Thankful Tuesday

1. Yesterday the kids and I finally made it back to the swimming pool. Tommy (one of the lifeguards) played in the pool with the kids, and they didn't want to leave when it was time to come home and have dinner even though the water temperature was COLD. Usually the boys are ready to go long before Nadia is. Another exception was 9 days ago when Paul came with us (only the second time this summer that he joined us at our pool). They had a blast with Daddy and didn't want to leave that time either!

2. The kids and I enjoyed doing some yard sale shopping in a town 10 minutes from our home on Friday and Saturday mornings. We found a few bargains and got some exercise walking around the town.

3. Paul's parents brought us pizza for dinner on Saturday night and came to see Nadia and Ian in their musical. Pop Pop graciously took care of Oliver during much of the program.

4. My parents drove SEVEN hours round trip on Sunday so that they could join us for dinner and the musical on Sunday night. We greatly appreciated the time and energy they expended to be a part of this special event. They also brought up Oliver's birthday present. He loves his new Cookie Monster toy!

5. Our photographer finished editing our pictures from our photo shoot really late at night on Sunday, and we were able to see them yesterday morning. Last year I loved the individual pictures she got of each of the kids and the picture of Paul and I. This year I wasn't keen on any of the individual photos of Oliver, and actually her picture of him last year was my MOST favorite picture from the first 12 months of his life. He just wasn't in a very smiley mood that night. She did get some really good ones of Nadia. Last year I wasn't keen on any of the shots of the three kids together, but this year she got one good one! I also like that Paul's glasses aren't dark in these pictures. I'll be sure to share them on the blog once we get the CD. I'm in the process of ordering our prints now!

6. We have been outside quite a bit lately between trips to the playground and playing in our yard or driveway. This has led to some mosquito bites for Oliver, but they don't seem to be bothering him.

7. On Sunday afternoon I cut a bunch of branches off of our three biggest trees (two are apple trees) to make mowing the lawn easier for me. Paul finished up the third tree, hauled all the branches across the street to where our neighbor burns things, and then today he cut up the branches into small pieces. I greatly appreciated his help and our neighbor's willingness to burn them for us.

8. We've found a new church to attend. We'll be returning to our "old" church the next two weeks, but then after that we'll be switching. This church is much bigger (average attendance is over 1,400 on Sunday morning), and so there are a LOT more children at this church. Considering that we are homeschooling our kids, I think it's important for them to make some friends at church. Also, this church provides coverage for 2 year olds during the whole service (our church doesn't do that any more). Oliver is not ready to sit in a worship service yet (this was again proven during the kid's musical on Saturday night). I hadn't planned to change where they went to AWANA, but this new church has AWANA from 6:30-8:00 on Wednesday nights, which is the same time that choir rehearsals are held there. Also, they have AWANA on Wednesday nights even for toddlers. It looks like Paul will be teaching on Wednesday nights in the spring so this will work out perfectly. Last fall I wasn't able to sing in the choir because Paul was teaching on Wednesday nights and there wasn't any child care provided during choir. I am so happy to know I will be able to sing in the choir (which has about 75 members) no matter what Paul's teaching schedule is on Wednesday nights. The first rehearsal is on September 10. I haven't decided which Sunday School class to join yet. I liked the one I tried this past Sunday, but I want to visit a couple more before I decide. I also like that many parents keep their children in the worship service with them. It was a point of

contention between Nadia and I that she was usually the only child (in elementary school) who stayed for the whole service because I didn't allow her to go to Children's Church. At this church many elementary age children are in the worship service. They have two services, and I've decided that Ian, Nadia, and I will attend the 9:00 service and then I take them to their classrooms while I attend Sunday School at 10:45. Oliver will be in the "circus" (class for kids his age) during the whole time we are there. I like that they don't pass offering plates at this church (just have boxes in the foyer which to me makes it more private), and I like that the children are required to tithe (give 10%) of their "Kidz Cash" when they have saved enough to buy a prize. They don't include Bible memory for the kids on Sunday morning, but they will be learning verses for AWANA, and I can certainly include that in our home schooling so that's not a big deal to me. My prayer request at this point is that we'll make some new friends. Since I moved here six years ago I have yet to make one new friend, and by that I mean the kind of friend whom I talk to outside of church and/or get together with to do things. I know I need to be more proactive in this area. Hopefully the Lord will give me wisdom as to whom to reach out to and hopefully I can make at least one friend at this new church! I am also praying that the kids will make some friends so that they'll receive invitations to birthday parties and things like that.

9. The soccer season started on Thursday night! It was supposed to start last Tuesday, but the practices were rained out that day. I'm so thankful that Paul is willing to be the assistant coach on both teams. Tonight they'll have their second practices.

10. Our school district is going back to school tomorrow, which is a week earlier than they usually do. I am grateful that we can wait a few more days before we start spending more time on school work each day. I want them to have more time playing outside while the weather is nice! I have been having Nadia do a little reading and math most days, and I recently started having Ian write in his very first journal.

11. This afternoon we're headed to the Children's Museum in Bloomsburg because they are only charging $2 a person today (much cheaper than usual) plus they are having special bubble activities from 2-4pm. The kids haven't been there in a couple of years. I think they'll have a blast!

12. Oliver has his 2 year check-up today. It's the first doctor appointment any of us have had in three months. The doctor's office is near Bucknell so he's going to meet me at a playground and watch the two big kids during Oliver's appointment. One kid in a exam room is much easier than three. I don't believe Oliver will be getting any shots today, which is another praise!

13. Last week we got a $100 check from the health insurance company towards the physical things we pay for Nadia (soccer, gymnastics, etc.). We've never gotten anything like that before. It was nice, and since we'll have the same insurance through Bucknell, I don't think it will be the last time that happens!

Friend of God

The church where the kids have gone to AWANA the past three years has a summer a summer musical program from May through August. The children have memory verses to learn each week and also learn the songs and motions for the musical. This was Nadia's third year doing a musical; it was called "I am a Friend of God." I wish that I had a video of her first performance (on 8/11/2012). She sang that night very loudly and clearly with the most incredible smiles and enthusiasm and even a few extra hand motions beyond the ones the rest of the kids were doing. Priceless. It was at that performance that I realized how badly I wanted a video camera (Paul's parents gave us one at Christmas in 2012) and a longer range lens for my camera (my parents got me one that same Christmas). I used the lens last night and tonight. Paul took some videos last night, and my dad took some tonight, but I haven't looked at them yet. Pop Pop missed a lot of last night's performance as he had to take Oliver out of the sanctuary. Oliver and Paul stayed home this evening so that my parents and I could see the whole thing. This was Ian's second year participating. He did better than last year, but he certainly isn't at all similar to Nadia in this regard. Every year they have done better the first night than the second. The Saturday night performance is at 7pm, and so I would expect they'd be more alert for the 6pm performance on Sunday night, but they always seem a lot more tired (translated a LOT of yawning) during the second performance even though it takes place an hour earlier. Paul's parents have come to the Saturday night performance every year. My parents weren't able to make it up the past two years, but they made the seven hour round trip today. We were so appreciative that they were willing to do this, especially as my dad preached a sermon and taught an adult Sunday School class at their church in Maryland before driving to PA to be with us for 3 hours. That's true love, folks!

Sentenceless Saturday

Walking to the park

The weather this summer has in general been rather mild. The high temperature is usually not in the 70's in August! Although it's not ideal weather for swimming, it's been very lovely weather for walking to the park.                   At one point today I overheard Ian "reading" a book that we checked out from the library for the first time two days ago, and I decided it would be nice to get a video of Ian, and then since I had made videos of Ian and Oliver this week, I thought I should also record one of Nadia. I asked her to pick any book and read it. She picked a Froggy book. All three kids LOVE Froggy books. Daddy is NOT a fan of them, but I will read them upon request. I don't think Nadia had ever read this book, but she has listened to it many times over the last couple of years. Her video was cut short because Ian alerted me to the fact Oliver had put something into his mouth that needed to come out ASAP. This is real life, folks!

Nadia pushed Elsa to the playground in this doll stroller. The doll stroller rode in Oliver's stroller on the way back.

Thankful Tuesday

1. Nadia really enjoyed Theatre camp last week, and we all enjoyed seeing their performance on Friday. She already asked me if she can go again next year!

2. Ian and Nadia loved the National Night Out last Tuesday. My girl loves zip lines!

3. All seven of us had fun celebrating Oliver's birthday on Friday. Nadia and Ian definitely showed improvement with their bowling skills. The cake Aunt Millie made was delicious!

4. Paul took Nadia and Ian to Lowe's on Saturday morning. We're taking advantage of these opportunities before the soccer games start! The only downside to these events is I'm not sure what to do with all their projects.

5. I took the kids swimming at a different pool on Saturday afternoon as it was the conclusion of the local library's summer reading program.
The kids were each given one free book (of their choosing) plus I bought three more for them for 25 cents each. Of the kids who completed the reading program they drew names from each age group for other prizes. Ian was one of the names drawn! He won a pack of 15 pieces of Crayola sidewalk chalk.

6. Paul attended a pedagogy workshop yesterday and today at Bucknell and will do so again tomorrow. I think it's fabulous they offer this for new faculty because most college professors haven't had any training on how to teach. As an added bonus, he will receive a $500 stipend next month for participating in the workshop. His last paycheck from Bloomsburg was in the middle of June, and his first check from Bucknell won't be until the middle of September.

7. Nadia learned how to tie her shoes! Daddy taught her this important skill. She's up to size 12.5 sneakers, and they don't sell sneakers with velcro in that size at Payless so it was time for her to learn!

8. Ian continues to make progress with enjoying a wider variety of foods. He loves rigatoni with meatballs, and he's making a lot of progress with macaroni and cheese. He'll eat pulled pork or fish sticks if I put ketchup and mustard on them (which sounds gross to me, but if that's what he wants, no problem).

9. I'm very thankful for Oliver! We're so thankful he joined our family two years ago! Here's a video I made of him talking a little bit yesterday.

10. I'm also grateful I married Paul thirteen years ago (8/11/01). The kids are very blessed to have such a wonderful Dad who is willing to do things like be an assistant soccer coach. Paul surprised me with giving me some red roses and a card last night! The last time he gave me flowers was 8-11-2004 so this was a BIG deal. We made last minute plans for a date (I had planned to be in Maryland with the kids but a niece and nephew came down with hand, foot, and mouth disease so we stayed in PA). The kids love it when Becki comes to babysit! We had dinner at TGI Fridays, which we hadn't been to in many months, and then we did some shopping at Walmart, Toys R Us, and Dress Barn. We always enjoy having a little time just for the two of us!

11. I really enjoy pictures of my kids! I recently ordered some prints to update some frames around the house and on the refrigerator. We had our annual family photo shoot last Thursday. I've seen one photo so far (first photo in this post).

I'm anxious to see the rest of them! I have a feeling Oliver wasn't smiling in many of them. I hope she got some good ones. It was our first evening photo shoot. One bonus of that was Paul's glasses didn't turn dark. We went to a playground in our town that's by the river. I wanted some pics with the Susquehanna River in the background.

12. We love being able to check dvd's and books out from the public library. I recently discovered an author (Jan Thomas) whom the children really love (I hear the word "again" a lot as they ask me to read her books again and again). Two favorites include The Doghouse and A Birthday for Cow.

13. It has been raining for hours today, but yesterday the weather was really nice for a trip to the playground in the morning and the swimming pool in the afternoon.

14. Paul and I watched the movie "God's not dead" on Saturday night. I highly recommend it!

15. I've learned so much through Shultz Photo School. I bought a membership last November. I highly recommend it if you'd like to learn more about using a DSLR camera!

16. I've been reading Heidi to Nadia lately. We are both loving it. It was one of my favorites as a child, and it's so much fun to read it again!

13 Years

As of today, Paul and I have been married for 13 years! I am hoping the Lord might give us at least another forty years. When I think of the first almost seven years of our marriage the most special moments were our vacations to Europe and the Caribbean. When I think of the last six years of our marriage, our three children have brought us the most joy. I'm very glad that I met Paul in February 1997 and that recently we've begun taking ballroom dancing lessons again. I love this man SO much! The photo above was taken at our engagement dinner at the Victorian Manor in Lemont in the fall of 2000.

2001 - We got married on August 11! We had a fabulous honeymoon in St. Lucia (our most favorite vacation to date). We lived in 3 bedroom ranch in Pottsville. Paul was working for his father, and I was the principal of Cressona Christian School. I passed my comprehensive exam for my doctorate and attained the status of "ABD". We ended the year with a trip to Ohio for a wedding, to Indiana to visit my grandmother, and also to Chicago for some sight seeing.

Holding our niece, Jenna (2002)

2002 - We really enjoyed a trip to England and France and then a few months later had an all-inclusive vacation in Mexico that I still consider to be my 2nd most favorite vacation. I defended my dissertation in the fall and graduated with my doctorate from IUP in December. We started trying to have a baby this year.

Bridesmaid in my sister Wendy's wedding (2003)

2003 - In January I started as a full-time instructor at Kutztown University. In July a new principal took my place at CCS. It was very hard for me to leave that job I'd had for seven years. This year we took what (to date) was our most expensive vacation - a trip to Italy. Paul ate a lot of pizza! We started fertility testing and treatments this year.

Vacation in Spain (2004)

2004 - After teaching at Kutztown for 17 months, I accepted a tenure track position as Assistant Professor at Bloomsburg University. We sold our home in Pottsville and moved to Catawissa during the summer. Paul had been taking classes part-time while working for his father, and he graduated with his B.S. in Mathematics in December from Penn State. We started pursuing domestic adoption this year, and went to Spain for our vacation.

Photo Wendy took for an adoption profile (2005)

2005 - We experienced our first (ectopic) pregnancy this year and vacationed in the Caribbean (St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Nevis, and Anguilla). The Steelers won a Super Bowl for the first time since 1979!

Wendy took this picture in 2006 for an adoption profile.

2006 - In addition to continuing to pursue domestic adoption, we also started trying to adopt children from Ukraine. In January Paul went back to school full-time taking undergraduate classes at Bloomsburg University in chemistry. In August he began working on his master's degree in Chemistry at Bucknell. We spent three weeks in China (I taught for two weeks) and one week in Aruba.


2007 - We hit dead ends with both domestic adoption and the submission of our dossier in Ukraine. I finally agreed to try ivf. The first transfer of 3 embryos did not result in a viable pregnancy, but the frozen transfer of one blastocyst lead to our first viable pregnancy! At the very end of the year we went on a vacation to the Caribbean (St. Thomas, St. John, Tortola, and Virgin Gorda). The Giants won their third Super Bowl!

2008 - Nadia Renee Kennedy was born on June 24! I also received tenure and was promoted to Associate Professor at Bloomsburg University that summer. Paul finished his classwork at Bucknell that summer and started working on his PhD at Penn State in August. We moved from Catawissa to Watsontown in September. The Steelers won their sixth Super Bowl! This photo was taken at Sears in July.

 Summer 2009 - I was pregnant with Ian when this photo was taken. (photo by Wendy)

2009 - We found out we were expecting again while on vacation with Paul's parents in Antigua. This pregnancy came from the fresh blastocyst transfer from IVF #2, and there weren't any embryos frozen this time. Ian was born on December 12!

Fall 2010 (photo by Wendy)

2010 - Paul graduated with his Master's Degree in January. I was hospitalized and had a surgery in January to remove the rest of Ian's placenta. We vacationed in Florida (at the beach) with my parents in May. Ian had his first (urological) surgery.

January 2011 - Paul loves this picture of us taken by a photographer on the cruise.

2011 - In January we went on our first (and possibly last) cruise with Paul's parents in the Western Caribbean and in August we spent a week with my parents and Wendy's family in Orlando. I took the kids to Sea World. The Giants won their fourth Super Bowl! Ian was diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis and underwent three surgeries this year. This picture was taken in at Picture Me Studios.

2012 - We found out in January that our third round of ivf resulted in both a pregnancy as well as a frozen blastocyst. We spent a week on Grand Cayman with Paul's parents in May. The online classes I taught at Bloomsburg that summer ended up being the last classes I taught at that university. After 10 weeks of bed rest (most of it in the hospital) due to placenta previa and two surgeries for fetal anemia, Oliver was born 9 weeks early on August 7. He spent 4 weeks in the NICU and was on oxygen for 10 weeks. We traded in our Honda Civic for a Sienna minivan. Ian participated in a four week intensive feeding program at Hershey Medical in the spring which helped him chew for the first time in his life!

I have to include this one because it's one of my favorites of the two of us (taken August 2013 by Mandy Hartman)

 2013 - Paul defended his dissertation in January and graduated in May. In August he began a one-year full-time position teaching chemistry at Bloomsburg. After twenty years in the field of education (I started as a middle school teacher in 1992), I resigned in January to become a stay-at-home mom. In May we went to Orlando with Paul's parents and spent one day at Sea World and one day at Magic Kingdom. We also made our first trips to Sesame Place and DelGrosso's amusement parks in Pennsylvania. I started homeschooling Nadia (Kindergarten).  Nadia started playing soccer (U6) for the first time in the spring and played again in the fall. We went through our fifth (and final) embryo transfer. The frozen blastocyst survived the transfer and resulted in a brief pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage. This meant our family was complete.

Family picture August 2013 (by Mandy Hartman)

2014 - Paul taught at Bloomsburg University through June 26 and then started a one year full-time assistant professor position at Bucknell University in August. Nadia played Upward basketball for the first time. Paul was her coach! She played U6 soccer in the spring, she and Ian are starting the fall season (Ian's first ever and Nadia's first playing on a U8 team) this week. Oliver had his first (urological) surgery in February. He was hospitalized in April for five days for RSV and RAD. We now use a nebulizer with him any time he gets a cough. We spent a week with my parents in the Poconos in May, and we spent a week with Paul's parents in Orlando in July (one day at Hollywood Studios and another at Magic Kingdom). We started taking ballroom dancing lessons together again! This was how we met in 1997, and we haven't danced together much over the past 13 years. We're looking forward to resuming the dancing lessons next month! This photo is from our photo session with Mandy last week, and we can't wait to see the rest of the pictures she took!