Thankful Thursday

Kinzua Bridge State Park

1. I'm very thankful that the results of my uterine biopsy and breast ultrasound were both benign! I am thankful that I have a surgical consultation scheduled for November 20 regarding a hysterectomy. We shall see what this GYN will think about also removing my ovaries.

2. Ian, Paul, and I were able to pack meals for Kids Around the World twice in October through Experience Missions. This ministry facilitated over one million meals being packed over the last six years! 

3. Ian's Willy Wonka audition resulted in him being given a part he wasn't interested in playing, but it seems this was a blessing in disguise, as now he plans to audition to be in Frozen, and those performances are at a bigger venue (Community Arts Center). Those tickets are definitely more expensive than a school performance, but I know that tickets often sell out at the CAC, so I went ahead and bought 3 tickets for Friday night, 3 for Saturday's matinee, and 4 tickets for Saturday night, as I'm assuming Ian will, at the very least, be in the ensemble. He's going to audition for Olaf and hopes to get a part of some sort, but I think even if he's only in the ensemble, it will be a good experience. 

4. Nadia's friend, Rayne, is planning to come home with Nadia for spring break. I bought Rayne tickets for Frozen and Jonah at Sight and Sound. Since Rayne is a theatre major, I think both of these will be right up her alley. The girls can attend Winter Jam at PSU during spring break with our church's youth group if they want to.

5. Although we weren't fans of the side effects, it was very nice (thanks to having insurance) to not have to pay for Paul and me to get our vaccines (Tdap, shingles, and pneumonia). I also had some bloodwork done this week in preparation for my annual physical next week. It's nice to not have to pay for said bloodwork, and I also got good results (cholesterol, etc.). 

6. When I first started dating Paul in 1997, he loved to eat seafood. Over the years, he gradually became allergic to more and more seafood. It started with lobster and then progressed to various types of fish. Over the last several years, the only seafood he's eaten has been tuna, but he said recently that he didn't think he had tried to eat salmon after he began to be allergic to several types of fish. He asked me to buy some salmon, and I cooked some yesterday for Paul and the boys (I opted to have a bean burrito instead, as I'm not a big fan of seafood). Thankfully, he wasn't allergic to it! He's grateful to have another type of fish in addition to tuna that he can eat. 

7. Paul has been helping Ian with calculus. He doesn't need help with the calculus course on Khan Academy, but he does need help with the Life of Fred: Calculus exercises. I skipped twelfth grade, which meant I never had calculus, as I had trigonometry in eleventh grade, so I am not able to help Ian and am very grateful that Paul can. 

8. I have agreed with VERY little of what Trump has said or done during this term, but recently he signed a bill that made Chiricahua the 64th National Park. When we were there in May 2025, I remember saying, "why isn't this a National Park?". Now it is! There have been a few National Parks that we have visited that I asked the opposite question (why IS this a National Park?), but I am happy to see Chiricahua be promoted from National Monument to National Park. I imagine that more people will make the trek in Arizona to see this beautiful place now that it's one of the elite 64. 

9. I love the beautiful fall leaves and the lovely weather - not too hot or too cold! 

many appointments!

As of October 1, we have had health insurance for the first time in almost five years. I went to the GYN for the first time in almost ten years that same day, and I also had bloodwork done. She ordered an ultrasound that was completed on October 5, and today I had an endometrial biopsy. I had a mammogram on October 6. They thought they saw a small mass on one side, so I am returning on Friday for a follow-up mammogram (and an ultrasound depending on what they see on the second mammogram). Thankfully, a radiologist will give me the results before I leave that morning. The biopsy results will likely come by the end of the week or early next week at the latest. Even if the result is benign, I would like to have a hysterectomy. I have an appointment next month to discuss a possible hysterectomy with another GYN, as the woman I saw this month doesn't do hysterectomies and is due to have a baby in the very near future. 

Paul is scheduled to see a dermatologist for the first time in three years on November 16. We both got Tdap and shingles vaccines last week. The last time we had tetanus shots was in 2008. I also received the pneumonia vaccine. We paid for Paul to get that one in January 2025. We have appointments for the second shingles shot in December, but we'll probably take the pharmacist's advice and postpone the second shot until January or February to minimize the side effects. In light of having insurance, I thought I'd have to have my first colonoscopy, but my PCP had no qualms with me repeating the Cologuard test again instead. Yay! I am having bloodwork done next week at the PCP and having my physical in two weeks. For the past almost five years, I've only had physicals and mammograms, so this is a big change to have so many medical appointments. 

Ian tried out for Willy Wonka on October 8. On October 12, we found out he had been given the part of Grandpa George, which is a very small part. We also found out he would not be part of the ensemble. The last three years, he had also been part of the ensemble. On October 18, he informed the director that he was declining the role. He has decided to audition for Olaf through the Community Theatre League. Even if he only ends up being in the ensemble, we think he'll have more fun being in Frozen. Those performances will be on a much bigger stage. He's working with his voice teacher to sing "In Summer" for his audition in early January. The performances will be in March (one week before the Willy Wonka performances). He's also preparing two songs for a voice recital in December: Modern Major General and I Wonder as I Wander. 

In 2020, the kids and I met Paul Kinley when we helped pack meals for Kids Around the World for the first time through his ministry, Experience Missions. We've helped with various projects at his warehouse since then. On October 3, Paul, Ian, and I helped pack meals. Oliver couldn't help that day because he was working at the cafe. As a side note, Oliver enjoys his job as a dishwasher, and he spent the majority of what he made in the first few weeks on a new Oculus. We plan to help out again on Saturday, and on that day the ministry will achieve the goal of having packed over one million meals over the last six years! 

In co-op, the kids dissected frogs on October 13 and cow's eyes today. In the photo, you can see the lens from the cow's eye resting on Ian's fingers.