Peak Rut

Somewhere around 1,400 or 1,500 wild elk live in Pennsylvania. We saw elk in Yellowstone in 2021, but we hadn't seen them in our home state until last week. The area where the herd roams around is two hours from our home. One of the best times to see them is in mid to late September, when they are the most vocal and active. Although we saw elk in Wyoming in September 2021, I think the first time I heard them bugling (on and off for two hours) was last week. I had planned for us to go there other years, but this was the first time the plan actually came to fruition. While the boys were in art class last Thursday, we dropped Milo off at the Seibert's. Sadly, Cooper (age 15) had passed away the previous day. Milo kept sniffing and walking around, trying to find Cooper during his 24-hour stay at their home. The boys didn't stay for chess club because we wanted to arrive at the Elk Country Visitor Center by 5:00, as the best times to see/hear the elk are two hours before sunset and right after sunrise. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get tickets for the horse-drawn wagon ride that takes you very close to the elk. When we're empty nesters, Paul and I might go back up there for a wagon ride. Before we saw the elk, we heard their bugling. Wow! I had no idea how loud they can be! We heard a lot of bugling over a period of two hours. We also saw deer, male elk, and female elk. I really enjoy seeing wild animals, so I would give that experience two thumbs up!

We spent the night in a two-bedroom cabin that I booked through Airbnb. Amazon gave all Prime customers a $10 credit last week toward a video rental or purchase. We used our credit to rent the new Minions movie and watched it that night. The boys slept on a bunk bed in the second bedroom. The next morning I woke the boys up at 6:30, as I was hoping we'd leave the cabin by 7:00. There wasn't any fog at the cabin, so I didn't know there was dense fog in the nearby elk viewing areas. I shouldn't have gotten them up so early. We waited a little bit, but we had no idea how long it would take for the fog to lift. So we left earlier than planned for our next stop, Kinzua Bridge State Park. The bridge, which was the world's highest railroad viaduct when it was built in 1882, was partially destroyed by a tornado in 2003. We had lunch in Clearfield, where my sisters and I were born, and then we drove back home to pick up Milo. Oliver worked a shift at the cafe that evening. I wanted to see pretty fall leaves from our view on the Kinzua Bridge, but almost all the trees were still sporting green leaves. 

Today I'm giving thanks for: 

1. I played the piano in the foyer at our church on September 20, and it turns out another one of our neighbors goes to our church. He asked me that evening, when I was walking Milo, if I give piano lessons. I told him I wasn't currently giving any lessons, but I'm thinking of accepting his offer and doing it with Ian so he will get some experience teaching piano lessons (and earn some $).

2. We enjoyed our 24-hour getaway to see elk and the Kinzua Bridge. 

3. I bought two tickets to the Bloomsburg Fair and the Skillet concert last night, and Uncle Al took Oliver. Oliver used some of the money he's earned to buy himself a hot dog, funnel cake, etc. 

4. Co-op continues to go well. On the 22nd, the kids looked at slides under a microscope in biology and discussed views on eternal security. Today, they dissected four perch and discussed three views on the millennium. Some stay for lunch and games. Last week, some played Sorry while others played Jackbox games, and this week they all played UNO. 

5. My niece, Jenna, found out that she passed her board exams (for OT) last week!

6. My nephew, Andrew, got engaged to Laina on Friday. We are very happy for them! 

7. I talked with Nadia on the phone last week (the first time I spoke to her in more than a month), and it sounds like she's very happy to be at Liberty (her statistics professor is definitely her least favorite).

8. Milo turns six years old tomorrow! We love him very much. Nadia trimmed his nails. That was supposed to become Ian's chore once she went to college, but I'm the one who finally bit the bullet and trimmed his nails. He's not exactly cooperative, but I'm hoping that in time it will become easier for me to do. 

9. Enunciation is not usually Ian's strong suit, but he has been working very diligently to have excellent enunciation when singing Modern Major General in preparation for his upcoming Willy Wonka audition. His voice teacher was impressed last night! Way to go, Ian! 

F L E X I B I L I T Y

Last week, Ian worked four hours at the kennel, and Oliver worked nine hours at the cafe. This week, Ian worked fifteen hours at the kennel, and after Oliver completes his shift today, he will have worked eighteen hours at the cafe. Next week, Ian is scheduled to work about twelve hours, and Oliver is scheduled to work about fifteen hours. The very last dog Ian was going to walk on Wednesday morning was a ten-month-old Labradoodle. Unfortunately, he bit Ian's fingers. His boss called me to assure me that the dog had all his shots and that workers' comp would cover any expenses. At the time, I didn't think he needed to see a doctor, but by Thursday night I decided he needed to have his finger seen to make sure it didn't become infected. I'm not accustomed to dealing with workers' comp. Our PCP does work with it, but they said I needed to know if they were on that particular panel. His boss wasn't sure, and I got the adjuster's voicemail. The PCP and boss suggested I take him to an urgent care. The closest urgent care center had a one-hour wait time. I found another clinic just a few minutes farther away that would take appointments and had a wait time under 15 minutes. However, when we arrived there a couple of hours later for Ian's appointment, we found out they don't work with workers' comp. Thankfully, another urgent care facility very close to that one accepted workers' comp and could see Ian immediately. The doctor barely looked at his finger, but she did send a prescription for an antibiotic to the pharmacy. The medical assistant who took Ian's height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, etc. made a mistake when she entered his height into the computer. She took at least 20 inches off his height! I am surprised she didn't notice that she had made a mistake because the printout said his height was below the 1st percentile and his BMI was greater than the 99th percentile. Both are completely inaccurate! Ian is very slender. Walmart delivered his antibiotic this morning, and workers' comp will reimburse us for the medication. 

Nadia with two of her closest friends at LU - Rayne and Sam (two of her five suitemates)

Both boys having jobs means we need to be very flexible. First, we are flexible as to when we do our schoolwork. Yesterday, Oliver worked from 8:30-2:30, and normally he'd be doing schoolwork then. Ian worked from 4:00-6:45, so we did the subjects we do together in that window of time in between their shifts. Oliver wasn't able to finish all of his schoolwork yesterday given how many hours he worked at the cafe, but I knew he could finish it this weekend. Second, we are flexible about meal times and also whether we eat our main meal of the day at lunch or dinner. Our default is to have lunch around 11:00 am and dinner around 5:00 pm, but when Ian works the 4:00 shift at the kennel we don't eat dinner until 6:00 at the earliest. If Oliver is working the 4:00-8:30 shift, then we have our main meal at lunch. This is also true on Wednesdays because of Bible quizzing and youth group taking place from 4:30-8:00 pm. On Wednesdays, we have our third meal rather early (about 3:40 pm) because we are out the door at 4:10. Third, we are flexible with the time we walk Milo. If I'm taking Ian to work at 7:20 am, then we don't walk Milo until after we drop Ian off at work. Paul and I like to walk 2.4 miles in the morning, but if Oliver needs to be taken to work at 8:20, we usually do a much shorter walk so I have time to make sure he's up, make his lunch, etc. I'm glad we have two cars because sometimes both boys have to be at work at 4:00 so Paul and I each give one of the boys a ride to work at the same time in that instance.

Another area where we recently have shown flexibility is with Ian's coursework. His computer programming class was consuming an INSANE amount of time each week. The amount of time it was taking him to complete the assignments was rapidly increasing, and his grade in the course was also quickly going down. This past Sunday, Paul spent hours helping Ian with one of his C++ assignments. After many hours, the assignment was completed, but they could not figure out how to submit it. Earlier this month Ian had already come to the conclusion that he wanted to switch majors (away from computer programming). Paul had wanted him to switch majors because of AI, but Ian more recently decided this field wasn't the best fit for him. This is exactly why I had him take the class. I thought it best to test the waters sooner rather than later, which is why I signed him up for a cybersecurity camp at Messiah in June and this introductory programming class through Cedarville this fall. At this point, he has no idea what he'd like to pursue instead, and that's fine as he's only a junior in high school. I will just have him take general education classes through dual enrollment until he selects a new major. He emailed his advisor and dropped the class. We felt badly to waste the money, but our sanity was not worth trying to get the money's worth out of that class. I think Paul and I were more stressed out than Ian was. We didn't even have time for a family fun night last weekend due to Ian's course. Because the trust paid for that class, Paul and I will pay for another class (probably through Grand Canyon University) that Ian will take to earn the credits that were dropped. I've given him several choices (history, general psychology, economics, sociology, etc.). Last fall and spring, he took six credits at a time. Since he dropped the programming class last Monday, he has only two credits. Neither Paul nor I have ever dropped a class, and neither of us likes to quit, but I am 100% convinced it was the right choice to make in this instance. Many kids change their majors, and sooner is always better than later. I had students at BU who sadly didn't figure out they had chosen the wrong major until they were seniors, and that was heartbreaking. One of my nieces switched from animal science to engineering after her first year, and she graduated in four years (after taking some classes in the summer). 

Today I am giving thanks for:

1. Oliver's first job

2. Our homeschool group resumed meeting at our home on September 8. We are down to twelve kids who are in grades 8-12. The kids have done two dissections so far: earthworm and crayfish. In theology, we've discussed dispensationalism vs. covenant theology and Calvinism vs. Arminianism. Abby is teaching ASL. Four boys play chess instead of taking ASL. We are also working on a play (Pinocchio). Ian will be the cricket. Nadia will be able to see the performance because it's taking place when she'll be home for Thanksgiving break. Milo LOVES co-op. Once he sees me start setting up the folding table and chairs, he goes to the front door and eagerly awaits the kids' arrival!

3. We were able to meet up with nine of the Towfighis at the Army Expo in Carlisle last Saturday. Jenna couldn't stay long as she was attending a wedding in Hershey, but twelve of us had dinner together at a pizza place before heading home. Paul especially enjoyed watching a WWII tank demonstration that involved them driving around and firing blanks. 

4. Ian's voice lessons resumed on September 14. The school will be doing Willy Wonka instead of Newsies in the spring. The auditions are in three weeks. Ian is preparing to sing the solo "Pure Imagination" and is working on a Willy Wonka monologue, as that is the part he'd like to have. His voice teacher lives very close to our home, which is very convenient. 

5. For several months, I've been making plans to begin a small group Bible study at our church on Wednesday nights. As of eight days before the start date, there were only six people signed up, including Paul and me, and two of those said they'd only stay in the group if there were at least twelve people in the study. However last week more joined the group, and we had sixteen people attend this week. One woman wasn't able to attend due a worship team meeting, so it seems we have seventeen in our group. We are studying Isaiah. I am very grateful for this opportunity!

6. Last week MCS sent out an SOS for a microwave as one of theirs stopped working. Within a few hours of the email, we brought them Maurice's microwave. He had used it for only 6 months, but it had been sitting in my basement for 7.5 years. At one point, we thought Nadia and her suitemates would use it in their apartment at LU, but shortly before the start of the semester, LU announced they would be installing microwaves in the apartments. I'm happy it could be a blessing to other people rather than just collecting dust in our basement.

7. Last weekend we had Cooper at our house. His cancer is getting worse, so this was probably our last time dog-sitting him. I'm very thankful we've been able to swap dog-sitting duties the last two years. For about a week prior to Cooper's arrival, Milo had been crying when he was in Ian's room at night (for some unknown reason). Because Cooper was sleeping in our room, I was unwilling to "rescue" him when he cried. This meant Oliver, Paul, and I lost a lot of sleep (ironically, Ian can sleep through the dog crying in his room), but it was worth it because it brought an end to Milo crying at night. He didn't cry at all this week. PTL!

8. Ian's boss is a very nice woman. She was a great employer for Nadia, and the same is true now for Ian.

9. Nadia has gotten a very part-time job caring for the mice in the biology laboratory.

10. Nadia's roommate and one of her suitemates each has a car, so she can easily get to church on Sunday.

11. I'm very glad we decided to drop Ian's C++ class. It was like an albatross around our necks. For example, this week we had time to watch the 1971 Willy Wonka movie together over a two-day period in preparation for Ian's audition. We would not have had time if Ian was still taking that class.

12. Paul was able to help his Dad out of the apartment he's lived in for 4+ years and back into the home he built more than 50 years ago. Paul's brother and sister-in-law have been living there for the last 4+ years. It's a four-bedroom home, so there is plenty of room for Paul's dad. 

13. I'm grateful for companies like Pinwheel that help parents limit their child's access on a smartphone. If I could do it over again, I'd have gone that route with his siblings. Live and learn.

Thankful Thursday

It's been exactly one month since my last gratitude post so here are some things I've been thankful for over the last month.

1. Ian enjoyed the cybersecurity camp at Messiah University as well as the time spent with Nathan, Jenna, and Toby.

2. Oliver enjoyed having time with Micah, Julianna, and Wesley at our house for several days. Micah, Julianna, and Oliver enjoyed bowling with our youth group on June 10. 

3. I was very relieved that the it was a simple fix to eliminate the strange noise the van was making that week.

4. Ian has been enjoying his job at the kennel and earning money. He spent most of what he made the first few weeks when he bought himself a Nintendo Switch 2. 

5. The boys and I enjoyed helping with VBS at our church from June 16-19. 

6. I am grateful to be able to serve on the board of Meadowbrook Christian School. My first meeting was on June 16. 

7. In June I managed to escape the bug that the rest of the family had. Nadia had the mildest case. Oliver and Paul were each sick for about two weeks. Thankfully we're all healthy again.

8. Paul was able to attend his Aunt and Uncle's 50th anniversary vow renewal ceremony and lunch. 

9. I'm very, very thankful that Nadia was born eighteen years ago on June 24! Four of Nadia's friends joined her at an art studio to celebrate Nadia's birthday on June 23. The staff member was so impressed with Faith's artistic skills that night that they hired her and she started working there on July 6!

10. I'm very thankful that Milo is fully recovered from his anal gland problems. It was such a relief when he finally ate some dog food (after 4 days of not doing so) and started walking again. The vet bills were over $600 which we weren't anticipating, but we've saved a lot of money over the years by me being his groomer and trading dog sitting duties with the Seiberts. Hopefully it will be a long time until we enounter another large vet bill.

11. Bible quizzing went well in New York last month. Ian's team finished in second place. They won seven of eight matches. Nadia's team finished in third place. They won four of eight matches. Nadia finished in 10th place in the individual competition, and Ian finished in seventh place. Ian has been listening to the whole book of John two times every day he works at the kennel. He's also memorized the first 40 verses of John chapter one so far. Hopefully he will continue to stay motivated!

12. Amazon offered us a deal of paying $3.50 per month for three months of Amazon Prime and then it is $6.99/ month after that. We usually only have Amazon for a month every now and then throughout the year, but at $3.50/ month I plan to keep it for at least three months. 

13. I found out rececntly that the place where I've had my mammogram done lately isn't doing them any more. I picked them because they only charged $200, which is much less than most places. Thankfully, I found a place in Williamsport that does them for $55 for two days in October. I'm hoping to get an appointment on one of those days.

14. Our kitchen sink faucet has been leaking for a few months. Paul replaced it last week. This new faucet has a lifetime warranty. I was happy to see that because our last one only lasted nine years.

15. On Sunday morning we weren't sure we were going to make it to church because we couldn't get the garage door to open. Thankfully, Paul was able to get it open eventually. We parked the van in the driveway when we came home. We got new garage doors in September 2020, but the garage door openers are about 27 years old. Lowe's delivered new ones today, and they are supposed to be installed next week. Since our other car is at Camp Susque right now, I've been parking the van where we usually park the Subaru since that garage door opener is still working. 

16. Oliver and Xandir had a great week of camp at PMBC. 

17. Ian has enjoyed his first two voice lessons. He's been working on Olaf's song "In Summer" from Frozen. Thankfully, his voice teacher lives only five minutes away from our home.

18. Ian really enjoyed playing cornhole with the Creegers at Ben's graduation party.

19. In light of Amazon offering us a deal on Prime, Paul and I watched the movie Sarah's Oil last night. Movies based on a true story are typically my favorite genre, and this one did not disappoint!

20. I *think* we've done all the paperwork and such for Nadia to start at Liberty this fall. Recently her PCP signed the immunization form for LU, and I requested that LU send LU her transcript (for the third time in 13 months) as ridiculous as that might sound. I also had to remind them that MCS doesn't issue transcripts for homeschoolers (as they requested that again, even though MCS sent them a letter last year saying that ). She got her ID, requested a loft kit for her bed, and completed a new student orientation course online. The only thing I'm not positive that she has completed is the technology assessment. It's all very, very bittersweet. We want our kids to become independent, but at the same time it's hard to let them go! I'm very thankful I'll still have two boys at home with us. 

Nationals times three

Nadia joined our church's Bible quizzing team in January 2020. Nationals were cancelled that year. I don't regret that I didn't join the team when they went to Oklahoma in 2021 as that is a very long drive, but if I had to do it over again, I'd have traveled to South Carolina in 2022 and Indiana in 2023. Both of those times the drive plus what to do with Milo and Oliver factored into my decision. All five of us attended Nationals in New York in 2024 and in Indiana in 2025. I thought the same would be true last week, but due to Milo and Paul being under the weather, only four of us were at Houghton last week. It was the third time Oliver and I were at Nationals, and the first (and only) time that that all three of my kids were participating. This was the sixth time Nadia competed at Nationals, first time for Oliver, and fifth time for Ian. Nadia was the captain of the B team. Her teammates were Lucy, Daniel, and Alex. Ben was the captain of the A team. His teammates were Ian, Leila, and Joey. This was Ian's third year in a row of being on the A team with Ben and Leila. The fourth member of the team was different each year (Faith, Isaiah, and Joey). Jillian was the captain of the C team. Her teammates were Isaac, Abby, and Oliver. 

A team

In the six preliminary rounds of team quizzing on Thursday and Friday, Ian's team was undefeated, North Rome A only lost one match, and Nadia's team only lost two matches. There were supposed to be eight teams competing, but at the last minute one team from Indiana changed their mind and did not attend. Our C team was technically the fourth seed, but they were beaten by large margins when going against the top three teams, and the matches were neck and neck when they went against the bottom three teams. So, the decision was made to have only three teams in the A division for the final found on Saturday. Nadia's team lost both of their matches, so they finished in third place. Oliver's team won all of their matches on Saturday (by 5-10 points each time); they finished in fourth place. Ian's team beat Nadia's team but lost to North Rome A. Looking at the three days of quizzing, North Rome A and Milton A each had only one loss, but because they lost in the preliminary round and we lost in the final round, it meant that they were the champions and we finished in second place. 

Boys

In 2024 North Rome entered the finals as the second seed, but they ended in third place behind our team and Sweetser. Last year North Rome entered the finals as the second seed, but a loss to our B team during the finals meant that they didn't compete in the championship round. Our A team won the championship from 2021-2025. Last year there was a three-way tie for second place, and the tiebreaker was the score on the writtens, which meant North Rome was in second place and our B and C teams were in third and fourth places. Three members of North Rome's A team this year had memorized all of I and II Corinthians. I am guessing our coach wouldn't share my sentiment, but I honestly felt like North Rome deserved to win as I feel their team was more prepared as a whole than our team was. Ruth scored a perfect on the writtens (answered 110 questions correctly). Her sister, Julia, answered 109 of the questions correctly, and one of their teammates answered 104 of them correctly. There were two reasons why some didn't feel the match was totally fair. First, of all they had six kids on their team, whereas we only had four on ours. If one or two of their quizzers quizzed out, they would still have four kids on their team, whereas if one of our kids quizzed out, we'd only have three kids left. Secondly, part way through the second half of the championship round, their team began eating up the clock. If they buzzed in first, instead of quickly giving the answer to the question, they would keep quoting from the appropriate passage until time expired. I don't think the outcome would have been different even if they hadn't worked to use up as much time off the clock. Daniel was one of our top quizzers, but our coach put him on the B team so that team would also be competitive. The coach of North Rome put all his best quizzers on his A team. 

C team

Ian listened to the whole book of John twice while he was at work this morning. If he continues to do that, I think he will be a much stronger quizzer next year. He, Joey, and Daniel have made plans to work on memorizing all of the book of John together over the next year. I hope they all achieve that goal! If they do, I think we will be better prepared to quiz against North Rome A next year. I think the fact they did not win first place the sixth year in a row will help at least some members of the team to be more motivated to study over the next twelve months. In 2024 Ian finished in 8th place in both the writtens and individuals. In 2025 and 2026 he finished in 7th place in the individuals. Last year he was in 9th place for the writtens. He wasn't in the top ten this year for writtens. Nadia finished in the top ten once in the writtens (tied for 10th in 2025) and twice in the individuals (tied for 9th place in 2025 and tied for 10th place in 2026). The plan is that Nationals will be held in South Carolina in 2027 and Indiana in 2028. I hope it is held in South Carolina one of the next two years as I have some places I'd like to visit in connection with Nationals such as the Biltmore Estate and Billy Graham Library. For five months Oliver kept asking Paul and I if he could stop participating in Bible quizzing. At the beginning of June I fnally agreed to his request, and then last week he told me he wants to stay on the team. Go figure. He told me he will memorize at least forty of the memory verses, which would be a lot more than he learned this year. 

A team vs. B team

June 21 was Father's Day. Paul's dad came up to spend several hours with us. Nadia made oatmeal raisin cookies the previous night as they are one of Pop Pop's favorites. Ian (using our handy dandy Walmart+ membership) bought Paul a jar of peanuts and Pop Pop a jar of cashews. Oliver made them each a card. I had some of Pop Pop's favorite ice cream in our freezer and bought shrimp for Oliver and Pop Pop to share. I also defrosted two ribeye steaks that Paul grilled for Ian, Pop Pop, and himself to share. I also served watermelon, corn on the cob, and mashed potatoes. The six of us played SkyJo together. Ian and Pop Pop played chess while Paul and Oliver played each other. Those four also played some Mario game on the Switch. I called my dad, and I also grieved a little for the baby we lost in 2005. I used a Father's Day card to tell Paul that I was pregnant, so I always remember our first baby at Father's Day each year. 

Unfortunately, Paul and Ian were a bit under the weather on Father's Day. Ian had started not feeling well the previous night. Oliver, Nadia, and I were the only ones who went to church that morning. That evening Nadia also started to not feel well. Thankfully hers was just a 24-hour bug. She called off sick on Monday, but I think she could have worked that day. Ian went to work on Monday even though he was sicker than Nadia. Thankfully, all of the kids were feeling fine by Wednesday. Nadia had a physical on Tuesday. The doctor's office is less than a mile from our home so we drove it two cars so I could sign Nadia in and pay the bill. Mostly she just needed the doctor to sign her immunization record for Liberty. I was gone for less than ten minutes, but during that time Milo was biting at his butt and caused it to bleed. I called the vet to ask if I should just clean him up or bring him in. They thought I should bring him in. They sedated him because they thought one of his anal glands was abscessed. There was inflammation but that was about it. Unfortunately, Milo takes after me (ha ha) and doesn't do well with sedation. Even though they gave him an anti-nausea medication, he threw up for the next almost 24 hours. He wouldn't eat or drink. I spent a couple more hours with him at the vet the next day. They gave him a shot of antibiotics since he wouldn't take any oral medications, and they gave him fluids under his skin. His behavior continued to get worse. He wouldn't even walk one tiny step. Paul had to carry him in the house. Thankfully, he finally peed on Thursday, and he pooped for the first time in five days on Saturday morning. He also started walking (at least some of the time) that morning, and when I came home on Saturday night from Houghton, he ate dog food for the first time in five days. I managed to escape the respiratory bug, and the kids are all healthy again. Milo is definitely on the mend. Paul didn't go to church again yesterday, but he is feeling a bit better today. Hopefully by next Sunday he'll be back to normal.

B team

We had booked an Airbnb (same one that Oliver, Paul, and I stayed at two years ago), but this time we thought we'd have it to ourselves as Oliver would be in the dorm with the team. It was very strange staying in an Airbnb by myself. My lodging in the dorm would have been free since I was an official, so had we known Paul wouldn't be able to come, I wouldn't have paid for that expense. My meals were free. I was supposed to get two t-shirts, but I wasn't present on Wednesday night when Houghton gave out free shirts (which would have been special to me because my mom attended Houghton in 1963), and some of the kids took a different size quizzing shirt than the one their parents had ordered for them so all that were left were two size small, and I had asked for size large. Sometimes I can wear a medium, but I know from experience that these particular ones run small. Either way, I knew I couldn't wear a size small. I'm hoping it works out for Nadia to be a coach or an official the next two years so that all five of us can be at Nationals again. Time will tell if she'll be able to do that or not. 

Since I drove a little less than three hours on Saturday night, I would have loved to stay home on Sunday afternoon, but Paul didn't feel up to driving Oliver and Xandir to camp in the Poconos. Thankfully, I stayed awake. That was not an easy task as I was very tired as I was driving out there. I ate a little something at PMBC, so I had an easy time staying awake on the drive home. Faith (and Melinda) will be driving out there on Saturday to pick the boys up. Nadia is at Camp Susque until July 18 so Ian had to ride his bike to and from work yesterday due to me driving to PMBC. The kennel is a little less than 3 miles from our home. 

Ian only had one piano lesson in May and one piano lesson in June, but I think he'll have five piano lessons in July. He's having his first voice lesson tomorrow. 

My dad also had a tough week last week physically. He fell on Thursday night and broke his back. Thankfully, it was "only" a compression fracture - no brace or surgery necessary. He still plans to get married on July 18. Praying for a swift recovery! 

Milo has been in our family since December 12, 2020. Prior to last week, the only times we took him to the vet were for his annual physical, immunizations, and to be neutered. Last week we spent a little shy of $600 at the vet which was definitely unexpected. However, when I consider that we have only had to pay for him to be at the kennel once in the last two years (due to swapping dog sitting with the Seiberts) and we only paid for him to be groomed once (I've done it myself since then), we have spent a lot less money on Milo than most dog owners probably spend over a 5.5 year period. Hoping we can go a long time before we encounter another vet bill that large. 

Oliver and Xandir eating dinner on Saturday night at camp

Bye bye bunk bed

 

Nadia and her cousin, Rachel, had a photoshoot last week

For four days we had four kids in the house, but only one was our own child (Oliver). Yesterday I drove to Messiah to pick up Ian and give Nathan three of his siblings. It doesn't feel normal yet to be a family of four, but for most of the year that will be the new normal. At least I keep in touch with Nadia via texting almost every day. Ian had a good time at the cybersecurity camp, and he also enjoyed spending time with Jenna, Toby, and Nathan. He and Jenna played multiple games of chess. I think she's the most skilled chess player when it comes to my nieces, nephews, and kids. Ian never beat her, but he said they got to an endgame several times, and Jenna said some of the games were close, which was an encouragement to Ian. He played video games and board games like Exploding Kittens with Toby and Nathan. Now that Ian is back, he needs to focus on finishing precalculus, finishing memorizing I Corinthians chapters 7-8, and working. He worked for over 5 hours today at the kennel, and including today he's working 9 of the next 12 days. Nathan isn't a morning person, and Ian usually relies on me to get him up in the morning. I was impressed that Ian used an alarm and got Nathan up each morning in time for them to arrive at Messiah by 8:30 each morning. Similarly, I was surprised that Ian was already up when I went to get him up this morning for work. 

Blackhead Coastal Path, Northern Ireland

Many of the Towfighis were sick last week, and some were still under the weather when they arrived last weekend for Nadia's graduation party. Oliver has come down sick, but so far, the rest of us are healthy. Hoping he feels better soon! 

Our van has been making a strange clanking sound since last Friday night when Paul drove us home from ballroom dancing lessons (which as a side note were cancelled for the rest of the summer, so sad). I was very nervous about driving it for over three hours round trip yesterday, but everything went smoothly. I usually do all the car appointments, but I was nervous they'd try to take advantage of me. The van had a safety recall, and it was due for an inspection by the end of July. I never take it to a dealership for the inspections, but since that's where you need to go for a recall and we thought if a part was needed to fix whatever was causing the sound, they were most likely to have it. So, Paul took the van for all three reasons today. They wanted him to replace the tires, but since they technically passed, we got our inspection sticker without buying them. I'll get new tires elsewhere this summer. Paul had hit a curb on Friday night, and when he did it had dislodged a cap or cover or some sort. They just fastened the cap back on, and Paul didn't hear any clanking on the way home. PTL! That was a big relief.

Milo used to alternate between sleeping with Nadia (on her loft bed) and Ian (on his top bunk). Last summer that came to a grinding halt. He slept with Paul and I for a couple of months, and then we gradually and painfully transitioned him to sleeping in his crate in Oliver's room, which is what he's been doing ever since. For whatever reason, when we got back from Europe, Ian started having Milo sleep with him again. Milo was back in the crate the last several nights while Ian was in Dillsburg, but yesterday he and Paul took the top bunk to the basement as Ian said he would just sleep on a bed at a normal height for Milo's sake. So, it seems that whenever is at home over the next two years, Milo will be sleeping with him. I had suggested this idea to Ian last summer, but for whatever reason he didn't want to do that last summer, but he did want to do it now. I'm sure Milo likes it better than being locked in his crate.

I'm continuing to make progress with the license plate game even though I had decided not to play it this year, ha ha! I saw New Mexico yesterday, which like Hawaii and Wyoming is usually one of the hardest ones to find. I have eight states left to find, and I think the hardest one on my list is South Dakota. 

I tried to call the IRS ten times over the past two days regarding a tax issue with the trust, and when I called at 4:48 yesterday afternoon, I was put on hold for the first time. The other nine times the call was disconnected due to high call volume. I even tried at 7:00 am on the dot as I had read online that was the best time to call, but there was already too high of a call volume at that time. When I finally got through, I was on hold for over two hours, but I finally actually spoke to a human shortly before 7:00 pm, and at 7:10 pm she told me the matter had been taken care of. Mission accomplished! I hope that I don't need to call the IRS again any time soon.

Eilean Donan Castle (Scotland)

Cinderella's Closet

 

A photo Nadia took years ago that we recently downloaded from the camera

Last year was the first time Nadia attended a prom. We (five girls and some of their moms) shopped for prom dresses at the Cinderella's Closet at the YWCA last year. Last year four of the girls got their dresses there (for free!). This year I suggested that we have lunch at Panera prior to shopping to make the outing more special since it's Nadia's senior year. Three of the girls plus their moms had lunch at Panera, and four girls plus four moms shopped at Cinderella's Closet. The cost was $18 for each girl, which is very reasonable for a prom dress plus a pair of shoes. Nadia was hoping for a blue dress this year, and we found one that fits her perfectly. I think she looks beautiful in it! I'm planning to do a photoshoot for the 7 kids again this year (5 girls and two boys). Isaiah won't be in the group pictures this year as he's currently a freshman at Cedarville, but his younger brother (Joey) will be going for the first time this year. The other six kids went to the prom together last year. 

Here are some things I'm grateful for today:

1. Cooper spent 27 days with us. He went home on Tuesday. We are happy to help out our friends by caring for him while they're away, but we're also grateful to be back to having just one dog. Cooper went to the vet today, and she thinks he has an aggressive cancer. The vet doesn't recommend operating on him. Thankfully so far Cooper doesn't seem to be in any pain. Hoping he won't have to suffer much and that his family will know when the time has come to end his suffering. 

2. Nadia attended a Josiah Queen concert in Pittsburgh on Tuesday with her friend Maddie. Maddie's parents bought two tickets for the girls and drove them to and from Pittsburgh. Nadia didn't get home until 2:15 am as Pittsburgh is more than 3 hours from our house. I'm thankful for the many Christian friends that Nadia has. She and Maddie are both going to be attending Liberty in the fall. They've been meeting at least once a week to do a Bible study at a coffee shop, and other times they go shopping, bake cookies, or do watercolor together. It was Nadia's first-time seeing Josiah Queen in concert. She also would have loved to see Forrest Frank, but she'll be working at Camp Susque when he's going to be in concert in Hershey in June. I contemplated just getting tickets for the boys but changed my mind when I saw the price of the tickets. Paul and I aren't keen on his music, but I'll try to see if the boys or all three kids can see him at some point. 

3. The Eiffel Tower releases tickets 60 days in advance. I wasn't aware of what time they are released each day. Evidently, I should have gotten online earlier yesterday to get our tickets. When I tried to purchase them, I discovered I couldn't get any for the summit. Almost all of the 2nd floor tickets (via the elevator) were also sold out. I was stunned to see that the only time slot that still had tickets available was at 5:30pm, which was the exact time slot I was hoping to get. Thank you, Lord! Paul and I have already been to the top, and the boys didn't seem to care. Nadia was a little disappointed, but at least we are going to the Eiffel Tower. I have made some reservations for some of our dinners on this trip, and that is something I've never done on a vacation before. Although a lot of the planning has already been completed, I still have things to do over the next less than 2 months including making parking reservations and buying a few more tickets to things (ex. still waiting for the Parliament to open tour reservations for May). 

4. Ian had to visit an art museum for his humanities class this semester. The options for art museums within 30 minutes of our house are those connected to a university. I told Ian what the options were, and he chose to go to an exhibit by Lycoming College yesterday. As an added perk, the artist was there for a reception (which included some free food). It was challenging to spend a full hour there, but we did as that's one of the requirements. This artist isn't exactly going to be one of our favorites, but we made a memory. Since yesterday was the first day of spring, we got free small ices at Rita's before we went to the gallery. Usually that involves standing in a long line, but I think the rain kept people away and we didn't have to wait at all! I also use a coupon for a free Blizzard at DQ as a treat for Ian after the art gallery. We had dessert before dinner instead of afterwards. His first arts experience was attending a concert by a symphony orchestra. He enjoyed that more than the art exhibit, and I'm confident we'll all enjoy seeing Joshua at Sight and Sound next month which will count as his "drama" experience for the class. 

Nadia took this with her phone recently while walking near our home

Giving Thanks

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thankful Thursday

 

1. From September 19- December 7 Nadia will have spent 9 out of 12 weekends at Camp Susque. Six of those weekends she was/will be working in the kitchen for a small stipend. This weekend she's serving as a volunteer in the kitchen, one weekend she was there for an overnight birthday party, and one weekend in November she'll be there as a participant in a youth retreat with our church's youth group. She typically leaves our home in the late afternoon on a Friday and comes back in the afternoon on Sunday. I miss her when she's gone, but I think God is using these times of separation to help me transition to when she'll be living in Virginia at Liberty University starting in August 2026. I'm thankful she has made many friends at Camp Susque, and I'm thankful she is willing to serve in this ministry by cooking, doing dishes, etc. for those attending various retreats there this fall. Now that she has her license, she can drive herself to and from Camp Susque in Paul's car.

2. On one of the rare weekends that Nadia was at home, she had coffee and lunch with a friend from camp on a Saturday afternoon. The next day she went home from church with a friend from church and spent about 3 hours at her house before it was time for her to work at the kennel. 

3. Last Friday the boys served as candy runners at our church's trunk or treat event. I got Oliver's M&M costume at a thrift store. I paid what felt like a fortune for Ian's Captain Hook costume for our co-op's upcoming production of Peter Pan. While the boys were helping out at church, Nadia was at Camp Susque, and Paul and I were at a ballroom dancing lesson. Oliver has two costumes for Peter Pan (he's the crocodile and the dog), but he hates those costumes, so I doubt he'll ever wear them outside of our Peter Pan performance in three weeks.

4. The kids all had dentist appointments on Monday. I've been a mom for seventeen years, and this was the first appointment that included the words "has a cavity." If the cavity doesn't grow, they are going to wait until Oliver's braces come off to fix it. We are now trying to have him get in the habit of brushing his teeth after every meal. I'm thankful that *so far* Ian and Nadia haven't had any cavities.

5. For several years a man at our church has been playing hymns in between the first and second service and after the second service on a grand piano in the church's lobby. I was recently recruited to be one of his substitutes. He has been ill recently, and the other two women who substitute for him weren't able to play this past Sunday due to other responsibilities they had at church last week, so I was asked to play. I haven't played the piano much at all in recent years so that was a delight. Speaking of the piano, I have really been enjoying listening to Ian practice the piano the last several months. In the past there were months when none of the rest of us liked the music he chose to play. Last week he asked his teacher to choose an additional song for him to work on, and she loaned him a Christmas book by Dino, which was from the late 80's. My sisters and I used to play his music in the 80's and 90's. He's doing an excellent job preparing for the challenging classical piece he plans to play in the recital in February. 

6. For the first about 4.5 years that Milo lived with us, he slept with Ian half of the time and Nadia the other half of the time. The only time he slept with Paul and me was when both Ian and Nadia were away. The first week of July all three kids were at camp, so Milo slept with us. In June he had slept with Ian for two weeks straight while Nadia was at camp. For whatever reason, Milo started to object to sleeping with Ian when he returned from camp in July. We allowed him to sleep with us thinking this would change once Nadia came home, but it didn't. Earlier this month when Cooper was with us, we asked the kids to take Milo so that we wouldn't have two dogs in our bedroom. This was a total disaster. Milo was vomiting, peeing, and pooping in their beds or on their bedroom carpets. Cleaning up messes in the middle of the night in all three of their bedrooms was much worse than having two dogs in our room so we let Milo sleep with us again. If I could go back in time, I wish we had taught Milo to sleep on a dog bed in one of our bedrooms. Although Paul also doesn't sleep as well when Milo is in our bed, he was more willing to tolerate the inconvenience. In addition to getting less sleep, when Milo curls up near our heads our allergies are affected. Earlier this week I declared I was done sleeping with a dog. Either I'd sleep on a couch or a different bed, or Milo would have to sleep elsewhere. If Milo lives to be fourteen, I'd be sleeping with him for nine more years, and I'm unwilling to lose sleep on a regular basis for that many years. The "good" nights (in which I still get a good night's sleep) are way too few and far between for me to keep this up for months and years on end. Paul has graciously offered to assist Milo in learning to sleep in a crate at night. I bought him some new dog treats that Paul is using in the process. Milo is spending part of the night in our bed, but when Paul is ready for bed (a few hours later than me) he puts Milo in his crate, and Paul sleeps on the couch next to the crate. The first night was rough, but he didn't cry that much the second night. Hopefully, it won't take that many days for Milo to adjust to the new normal of sleeping in his crate either in the kitchen or in one of our bedrooms. Paul definitely loves Milo very much!

Home Sweet Home

Hawaii is a very beautiful place, but it's quite an ordeal getting there. It took us a little more time to get to Hawaii than it did for Paul and I to travel to China in 2006. We passed through twelve time zones on that trip, so the jet lag wasn't *as* brutal on this trip as it was *only* six time zones away. We are very thankful to be at home again, and as much as Milo loves the Seiberts, he's also very, very glad to be reunited with us. In light of all the traveling we did, I determined not to drive anywhere today except to take Nadia to work. She's planning to get her license next month, so my days of driving her to work will be coming to an end in the very near future.

Tonight, I'm grateful for:

1. The free coffee farm tour we were able to schedule at the last minute when something else fell through last Friday morning. 

2. For all the fish we were able to see when we snorkeled on Friday in Honaunau Bay and Kahalu'u Beach Park. 

3. Although we didn't get to see any monk seals, we saw many, many sea turtles on the trip - some in the water and some on land. 

4. We ate some VERY delicious island cream on Maui. Yum! We also were finally able to try shave ice once. We went all out and got the two possible additions - ice cream and a snow cap on top.

5. One of the kids' most favorite beaches from our trip was Napili Bay Beach on Maui. 

6. One of Paul's top three meals on the trip was the beef brisket sandwich he had at Mama's Ribs on Maui.

My view as I looked up from where I was lying down at the beach on Maui

7. The volcano on Maui was one of my top experiences from the trip. The views were breathtaking from 10,000 feet elevation. 

8. Everything went smoothly with our two flights from Maui to DC, and Joe picked us up from the airport.

9. We enjoyed having some time with the Towfighis. When we arrived before our flight to Hawaii, everyone was there except for Jenna and Joe. When we returned, everyone was there except for Andrew; so over the course of the two trips we saw all eleven members of their family plus my dad. 

10. Westyn mowed our lawn once and took out our recycling once while we were gone, Cooper gave Lily food and water and watered my plants, and the Seiberts took care of Milo. It takes a village to go on vacation, ha ha! I'm thankful for all their help. 

11. Nadia has been signed up to work in the kitchen at Camp Susque when they are hosting some retreats in September and October. She could have worked there over Labor Day weekend, but she had to decline that retreat because she's already scheduled to work at the kennel in the evening on August 31. I'm thankful that she has two jobs that she enjoys. Her favorite job is Camp Susque, but I think working with animals is better for her resume. 

12. I didn't get much sleep for three consecutive nights, but last night I got 9.5 hours of sleep! I almost never sleep in until 7:00 am, but I slept until about 7:45! Nadia and Ian didn't wake up until after 11:00 am, and Paul slept until 10:00 am. This is a result of jet lag. I think my body is making the six hour transition, for which I'm grateful. I felt *much* better today than I did yesterday. 

Silversword plant we admired at the top of Haleakala 

13. I had a request from another mom for her two girls to join our co-op. That will probably put us at 19 kids if I say yes. If we didn't meet in our home, I wouldn't have to think about it. My kids are very excited about co-op resuming in a little less than a month.

14. We all were healthy during our trip. Two of the Towfighis tested positive for strep throat while we were with them. We're hoping we didn't catch it from them.

15. We visited six National Park sites on this trip. As of August 18, we've been to 175 National Park sites, of which 30 of those were "National Parks." Nadia and Ian have each earned 231 Junior Ranger badges, and Oliver has earned 219 so far.

Thankful Thursday

 1. Paul took Oliver to a free maple sugaring educational program at Montour Preserve on February 22. We had taken the kids there in the past, but it had been quite a few years. Oliver has been studying botany this semester in science, and he was too young when we went in the past to remember the program. It's an outstanding program which is free and at a location about 20 minutes from our home.

2. One of the families in our small co-op came over for dinner on March 1, and another co-op family came over on March 9. We enjoyed eating and playing games together with both of these families.

3. Our Montage ski trip was postponed by one week, but I was able to take my three kids plus Nathaniel skiing on March 4. They had a great time and want to go back there again next year!

4. Paul took Ian down to see the ENT for a follow-up appointment. Thankfully they didn't charge us anything for the appointment, and she said the surgery was a success! One nostril is now wide open. The other side has a narrow opening, but air can flow through both nostrils. Hopefully this will alleviate his sleep apnea. 

5. Although it made it hard to get up for church on Sunday morning in light of staying up past midnight on the night we lost an hour due to DST, the kids had a great time with the youth group at Winter Jam. Some of their favorite artists performed that night (Anne Wilson, Colton Dixon, Skillet, etc.), and they had fun with friends.

6. In the middle of February, I paid for one month of access to Angel. We saw several excellent movies including Faith of Angels, Brave the Dark, Lost on a Mountain in Maine, and Between Borders. 

7. We recently discovered that one of Oliver's friends from church lives very close to our home! Oliver has ridden his bike over to James' house a few times so far. Due to his autism, his mom doesn't trust him to ride his bike to our home, but I'm hoping I can provide transportation so that James can play over here from time to time with Oliver.

8. It feels like SPRING this week!!! I am not a fan of cold weather, so I am very, very, very grateful when it starts warming up outside. 

9. Cooper was at our house from the morning of February 21 to the evening of March 9, and he was healthy. Given his age and the fact that he had a stroke 13 months ago, it was an answer to prayer! Milo was looking all over for Cooper in the morning on March 10. He misses having Cooper here.

10. Nadia took the SAT on March 8. I decided to do some grocery shopping and get a haircut in Lewisburg while she took the test as then I took her directly for the last hour of a three-hour Wizard of Oz rehearsal. We will find out on March 21 how she did. I hadn't gotten a haircut in 7 months. I made the mistake of getting a shampoo while I was there. It had been years since I got a shampoo at a hair salon. It added a lot to the cost, so I definitely paid more than usual for this haircut, but I like the way she cut my hair. 

11. Next week I'm going to be taking five girls plus two moms to Cinderella's Closet at the YWCA to shop for prom dresses. The dresses there only cost around $20 each. Hopefully the girls will find dresses they love! The price is definitely right. 

12. Nadia finished her worldview course on March 7, and she earned another A. She's still in the middle of a New Testament course, and she'll begin an American Government class on Monday. 

13. A couple whom I have been friends with for 29 years sold their home that they had lived in for 57 years and moved to Indiana several months ago. They are in their late 80's. I enjoyed chatting on the phone with Kay this week, and we made plans to visit them in June as they live less than an hour from where the kids' Bible quizzing nationals will be held. 

14. After a two-week break, our small (15 kid) co-op resumed at our home on Tuesday. Our kids love spending time with their friends. 

15. I'm thankful for *some* of things Trump has done so far. I do not agree with a lot of his foreign policy (ex. referring to Canada as a 51st state, making Ukraine out to be the villain and Putin the victim, the way he talks about Greenland, talking about taking over the Gaza strip, etc.) or making a priority out of renaming things like the Gulf of Mexico/ Denali, but I am grateful he's trying to reduce the debt and size of the government, pardon some people who were in my opinion treated unjustly (ex. in jail for praying near an abortion clinic), releasing classified documents (and in general increasing transparency), trying to level the playing field when it comes to tariffs, and protecting women's sports. One positive thing as far as his foreign policy is that he's definitely not a "war hawk," which is a good thing. I think in general most Presidents have gone WAY too far with executive orders, so I'm hoping that the Congress will be more involved in many of these changes if for example the Post Office and/or Amtrak become privatized, or the Department of Education is eliminated. I actually debated with my roommate back in 1994 in favor of privatizing the Post Office. We shall see if that ever actually happens. My hope isn't in a President or anyone else in government. My hope is in the Lord!