Giving Thanks

I am long overdue for a gratitude post; my last "Thankful Thursday" post was on June 9! Here are just a few of the many things I could give thanks for over the past 7+ weeks.

1. I am very thankful for my mom. I miss her very much, and I keep praying in particular for my dad because I know the grieving process has to be the hardest for him. I am very, very thankful she is free from suffering and that I have confidence I will see her again some day.

2. I am thankful for all the love and support many family and friends have showed our family during these hard weeks. People in my parents' church have really gone above and beyond in terms of cleaning the house, sending flowers, providing childcare for grandkids, and TONS of food. They provided such a lovely dinner for out of town relatives on July 15 and an outstanding luncheon following the funeral on the 16th. I also have been blessed by flowers from my friend, Jo, and cards from a variety of people. My dad's Sunday School class took an offering and gave Wendy, Yvonne, and I some money toward travel expenses, which was very unexpected, thoughtful, and generous.

3. The kids and I have really been enjoying our pool membership. Last week we swam every day M-F. We planned to swim yesterday but after we finished the art activities there was a thunderstorm. I am so pleased with all the progress that Ian has made with swimming and jumping off the diving board. He is becoming braver and braver! Oliver is also making progress with swimming as he rarely wears his inner tube these days (although he still needs to get more comfortable submerging his head under water).

4. The kids enjoyed the art activities yesterday, the big band concert last night (along with some ballroom dancing), and the Peter Pan musical this afternoon. It was VERY well done. I hope Nadia is able to be in one of those productions when she is older. Oliver enjoyed his time at home with Daddy while we were at the 2 1/2 hour musical. He has now learned 18 of the upper case letters and is making great progress with riding a bike.

5. It was so nice having five people seated around the kitchen table at all three meals today. We only had three days together as a family of five this month - July 4, 24, and 31 so having even one meal together is a rare treat. We are enjoying reading books about the Olympics during our meal times as we get ready for the Summer Olympics. I am really enjoying our new (to us) kitchen table and chairs. In light of our plans to go to Ohio and also to Maryland next month (to help my sister go through my mom's clothing and such), I have asked Paul to take August 6 and 13 off of work because we will be gone most of the time from August 8-17. The kids are really looking forward to having 11 days with their cousins in the near future!

6. I am thankful that Nadia's friends (Grace, Claire, and Sophie) have been over to our house a few times over the past couple of months, and she is excited about attending Claire's 9th birthday party in about 3 weeks.

7. The kids and I have enjoyed a wide variety of activities this summer including seeing a movie at the theater, seeing a play (Robin Hood), a musical (Peter Pan), going roller skating, tennis lessons, horseback riding camp, Good News Day Camp, History Camp, baseball/softball clinic, Little Mermaid Jr., fireworks, parades, VBS, County Fair, Home Depot workshop, Children's Museum, State Park, Six Flags, Smithsonian, going to a Minor League baseball game, Camp Susque, painting and drawing camp, swimming lessons, etc. Ironically some plans changed (again) right after I analyzed our summer "bucket list" yesterday and it looks like we won't be going to Corning this summer after all, but it just means we have something to look forward to next year.

8. I appreciated how many relatives came for my mom's service - many I hadn't seen in more than a decade. Two of my aunts have called me since to see how I was doing, which again was greatly appreciated.

9. Paul fixed the doors in front of the washer and dryer (replaced the track). That has been a problem for years so I am grateful to have doors that work properly!

10. Between trips to Maryland and weeks I have been helping in one of the kids' Sunday School classes this summer, I hadn't attended my Sunday School class in quite awhile. I did today, and I was again reminded how much I enjoy this class. We are working through the synoptic Gospels right now.

11. As always, I am thankful for the library - we have quite an assortment of books from the library right now on various sports and the Olympics and Ancient Greece plus a couple of books on CD to listen to in the minivan. I also downloaded a book to my Kindle for free via the library last week to read while Oliver was at the Oppenheimer playground.

12. I have been missing one of my coats for more than 2 years. I thought I left it in Maryland, but when I couldn't find it there I thought I'd never see it again. I got it back today as it was discovered at a relatives house on Paul's side of the family. I really liked the coat so I am very thankful to have it back!

13. Al and Millie made a wonderful Minion cake for Nadia's birthday last month, and we are thankful they're making an Elmo one for Oliver for next Sunday.

Checking off the list

Since July is almost over, I thought it was time to review our summer bucket list. When I wrote the list I was thinking it was for May through August, but I've decided to extend it to September 17 in light of our "summer" family vacation taking place then. Technically it is summer until September 22, but certainly we will be in "back to school" mode before that. Eight things on the original list are not going to happen so I wrote in replacement items for those. The ones that got nixed included: picking raspberries,

Carnegie Science Center, Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, Star Wars Day, Del Grossos Amusement Park, Port Discovery, Maryland Science Center, and Smith Memorial Playhouse (it was raining when we were in Philly). I am planning to take the kids to Port Discovery and the Maryland Science Center in October since we didn't go when I had planned to this summer. Del Grossos, Star Wars Day, and picking raspberries will have to wait until next year. I had planned to take the kids on an overnight trip to Pittsburgh, but I am postponing that in light of our trip to Ohio. I am now planning to take the kids to two museums in Cleveland on our way to or from Sandusky.

Of the 100 things on our (revised) list we have completed about 70 of them thus far. Several will not take place until September such as Mystic Seaport, Thomas Land, Museum of Science (Boston), Boston Tea Party Ships, Plimoth Plantation, Children's Museum of Cape Cod, building a sand castle, collecting seashells, fly a kite on the beach, and swimming in the ocean. I had planned on taking the kids on a one or two day trip to a beach in Delaware, New Jersey, or Maryland, but in light of our plans to spend a week on Cape Cod, I'm scrapping that idea. The things on our list that are not scheduled yet (meaning I need to put more effort in to make sure they happen) include: eating at Friendly's and Bonanza, teaching Oliver his letters and numbers (he's half-way there), bowling, eating plums and nectarines, Nadia learning to jump rope (she has worked on that a little), eating BLTs, throwing water balloons, miniature golf, and doing puzzles. There is a plan in place for completing the other items on the list. This weekend we should be crossing two items off the list - attending the Acorn Family Festival today (art and music activities for the kids) and seeing a production of Peter Pan at the Community Arts Center in Williamsport tomorrow afternoon. We are planning to join the Acorn Festival twice today because this evening they are having a big band concert with ballroom dancing, and all the events are free. Ballroom dancing isn't on the list, but I think all five of us will enjoy it.

Nadia and Ian really enjoyed the softball/baseball clinic. Nadia scored two runs on Thursday night. There were three "professionals" there helping with the clinic - two former MLB players (Doug Simons and Don Gordon) and a PSU football captain who recently tried out with the Baltimore Ravens (Ryan Keiser). Nadia and Ian both say they want to play on a Little League team. Nadia has asked me multiple times. She says she'd rather play softball that soccer. I already registered her for soccer, and the fee is for the whole year, but we can consider switching next spring. Claire (her friend) was telling me they also have fall ball for softball (news to me), but if we have either (or both) join a Little League team it won't be until 2017. Two things I had looked into in the past but opted not to have the kids do were Little League and a swim team. I think swimming is where Nadia has the most talent when it comes to a sport, but when I found out how many days a week they practice I wasn't interested. The same went for Little League. Basketball is a two day a week commitment (one day for practice and Saturday for the game). Soccer is a 2-3 day a week commitment (1-2 days for practice and Saturdays for games). Baseball/softball involves more practices and games a week than those. Plus I think the kids get more exercise with basketball and soccer than with baseball/softball (less time running), and also as a fan it's less exciting to watch. But if Nadia really wants to play on a softball team and does that instead of soccer, I might be willing to sign her up for a season of Little League. We shall see. At least the practices are very, very close to our house (we walk there). Nadia was disappointed when I told her that their "camps" were done for the year. She thought summer was over. Nope not yet, but when it comes to camps, VBS, and lessons (diving, tennis, swimming, etc.) we are almost done. Next week Nadia has diving lessons and Ian has his second week of Level 2 swimming lessons, and then we are totally done. I am relieved because it means more relaxed mornings (instead of working to get everyone out the door by 8:30 many mornings) and also more relaxed evenings (instead of rushing to get everyone fed and out the door for VBS, baseball clinic, etc.). Since we homeschool usually the only day of the week we are rushing out the door in the morning is on Sundays for church. I definitely prefer that schedule. I am very ready to spend more time at home after we get back from our trip to Ohio.

History Camp

The kids have been to a variety of camps this year. First they went to horse back riding camp for 5 full days, and then they went to a painting and drawing camp for five half-days at the Children's Museum. Ian spent four full days at Good News Camp, and Nadia was at Camp Susque for an entire week. Since they won't be going to Good News Camp August 8-12 as originally planned, History Camp this week is their final "camp" for 2016. It lasts for three half-days at the Priestley House in

Northumberland. Joseph Priestley was a chemist who is credited with discovering oxygen, and he spent the last ten years of his life living in that house, having lived most of his life in England. The camp's theme is “A Child’s Life in Northumberland in the 1790′s.” The children are doing a variety of activities that will allow them to become familiar with the Priestleys and how children were educated  in early America.  Crafts, games, stories, snack time, and visits with special guest presenters are part of each day’s activities. Today one of the highlights was making

marbles from clay. Tomorrow they will be writing in calligraphy with quills and ink. When I brought home 3 ears of corn on the cob today, Nadia asked, "Did you get those so I could make a corn husk doll?". I got them so we could eat them for dinner, ha ha. I recognized one other homeschooler in the camp.  

Because I didn't want Nadia to miss another summer musical rehearsal (she missed two while we were in Maryland, another while she was at camp, and will miss one more when we're in Ohio), I didn't take them to the baseball/softball clinic this

evening. One of Ian's highlights was winning a nice door prize last night. Similarly, Oliver won a nice door prize (a Bible story books) last week at VBS. While they were at history camp Oliver and I first shopped at Walmart and then spent a couple of hours at the Oppenheimer playground (which has a splash pad and gives kids a free lunch). They had a program from 11:00-11:30 today put on by someone at Evangelical Hospital about poisons, and Oliver participated in that. Something sank in from the program because once this evening he saw something and said to me, "I have to ask first before I eat it." After we picked Nadia and Ian up, we headed to our swimming pool and swam for three hours before coming home for dinner and the summer musical rehearsal. I also read Nadia and Ian a couple of books about the Olympics. Since we are studying ancient Greece this year and since the Olympics kick off next week, I am doing a little unit with them on the Olympics over the next few weeks. Nadia was thrilled to see a picture of Nadia Comaneci in one of the books.

Blueberries, baseball, bikes, and more

Yesterday I had five children for 7 1/2 hours because two of Nadia's friends from church joined us for the day. The kids played together here at home, and then after I fed them lunch I took them all swimming. We weren't able to stay at the pool quite as long as planned because there was a thunderstorm, but that gave them a little more time to play at home before I took them back to their house (which is less than a mile from ours). Claire will be turning 9 in September, and she is going into third grade like Nadia. Sophie turned 7 in May, and she's going into second grade. Nadia is 10 months younger than Claire and 11 months older than Sophie. Sophie is 7 months older than Ian. Previously Nadia had only invited Claire over, but this time I invited both girls over because I thought it was better to do it that way because their brother is 13 years old. I think if we only invite Claire we are taking away Sophie's playmate. The four kids got along well together (and sometimes Oliver joined in). After they had been playing with play food and went to switch to something else I heard Claire say, "Shouldn't we clean this up first." Music to my ears! All the kids then helped clean up the mess. Way to go, Claire!

I had been asking Ian periodically to go off the diving board, but he hadn't been interested thus far. Well yesterday when Nadia, Sophie, and Claire were jumping off of it, he finally decided to give it a try. I was there in the deep end ready to help him, but he didn't need my help. I stayed there for about the first three jumps and then left the deep end because I was confident he would do fine. That boy kept jumping and jumping again and again and again (with a few actual dives thrown in the mix). He did the same today. He spent most of the time in the deep end! What a difference from last year!!! Yesterday we were the only people at the pool so Tommy got in and played with the kids (sprayed them with a garden hose, threw them into the water, etc.), and at the end he gave them an impromptu diving lesson. Oliver keeps saying he wants to dive. He makes many trips to the end of the diving board but thus far hasn't jumped off of it yet. I'm sure his day will come. Next week Nadia will be taking her first ever week of diving lessons, and Ian will be having his second week of Level 2 swimming lessons. I think next year I'll have him also take diving lessons now that he's gotten so much braver!

Last night Nadia and Ian had their first night of the baseball (Ian)/ softball (Nadia) clinic. It lasts for 2 1/2 hours for four nights, but they will be skipping Wednesday night due to the summer musical rehearsal. They both really enjoyed it. I asked Paul to come home by 5:30 so that Oliver wouldn't have to go and hang out for that whole time. Last night I took them, and Oliver got to enjoy  2 1/2 hours with his dad one on one which is a very rare treat. Tonight I stayed home with Oliver so that Paul could watch them play baseball (their request). Yesterday at 8:30 before the girls came over the kids and I were outside. Oliver is definitely making progress with learning to ride a tricycle or 2 wheel bike (with training wheels). Yay! I love being able to watch them learn new skills and see them do things for the first time (like diving!).  Granted the neighbor boy who is the same age as Oliver has been riding without training wheels for a long time, but still he's going in the right direction. Oliver is getting braver in the water and finally submerging his entire head. He is spending a lot more of his time in the pool without his inner tube one (thanks to the section that is only 2 feet deep).

This morning we left the house around 8:30 to go first to the berry farm to pick blueberries. We went early to beat the 90+ degree heat (only in the 70's when we were there). We didn't pick as many as last year, but we did pick almost 3 pounds, and I know Nadia will eat most of them. Blueberries are her most favorite fruit, and one of her most favorite foods. Next I took the kids to the theater; it was their first trip to a movie theater this year. Some of the $1 movies playing other weeks were more appealing to me, but this was the only week it worked with our schedule. The kids enjoyed "Shaun the sheep" which lasted about 80 minutes. Oliver sat on my lap, Nadia sat on my right, and Ian sat on my left. Then we made a quick stop at Toys R Us for Oliver to get his birthday balloon, crown, etc. before we headed home for lunch. After lunch we went swimming. I have taken Wendy's (good) advice that since I am unable to run due to Paul's work schedule, I have started swimming some laps while I am at the pool with the kids. This will only be possible for another four weeks, but some exercise is better than nothing!

Oliver has gotten back in the habit of taking a daily nap. I am not sure if this will continue after swimming season ends, but for now he takes a nap on the way home from the pool and finishes the nap in the van (with the van doors open so he doesn't overheat). He usually wakes up around 5:00pm. Nadia hasn't napped in years, but she has also been napping the past four days since we picked her up from camp. She also has been falling asleep in the van most of the time, but today she went up to her bedroom at 4pm after we got home from swimming and fell asleep in her bed. I woke her up at 4:55 so she would have time to eat dinner before heading to softball. I think she didn't get as much sleep as usual at camp and is still making up for what she lost last week. This evening Oliver and I enjoyed playing Candyland four times in addition to play-doh, reading books, riding his bikes, and working on his alphabet while Nadia and Ian were at baseball. Somehow I managed to win every game. What a fluke! Anyhow he thankfully is at the age where he does understand how to play the game (mostly) but doesn't care who wins and was genuinely happy for me.

I have had the hardest time figuring out what to get this guy for his birthday. I wasn't surprised that I had a hard time figuring it out when he turned 2 and 3, but I thought by the age of 4 it would be easier. Nope. Since he's the third child and second boy, it's really a challenge. Plus (thankfully!) he has not reached the age where he asks for things. Every time I ask him what gifts he wants for his birthday he only tells me - Elmo cake, Elmo party hats, and an Elmo balloon. So I ended up buying him some Play-doh (so I can replace some of ours that should be tossed), more color tablets for the bathtub (he loves the ones Grandma got him for Easter), and a big container of goldfish crackers (something he loves that I rarely buy). He's going to have more guests than usual at his party because my sister and her family plus Grandpa, Grandma, and Pop Pop are coming to celebrate prior to our trip to Ohio. Hopefully I'll have better ideas before Christmas as to what to get this sweet boy. Thus far I have a hard time coming up with ideas!

New Normal

As I sat in church this morning it hit me that it was my first time in the building since June 19. On June 26 I watched my parent's church service live on my mom's laptop while sitting next to her in the hospital. My dad and I had taken her to the ER the night before. That proved to be her last CT scan, last hospitalization, last IV, etc. July 3 I sat beside her in their family room and watched it again on her laptop. She and I were home alone that morning which was a sweet time but also proved a bit challenging after she needed bathroom type assistance because at that point she was in the lazyboy chair 24 hours a day. For most of the previous 6 months she had been using a potty chair that was located right next to the lazy boy in the family room. It was challenging to assist her all by myself (from then on it was a 2 person job). On July 10 I sat beside her again and my sisters (and two nephews) were also in the room. She was experiencing some confusion. That day was the last time I got to hear my mom's voice, last time I got to hug her, last time I got to talk to her, etc. It was heartbreaking.

July 17 I sat in my parents' church on Sunday morning in a pew filled with my siblings, my dad, and my sisters' husbands. It was the day after we had just sat in that same sanctuary for her funeral. Today I helped out during the first service in Nadia and Ian's class, and then four of us (minus Oliver who was in his classroom still) sat in church. The tears flowed down my face at several moments. One song we sang we had also sung at my parents' church last Sunday. Yes it felt like life had returned to normal since I was back in our church after having been away the previous 4 Sundays in Maryland, but this new normal involves far more tears as I adjust to life without being able to hug my mom or talk to her again until we are reunited in Glory. I can't tell you how many times a day something happens and I think "I need to tell my mom about that" and then remember I can't tell her. I wish I could tell her about Nadia's experience at camp (pictured above with her friend at camp an pictured at right with her counselor) or about the baseball game we went to today (first time for the kids) or about how I found out yesterday morning that we will be going to Cape Cod in September. Whenever I wish for just one more hug or one more conversation, then I remember all that she was going through at the end of her life and remind myself how torturous it was to watch her suffering and am grateful that she is in a better place. But she is missed...

Last year Nadia received an email from my mom every day at camp. I wish I had saved those. I asked other relatives to email Nadia to try and fill in the gap left by my mom's passing (she left behind BIG shoes to fill). Paul's mom sent her a couple of emails plus a care package through the mail and my sister Yvonne sent her an email. While I was at Camp Susque yesterday I was thinking about how the last time I was on that property my parents were with the kids and I. It was my parents first time there. They were up to celebrate Ian's and my dad's birthdays (which are 2 days apart). I had no idea then that it would be my mom's last trip to PA, last time she celebrated one of my children's birthdays, last time she celebrated my dad's birthday, etc. She did a great job of making birthdays special for us as we were growing up and continued to do so as we were adults and then with her grandchildren. She will be missed....

I haven't attended many baseball games over the years, and I wasn't too fond of the ones I did attend. It felt like there was so much down time, and that it took forever before they actually pitched the ball. I much preferred watching hockey, tennis, football, ice skating, or gymnastics. Well this minor league game was enjoyable. We had free tickets so I told the kids they could each pick out one thing to buy (food or drink) that was under $5 (Nadia's choice was only $1) as the game started at 5:05 pm. The first nine innings lasted 2 hours. The home team scored their first run in the bottom of the 8th inning, but then the visiting team scored one in the top of the 9th. We stayed for the tenth inning, but when it was still tied up 1-1 at that point we decided to head home because Oliver and Nadia were really tired. Ian wanted to stay because they were allowing kids ages 1-12 to run around the bases at the end of the game with the mascot. I looked online later and discovered the home team won in the bottom of the 11th inning, but of course we had no way of knowing the game would end soon. It could have lasted a lot longer. They had fun things in between the innings and mascot was shooting t-shirts, shooting a water gun, etc. I was glad I had taught the kids the song "Take me out to the ball game" as they had everyone sing that at the 7th inning. Since Nadia and Ian are starting a softball/baseball clinic tomorrow night, I was glad they could watch this game tonight and start to learn a little about the game of baseball. I think we will be returning to the field, maybe not again this year but probably next year and in other years in the future. Even though it was 95 degrees outside, we had a good time. Thankfully the stadium provides a lot of shade for the guests.

The girl at the far right is also named Nadia! She is 3 and was in Oliver's VBS class.