Speech Anniversaries

Today's FB memories from 6 years ago said, "First day of BK's twice-weekly speech therapy at school. Thankful and hopeful!"

Yesterday's FB memories from 3 years ago said, "Speech therapy journey #2 ~ LM loved her first day of weekly speech therapy at our local grade school!"

Another recent FB memory referred to meeting BK's aural rehab therapist for the first time (8 years ago).

LM is starting her fourth year of school speech therapy. She started as a weekly drop-in and then the school therapist traveled to the Christian school where she attended preschool.  Now she receives services at our local elementary school. 

School speech takes a break from mid-May to late-August.  So, I found private speech at a pediatric therapy clinic for her the summer of 2020.  We continued private speech there (in addition to school speech) throughout the 20-21 school year and the summer of 2021, until I was exhausted, to be honest.  

In January 2022, she finally had an evaluation at the local university Speech Clinic, and was immediately offered a coveted spot for speech therapy.  The therapists are grad students, so therapy is only offered during the semester and 6 weeks in the summer (if you qualify; which she does).  

Of course BK had weekly speech therapy through Early Intervention and then daily speech therapy for 3 years at his private special ed school. 

How many hours of speech therapy have our children benefited from? Well over 1000! 

Thank God for speech therapists!!  

God provides

How often do we realize how much God provides for us?  He provides everything, of course, but sometimes it's easy to think that we work for it.  I think having our income come from farming, and not from a salary, makes me more aware, but I still forget. 

BK is a growing boy, and recently I pulled out the hand-me-downs to find bigger sizes for him.  Look at these stacks I left on our bed for him to try on after school!  We paid zero or next to zero for these.  (I might have purchased some of the jeans at garage sales.) God provides!!

We have hopes of an upcoming family vacation.  And I put a hanging toiletry bag in my Amazon cart weeks ago.  I knew I had purchased an LL Bean one at a friend's garage sale several years ago.  But since I never used it, I thought I had donated it.  

Yesterday, I clicked, "Buy now" on Amazon.  And then, after BK tried on the above clothes, I went to my closet to grab a packing cube to put some short-sleeve shirts in. 

I store all my packing cubes inside the largest one. When I pulled it out, I spied a red object behind it, and thought, "Oh, I must have just pushed one packing cube back in this space without putting it inside the largest packing cube.  

I reached in to retrieve it, and was surprised to discover that it was the hanging toiletry bag!  God provides! (And I immediately canceled that Amazon order!)

 

1000 Gifts, Vol. 6, #78

771.  HOT tea!

772.  China breakfast tea during the day 

773.  loose-leaf rooibos with honey at night

774.  an hour of Blokus to-go with BK during LM's speech therapy

775.  reading books to LM during BK's swim lessons

776.  a smooth infusion this morning

777.  wonderful rapport with my new home nurse

778.  enough snow to be pretty and for the children to get a little snow fun, but not a disruptive snow

779.  friends who listen, care, encourage, and pray

780.  The Lord is my refuge and strength

How we saved money by buying a quarter hog

We haven't even picked up the meat yet, but we've been saving money.  Why? Because I had to clean out the (very) small chest freezer and the above-fridge freezer.  

And I "found" food!  We're eating well.  And not doing much grocery shopping.  

I have never done a pantry challenge.  Some people try to limit their grocery shopping in January to clean out their freezer and pantry.  But we ended up doing a modified version.  

And, theoretically we will save money in the long run by buying pork in bulk. 

Do you do a pantry challenge?

Schedule arranging

Monday was a day off school.  The children & I spent it in a city 70 miles away.  We were gone from 7.30 until 4.

First, we took BK to his former school for his day of annual testing, as part of a longitudinal study on the effect of LSL (Listening & Spoken Language vs ASL) Early Intervention for kiddos who are deaf or have hearing loss.  

Then LM and I drove 15 minutes across town to see her doctor for a quarterly appointment.  She loves her doctor, and we do, too!  She has great rapport with children and is able to explain things well to parents without talking down to them.  

After an hour-long appointment, we went back to BK's school, waited for him to get to a good stopping point, walked half a block to Subway, and ate our lunch. 

He still had about an hour of testing after that, so we just waited in the van.  

Then I needed a new pair of shoes at a real shoe store (which our nearest city does not have).  It was as if an angel went before us, parting the Red Sea.  I walked in, told the first clerk I saw what I needed, showed her a picture of my worn-out shoes.  She directed us to the clearance racks, I tried on a few different ones to make sure, and then I paid for both a brown pair and black pair of Mary Janes on deep clearance.  The clerk asked me if the children always get along so well.  "Except for when they don't." ;) 

A quick stop at our nearest Aldi (where almost 10% of my bill was for EGGS), and we were home, tired but fulfilled. 

And thankful!!

As a friend said, "That's some impressive scheduling on your part!"  Yes, I really wanted to combine the trips, and am glad it worked out, saving me another day + 140 miles.  

I'm thankful for the new insights & strategies from LM's doctor. 

I'm thankful there was no blizzard or stomach flu that caused us to reschedule. 

I'm thankful no school was missed.

I'm thankful BK was able to focus & work hard for all his testing. (It really had been broken into two appointments, but the December one was cancelled due to illness.  We decided to risk a big, long appointment, and it worked!)

I'm thankful there was a clerk available at the shoe store, that my shoes were on clearance, that I now have a black pair in addition to brown [I have bad feet], and that the children were able to wait patiently for the quick stop there. 

Air Fryer Update

I tried making frozen vegetables ... and burned the broccoli.  

I have made homemade french fries very successfully!

Fried chicken was a winner with the family!!

T-bone steak was rated "Good" by Jim, so that's a winner, too. 

Doughnuts were amazing!

Do you have any air fryer recommendations? 

1000 Gifts, Vol. 6, #77

761.  a mild winter so far

762.  enjoying an increasingly clutter free house

763.  the challenge of learning how to use an air fryer (& also how to make balanced & tasty meals without an oven)

764.  hope of a new oven in a couple months 

765.  incremental progress in so many areas (by all members of our family)

766.  a new year with fresh hopes & dreams and the assurance of new daily mercies all 365 days!

767.  knowing the Lord will lead us each step & in each decision that arises

768.  friends & family to walk alongside us

769.  watching children's imaginations at work

770.  a great sermon series on 1 Corinthians

Driver's License

I could have renewed my driver's license by mail (!), but I wanted to get a REAL ID even though the deadline keeps getting moved back by years.

I could go to our county seat (28 miles away) or the city where we do most things (19 miles). But I chose to go to a rural town (21 miles away; population 13,000).  It's on the edge of town, so to get there I just drove on 2-lane unmarked roads through fields.  Even some of the crossroads didn't have stop signs (!); just yield signs.  There was no wait. 

But it took me back to Japan, because that is where I have done the bulk of my bureaucratic tasks.  This was so easy, it was laughable.  

I had gone over the checklist three times, and prepared my 6 documents (current driver's license, social security card, birth certificate, marriage certificate, voter ID card, and a recent piece of official mail). I handed it to the lady and when she didn't instruct me to take a seat in the waiting area, I asked, "Should I sit down?" Ha!! 

She was taken aback, and asked me to move down the counter to the camera, and then back to her spot, and she expected me to just stand there and wait (which I did), and it took all of 5 minutes!

I have a paper version for now, but in 5-10 business days should receive a REAL ID in the mail.  

Calendar Audit - January

It's January 14, which means the month is almost half-over.  Or, I suppose I could say, we have lived almost half of the month so far! 

We have enjoyed a less cluttered house, I have tried lots of air-fryer cooking (& other creative meals without an oven), we have been healthy (Praise God!), the children have had 7 days of school (including thrice-yearly standardized of sorts testing), Jim covered for his brother on the farm for 6 or 7 days, Awana, Trail Life, and swim lessons have resumed, Jim & I have taught Sunday School twice (we teach every other month), the children & I went to open swim at the high school one evening, I have had a hair appointment and three visits with friends, and we have celebrated two birthdays and had one party!  

Lord willing, the rest of the month holds two well-visits at the pediatrician, two pediatric eye exams, my monthly infusion, my annual mammogram, a bureaucratic visit to my PCP, annual speech-language testing at the pediatric hearing clinic, speech therapy at the university clinic, a specialist visit, and Jim's dental appointment.  Eleven appointments in twelve weekdays!  Whew! 

Maybe January won't be the month our Christmas cards get sent. ;) 

House Reset

I am intrigued by various influencers on Instagram who are having house resets at the beginning of the year. 

And I'm trying to do my own version.  Are you doing a form of purging or organizing?

I switched out the Christmas dishes for our everyday dishes ... for the first time since December 2019 (at least!).  I put away the Christmas decorations, and Jim took the tree back to the basement.  

I have re-arranged two big kitchen cupboards to fit the air fryer accessories and the Instant Pot (since I don't want both the air fryer & IP on the counter).  

I delivered a trunkload to the thrift store (though most of it had been accumulated before Christmas).

I pulled out three sizeable kitchen items from the basement that had been in a cupboard unused for well over a year, and listed them on Marketplace.  Their week is about up, and they will be donated. 

I found three pairs of shoes that no longer fit BK, gave two to a friend and listed one (which will soon be donated).  

I took everything off the washstand & rearranged it, as well as everything out of the drawer.  For that, I followed the principles of A Slob Comes Clean.  Throw away the trash (amazing how there always is some!), put the obvious things where they go, etc.  

I gathered up A.L.L. the batteries and moved them to a better place, and donated all the rechargeable batteries.  

I took *everything* out of the pantry, cleaned the crumbs, and threw away old food or food no one eats, and rearranged it to be more accessible. 

Next up: bathroom cabinets, cookbooks, closet, dresser drawers, ETC!

What organizational change has brought the most peace to your home?

Air Fryer

I was surprised by the Christmas gift of an air fryer!

I had been looking at the Ninja 6-in-1 Indoor Grill with Air Fry. But it's pricey, and takes up counter space, and do I really need it???

But now I have an Instant Vortex Air Fryer (basket type).

Air fryers come as basket types, grill types, or toaster oven types. Or you can get a separate lid that turns your Instant Pot into an air fryer. So many choices!!

I am determined to try as many things as possible right away. (When I first got my Instant Pot, it sat in the box for almost a year before I tried it.). So far, I'm doing much better with the Air Fryer. It's out of the box, and I've actually used it! The learning curve seems steep. But I'm researching as fast as I can. :)

So far, I have made bacon (5 star!), cinnamon rolls from a can (5 star!), and hard boiled eggs (we won't repeat that).

Coming up: homemade French fries, fried chicken, and ???

Do you have an air fryer? What do you recommend cooking in it?

I'm not sure we really need one. Except … it's basically a countertop convection oven (which we used in Japan and longed for the day we could have a "real" American oven), and our oven is having trouble, so it's super convenient for us right now.

I've read that if you're cooking for more than 3 people, an air fryer isn't a good idea. I'm hoping the addition of a second rack might double our capacity.

Our oven (when it's working) does have a convection setting, and one friend said they got rid of their air fryer when her husband figured out that their convection setting could do everything their air fryer did.

One pro I have noticed is that it takes just a couple minutes to heat up. So, if you're making a tube of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, you can heat the air fryer up AND cook the cinnamon rolls in the time it would take to preheat my oven.

When I have asked people what they use their air fryer for, the answers are mostly for frozen convenience foods, which we don't typically buy, or for reheating pizza.

It's definitely not an essential item, but if it helps me make food that my family likes, it will be a keeper!

Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2022 version

Places where I spent one (or more) nights in 2022:

 

*Kingsport, TN

Richmond, KY

in our van along I-75

Madeira Beach, FL

a motel somewhere in south Georgia

* Chicago

* Williams Bay, WI 

* Georgetown, KY

Erlanger, KY 

Lake Geneva, WI

Elkhart, IL 

Harrison, OH

Lexington, KY

and home

(italics - stayed there more than one night)  
(* stayed there on more than one occasion) 

   
2022 travel ...

The first week of January we made the trek home from Tennessee, breaking up the trip with a motel stop.  

In February, we took a 9-day trip to Florida (post here).  

We spent a few days of spring break in Chicago (post here).

Our traditional Memorial Day weekend in Wisconsin turned into a <36 hour trip.  While it was good to get away and be with my people in a different place and at a different pace, it was also exhausting, truth be told.  We marked the start of summer by enjoying a road trip, hiking, healthy meals in restaurants, the beach, the church, "my" coffee shop, and simple fun activities around the kitchen table.  

We broke up our June trip to Tennessee with motel stops both going and coming. There are pros & cons to that plan.  In order to maximize time, we left here Sunday after church, so only made it part way.  On the way home, we left my parents' Saturday morning, spent the afternoon at the Ark Encounter, found a motel (although it was harder than we expected, and the children were afraid we were going to sleep in our van again ...), found a great church Sunday morning in Cincinnati, had a sit-down restaurant meal after church (in Harrison, OH) and then finally made it home Sunday late afternoon. 

Back to WI for a long weekend June 30 - July 3 ... packed with family time, beach time, walking the shore path, riding an electric trolley, eating in the park at a pancake breakfast, eating hot dogs at the beach, enjoying the lovely children's room at the local library for the first time in 3 years, and my morning tea time by the lake (thanks to Jim!).

And back to WI again July 8-10 for family reunion.  Whew!  And again July 21-23.  And again August 11-14 and September 3-5.  That's a lot of packing & unpacking. ;)

Our anniversary getaway was the best yet. (I say that every year!)  Jim found a vacation rental in the middle of nowhere!  So restful!  I made breakfasts (as good as any B&B I think), and we went out for the other meals.  We both read a lot. We talked.  We gazed at the space and pastoral scenes.  We basked in the quiet.  We explored history.  We reviewed the past and dreamed about the future and thanked God for His grace these 12 years of marriage.  

The road trip part of our August trip to Tennessee was the best in years, thanks to two headphones and a stack of Playaways (& Hidden in My Heart Scripture lullabies at the end of the trip when everyone had reached their limit!).  Going, we drove straight through, for the first time in awhile.  Our 4 1/2 days there were filled with doctor appointments, time with cousins, and a special anointing service.  

Our September trip to Tennessee was somber, as we set out less than 24 hours after receiving the news that my dad was in heaven.  We drove straight through both going & coming.  Our five days there were packed with emotion & relatives, and we were sustained by the prayers of the Lord's people. 

No fall family getaway this year, but Jim & I made a quick trip to Chicago for two doctor's appointments while the children had a fun overnight with their grandparents. 

Jim's side was together on Christmas Day 2021, so we spent New Year's 2022 in Tennessee.  So 2022 was our year to spend Christmas Day in Tennessee with my side, bringing our Tennessee trip tally to 5 - five - for 2022 (12/29/2021- 12/29/2022). Whew!

And that wraps up our 2022 travels.  Here's to even more exploring in 2023! 

Where did you go in 2022?  Anywhere new? Any place we should put on our list?


Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2009 version
Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2010 version 
Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2011 version 
Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2012 version
Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2013 version  
Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2014 version 
Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2015 version 
Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2016 version
Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2017 version
Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2018 version   

Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2019 version  

Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2020 version

Oh, the places you will go! ~ 2021 version