Thankful Thursday

Hi. Nothing overly exciting going on here but I'm definitely thankful. Life is good, and I know it. Here's my list today:

1. Fall. I love fall. Love it! It's definitely my favorite season and I feel like we've missed out on a true fall here in Colorado the last few years (early snow made for ugly trees or the season just seemed to only last a week or whatever). It's been gorgeous here this year and I've been appreciating it...

This picture is from a couple weekends ago when Asher was home for fall break but it felt right for this post. Yes, that's Asher in the background, lol. 

The gusty winds the last couple days have been making short work of the leaves left on the trees (that were so beautiful until then!) but, I'm told, it's almost November, so it's okay. :) Very thankful for October and having had such fabulous colors outside this past month. 

2. Streaming services. I've said it before but it bears repeating. I'm thankful for the ability to watch so very many shows from the comfort of my home. Often, I watch things on one screen while I work on another at my desk. For me, shows can be like music in the background. My boys tell me I'm weird but I enjoy re-watching shows I've seen before. Beyond that, I also appreciate family time watching shows all together, where that's the focus. I love being able to discuss things as they happen...to pause shows when necessary...to laugh together and react together. With only Micah left at home these days, I'm especially thankful for any activity we can enjoy together.

3. My recent picture project. I'm pretty much done, Mom! I sorted through these bins of loose pictures and have them all organized into envelopes. The manila envelopes are mostly sorted by year with a few envelopes for specific things like portraits or pictures from weddings. The envelopes with prints you get back from the developer are more recent photos (roughly 2000-2006) so I just left those in their original envelopes and labeled them. The ziplock bags are either other groups of photos (one specific trip or something) or a bag of random pictures that I couldn't otherwise sort (mostly because I didn't know the year). There are only a few bags like that, which I think is pretty good considering how very many photos there were in the first place...

Beyond sorting, I've also digitized most all of the photos from the manilla envelopes. (I scanned them with my phone using an app called Photomyne that's worked really well. They're now loaded to my computer, too.) Yay, me! 

Along the way, I learned a few things:

• It's much harder to tell the age of kids in photos when they keep the same haircut for years. (I'm looking at you, Cas, lol.)
• My mom's dad and stepmom really liked having their picture taken. ;)
• Though getting the duplicate prints seemed like a good idea at the time, if you don't actually do anything with all the prints it just takes up more room later.
• Even the "bad" pictures help tell the story (which does, though, make it hard to weed anything out, lol).
• The option to have the date printed directly on the front of photos is annoying (in that it distracts from the photo, itself) but incredibly useful (when you're trying to organize photos years later).
• That option does not help, though, when someone sets the camera's date incorrectly, lol. (Mom, any photo that says 1998 was actually taken in 2002, I've decided.)
• I really appreciate when the photos had the dates developed printed on the back of the photo...so helpful!

And, mostly, I'm just so thankful for the gems that I found. I very much appreciate these little pieces of my history. I'll try to do another post with some of those soon, just because. :)

4. Knowing all three boys have had their advising appointments for spring semester. A couple weeks ago, I went with Micah to his advising appointment (as is required). We set up a full schedule of classes he can take at the CEC campus and got that all situated. If it ends up that way, it'll be all good. But. The FRCC schedule comes out next week and we'll be checking that. He may end up registering for a full schedule at FRCC instead or a combination of classes at FRCC and CEC (like he currently has). We'll see what's available. 

Meanwhile, Noah and Asher have both met with their advisors and registered for their spring semester classes in the last week. It was Noah's last time registering for classes, and he's pretty happy with his schedule and glad to be easily graduating "on time" in just four years thanks to having taken many college classes during high school and being able to transfer all of those. (Because it's an engineering field, though, he couldn't shave off actual years since the major classes were only offered in a set sequence and during set terms.) 

Like Noah, Asher has plenty of room in his architectural engineering schedule thanks to having earned his AS during high school. Also like Noah, he can't shave off semesters or years because of the set sequence and terms. So, Asher is starting to explore adding a minor and is appreciating having that flexibility and being able to not take the full architectural engineering major class load each term. (For instance, this current semester, most of his classmates all have the same 6 required courses. Asher's already taken 3 of them and had those credits transfer. So, he was able to take classes from upcoming semesters instead, which will lighten those future loads.)

In any case, thankful to have all three boys mostly squared away and set for spring semester.

5. Fort Collins. And, finally for today, I'm thankful to live here in Fort Collins. I appreciate the community and am trying to do my part to help support local businesses. In the past year and a half or so, I know online shopping has been such a convenience. I've done my fair share of that. :) But I have and am also consciously making the effort to shop local whenever possible. Thankful that Fort Collins has so many options!

Well, off for now. Hope you all enjoy the rest of October!

Thankful Thursday: Annual tradition

Catching up a bit here! So. Last weekend was full. It was fall break for UNO, so I drove to the airport early Saturday to pick up my Asher...woohoo! Meanwhile, Nathan had his second gliding lesson in Boulder. (Hey, btw, Nathan's taking gliding lessons. After that, he's after his pilot's license. I'm sure there will be more about that later.) Also, Micah got himself to CEC for his PSAT/NMSQT. It was a busy morning. ;P

When we got home from the airport, Asher and I had a few hours on our own before Nathan and Micah got home. We then all picked up Noah from his apartment and headed for Old Town for a late lunch at The Exchange and dessert at Walrus ice cream. Because the weather was gorgeous, we then gathered a few things and went to a local park to play some volleyball. Along the way, I made them all take some fall pictures with me to uphold my annual tradition. 

The park we were at (for the volleyball courts), unfortunately, had been well maintained by the city so didn't have any leaves on the ground. (Last year we managed to actually find leaf piles but it was also very chilly.) We took pictures anyhow...because it's the only time this fall I'll have them all together and it didn't seem worth it to try to convince them to go find another park. :) There were leaves on the trees and in the pictures, so it counts... 

After this one, we stopped and they all played some volleyball. I took some pictures but they're not great, lol. Afterward, I made them stop on our walk back to the car for a few more pictures...

(Noah had just poked Micah in his pec...which was sore from Micah's workout the day before, lol. It was a fun game to poke or slap him there all day.)

And this is just before we got back in the car. They were pretty much done with my picture taking...

So we went home and enjoyed some time together...watching shows and playing games and eating and all that. 

Sunday, Micah and I were up to exercise (him at the gym and me with Lynne in our neighborhood) then it was a quiet day at home enjoying each other...with more shows and games and food. (We'd thought about doing something down in Denver but didn't feel like braving the Broncos traffic and really just appreciated the downtime.)

Monday was a "usual" day for Noah and Micah (who had class) and Nathan (who had work). Asher and I used that time to complete his FAFSA and talk through spring registration before his advising appointment (which was yesterday). We then treated ourselves to lunch and dessert out and did some window shopping before heading home and watching a show or two before picking Noah back up. I made the boys take a few more pictures, just because, but this was the best of that lot...

There were more games and food and then, eventually, we took Noah back to his apartment and called it a night.

Tuesday morning, I drove Asher to the airport. He made it safely back to Omaha and got situated again to resume classes yesterday. It wasn't the most exciting fall break but it was so wonderful to see my boy and hear more about his college experience! He sounds like he's adjusting well...joining clubs, organizing study groups, doing his laundry and killing his building-mates. ;) His building, which is a living learning community, recently had a building-wide Assassin game where you had to "kill" your targets by touching them with a spoon. Asher, being the ninja-like guy that he is, managed to evade people for quite awhile and ended up being taken out by the person who eventually won. (He was fourth overall, he thinks.) So proud of him! (for all of that, not just the Assassin game, lol)

And that was our last little bit. So very thankful for the time with all my guys...that they're all doing well...and that I was able to continue my annual tradition of fall pictures. :) 

(For the record, CSU doesn't have a fall break but Noah lives close enough that he was able to take the time with us. CEC does have a fall break...while Asher's was the weekend plus Monday and Tuesday, Micah's is Wednesday thru Friday, lol. So. Micah's technically on break now. But. Since only CEC is on break and not the community college...and since two of Micah's classes are at FRCC...Micah still has two classes anyhow.)

Thankful Thursday

Thursday again. :) Here are some things I'm thankful for today:

1. Boys in suits. Thankful for college job fairs and boys willing to send me pictures. Noah's engineering job fair was last week. Since biking to a job fair in a suit didn't sound like the most fun, Micah offered to drive Noah and took this picture for me when he dropped Noah off. 

As a senior this year, Noah's hoping some of the conversations he had will lead to further conversations that will then lead to a job after graduation. Given that last year's job fairs were all virtual, it was nice to be back to an in-person situation. 

Also, Asher's job fair was earlier this week. As a freshman, he's not actively looking for a job but recognized the value of going to see how everything works. He didn't get someone else to take the picture so it's not as good, but I'll take it!

Don't my guys look nice in their suits?!

(Sidenote: Why do the schools schedule job fairs for just before homecoming/parents weekends and midterms...when students are already swamped with both schoolwork and activities that they want to participate in or attend? A little frustrating.)

2. The fact that Micah's become much more comfortable with needles. This week Micah had his pneumovax shot, which I think/hope is the last shot this year for the boy. So far in 2021, he's had weekly injections of methotrexate for the first three months (before he switched to taking the methotrexate pills instead)...his Covid shots...his "normal" vaccinations at his well check, along with his prevnar vaccine...his Covid booster shot in August...his flu shot last month...and then the pneumovax shot (which is a second pneumococcal vaccine). He's also had bloodwork required every three months (due to being on the immunosuppressants and needing to monitor things).

This is a boy who hated needles before his juvenile arthritis diagnosis. Seriously. The dentist had a note in his file to not use needles (after a biting incident), and I needed an additional nurse to help me literally sit on the boy the last time he needed regular vaccinations before his diagnosis. So, having survived more than two dozen needles this year is a big deal. He's gotten sooo much better about it, and I'm thankful.

3. FaceTime. So thankful for technology and being able to talk with my boy while he's away at college. I love being able to see his face...

4. Repair services that can come right away. Sunday night we heard a strange, loud noise. We ran around looking for the source but couldn't figure out what it was and thought maybe it was from a neighboring house. We went back to what we were doing. Later that night, when Nathan went to take out the garbage for the week, we discovered that one of our garage door springs had "sprung"...such that the garage door wouldn't open without manual assistance. Ugh.

Fortunately, we were able to find a repair guy, Mike Garage Door Repair, who was able to come Monday morning. The technician was great to work with, and the company's communication was fabulous. Can't really ask for much more than that when you're spending money you didn't want to be spending, lol. :) 

5. Empty-ish nest. When we road-tripped to Washington for my gram's 100th birthday, I brought home a couple of large bins of loose photos from my mom's new house. Now that schools are back in session and all, and since I have the time and space thanks to my empty-ish nest, I've been sorting through the bins. I have piles. And piles. 

Nathan thinks I may have an organizational problem/compulsion, lol. The photo piles here are actually only about a quarter (maybe less?) of the total. I'm thankful that I don't have any little kids running around so can safely leave my piles while in progress. (While I'm at it, I'm also thankful for people who label the backs of photos, lol.)

For what it's worth, I've been sorting roughly by year when possible. The goal is to get everything sorted and then digitized. Mostly, so far, I've learned that my mom's dad and stepmom seemed to have really liked having their picture taken...that it's much harder to determine a kid's age in a picture than I thought...and that there are definitely a few gems among the piles.

And that's some of what I'm thankful for this week. :)

Adulting

Sorry it's been so quiet here on my blog. We've just been busily adulting over here. :) Nothing overly exciting...just things like paying college bills, getting Nathan's eyes checked, and getting some work done on Daichi. 

Along with all that, we've also been very adult-y and have been doing some estate planning. We redid our wills (now that only Micah is a minor), added power of attorney documents and advanced directives, updated beneficiaries all around, and added life insurance policies to last longer than our current ones. I've been reorganizing all our records accordingly, too. 

Oh, and Nathan, Micah and I got our flu shots yesterday. Honestly, we've never gotten flu shots before. (Other than Nathan, none of us have had the flu before either.) Micah's doctor, though, wanted us to get them this year given Micah's immuno-suppressants and continued auto-immune issues. So, we got in the line for the drive-thru clinic at our doctor's office:

It took a little longer than we initially anticipated but not as bad as we worried it might be. And after we were done, we treated ourselves at the new ramen place, Kujira, that Micah's been telling us about:

It was delicious. :) 

And that's what's been going on here. Very productive but really not exciting, lol. 

Thankful Thursday

Time for another Thankful Thursday! I actually have a top ten list this week...so blessed! In no particular order, here are things I'm thankful for today...

1. Time with Nathan. On Labor Day...with two boys off at college and Micah working that day, Nathan and I went for a hike. It was not an overly long or strenuous hike, but the view was fabulous at the top...

It was a little hazy due to smoke, but it was a full 360 degree view. 

That top left photo is from the start of the hike looking up toward the finish...the summit was actually a peak just behind that one in the distance and slightly higher. The other photos are from the summit area. It involved a bit of scrambling and climbing to get to the top but was worth it.

And here are some pictures of us along the way...

After our morning hike, we continued on into Estes Park for a lovely lunch, wandering the Arts & Crafts Fair and getting ice cream and coffee. Sweet.

(For those who are interested, the hike is called Palisade Mountain and is just up from Drake. It was nice because it was outside of Rocky Mountain National Park, so we didn't have to pay admission or worry about the timed entry tickets. It's not easy to find or particularly well marked, though.)

2. Fort Collins. Just want to say that I love Fort Collins and am so thankful for the many opportunities to be found here. 

3. Car conversations. With Micah having had his license for almost a month now, I've been missing my car conversations with the boy. Boys end up talking more when they're captive, lol. Today, Micah and I drove down to Children's for his regular check-up with his pediatric rheumatologist so we had some time to chat and catch up. Yay! (Also, all good on the appointment...just normal follow up stuff and he's doing well on the meds.)

4. The light switch in my bathroom that's illuminated at night. It's a little thing but I really appreciate it. It's one of those rocker style double switches with the switch that controls the overhead light illuminated in the dark. It comes in super handy in the early morning when I'm stumbling to the bathroom before the sun's come up. :)

5. Information on the back of print photos. Back in July when we road-tripped to Washington for my gram's 100th birthday, I collected a couple of big bins of photos from my mom's house to sort through for her. I've finally been going through those recently and must say that I sooooo appreciate when there's something written or printed on the back telling me anything...like when the photo was taken or printed or who's in the photo or where it was taken or all of those things. It's going to take a bit yet before I get these all sorted. Most of the pictures don't have any indicators/notes and I'm having to go off of hairstyles and fashion trends, lol. 

6. The ability to rewatch old shows. While I've been sorting photos, I've been rewatching old shows to pass the time. Some people think it's odd but I love rewatching old shows. It's like music in the background for me. :)

7. Rearranging Micah's closet. With all the legos gone now, we recently took most of the shelves out of Micah's closet and reinstalled a closet bar so he could hang the tops he's been collecting from shopping, thrift stores and work shirts. Until now, none of the boys had any clothes that they hung, so we'd removed all the bars from all their closets in lieu of shelves. The few things that did need hanging ended up in our master closet. Thankful to no longer have any of their stuff in my closet. :) 

8. Online gaming. Even though the time boys have spent with online gaming has been sometimes annoying, I'm thankful for it these days. It allows brothers to stay connected across states. Gotta be grateful for that.

9. Texting and similar technology. Relatedly, I'm so thankful that I can so easily talk to my boys away at college. Remember back in the day when we needed prepaid long distance phone cards and had to time our calls so that we could have some privacy since we'd still be corded to wherever our phone was?! I'm very aware of how fortunate we are these days and am so happy when I hear from my guys. 

10. Homeschooling time together. And while I'm still adjusting to boys being grown and away and am so proud of them for doing their own thing and making their own way...I'm ever thankful for the time I had with them during all of their early years. So thankful to have chosen to homeschool and had all that extra time with them. I try to remember that when I'm missing them. ;)

Okay, that's my list for today. And just while typing that up I thought of more. So very blessed these days and thankful for it!