First job and phone

Oliver turned fourteen last month, so he is eligible to get his first job. On Tuesday, I took him to a few local restaurants to look for a job. One Italian restaurant told him that their minimum age is sixteen. A pizza place asked for his name and phone number. A cafe located 1.3 miles from our house posted on Facebook that day that they were hiring dishwashers. We submitted his online application on Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning, a woman from the cafe texted me to set up an interview. As I had a dentist appointment, Paul drove him to the cafe for his interview yesterday afternoon. He left with the T-shirt that he is supposed to wear at work. He is working his first two shifts today and tomorrow from 4:00-8:30 pm, during which time he'll be taught how to do this job. He's scheduled to work two shifts next week. Ian only started his first job at the end of May when he was almost 16.5 years old. Nadia started her first job at Reptiland a couple of weeks before she turned fifteen. Nadia worked at the kennel where Ian currently works from November 2024 to June 2026. The kennel is 2.7 miles from our house. Reptiland is 3.4 miles from our house, so Oliver's employer is the closest. Nadia was paid $10/hr in 2023 at Reptiland, but since then, all three kids have been paid $12/hr (except at Camp Susque, where Nadia was paid a weekly salary). On Tuesday, I took Oliver to the public school to get his work permit. This was my third time in a little over three years to complete that task, and unless we lose a permit or move, it will be my last.

Nadia got her first phone when she turned fourteen, but she didn't have a phone number for the first year. Nadia and Ian both got their first phone numbers when we got Ian his first phone in 2023 (a few months before he turned fourteen). Nadia's first two phones were hand-me-downs. She got her first brand-new phone earlier this year. In hindsight, I feel like we gave Ian his phone earlier than we should have. The Family Link app has helped a lot. We planned to delay giving Oliver his first phone, but he got his first job one month after he turned 14. It turns out his acquisition of a cell phone hasn't been delayed that much after all. Yesterday I ordered his first phone from Pinwheel, which has even more robust parental controls than Family Link. I paid about $500 total for his phone, one year of cellular service, and one year of their monitoring service. This is a big week for Oliver - his first work permit, first job interview, first job, and first phone. My baby is growing up too fast! At co-op on Tuesday, other kids pointed out that Oliver is taller than Ian. Although it's been an adjustment with Nadia living in Virginia, I was eased into it by her absences for weeks at a time in the summer when she worked at Camp Susque the past three summers. I think it's going to be a bigger shock to my system when Ian leaves for Cedarville in 23 months because I don't think I will ever have been separated from him for more than a week, except for the months I spent at the hospital in 2012. 

Back to School

When I started homeschooling Nadia in 2013, she was my only student. Starting in 2015 I had two children I was homeschooling, and from August 2017 to May 2026, I was writing lesson plans for three students. Nadia moved to Virginia last week and started her college classes on Monday. Ian worked at the kennel Monday morning and started his college classes that afternoon. Yesterday was the first day of school for Oliver and for Ian's homeschool classes.

Nadia is taking 18 credits this semester. Four of her credits will be completed within the first 8 weeks of the semester (History of Life and University Seminar), and three of her credits will be completed during the last eight weeks of the semester (Technology). The remaining three classes (11 credits) will last the entire semester - biology, chemistry, and probability and statistics. She doesn't have any classes on Wednesdays or Fridays. She only has labs on Mondays. She had originally registered to take the University Seminar at 8:00 on Mondays, but this past weekend she asked me to switch her to an online section. She also chose an online section for the technology class. The rest are in person.

Ian is taking two classes through Cedarville (5 credits) - a C++ programming class and a health class. On the way back home on Friday we stopped at York Barbell to buy 210 pounds of weights as Ian wants to do more weightlifting. We split the cost with him. Other goals I have for him are preparing to take two CLEP tests and the ACT in the spring. He's studying calculus in math this year and also taking piano and voice lessons. He plans to be in the spring musical (Newsies), continue working at the kennel, and get his learner's permit.

Both boys will be studying biology (doing the labs in co-op). It's been a LONG time since they had science together. For social studies they are studying geography together. They are also doing a Career Discovery class together (Dave Ramsey). They are both studying John for Bible quizzing. Ian has already memorized all of the first two chapters of John plus part of chapter three. Some parts of English they will have the same assignments (reading some of the same books and doing some of the same writing assignments). Ian got a head start in English this summer by reading Screwtape Letters and Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Hyde as well as part of Joni. Both boys will also be taking art at MCS and participating in a chess club here.

Oliver is taking pre-algebra through Teaching Textbooks and working through Easy Grammar Plus and Wordly Wise 7. Both boys are using different books of Life of Fred. Oliver is also doing an Entrepreneurship class through Dave Ramsey. The first book I am having Oliver read for English is Five Children and It, which was one of my favorite books I read to the kids, but he was very young when I read it to them. He had his physical on Monday. He weighs 112 pounds (49th percentile) and is 5 ft. 8.75 inches tall (91st percentile) which puts his BMI in the 11th percentile (same as last year). In the past year he gained 17 pounds and grew 4.25 inches. He's 6.25 inches taller than Ian was when he turned fourteen, and he weighs 22 more pounds than Ian did at that age.

Thankful Thursday

 1. Oliver had his physical on Friday. He was grateful he didn't need to get any shots. I am very grateful that he hadn't been to the doctor since his physical last year. At the doctor's office he weighed 95 pounds (39th percentile) and was 5 ft. 4.5 inches tall. He had gained 11 pounds and grown 2.5 inches in the last year. His height is at the 83rd percentile, and his BMI is at the 11th percentile, which is an improvement as some years his BMI was around the 5th percentile which put him close to being labeled underweight. When Nadia turned thirteen, she was 5 ft. 1.25 inches tall, and Ian was 59.5 inches and 76 lbs. when he turned 13. So, Oliver weighs about 20 pounds more than Ian did at this age, and he's also 5 inches taller than his brother was. At the moment, Ian is still taller than Oliver, but I think Ian's days are numbered as to being the tallest child in our family.

2. The weather has been so nice lately! The highs have been in the 70's, and it hasn't been humid. That's my kind of weather! Paul and I usually walk together twice a day with Milo. Sometimes Oliver joins us on rollerblades for our second walk of the day.

3. I'm grateful to be able to continue to homeschool our kids. Yesterday we took our first day of school pictures one day late because it had been raining on Tuesday evening. We also got ice cream at Becky's to celebrate the start of a new school year.

4. Nadia wanted to get some clothes at the thrift store, so we went there yesterday. Last week she renewed her learner's permit which had expired in June. She drove a lot from September through December last year, but she had barely driven at all in 2025. She was the driver for our errands yesterday. We used a Pizza Hut gift card Paul had gotten through his company credit card previously to get stuffed crust pizza, which is something Nadia really loves. 

5. Six months ago, the dentist thought an x-ray showed I had a cavity in a tooth. He decided to wait six months. On Tuesday an x-ray of just that tooth showed zero sign of decay. Woohoo! 

6. Yesterday was Oliver's spiritual birthday. I got him an Adventures in Odyssey book, and we picked up six donuts last night at Dunkin for our family to enjoy today. 

7. I never know what I'll find when I shop at Surplus Outlet. On Saturday I found they were selling bags of Sun Chips for $1.47 (the size that is typically $4-5 each). I shocked the kids by buying 24 bags. I figured I'd likely never see them at that price again. We all like them, and they are healthier than most chips. I've never bought that many bags of chips at one time before, but I don't regret the purchase.

8. I treated Tab to lunch on Friday as a belated birthday lunch. She suggested eating at a restaurant I had never been to before. The food was tasty, but more importantly I enjoyed time with my friend. 

9. The kids have their first art class for the year at MCS this afternoon. I'm thankful the kids can take art there and participate in their musical. 

10. We have nineteen kids signed up for co-op this fall. I used a Lowe's gift card that I had intended to use toward our new refrigerator to pay for four folding chairs. One of the new moms teaches art for a fee elsewhere. She has agreed to teach art in our co-op for free in the spring as long as the supplies are provided. Art is definitely not my forte, so I'm grateful for this assistance.

11. For a few months I've been monitoring the price of airfare to the United Kingdom. On Tuesday evening I learned of a nonstop, roundtrip flight from Newark to Dublin for less than $350 each. Including taxes and fees, I ended up paying $361 per person for nonstop, roundtrip flights in May. Yahoo! I've been working on a two-week itinerary that includes visiting Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, and Ireland. Nadia wants us to add in a day trip to Paris so that will likely happen. It will be the third continent for the kids! Paul and I have been to Paris and England, but we haven't been to Ireland, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland. I think everything we see in Paris will be a repeat for Paul and I, but only some of what we do in England will be a repeat for us. 

Our third teenager!

My baby is a teenager today. Since my kids are close together in age, it seems I'll have about 23 years of having kids in the house (2008-2031). That means 17 of those 23 years have already passed. If Oliver hadn't repeated fourth grade, I'd only have five years left. I want to savor the moments over the next six years! In Pennsylvania children aren't supposed to sit in the front of a vehicle until they are at least thirteen years old. Ian refuses to sit in the front. Nadia has been sitting in the front for a couple of years, but she didn't start doing that when she was thirteen. Oliver has been SO excited about being able to sit in the front. The photos in this post were taken yesterday. Since he is going to be wearing a bathing suit most of the time today, I had him wear his birthday t-shirt one day early. The rainbow on our first hike was an added bonus for the photo! 

Because he's turning thirteen in Hawaii, he's not having a birthday party this year. However, he asked to go parasailing for the first time on his birthday. He and his siblings are doing that this evening. He received most of his birthday gifts two months before his birthday. Pop Pop got him a bicycle. We got him rollerblades, a book, and Minecraft bedding and drapes for his bedroom. His bedroom has had a jungle theme for the last almost 13 years. At some point Nadia and Ian had changed the theme of their bedrooms. Ian's has been Mario for several years whereas his was vehicles when he was really young. We also gave him $13 which he used toward the purchase of a larger skateboard. He hasn't used the skateboard much, but he already read the book and has already logged many miles on those rollerblades. I made him wait until last week to open his gift from Aunt Yvonne. I figured he should open at least one gift closer to his actual birthday. He loves the set of 200 dominos she gave him for domino toppling and such. A birthday tradition in our family is to have donuts from Dunkin'. This morning we're going to stop at Liliha Bakery for their famous Coco Puffs (pastry not cereal). 

In many ways Oliver hasn't changed in the last year. He still wraps the same blanket around him throughout the day, even in the summer! He still loves to try new foods, especially seafood. He's already had shrimp and mahi mahi on this trip, and he wants to eat a lot more seafood over the next 12 days. He is still very generous, and he gives the best hugs. 

Here are some ways he's changed over the last year:

1. His favorite way to use his screentime turns the last few months has been to play with the Oculus. He's definitely used it far more than anyone else in the house has ever used it over the years we've owned it.

2. He now wears a ring all the time even though Paul is not a fan.

3. He's been attending the first service with Paul and I, and then he helps out in a kids' class for 4-year-olds and Kindergarteners during the second service. Multiple times Paul and I have had adults come to use and tell us what a big help he is.

4. He started regularly attending Bible quizzing practices on Wednesdays from 4:30-6:00, but we didn't feel he had put in enough effort to compete at Nationals. He did participate in other practice quizzes. We've already started working with him on memorizing verses from I and II Corinthians. I'm hopeful that next year he will compete with one of our church's teams at Nationals.

5. Oliver loves the fact that he has passed Nadia out in height. If the height charts are accurate, he will eventually pass out Ian, Paul, and I by several inches. Time will tell!

6. He got a new pair of glasses, and he wears them almost all the time. He chose an "aviator" style because of having seen the Mission Impossible movies.

7. He rarely asks me for help when he's doing his math lessons on Teaching Textbooks. This is a big change. He still doesn't have all his multiplication facts memorized. This summer he started getting a head start on his seventh-grade math. He completed more than 20 lessons plus some quizzes during the summer. 

8. He likes to buy fireworks with his own money.

9. Sometimes he stays up until 10:00 pm. 

10. He has now spent time in all 50 states! We visited the last three while he was twelve years old - Alaska, Louisiana, and Hawaii.

11. He took art and chorus at Meadowbrook Christian School for the first time in his life. He sang in the choir in two school programs (December and May), and he participated in a musical (Wizard of Oz) for the first time. 

12. Although he doesn't have a phone yet, he learned that he can use the Echo dot to call his friend Xandir. Some days this summer he has talked for hours with Xandir.

13. He's started playing with James, who is a friend from church who lives within walking distance of our home. He also has been spending more time with Ian, particularly while Nadia was working at Camp Susque.

Medical Appointments

Thankfully, the five of us are generally very healthy. Aside from my broken ankle in 2021, we haven't had any surgeries, hospitalizations, or doctor appointments aside from physicals for several years. Despite being healthy, we still see a doctor at least once a year for a physical, see the dentist at least twice a year, and the boys typically see the orthodontist once a month. This year I've made more appointments than usual. Paul has only seen the dentist. I had a pap smear and a mammogram plus an extra trip to the dentist for a small filling. Nadia has only seen the dentist plus had a physical.

Oliver had his twelve-year-old physical yesterday. He grew three inches in the past year and is now 5 foot two inches tall, which puts him in the 87th percentile, and he's still on track to reach his projected height of 6 feet tall. He gained ten pounds over the last year, which means his BMI is still at the 5th percentile. I was happy to see that he weighed 82 pounds because the goal had been for him to weight at least 80 pounds for our zip lining adventure in Alaska next week. He was happy to be told he wasn't getting any shots at his physical, but then when we were at the orthodontist yesterday afternoon, he found out that he needs to have two teeth pulled next month, and he dislikes those shots more than immunizations, and I have to agree with him on that assessment. 

At Ian's physical in January, we mentioned we thought he might have sleep apnea. This led to a referral to the pulmonologist at Geisinger. They had scheduled his sleep study for next week, but we cancelled once we received the estimated charge. He met with a pulmonologist in Hershey where they charge far less for a sleep study. That doctor said he needed to see a cardiologist and an ENT. The cardiologist appointment was a waste of time and almost $400 because he said Ian doesn't have a heart murmur. The ENT appointment last month was a waste of time (not sure yet if it was a waste of money as we haven't received a bill) because they told us they don't do nose surgeries on those under the age of 18, and they knew when I scheduled the appointment that it was for a 14-year-old who has hypertrophy turbinate. She suggested we take him to an ENT at Geisinger, Camp Hill (to see Dr. Wilson), or Hershey. On July 24 I called the office in Camp Hill and left a message. On July 25 I asked the ENT we saw to send a referral there. Having heard nothing in the meantime, I called and left another message at the ENT in Camp Hill on August 12. This morning, they told me that they had received the referral but hadn't contacted us because they don't work with our insurance. I said that we don't have any insurance. They for some reason thought we had UPMC insurance, which we've never had. So later they called back and scheduled an appointment with Ian for December 3 in Hershey. Because they won't repair a deviated septum prior to the age of 18, we are not sure if we should wait so that Ian wouldn't have two nose surgeries. It seems wise to find out the results of the sleep study first. If he doesn't have severe sleep apnea, we might wait until he's 18 to fix his nose and just let him continue to be a mouth breather. I called the pulmonologist in Hershey on August 5 to request that the follow-up appointment after the sleep study be done by phone or video instead of in person given the length of our drive to and from Hershey. I never heard if the doctor approved that or not, so I called yesterday to follow-up as I had said on August 5 we would need to reschedule if it had to be in person. We have to drive down there to get the results because the doctor wants to do another exam. I'm not too thrilled with his examination skills since he thought Ian has a heart murmur, and the cardiologist said he doesn't. But I rescheduled his follow-up appointment by one week so that it won't interfere with our homeschool co-op. Either Paul or I will be taking Ian to Hershey for three doctor appointments from October 29 - December 3. At the orthodontist yesterday, I asked when he would begin working on Ian's lower jaw because he's been in phase two for six months. He said he'll start next month so Ian will have two orthodontist appointments next month, and he's also going to get another x-ray (per the request of the orthodontist) when Oliver is having two teeth extracted. 

We do have dental insurance, and it is definitely worth the monthly premium we pay. We don't have vision insurance. Last week I called and scheduled appointments four of us to see the eye doctor in December/January because the last time we saw the eye doctor was December 2022. We don't have medical insurance, but we've been members of a Christian medical sharing program for almost two years. So far, we've only had one medical bill reimbursed (dermatologist for Paul), but I anticipate receiving reimbursement after Ian's sleep study. I am going to research the cost of health insurance again this fall to make sure we are still making the correct choice by going with Samaritan instead of insurance. The ENT office I spoke with today said the first appointment will cost $250. Since we received $18K back from the insurance this year, the line item on our budget for medical expenses currently shows a negative number despite these extra bills. 

Twelve years old!

 My baby turned twelve years old this morning! I'm so thankful for the twelve years we have been able to spend with Oliver so far. Twelve months from today I'll be the mom of three teenagers! Every life is a miracle. We're not always aware of all the times our lives have been spared, but in Oliver's case we're aware of some of those instances. The first that comes to mind is in May 2012. The staff at the hospital wanted to do an emergency c-section to save my life, which would have ended his life because he wasn't quite far enough along to be considered viable. I begged them not to, and I prayed fervently that God would stop the bleeding and spare his life. Thankfully, God answered those prayers. The day after he was born, the NICU staff informed me that the previous day they weren't that optimistic that he would live. There have been other scary moments since then, but thankfully the Lord brought him through those hard times and enabled him to flourish.

Oliver's birthday party took place two weeks ago because I thought it would be special if four of his cousins could attend. For the past eleven months we had planned to celebrate Oliver's birthday on Long Island with Aunt Janet. However, Hurricane Debby altered those plans. Considering Aunt Janet currently lives in Reno, we had reservations for four nights at a Holiday Inn, so it seemed challenging to come up with alternative plans if it was raining most of the time we were out there. We scratched the plans (which included visiting five NPS sites, the private beach, and Bronx Zoo), and made some new plans. We said Oliver could choose where we went to dinner tonight. He chose Texas Roadhouse. We'll pick up donuts today at Dunkin for breakfast tomorrow. I got a DVD from the library of a movie he's been wanting to see for a few months, and Julianna and Nathaniel are going to spend about 7 hours with us tomorrow while their mother is at work. Oliver had opened some birthday presents on the day of his party, and he opened one from Pop Pop last Friday. This morning, he opened the gifts from us, which included two puzzles, three books, one Lego set, a pair of wireless headphones, some Pokémon cards, and a pogo stick. Next year, Lord willing, we will be celebrating his birthday in Hawaii! 

I usually include a list of descriptions on each child's birthday, but when I looked at his list from his half-birthday in February, everything I listed there is still true. When we go to sit-down restaurants, Ian and Oliver still order off the children's menu, but we're making an exception tonight for Oliver because he wants to eat seafood, and there isn't any seafood on the kids' menu at Texas Roadhouse. I love Oliver so much. Of my three kids, he's the one who tells me he loves me the most often, and he also often writes a love message to me on the sermon outline at church on Sunday mornings. He repeated fourth grade so he *could* have already been in the youth group for a year, but as of May he's been attending the youth group instead of Kidzway on Sunday mornings, and next month he'll begin attending Bible quizzing and youth group on Wednesday nights. Memorizing is a challenge for him, so I've been giving him a head start and have already been working with him on memorizing verses from Luke for Bible quizzing. He had five lines in the musical last week, and although he didn't speak loudly enough, he did remember his lines! He will be taking art and chorus at Meadowbrook Christian School for the first time in his life this school year, which means he can also be in the spring musical. Middle school here we come! 

11.5 Years Old!

Eighteen months from today, I'll be the mother of three teenagers. The time is just flying by. In addition to today being Oliver's half-birthday, today is also the 27th anniversary of the day Paul and I met at a ballroom dancing class at Boscov's department store. Originally, I planned for him to have a date with Paul this afternoon at Kaos, but Xandir's mom asked if Oliver could spend a few hours at their home and then go with them to Kaos this afternoon. Yesterday Oliver did extra schoolwork so that he could have this fun outing today. 

Here are eleven current descriptions of our youngest:

1. He loves the blanket shown in the photo above. He carries that thing all around the house for many months of the year. 

2. He loves to try new foods - especially any kind of seafood. He's looking forward to eating some "gator bites" when we're in Florida later this month. 

3. He eats the widest variety of foods for lunch than anyone in our family. The items he requests include tomato soup, grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, any kind of Ramen, hot dog, ham and cheese Hot Pocket, or an egg salad sandwich. 

4. He enjoys doing jigsaw puzzles although the 1,000-piece puzzles we've been doing lately are a bit challenging for him. Paul and Nadia do the majority of those puzzles. 

5. He still loves Nerf guns. He recently went shopping at Walmart to spend some money he received at Christmas, and he purchased another Nerf gun, a Lego set, and some fingerboards (basically a very tiny skateboard if you're as clueless as I was until he showed me one). 

6. He loves to use the iPad to chat with his cousins in Quito or to play a video game. 

7. His favorite book series to read are Dead Sea Squirrels, Imagination Station, and Magic Tree House. During our fall session of co-op, he read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

8. He still is very generous.

9. He still talks almost nonstop.

10. He still is the only one of our children who sometimes chooses to go to bed before his bedtime.

11. He loves to have his back, neck, or head scratched. He's also a hugger, for which I am very thankful.

I usually do my gratitude lists on Thursdays, but I'll write one today since I doubt that I'll write another post this week.

1. I spoke with the investigator again on Monday. He said he's going to ask the insurance company to reimburse us $20K from my 2021 ankle surgery. That would be such a blessing! I greatly appreciate his help!

2. I've been talking to Yvonne for 1-2 hours once a week lately. I don't talk to Wendy regularly, but she called me once near the end of January, and that was a treat. 

3.  We hosted two game days for homeschoolers in January, and we're hosting one more this Friday afternoon. I'm thankful we can have the kids' friends over. Our little co-op that we host in our home will begin in March and last for ten weeks.

4. Last Saturday Oliver went to a Nerf war at another church while Julianna spent a few hours at our home with Nadia. Their family (of 5) joined our family for dinner, Apples to Apples, and Quiplash.

5. Cooper has been sleeping through the night lately, which is greatly appreciated. The two dogs get along pretty well. We will be dropping the dogs off on Tuesday morning. We've had Cooper for two weeks so far. 

6. Nadia earned an A in her third class through Grand Canyon University. She'll start her fourth class in early March. 

7. The Living History Fair went well on Friday night. There was a really nice turnout for the event.

8. Ian's piano recital went well on Sunday. I'm also thankful that Pop Pop came up to attend it. 

9. Ian did well on his math and reading standardized tests on Monday and Tuesday. I can't say that Oliver did well, but he did better than he did in 2021 so at least he's moving in the right direction. They'll take their language test on Monday. In our state testing is required in grades 3, 5, and 8, which means this is Ian's last time until he takes the PSAT/SAT. 

10. I took my friend, Cheri, out for dinner on Monday night to celebrate her birthday (which was January 25). I hadn't seen her since December. 

11. We had tickets to go up the Washington Monument in 2020 which obviously was cancelled due to COVID. I have tried multiple times since then to get tickets and never managed to get them before they sold out. Today I got 5 tickets for March 8! I was SO happy when I completed that purchase!

Tech Week

The Sound of Music rehearsals have primarily been held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings along with several Saturday rehearsals. This week we have three long rehearsals (Monday- Wednesday) and then five performances (Thursday through Sunday). I believe this week will be record breaking for me in terms of the number of nights in a row that I am not in bed at home at 11pm. I am eagerly anticipating Monday night when I can resume by normal sleeping habits. The time change this past Sunday hasn't exactly helped as my body hadn't yet made the one-hour transition.

I recently realized I had totally forgotten to take Oliver's 11th birthday portrait. I have a frame in which there is a spot for a wallet size picture for most years (larger for birth and larger for age 18). The picture here was the one I snapped (3 months late) for Oliver's eleven-year-old portrait. A bigger mistake I made recently was that I *thought* I had bought tickets for Ian and Paul to see Tim Hawkins in Camp Hill. By the time I realized my error, the tickets were all sold out. I felt horrible about this mistake because Ian was really looking forward to seeing him in person. Hopefully in the future I'll be able to get tickets for him to see Tim Hawkins. I do have tickets for us to see TobyMac (all the kids really wanted to see him for the first time), and Tasha Layton is one of the other artists that will be at that concert, and she was on Nadia's "list" of artists she wanted to see whom she hasn't seen yet. I had tickets for a Steven Chapman concert, but that concert was cancelled. Not counting the artists she'd like to see again (Cain, Anne Wilson, For King and Country, and Matthew West are her top four artists I believe), I'm hoping in the next couple of years to be able to get tickets for her to see Riley Clemmons and Steven Curtis Chapman. Riley is on tour with Zach Williams for the next several months, and he's not one of her favorites so it will be a little while until I will likely get tickets for a Riley Clemmons concert. I hope to never make the mistake I made with the Tim Hawkins tickets again. 

Paul finished assembling the foosball table on Sunday afternoon! Some of the kids who come to our co-op on Tuesdays were able to play some foosball this week. While he was working on that I was raking leaves, trimming bushes, cleaning the fence, picking apples off the ground, etc. I was the substitute teacher for our Sunday School class this past Sunday. I taught a lesson on the book of Jude. Paul will have to go to The Chosen Bible study without me tonight due to a Sound of Music dress rehearsal. He took the kids to choir on Monday night and took Ian to his piano lesson yesterday because of my rehearsals. Normally Ian's piano lessons are in the morning, but his had to be rescheduled this week #1 because we had to pick a time that was also good for his duet partner and #2 Ian and Nadia are leaving for a Bible quizzing event in Ohio on Friday morning. He'll have one more rehearsal with Josh next Friday morning, and then their recital is the next day. Nadia can't wait until he's done practicing The Waltz of the Flowers. She's tired of it! Paul is also taking five kids on a field trip tomorrow morning to attend a program about beavers for homeschoolers in grades 6-12 at a state park located one hour away. I'm very thankful he can help out more this week in light of my crazy rehearsal/performance schedule. I'm in six scenes of the musical - five as a nun and one as Frau Zeller. I have VERY little time to change from my party dress (when I'm Frau Zeller) back into my nun costume. On Monday I didn't make it back on stage on time. The director changed what time some of us are exiting the stage from the party, and I made it on time (with assistance) last night. Although I never plan to do this again, it has been quite a learning experience for me!

11 Years Old!

 On Monday Oliver turned eleven years old! I had planned a two-day getaway in Pittsburgh for his birthday. We ended up being away for three nights. On Saturday morning I picked Nadia up from Camp Susque and Melinda and Ed picked up Ian, Oliver, and Xandir. That afternoon we began driving to the western part of Pennsylvania. Our first stop was a free Christian music festival in Brockway. The headline artists were supposed to be Katy Nichole and We are Messengers. We are Messengers backed out a couple of weeks before the event, but Consumed by Fire came in their place. We spent Sunday morning at the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. We had to pay full price because they had left AZA in June. We spent the afternoon at the Bushy Run Battlefield and Fort Pitt before having dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse with Charlie and Nadine Beares. On Oliver's birthday we spent the day at Kennywood. Oliver rode one of the big rollercoasters two times. Unfortunately for Nadia and Ian, the biggest roller coaster was closed. Oliver forgot to pack his birthday t-shirt. Instead of a birthday cake, we splurged and got the kids each a large dish of Dippin' Dots. We ate dinner at Subway and then instead of driving home, we drove for four hours into Virginia so that we could spend five hours with my dad and say goodbye to Margie who passed away today. Yesterday, Xandir and Faith came over for five hours. The boys played the Nintedo Switch for a couple of those hours. All six of us played three rounds of Codenames.

Oliver received Gatorade powder from Nadia, money from Ian, Grandpa, and Pop Pop, and 8 puzzles, $11, a watch, 5 pounds of peach rings, and a bag of Fritos from Paul and me. Oliver used his money to buy a drone, a watch, a cotton candy machine, and the supplies for making cotton candy. He spent $20 more than he received, but he'll be earning money from doing Junior Ranger badges on our upcoming vacation.

Oliver had his physical today. He only received one injection because they were out of stock of Menactra. Today he weighed 72 pounds and 6 ounces (32nd percentile) and was 59.25" tall (84th percentile). His BMI was at the 5th percentile which means he's not technically underweight as they define underweight as less than the 5th percentile. Over the past year he gained 5 pounds plus 4 ounces and grew 2.5 inches. Fifth grade here we come! 

10.5 years old

  

As of today, it has been exactly 26 years since Paul and I met at a ballroom dance class, and our youngest child will turn 11 in exactly six months! Here are 11 descriptions that are currently true of Oliver.

1. He has a new pair of eyeglasses that he's supposed to use when he's reading.

2. One of his most favorite activities is building forts in various places around our home.

3. His favorite toys are his nerf guns.

4. He is still generally a very generous boy. For example, he received a large canister of Gatorade powder (enough to make 9 gallons) for Christmas. He shares his Gatorade with his siblings and sometimes his friends.

5. His favorite way to earn screen time is to do a jigsaw puzzle. His second favorite way is through Duolingo. His skills with completing puzzles have dramatically improved over the last year.

6. His favorite ways to use his screen time include playing Roblox or Among Us on an iPad, watching YouTube videos (ex. Mr. Beast or Unspoken) on an iPad, or watching a movie with Paul. 

7. Of my three kids, Oliver eats by far the widest variety of foods for breakfast and lunch. He likes almost everything I make for dinner.

8. Oliver is the only one of our kids who regularly opts to go to bed a bit earlier than what we have stated is his bedtime. He's the only member of our family who hasn't ever wanted Milo sleep in his bed with him. 

9. Sometimes he joins me for one of my walks with Milo. He also is the only child who chooses to go with me inside grocery stores. When I go for walks, I usually listen to an audiobook with an earbud. When Oliver joins me, I listen to Oliver because he talks nonstop. 

10. Oliver prefers to read chapter books out loud, but very recently he has made the transition to reading them silently. He only reads when he is required to do so. He's been reading Imagination Station books recently. 

11. I really like the Beast Academy math textbooks. I had been having Oliver work through them at a much slower pace. This is his second year in fourth grade, and the first half of this school year he was using the third-grade books. Although those are superior in developing problem solving skills, they are not a good fit for Oliver. Just last week I threw in the towel while he was in book 4A and decided to have him switch to Teaching Textbooks (4th grade). I feel like this was definitely the right choice. He can now complete a math lesson independently, and he sometimes does more than one lesson in a day of his own initiative! His grades have been excellent so far. What a relief! My current goal is that he will finish the 4th and 5th grade Teaching Textbook courses by May 2024. Now that I've switched him to Teaching Textbooks, he actually is sometimes choosing to do a math lesson on the weekend to earn screen time. This is a first for Oliver!

Birthday Video

Although I haven't been making progress in terms of improving the quality of the videos that I've made over the past year as I had hoped to, I still think my videos from the past 13 months are much better than the all the videos I made in previous years. So far in 2022 I've made three videos, one for Nadia's 14th birthday, one for Oliver's 10th birthday, and one about our vacation that we took in May. The kids have asked if I would make one about Milo. I am not sure if that will happen or not, but I do plan on making at least three more videos this year - one about this summer (June through August), one for Ian's 13th birthday, and one about our vacation in September. I'm hoping that these videos will be enjoyed by our family for decades to come. I finished Oliver's 10th birthday video this morning (see below).

I also took Oliver to his annual physical this afternoon. Last year he was 54 inches tall (74th percentile) and weighed 60 pounds (40th percentile) which put his BMI at the 13th percentile. As of today, he is 56.75 inches tall (80th percentile) and weighs 67 pounds (40th percentile) which puts his BMI at the 11th percentile. The pediatrician's office last year had said they only considered a child to be underweight if they were below the 5th percentile, but we switched to a Family Practice Center this year because they only charge self-pay patients $50 a visit, and she said he was underweight. I'm not concerned about his weight. When Ian turned ten, he weighed 63.8 pounds and was 53 inches tall, which means Oliver is currently about 4 inches taller and about 3 pounds heavier than Ian was when he turned ten. The kids and I had dinner at Bonanza using a gift card Pop Pop had given us for Christmas last year. That was the final celebration of Oliver's tenth birthday! Today we began the process of gradually easing into the next school year. All three kids did math today. I'm hoping that Oliver makes a lot of academic progress this year during his second year in fourth grade. 

Double Digits!

We have had at least one child who was in single digits for fourteen years, but that is no longer the case as Oliver turned ten years old today! Although Nadia is more of an extrovert than Ian, Oliver is the most extroverted member of our family. We have had a play date with the Schrecks around Ian's birthday, but he's never invited any friends to a birthday party. Since 2018 (except for 2020) we have celebrated his birthday by going on an overnight trip to Great Wolf Lodge. Nadia has invited at least two girls over for her birthday for the past seven birthday parties which have either been at a swimming pool or a sleepover at our house. Last year Oliver had two birthday outings with a total of four friends. 

This year for his tenth birthday he invited ten friends to go bowling for two hours. Nine of the ten we invited were planning to go, but yesterday Maddox came down with a stomach bug, and Xandir's mom came down with COVID. I had rented two lanes at a bowling alley for two hours, which meant up to twelve people were allowed to bowl. I hadn't brought any socks because I didn't think I'd be bowling so ten kids plus Paul bowled for two hours last night. We had a bit of a scare when we arrived at the bowling alley because the doors were locked. I called and stated that I had booked a birthday party from 5-7pm. The bowling alley didn't open for the general public until 6pm. Thankfully, after the employee made a phone call, he let us in. Whew! We brought in four large pizzas, a gallon of Hawaiian Punch, some bottles of water, pretzels, a pan of brownies, and a pan of Rice Krispie treats. Aunt Millie usually makes him a cake, but they have been on vacation in Tennessee for the past week. The entire pan of Rice Krispie treats was consumed in addition to 3.5 of the 4 pizzas and the whole gallon of punch. We brought home most of the pretzels and a little bit of the brownies. The paper products featured Baby Yoda (Grogu). Bumpers were used on one lane. Ian, Ean, Micah, Nadia, and Paul didn't use bumpers the first game, and Paul won on that side, and Nadia was in second place. Isaiah switched to the non-bumper lane for the second game, and Ian won the second game. Of the group that used bumpers, Karyss won the second game, and I can't recall if it was Westyn or Oliver who won the first game. It was definitely the most expensive birthday party that Paul and I have thrown over our 21 years of marriage, but compared to the parties that many others have, it was still a simple affair. Oliver received $20, a $25 gift card to Amazon, some candy, some chips, water balloons, and a gallon of iced tea from his friends. 

I let the boys stay at home yesterday morning when I went to get Nadia from Camp Susque. On the way back home we picked up donuts for today's breakfast. Since Oliver is the birthday boy, he gets to eat two of the six donuts. He'll have leftover pizza for lunch, and he requested grilled hot dogs and macaroni and cheese for dinner. We started watching the new movie "Luck" on Apple tv yesterday, and we're planning to finish watching that movie together as a family today. It's rare to find a movie that just came out that is rated G, but that is true for this one. We are ever so grateful that Oliver joined our family ten years ago, and I look forward to seeing how he will grow and develop in the years to come! 

Oliver's birthday celebration began on Wednesday evening when I took the boys to Knoebels. On Thursday he selected, and I bought two birthday balloons at Dollar Tree. On Friday night we attended Aunt Debbie's 70th birthday party. The bowling party yesterday was the second part of Oliver's celebration. Today he's opening his birthday gifts from his parents and also from my dad and Margie, eating his birthday donuts, and eating the food he requested for dinner. The last part of his celebration will be tomorrow when we have dinner at Bonanza. He also will have his ten-year-old doctor appointment tomorrow morning. Every child is a miracle, but when I was pregnant, many people referred to Nadia as a miracle considering how many years that we waited to become parents. Nadia's pregnancy was very smooth aside from the fact she came four weeks early and the delivery didn't go smoothly. Oliver's pregnancy was extremely precarious for both he and I once I reached about 21 weeks. I will never forget lying in the hospital and begging the doctors not to take him by c-section because at that point he was too early to be deemed "viable." They thought they needed to do so to save my life. Thankfully I didn't bleed to death, and Oliver stayed in the womb long enough that he could be cared for in a NICU after he was born. We love our ten-year-old very much! 

Dogsitting

Earlier this week a mom sent an email to people in the homeschool co-op in her search for a teenager to dog sit their female cavapoo for ten days. Nadia got the job, and Cookie was delivered to our house last night. Nadia loves dogs, cats, guinea pigs, etc. so she was excited at the prospect of having two dogs for ten days, plus she likes to earn $100. She's only earned money from someone other than me one other time in her life (she and her friend babysat a boy together once). I'm happy that someone else is paying her this time! Milo usually alternates between Nadia and Ian's beds. Last night it would normally have been Nadia's turn to have Milo, but because Cookie was crying in her crate for an extended period of time, Cookie slept with Nadia, and Ian had Milo two nights in a row. Normally Cookie sleeps in a crate, but it seems that in a foreign environment she preferred to snuggle with someone. We were told that Cookie doesn't have accidents in her crate but does have accidents in the house. She's had one accident so far. We thought Milo would be thrilled to have a playmate, but so far Cookie, despite the fact she's smaller than Milo, has been aggressive toward Milo (growling and jumping on him). Hopefully they will learn to get along as we hate having to keep Milo in his crate just to keep the two of them separate. 

In early December I joined Sam's club for the first time in my life. Time will tell if I keep the membership more than one year. It definitely made sense the first year as they refunded the membership fee during my first shopping trip. I had done one online order in December, but this Tuesday was the first time I actually went into the store. It was a quick trip because I didn't want to leave the boys at home longer than necessary and also because my ankle still swells up if I walk around too much. What I gleaned so far was that they don't carry everything we typically buy (ex. no skim milk), but they do have good prices on some things. The "find" that put the biggest smile on my face was turkey. Lunchmeat has been very scarce at Weis, Walmart, and Aldi, and also the prices have been skyrocketing. The package contained 2.5 lbs., which is more turkey than I usually buy at one time for Paul, but the price was good, and they had plenty in stock. I put some of it in the freezer. I didn't buy hotdogs there because I thought the price wasn't good. Then I went to Walmart after dropping Nadia off at her drama class and found out that the price of hotdogs had skyrocketed very recently. I hadn't purchased bacon or beef stew meat for months due to the price increases. I purchased them at Sam's. I paid more than I have ever paid per pound for those in the past BUT the price increase was smaller than it is at Lingle's, which is usually where I find the best prices for meat. I've also never purchased so many pounds of beef stew meat at one time. I shouldn't need any for at least a year! I'm not sure if I'll renew the membership in light of the $45 annual fee, but for at least the next about ten months I'm sure I'll shop there from time to time. It is definitely the best place to get Dorito's at the moment. I don't plan on buying eggs there again as #1 it wasn't the best price and #2 you have to buy at least 36 at a time which is definitely more than I usually buy at one time. 

Ian enjoyed his date with Paul last Saturday. They shared a pizza and bowled. The kids really enjoy these dates. Next year I'm planning to expand it so that they each get three dates a year. Today Oliver is going on a date with Paul to Treasure Castle Playland and KFC.

I'm very encouraged to see that some states are ending their mask mandates except for kids in school. Many have stated that masks other than N95 masks aren't that helpful, and I rarely see anyone wearing an N95 mask. Paul heard about a study recently that showed that the N95 masks are only helpful with Omicron if someone sneezes, coughs, or spits in your face. You need something even more powerful (a gas mask?) to prevent breathing the miniscule particles that are just floating around in the air. We've been using an air purifier at home that Paul's dad purchased. I'm even more thrilled to see that the cities which instituted vaccine mandates several weeks ago are already ending them or talking about ending them in the near future (Salem, Boston, Chicago, etc.). I was very encouraged when I saw that Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and England have scrapped their COVID restrictions, and I hoped the USA would follow their pattern. I have made most of the plans for our vacation in May. I'm still holding off on planning our fall trip, but now I have far more hope that we can take our unvaccinated kids on a road trip to New England or the Midwest. 

9.5 Years Old

There are only six months left of us having a child with a single digit age as Oliver will turn 10 on August 7. February 7 is also special because Paul and I met on February 7, 1997, at a ballroom dancing class at Boscov's department store. The teacher of the class, Barbara Snitzer, is currently ninety years old. 

Paul finally took Ian on his belated birthday date two days ago (albeit Ian's birthday was December 12). They went bowling and had pizza. Oliver won't have to wait nearly as long for his half-birthday date with Paul as Paul plans to take him to Treasure Castle Playland this Saturday. The kids love the tradition we started last year of them each getting two dates a year with a parent. Here are some ways I would describe our 9.5-year-old whom we love very, very much. 

1. He started learning to play the piano over the last several months. He's making good progress! He has learned to read some notes in the treble clef and is working to learn some in the bass clef. He's just begun to play songs that involve playing 2-3 notes at a time whereas previously he only played one note at a time. His goal at this time is to learn to play the electric guitar. I told him first he needs to learn to read music via the piano lessons. 
2. His favorite way to earn screen time is by doing jigsaw puzzles. He has come a long way in the last few months in this skill. He can now do 300-piece puzzles on his own in a very reasonable amount of time.
3. Almost every day at lunch he eats 1-2 hotdogs as part of his lunch. He doesn't put ketchup or mustard on them, and he doesn't use a bun. His asks me to sprinkle some shredded cheddar cheese on his hotdogs every day. 
4. He never plays with the Oculus, and he rarely uses the Nintendo Switch. He occasionally uses an app on the iPad when he has screen time, but the vast majority of the time he watches something on the TV or the iPad via Right Now Media, Disney+ or a DVD. I gave Paul his Valentine's Day gift early yesterday - a three-month subscription to Netflix. We hadn't had Netflix for years. Oliver is also enjoying Daddy's Valentine's Day gift.
5. Oliver plays outside more than his siblings, even in the dark in the winter. One of the neighbors who is fourteen years old will often knock on our sliding glass door after dinner to ask if Oliver can come out to play with him. 
6. Oliver has had sutures on his head three times - two of which were in the last a little more than six months. Here's to hoping that trend won't continue! His most recent one won't leave a visible scar because his eyebrow will cover it up as it gets bushier when he's older.
7. I decided recently to have Oliver repeat the fourth grade. If he hadn't been born two months prematurely, he would only be in third grade right now. I can always have him skip a grade in the future if I end up thinking this decision was a mistake. I have toyed with holding him back a grade in the past, but I feel more confident now that it's the right choice to make. I don't think he's ready for fifth grade next year. One upside to this is that I get one additional year before I have an empty nest. In our state homeschooled kids have to take a standardized test three times. I want him to have an extra year before he takes the test as a fifth grader. This decision only really impacts him in two ways #1 he won't graduate from high school until he's eighteen instead of graduating when he's seventeen, and #2 it means we will delay his entrance into the youth group at church by one year (not until June 2024 instead of June 2023). A boy who lives across the street from us was also born in August 2012, and his parents delayed his entrance to kindergarten until he was six, so that also helps Oliver accept the idea of him being in fourth grade next year as that's what grade his friend (who is practically the same age) will be in next fall. Part of Oliver's problem is that he daydreams way, way too much. I'm trying to get him to do a better job of paying attention and not letting his mind wander.
8. Oliver is still very, very generous, and he still really, really appreciates physical affection - hugs, his back being scratched, etc. It's not only good habits that have been true in his life for an extended period of time. I have been trying for years to get him to say "brought" instead of "brung". We shall see when he eradicates that word from his vocabulary!
9. For many years it was hard to come up with ideas as to what to get Oliver for his birthday or Christmas because he almost never asked for anything. In 2020 he did start to come up with a couple of ideas at Christmas and his birthday. In 2021 he swung the pendulum and could easily come up with a very long wish list. 
10. Oliver does a great job of filling in the blanks in the sermon outline during the Sunday morning worship service! He takes after his big sister in this regard as Ian has always been one to draw on his sermon outline rather than fill in the blanks.

New Babysitter

Several years ago, after doing some research online, I decided that when our kids were ten years old, they would be allowed to stay at home alone for very brief periods of time and that when they turned twelve, they'd be allowed to babysit and/or stay at home alone for longer periods of time. Nadia ended up with more opportunities to babysit because of COVID because I wasn't allowed to take Oliver along with me when I took Ian to an orthodontist appointment. Because Ian turned twelve last month, he's become the second babysitter in our family. His window of opportunity for babysitting will be briefer than Nadia's because Oliver will turn ten in August. Nadia hasn't had as many opportunities to be paid to babysit lately because Ian hasn't seen the orthodontist since June; his next appointment is in February. Nadia has primarily been earning money through memorizing chapters of Romans and James as I give her $10 per chapter. Ian will be able to earn money babysitting on Tuesday afternoons for 3+ months as Nadia has a drama class from 3:30-4:45, and the church where it is held is 25 minutes from our home. Normally I will do some grocery shopping at Aldi during her class unless the parents are needed to work on the set or costumes on a particular day, but today the parents of the students in drama had a meeting. Sometimes Ian isn't done with his schoolwork by 3:00, but I told him if he wanted to babysit today, he had to be done by that time. He finished at 2:30 although he does need to put some more time into studying for his science test tomorrow.

Yesterday Pop Pop came up and spent about 6 hours with the kids. He took them to lunch at Bonanza as he had some gift certificates that expire at the end of this month, and it's only $1.99 for kids to eat there on Mondays. Ian played a game of chess with Pop Pop. Ian and Oliver both played some Nintendo Switch games with Pop Pop, and we all played Suspend and Exploding Kittens together. Nadia also helped Pop Pop try a virtual reality game with the Oculus. I gave him a haircut. He still has one more certificate so he's hoping to use the last one next Monday.

Stitches again

 

It seems that for every day of the year people have assigned a celebration of some sort - national cheesecake day, pi day, Star Wars day, etc. In other instances, we are encouraged to celebrate or focus on something for a month - Black History month, Women's History month, breast cancer awareness month, etc. Next week is the 12th annual National School Choice week. I'm very thankful that we still have school choice in our country. A majority of children attend their local public school, but some parents choose to send their child to a charter school, send their child to a private school, or homeschool them. I'm not sure what impact COVID has had on the enrollment of private and charter schools, but I do know that the number of parents choosing to homeschool their children has gone up dramatically. The states that have the largest percentage of homeschoolers include Alaska (27.5%), Oklahoma (20.1%), Montana (18.3%), and Florida (18.1%). Although homeschooling is typically quite different than remote learning at home through a public school, a vast majority of parents did get at least a taste of homeschooling in the spring of 2020. I don't think homeschooling is the right choice for everyone, but we do believe it's the right choice for our children. 

On Wednesday night Paul called me and said he was taking Nadia and Ian to the hospital because he thought Ian needed to be seen at the ER due to an allergic reaction to having eaten something with a tree nut at youth group. The other time eating a tree nut caused Ian to have breathing difficulty was in June 2020. Benadryl was enough that time, but the Pediatrician did give him a prescription for epi pens at that point. Paul decided to come home first, and Benadryl was enough. His whole body was shaking for a long time afterward, and his throat was in a lot of pain as his reaction is due to eosinophilic esophagitis. He had asked his youth group small group leader if the food had nuts, and the leader had said "probably not." Ian now understands "probably not" means he needs to definitely avoid eating the food. 

On Thursday night I did take Oliver to an urgent care clinic because he fell at the beginning of their ice skating lessons. It's his third time to have stitches on his head over the last four years. The most noticeable scar is from his sledding accident in 2018. The same physician assistant who sewed him up under his chin last summer is the one who sewed him up above his right eyebrow last night. This time he only needed three stitches. The Lidocaine injection is definitely the worst part of the ordeal. I was torn how long to wait to take Oliver. In the end I let Nadia and Ian stay for about 40 minutes of what would have been a 75-minute lesson. A man at the ice-skating rink who helped clean Oliver up also gave him two candy bars and a bottle of water. Oliver gave one candy bar plus a majority of the second candy bar to his siblings as he felt badly that they had to miss part of their lesson on his account. I was planning to take Oliver to the closest urgent care clinic, but when I called, they said they weren't taking any more patients that night because the current wait time was 2.5 hours. I didn't want to take him to the urgent care clinic run by the same hospital where I had my ankle surgery in light of how unhelpful they have been with my surgery bill. The clinic I took him to didn't have any wait, and it was the best one for Paul to meet me there on his way home from work so that he could take Nadia and Ian home with him. They charged me $90 since we don't have insurance. I'm hoping there won't be an additional bill. When I took Ian to his physical earlier this month, I paid $50, but then I received a bill in the mail for another $190. Thankfully, when I called, they said it was a mistake and they wrote off the rest of the bill. I was told his sutures should come out on Wednesday, and I made an appointment with his primary care physician since I think that they will charge me $50, and I'm guessing it would be another $90 if we returned to the urgent care clinic. Also, the PCP is about 22 miles closer to our house. I hope that Oliver will do a better job of protecting his head and not need any more stitches! Thankfully this scar won't be visible because his eyebrow hair should cover it up. 

Today I paid for a photography membership that I considered signing up for on Black Friday. It was cheaper that day, but at that point I wasn't convinced I should take the plunge. I have taken a very small number of pictures over the last four months; I'm sure it's a record for the fewest pictures I've ever taken in that time span over the past 13.5 years not counting the time I was in the hospital during Oliver's pregnancy. I'm hoping that this membership will #1 help me get back in gear in terms of taking more pictures and #2 help me get off the very long plateau I've been on in terms of growth as a photographer. 

As I read in the news recently, I am hoping we WILL follow the pattern of the UK in at least two regards and will NOT follow the pattern of Canada in another. I was thrilled to see that the UK is now treating COVID as endemic = no more mask mandates or vaccine mandates and such in that country. It is now being treated the same as a seasonal flu. I really, really hope that our country will follow suit in the not-so-distant future. Also, they have raised interest rates in the UK, which is something that needs to happen here to help curtail inflation. People didn't like the high interest rates in the US in the 70's, but it brought inflation down and helped bring about the economic boon of the 80's. As for Canada, they have recently partially done away with freedom of speech and freedom of religion as pastors, rabbis, and imams will now face criminal charges if they speak about sexual topics. Unfortunately, it's not hard to envision that will eventually also happen in our country, but I would love to be wrong. Although there's plenty of things in the news that are disturbing, there are some that are encouraging such as the Supreme Court ending the OSHA vaccine mandate, and the filibuster being upheld in the Senate. The Democrats might not want the filibuster now, but won't they want it the next time the Republicans have the majority in the Senate? I don't actually think there should be a vaccine mandate for employees, but if that was to happen, it should come through the legislative not the executive branch.