March Madness

"March Madness"

What in the world is happening right now?  It's a mess & it feels so bizarre to me.  The Corona Virus has literally shut down the world.  The kids have been out of normal school since March 16th & have been doing virtual school ever since.  We are on quarantine so we can't leave the house.  Trek still has to go to work, but that's it.  He picks up the mail & groceries each week & the rest of us haven't been out of this house for 3 whole weeks.  I've completely lost track of days & times.  Church is all home centered now which has never happened before.  Our missionaries are being sent home all over the world.  People aren't allowed to cross borders or leave their homes.  It's INSANE.  Then, let's throw some locusts in Africa to the mix, tornados in TN, earthquakes in UT & ID, & you just start to question if this is the end of everything as we know it?

It's strange times for sure, but at the same time, we've seen so many blessings that have come from it. I absolutely love being with my kids all day every day.  In the last 3 weeks, I've gotten to know some new things about each of them.  Our relationship has grown tremendously.  My boys, who never cuddle or kiss me (ew, gross) are now snuggled up to me every spare chance they can get.  I'm being smothered in hugs & kisses 24/7.  We're reading books like crazy.  My kids' reading levels are flying through the roof right now.  My girls spend every night cuddled up with me on my bed talking about boys, schoolwork, their futures, & more.  We are laughing, we are crying, we are loving each other.  We are cross-stitching & learning new skills together.  We are watching movies & playing board games non-stop.  Each of my kids takes turns cooking dinner with me each night.  They are learning important life skills they don't learn in school.  I AM LOVING IT.

Who knows what the future holds?  It's now April (yes, I've completely lost track of days) & we're still chugging along waiting for what's next.  But we don't fear. . . we live . . . we live life to it's fullest & we do it with smiles, laughter, & pure joy.

Here's a few of our "homebound" adventures from March:

Trek was TDY in TX for part of the month.  We missed him &
were glad to have him home again.

Canyon lost another tooth.  He also has 3 more that
are loose!

I managed to spill 8 quarts of boiling water on my
hand.  This was NOT a good experience, but
luckily, it didn't do any permanent damage & it's
still healing nicely.  It hurt like nothing else though.

Before the quarantine order came, Trek's cousin
Kirsten was able to come visit us for a few days.
We took her to Cochem & the castles near our house.

One day I completely lost Canyon.  We couldn't
find him anywhere in the house.  Turns out, he
tucked himself into my bed, put my pillow over
his head & fell asleep like that.  It wasn't until
I moved the pillow, that I realized he was there.
Scared me to death.

We're having LOTS of silly shenanigans on our beds every night.

There's been a lot of lego building & magformer creations for
virtual school.

I'm keeping in touch with my young women (ages 11-13) over
zoom conferences.  Once a week we just chat, have a spiritual lesson,
or do something fun like drawing Disney characters together.

More lego creations.

Taya celebrated her half birthday on March 25th.
My friend Nancy sent her a bunch of half birthday
presents.  My kids joke that Taya is her favorite.
She got a lot of fun unicorn themed clothes for spring/summer.
Her birthday is in the Fall & she always gets winter clothes for
her birthday & for Christmas, so Nancy wanted her to
get some spring & summer things for once.

Bladen & I have been having fun with his science
class tracking shadows from the sun, making
a homemade sundial, & tracking the moon each night.

But I must say, the best thing that happened in March was hearing
Tony's bell chime.  The gelato is back!!!!  Eis for everyone!  I love
that Tony drives his ice cream truck right in front of our house & then
rings the bell.  He knows I can't say no to gelato!

Though we live in times of uncertainty, I'm grateful for my wonderful family & all that we are able to do together.  I love them so much.