, 2 in merengue, and 7 in intermediate swing.

14 - Ian read fourteen books this year (four for one of his college classes this fall and the other ten for high school English). He asked for specific books for his birthday and Christmas so maybe he'll be reading some books of his own choosing in 2026?

15 - Number of credits Nadia earned through Liberty University this year (Government, Theology, Biblical Worldview, New Testament, Developmental Psychology, and Astronomy). 

16 - Ian turned sixteen in December. The kids each earned sixteen Junior Ranger badges this year.

17 - Nadia turned seventeen in June in Indiana during the Bible quizzing nationals.

19 - Our co-op grew over the course of the year! We had nineteen students participating in the fall session.

21 - We held co-op at our house on twenty-one Tuesdays this year.

23 - Number of family who were together for Christmas at Wendy's house in Chicago. 

24 - We celebrated our 24th anniversary in August in Hawaii. Nadia read or listened to at least twenty-four books this year. She reads physical books, e-books on her phone, and listens to audiobooks through Libby. She's procured multiple library cards. 

40 - Milo spent forty days at the Seibert's house this year.

42 - We had forty-two family fun nights this year. I'm pleased with that number considering we don't have one on the weeks we're on vacation, when Nadia is working at Camp Susque, etc. 

50 - Number of states we have now visited as a family as we spent time in Louisiana and Hawaii this year. I also saw all fifty license plates this year! I was stuck at 49 for several months, and then on December 22 I finally spotted Wyoming when we were about 75 minutes away from Chicago! The last time I succeeded in spotting all fifty in one year was 2021. Oliver read or independently listened to fifty books this year. 

53 - I turned fifty-three in April.

56 - I wrote fifty-six blog posts this year, which is very close to the number I wrote each of the previous two years.

57 - Cooper spent fifty-seven days at our home this year, which means the two dogs were together ninety-seven days altogether.

55 - Paul turned fifty-five in January. 

Six seven - The inanest expression of the year. Hoping it dies out sometime in 2026.

70 - Not counting the many wedding photography books I read this year, I read or listened to seventy books. Some years the majority of those were audiobooks. I've been reading more eBooks and also some physical books lately.

76 - Nadia spent 76 days at Camp Susque this year. Most of those days she was at work.

79 - We listened to (or I read aloud) a total of seventy-nine books as a family. 

87 - Nadia worked 87 shifts at Warrior Run Petcare this year. Some of those shifts were only 2 hours long, and other times they were 4-5 hours long.

The 23 of us ate and slept under one roof in Chicago in December

Thankful Thursday

 1. Cheri and I attended a Point of Grace and Jason Gray Christmas concert on December 5. It was amazing. I knew it would end up being my favorite Christmas concert of the year. 

2. All of us (except for Nadia) met most of the Towfighis plus Toby for pizza and a Christmas show at a church near where Jenna and Toby live on December 6. Brendan made use of the free nursery service. 

3. The kids enjoyed attending a Christmas party at the Seiberts house on December 7 while Cheri and I attended a Christmas candlelight concert at Bucknell.

4. Nadia enjoyed attending a Christmas dinner for the employees at the kennel where she works. She also was very grateful for the Christmas gifts her boss gave her, especially the $100 gift card. 

5. Our family plus Cheri attended a Christmas concert at our church on December 12. 

6. Nadia enjoyed watching her friend perform in the Nutcracker on December 13.

7. Nine of the Towfighis met us at Great Wolf Lodge on Monday. We spent time in the water park on Monday and Tuesday.  They spent the night at our house on Tuesday night and attended a homeschool roller skating party with us on Wednesday morning. We started the annual tradition of going to Great Wolf Lodge to celebrate Ian's birthday in 2018. This was our 6th time we visited GWL; one of those trips was in May of 2023. In December of 2023 and 2024 we went to the indoor water parks at Kalahari and Camelback. I think the kids enjoy these experiences a lot more when we invite friends (which we did last year) or cousins (May 2023 and this week) to join us. They love their cousins very much! Paul and Joe played two games of chess inside the water park on Tuesday. Paul was the only one who never wore a bathing suit on this trip. I hug

8. We watched Cooper while the Seiberts were at GWL last week, and they watched Milo for us for a little over one day this week while we were at GWL. It's so wonderful being able to swap dog sitting with them. Unfortunately, it won't work for Milo to be with them over Christmas. Praying that he'll have a good stay at the kennel next week. 

9. We usually have the thermostat set between 68-70 degrees in the winter. Thanks to our "smart" thermostat, it read 49 degrees when we came home from Great Wolf Lodge. We wore our winter coats while we ate our tacos. Thankfully, the pipes didn't freeze, and it only took two hours for the temperature to rise to where we wanted it to be. 

10. The kids attended two Christmas parties yesterday - one with homeschoolers at the roller-skating rink in the morning and with the youth group at night. We gave Faith and Xandir a ride to the roller-skating rink in the morning, and they spent the afternoon with us until it was time to go to Bible quizzing. Faith and Nadia baked cookies that they took to the youth group party. Ian and Xandir played games and went on a long walk with Milo. I'm thankful the kids have good relationships with friends and also cousins!

Sixteen years old!

I now have two kids who are old enough to drive! Oliver and Nadia love sitting up in the front passenger seat, but Ian refuses to ever sit there. He'll have to be willing to sit in the front row to be able to drive! Usually, we don't do schoolwork on Ian's birthday, but since we are taking off on December 15-17 to go to Great Wolf Lodge for one night and spend time with the Towfighis, today was a normal school day. He received his main birthday gift from us very early (in August) when I got him a nice desk chair for his bedroom. I had the idea because he had borrowed Nadia's while she was working at Camp Susque in July. He received a book from Nadia today, a TSO piano book from me, and money from Grandpa, Oliver, and Paul and me. He asked for stromboli for dinner, and he asked Nadia to make him peanut butter bars for dessert. Yum! 

Sixteen ways Ian has changed over the last year:

1. When he was very young, he and Nadia used to each eat half of a banana at lunch. Neither of them has been eating any bananas for quite a few years. This fall, Ian decided that he should eat a banana every day. 

2. He also has gotten in the habit of drinking a glass of milk every day, which has meant we're going through more gallons of milk per month than we used to. He doesn't drink coffee regularly by any means, but he does have some coffee now and then (such as when we're on vacation). 

3. He's completed his first two college classes through Cedarville University. He earned an A- in Bible and the Gospel. His professor still is grading assignments in his speech class, but he also has an A- in that class at the moment. He also visited two colleges - Cairn and Cedarville, and he has chosen Cedarville as his top choice, partially because that is where his cousin, Nathan, plans to attend.

4. From December 2020 to June 2025 Milo used to sleep with Ian half of the time. Milo slept with Paul and I for a few months starting in July, but now he is sleeping in a crate in Oliver's bedroom. Ian and Nadia used to each get Milo for half of the time while we did homeschool subjects together, but this school year Ian has Milo with him on the beanbag while he does schoolwork. Nadia doesn't have much contact with Milo. Nadia taught Ian how to trim Milo's nails. Ian is trying to do a better job of brushing Milo's teeth.

5. For many years Ian had a peanut butter and marmalade sandwich at lunch. He still has this every once in a while, but now his typical sandwich is a grilled ham and cheese with onions on whole grain whole wheat bread. Paul won't eat anything that has any onions or peppers in it, and Ian loves onions and peppers. 

6. Several months ago, he started letting his hair grow out. I don't mean it's long in the back. This has led to FAR more "bad hair days" than when his hair was much shorter, but it's his choice. I will say he doesn't have as many crazy hair moments as Oliver does. Oliver has followed in his brother's footsteps in terms of letting his hair grow longer. 

7. Ian continues to make good progress on the piano. I have been enjoying listening to him practicing his recital piece. I have included that in his birthday video. His teacher is working with teaching him to play Joy to the World by ear. He played two arrangements of Christmas carols at church in the foyer on November 30 in between the first and second services and after the second service. He continues to occasionally play with the youth praise team on Wednesday nights. 

8. Ian gets exercise in a variety of ways. He likes to take Milo on a lengthy walk/run. He has weights that he uses either in his bedroom or the basement. He has a pull-up bar in the basement. 

9. Ian eats at least one apple almost every day. When he was younger, his favorite types of apples were golden delicious and gala. Currently, his favorites are pink lady, snapdragon, honey crisp, Jonagold, Granny Smith, and cameo apples. 

10. Last spring Ian was Nikko (flying monkey) in MCS's production of The Wizard of Oz and Will Scarlet in our homeschool production of Robin Hood. This fall he played the part of Captain Hook in our homeschool coop's performance of Peter Pan. I have included clips from the play in his birthday video. This fall he tried out for the part of Sebastian in MCS's upcoming production of Little Mermaid and was given the role of Chef Louis. He was very excited to learn this week that next year MCS will be doing a play in the fall and a musical in the spring.

11. He has decided that he doesn't want to attend camp next summer as a camper. Nadia's boss has agreed to interview Ian so that he could work at the kennel. Nadia plans to end her employment there in early May due to working at Camp Susque and then going away to college. 

12. Ian had his first experiences with surfing and parasailing and skied at Montage Mountain for the first time (third ski resort he's skied at so far). 

13. Ian visited his 49th (Louisiana) and 50th (Hawaii) states this year! He swam with sea turtles, manta rays, and dolphins for the first time in Hawaii.

14. He attended Camp Susque three times over the last year as he had his first experience attending Winter Camp (he's doing that again later this month), spent a week there last summer (not doing that again), and attended his second youth group retreat there (will likely do that again). 

15. He took the PSAT for the first time. 

16. He had a septoplasty surgery in January. He uses mouth tape when he's sleeping to try to train his body to learn to breathe through his nose. 

Thankful Thursday

1. I had several months where I wasn't getting my usual amount of sleep due to Milo being in our bed and then my body took a few weeks to adjust to the time change. I am very grateful to be back to getting an average of nine hours of sleep each night, which is optimal for me. 

2. I recently purchased a new bath towel for myself. It is SO soft. I think the rest of my family thought I was crazy for caring, but I really, really like my new towel.

3. We've been down to one vehicle for a month. Most of the time it hasn't been a problem, but this weekend was going to be a bit crazy. Thankfully, Nadia found out that a friend from church is also working at Camp Susque this weekend, and her friend is going to give her a ride to/from Camp Susque, and I also found someone who can give the boys a ride to a Christmas party on Sunday evening. I will be taking Nadia to that same party after she gets off work, and I will pick all three kids up after I attend a candlelight service at Bucknell with Cheri. 

4. We had our first snow (that accumulated) on Tuesday. The boys had fun throwing snowballs at each other. I was thankful we didn't have any plans to go anywhere that day (which is rare for Nadia) as I don't like driving in the snow or ice. 

5. A friend recently posted about how it is helpful to have not only a Philadelphia Free Library card (which I've had since 2019 thanks to her recommendation), but also one from Pittsburgh. I signed up for one last week, and we have already begun enjoying some books that we could get through Libby through that library that we couldn't get through our other library cards. I only sign up for Audible when it costs 99 cents a month, but they do that fairly often so between getting some books for $1.05 each (after tax) through Audible and most of our books for free from Libby, our budget for audiobooks is very small. Recently, we di

6. I used credit card points to fully pay for the rental of an SUV for 12 days while we're in Wales, England, and Scotland in May. We'll need to pay for renting an SUV for one day in Dublin and two days in Northern Ireland, but that will be it! 

7. I usually decline purchasing an extended warranty, but I did pay for an extended warranty on the eyeglasses that I purchased for Ian and Oliver in February. That turned out to be the right call as Oliver broke his glasses last week. We will be receiving a replacement at no charge. For the time being he's wearing his previous pair of glasses. 

8. Nadia continues to help a lot with cooking and baking. For Thanksgiving she made the yeast rolls, a cheesecake, and a peanut butter pie. She also used a recipe from Camp Susque to make sticky buns for us last week. 

9. I was asked to play the piano in the foyer again this past Sunday. I played a couple of Christmas carols and then had Ian play two hymn arrangements of Christmas carols. He played both songs after both services. He was very nervous at first even though it's a very low-key situation as people are walking by, talking, etc. It's good to be stretched out of our comfort zone sometimes. I'm thankful he had the opportunity. 

Giving Thanks

 

1. Paul and I enjoyed our Intermediate East Coast Swing class. We made it to 7 of the 8 classes.

2. All of us (except Nadia) attended a performance of Arsenic and Old Lace at a church in our town. None of us had seen that play before.

3. Nadia has completed two courses so far this semester through Liberty University. She earned an A in her theology class, and she currently has an A in her Developmental Psychology class. She had an A in her astronomy course, but she accidentally didn't complete one of the quizzes due the final week of that class, and that zero brought her grade in the course down to a B. Ian's Bible and the Gospel class came to an end through Cedarville University on November 21. He earned an A- in that course. His speech class doesn't end until December 11. I will say that the courses Ian has taken through Cedarville are MUCH more challenging than the ones Nadia has taken through Grand Canyon and Liberty. 

4. I've been able to play hymns on the piano at our church in between the first and second services and after the second service in the foyer three of the last five Sundays. I also enjoyed teaching our Sunday School class on November 9. Paul and I enjoyed packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child at our church on November 15.

5. Unfortunately, Nadia was in a car accident on November 7 on her way to Camp Susque. She had only had her driver's license for six weeks. Thankfully, she wasn't injured, and she didn't hit any other vehicles. She was driving Paul's Mazda 3, which is a very low riding vehicle, and she ended up in some mud and tall grass. She had no cell service. We feel the Lord did a miracle in that #1 the vehicle wasn't stuck in the mud and #2 that she was able to drive another 10-15 minutes despite the fact the radiator fluid was draining out. Paul worked on the vehicle on November 14 (removing the bumper that was barely hanging on, etc.), but after he discovered the condition of the radiator, he knew we couldn't drive it home. We are supposed to be receiving $800 for it from a salvage company; they retrieved the car from Camp Susque for us on November 17. We opted to take the loss of the vehicle without reporting it to our insurance so that our rates wouldn't skyrocket. Nadia has been saving up money, and we're planning on going in with her to purchase a vehicle in January that she and Ian can use. We don't allow her to drive our minivan so for now I've gone back to being the chauffeur. Cars are replaceable (even if that doesn't happen immediately), but daughters are irreplaceable!

6. Nadia has been working at Camp Susque most weekends. The weekend of November 14-16 all three kids attended a retreat there with our church's youth group. Nadia has earned the nickname of the "dish fairy" because she often does the dishes in the morning at 6:00 am so the dishes are done before the others show up in the morning. Even the weekend she was there on a retreat she (without earning any money) went into the kitchen bright and early and did the dishes and helped prepare breakfast. I'm very proud of her and glad all three kids had a good weekend there with friends. 

7. Paul and I attended our first Classics social. We played games for about three hours. Paul had an easier time guessing the name the pastor had put on his back (Shakespeare). I had a much harder time coming up with Roy Rogers. Another man at our table had a very challenging one - solar eclipse! We introduced another couple to the game Quirkle.

8. Twenty-one months ago, we purchased 1/4 of a grass-fed cow from someone in our church. We finished that beef recently and this month bought another 1/4 of a cow from him. It's definitely more affordable than buying beef at the grocery store, especially considering how lean it is. 

9. The kids were able to audition to be in Little Mermaid at the Christian school. Nadia will be Aquata (one of Ariel's sisters) and also a princess, Ian will be Chef Louis, and Oliver will be in the ensemble. Ian was really hoping to be Sebastian, but we think he'll also have fun being Chef Louis. Their friend, Lydia, (who is also in our co-op and was Tinkerbell in Peter Pan) did get the part she auditioned for - Scuttle, and we were very happy to hear that. One of Nadia's closest friends, Leila, will also be a mersister, and that is also a blessing. 

10. Our performance of Peter Pan went well on November 21. Nadia was Wendy, Ian was Captain Hook, and Oliver was Nana (the dog) and the crocodile. A little over 40 people came to watch the show so there were about 60 of us eating dinner together afterward. After the play was done the kids surprised me with flowers, a card, gifts cards to Red Robin and Panera, and one of the girls gave a little speech about how much she appreciates being in the co-op. It was very sweet and unexpected. The flowers are very pretty! We had a dress rehearsal at 4:30 and let the guests come in at 5:20 for the performance. Thankfully the performance went far more smoothly than the dress rehearsal. Ironically, when I was a child, I directed a performance of Peter Pan that my sisters and some of our neighbors put on for our parents. In that instance we wrote the script ourselves and had far fewer people in the cast. I didn't write the script we used this time, and we had eighteen kids in the play. Ben was the only student from our co-op who didn't participate in the play. He went and picked up the pizzas from Domino's during the performance.

11. Nadia had been driving herself and her brothers to art class twice a week, but I've been driving them since her accident. Last Monday I was able to sit and talk with a friend (another homeschool mom) during the art class, which was a treat! 

12. We began another week of dog sitting last Friday. Thankfully, Cooper is doing MUCH better than he was the last time he was with us. Also, Milo has been sleeping in a crate in Oliver's bedroom for several days. I really, really appreciate not having a dog in my bed at night. PTL!

Over the hill

I'm not sure when one is officially considered to be "over the hill," but I feel like Paul and I have reached that point. He qualified for a senior discount for the first time during our vacation in May. We are now eligible to be in the "classics" group at our church (which for the first several years we attended our church was called "best years fellowship"). Last year we never attended any of their events, but we're actually registered for one on November 15. The kids will be at Camp Susque at a youth group retreat, so it seemed the perfect time to attend one of their events. I'm guessing we'll continue to skip most of their events until we are empty nesters. When you get to this age, you're supposed to start having colonoscopies and get immunized for pneumonia and shingles. Paul had a colonoscopy. I opted to go the simpler (and far less expensive) route with that. Paul got the pneumonia vaccine last year. That was expensive!

I had a physical on Monday morning. In addition to the usual questions, "do you smoke, do you drink, do you wear a seat belt, do you feel safe at home, etc." I was asked a question a medical professional had never asked me before - if I still felt like I was a capable driver (or something to that effect). I was floored. I answered I hope so because I recently taught my 17-year-old daughter how to drive and have two more teens to teach to drive in the next few years. I really, really didn't anticipate being asked that question at the age of 53. I declined the flu, pneumonia, and shingles vaccines. The only one I am contemplating is the shingles vaccine because my aunt has had awful experiences with having shingles many times. If both Paul and I get the shingles vaccine, that will cost us $1K so we are going to wait a bit as this hasn't been a good year for us financially. My doctor said waiting until I am 55 is fine. I'm very thankful that aside from mammograms and physicals, I haven't had any doctor appointments over the last almost four years. 

The number of instances in which I feel "over the hill" have been increasing at a more rapid pace lately. Listening to teenagers talk I feel like there are so many words and expressions that they use which I don't comprehend. What is the deal with "six seven," for example? I find myself missing the music that we used to sing years ago in church. I have loved contemporary Christian music for more than 40 years, but I've found myself not enjoying a greater percentage of the music played on a Christian radio station over the last few years. It makes me feel old.