It's all good . . .

Coronavirus Craziness - Quarantine Week 2

This second week of lockdown, quarantine, social distancing, or whatever you want to call it, has been odd.  I feel like the whole world is holding its breath and everything is on hold.  There are moments of peace, moments of sorrow, and moments of great anxiety.  One day, as Kevin and I were leaving the house to get some essentials at Costco, I looked at my yard and noticed my gorgeous spring flowers and the flowering trees.  They took me by surprise, as if spring was supposed to be on hold, just like everything else.  And so, for that moment, I looked at my flowers and found peace, knowing that although this is hard, spring is coming, and we will all get past this.  Eventually.

We started off the week with a very special Sunday at home Sacrament meeting.  I was in tears on and off as I watched Derek and Kevin prepare the sacrament, and then as Kevin blessed it and Derek passed it to us.  Wow, the spirit was amazing in our home, and I was truly grateful for the fact that I have two worthy priesthood holders in my home.

After the sacrament, we had a wonderful family study session, along with our good friend, Becky, whom we have adopted into our family.  It was such a lovely Sunday, and a much needed reminder of what is truly important.  Arthur's smile said it all, as he ate his fancy Sunday sundae for dessert.

I do feel worried and sad at times.  I was sad when the church decided to close all the temples all over the world, and to send thousands of missionaries back to their home countries (even though I trusted and knew it was what was best with what is going on in the world).  My heart ached.  I have two nephews who will be coming back - actually, my nephew Conner got back on Wednesday from Japan, while Paul, who is in Peru, is still in limbo waiting to leave.  Although their situation is different, and luckily they will not be alone in all of this, it couldn't help but bring back memories of when I had to return early from my mission because of health reasons.  It is hard, and I prayed that they would find comfort.

In all the bizarreness of what is going on all over the world, the truly strange thing is how we are all going through it together.  I have found great joy seeing the stories of people who are finding ways to help, serve, and share joy.  And celebrities that are trying to spread joy, from Jennifer Garner's "Jen, Look at me!" posts, or the facebook live concert that Garth Brookes and Trisha Yearwood put on.  We all need things to make us smile.

Kevin has been home this past week, which has been awesome.  It has been comforting to have him here, and not trekking into Maryland every day for work.  But the best parts, and one of my favorite things ever, is when he sits down and plays his guitar (or the piano).  The music soothes my soul in a way that nothing else can.

Another thing that has helped ease my anxiety, was finally getting my van back.  Last week, I had taken it to our local Honda dealership for some needed maintenance - it has over 200,000 miles on it, and they needed to keep it overnight to finish one last thing on Friday morning.  Well, Thursday night, the governor closed all nonessential businesses, and although the service part of the dealership was still essential, they closed for five days while they tried to figure out how to work things.  On Monday, after still not hearing any word on things, Kevin and I drove across town just to check on things, and found a sign on the window saying they were closed until Tuesday, which was when I finally got my van back.  And yes, I totally didn't have anywhere to go over those five days, but with the anxiety of everything else, it was breaking my sanity to have my van locked in a place and not be able to get to it.  Crazy, I know, but very real.  I almost cried on the drive home.

Arthur has been spending a lot of extra time in the kitchen helping me cook.  One day, he begged me to make pancakes for dinner, which I do on a somewhat regular basis anyway, and so I was happy to oblige.  Now, when he asked me to make them into crazy shapes, like characters from Splattoon, I was not all that successful, but I did try.  He also helped me make pizza for dinner, and even used a little bit of dough to make a mini pizza for himself.

 
One very awesome thing this week, was thanks to technology, Lily was able to meet for seminary (here early morning scripture study class) on Zoom both Tuesday and Thursday.  And the sweetest thing, was Arthur having a Zoom meeting with his teacher and first grade class both Tuesday and Thursday.  On Thursday, they even did show and tell, and Arthur was adorable, explaining all of his little Lego creations.  Wow, I am so grateful for technology!!!

Another super fun thing this week, that has helped Arthur feel connected to his school, was having spirit days - Christmas in March, twin day, crazy socks day, Disney Day, and pajama day.  It was something fun for him to look forward to every day, and made him feel a little more normal.

And although we spend most of our time at home - because truly, that is what we are supposed to do - we have gotten out into nature.  On Thursday, we took a family hike on the rail trail, which was so needed. - even if Arthur complained for most of it that we had walked farther than he wanted to.  Good times!

I am also incredibly grateful for our big back yard - space to play and roam, and the fact that the weather is getting warmer every day.  

We still have some rainy days where we have to be cooped up inside, but we have had some fabulous sunny days to help us get through all that is different and strange in our lives right now.  We can do this!

Coronavirus Craziness - Quarantine Week 1

My spring flowers are blooming, things are waking up, but the world seemed to turn upside down. Last Friday, I was substitute teaching a second grade class, and there was a feeling in the air that things were happening.  Covid-19 had already started encroaching on US cities, including Philadelphia, and things were being shut down all over the place.  In fact, the night before, one of my friends had just arrived in NYC to see Hamilton, and the mayor closed all the Broadway shows.  Things were moving really fast and schools had already been closed in Maryland, and we knew that Pennsylvania wasn't far behind.  

The teachers were all tense with anticipation of what may or may not be happening, and the students were feeding off the energy of their parents and teachers.  One of the students in my class was bragging about how his mom had spent $336 on groceries the night before, and I had to have a discussion with the kids about not taking about the Coronavirus and scaring the other kids.  And then, later in the day, we had to have another discussion because there had been an announcement over the intercom that all teachers were to check their emails, which freaked the kids out.  It had been announced that school would be closed for two weeks, after Governor Wolf declared a "State of Emergency," and so once I talked with the kids and got them calmed down, we cleaned up and organized the classroom the best we could for their teacher.

By the time I got home, I started feeling a little panicked, which is funny, because unlike many people, we had plenty of food in our pantry, loads of toilet paper, and were actually very well stocked. (I am the kind of person who thinks if I don't have two of something, I am out of it.)  The funny thing was that suddenly all I could think about was that I didn't have enough tortilla chips or potatoes.  The thought was running around in my head all day, as I fed off the panic of others.  It was bizarre, but very real.  That said, I did not want to set foot in the stores - they were crazy - and I didn't want Kevin to have to do it either, especially after driving home from work in Maryland.  Just then, I got a text from my friend, Becky, who said she was in Sam's Club and did I need anything.  I almost cried in relief.  She brought me some potatoes and tortilla chips, and all was right with the world.

Saturday morning dawned, and we had just heard that the libraries would be closing for the foreseeable future, and so we went on a family outing to stock up on books, and then swung by the Amish Market (since we had no idea when we could go again) and got pretzels.  It was great, and we made Lily drive the whole time.

And when we got home, I made a lemon cheesecake for us to enjoy on Sunday.  (Kevin and I may have had to brave Target to get the lemon extract I needed, and it was the oddest thing to see the shelves so empty.)

Sunday dawned, and we had the strangest experience of not having church.  Our church leaders had canceled meetings worldwide, as an effort to slow the Covid-19 Pandemic.  We had our own little church meeting, and invited Becky to join us.  It was a nice little meeting, and although it wasn't the same, we tried to do our best to make the Sabbath day special.  Later on, Arthur and Kevin gave us a Frozen concert, with Kevin at the piano and Arthur at vocals.  It was awesome, and definitely made me smile.

Sunday evening, as we watched Book of Mormon movies together as a family, I was finally able to finish the last bit of binding on my quilt.  And now it is done - twelve years later.  I spent about two years squeezing in time to do the hand appliqué on the quilt blocks, and then it took me to almost ten years to decide on how I wanted to put it together and to find the right fabrics.  That's what I get for being picky - ha ha!  I love how it turned out though, and it looks perfect in our bedroom.

Sunday night, I came up with a plan for the week, so that the kids could have some sort of routine, have some comfort, and so we didn't drive each other crazy all week.  I decided to let them sleep in a bit, but didn't want things to be too different, and so I woke Lily and Derek up at 6am, and Arthur at 7am. They started with their regular morning chores, exercising, and practicing their instruments.  Then it was time for school.  Because of the "state of emergency," the teachers weren't allowed to provide any instruction, and so I pulled together some things for Arthur, and with some of the online helps that were opened up for free (Thank you Scholastic!), he was set.  Derek had a few things online he could work on for school that were still available, and Lily has some classes with projects she could work ahead on.  It went really well, and by lunch, they were done.

So far the routine has gone really well all week, but the tight schedule has loosened up significantly.  By Thursday morning, I was done with waking up really early, and so I stopped waking up the older kids at 6 am, and instead I woke them up around 7am, or let them wake up on their own.  I figured that if we all have the chance for a little more rest, we should take it.  I was still getting in my workout every morning, and they were still getting all their things done, so we were fine.

On Tuesday, we had a field trip with our good friends, the Stacey family.  Their second son, Porter, has cancer, and so they have been practicing "social distancing" for months now, and so since we were all healthy, we decided to go on a hike and practice social distancing together (Is that a thing?).  I didn't feel bad about being with them, because of their unique situation.  We had the best time talking and catching up, since because of Porter's cancer, Amber and I never get to see each other or spend time together.  The hike was fun, but way more difficult than we were anticipating, and so Porter and Parley (the 2 year old) had a hard time.  I tried two help as much as I could, but there were times when Amber had one boy on her back, and one in her arms.  She is my hero.

This whole quarantine thing is so strange, especially because it really is our entire country, and most of the world.  Sports were shut down a couple weeks ago, concerts canceled, movie theaters closed, and are getting to the point where only life essential businesses are open.  Since everyone is stuck at home, people are using thee opportunity to reach out through technology.  For example, one of our favorite children's book authors, Mo Willems, has started a daily "Doodles with Mo" video, where he takes kids through some fun doodling and drawing activities, and tells a little about what he does as an author.  Arthur loved it!!

And then there is the "Save with Stories" program, where different celebrities are recording themselves reading children's books and posting them to Instagram to both entertain and to raise money for No Kid Hungry and Save the Children.  It is awesome!  And then there was the awesome impromptu concert that Keith Urban gave in his warehouse with his wife, Nicole Kidman, helping him out and being his audience (which he had so much fun with, he is going to do it every Monday.  And then there is Harry Connick Jr., who with the help of his daughters, is putting on thee most fun little show in his basement called, "Hunker Down with Harry." Wow, it is amazing how these things really lift your spirits and bridge the isolation.

One of the other things that has been saving my sanity, has been my morning workout each day.  I had already gotten in the habit of starting my day with a workout 5-6 days a week, and it has truly helped me.  I am so grateful for our basement "gym," for extra time to get in longer workouts, and especially my Mom Strong Move membership so that I have her awesome and challenging workouts to do, in spite of the chaos.

Also worked into our days, is some screen time - usually introducing the kids to fun Disney movies they have never seen (Snow White, Pinnochio, and more) or watching Lego Masters (which is such an awesome show).  When Kevin gets home from work, we turn on a movie or show, and watch while I cook dinner.  And since our evenings aren't packed with rehearsals, lessons, youth activities, swimming lessons, etc, I no longer have to worry about how quick or portable dinner is, but have time to spend more time on cooking whatever we want, and we can have things like crepes, which makes us all happy - especially if I can make them while watching Lego Masters.

Speaking of cooking, I have spent a lot more time in the kitchen cooking and baking, not just because I can, but because it gives me such a feeling of comfort and well being.  And right by my sida has been my "cook friend," Arthur.  He helped me bake a giant chocolate chip cookie the other day, which was delicious and so much fun!

On Saturday, I made it a baking day, and spent hours baking, with intermittent help from my "cook friend," who especially loved checking to see if the bread dough had risen enough to put in the oven.  I baked bread and banana chocolate chip muffins, and then I spread the love a bit and gave some to a few of my neighbors - limiting contact, of course ;).

There were lots of things canceled this week that were bummers, such as Lily getting her braces put on.  We are on a bit of a time crunch for her to finish her treatment in time to leave for college, and so having it pushed back was not ideal, but I completely understand why they had to close.  The other thing that was getting canceled that made me so sad, was our monthly book club.  I look forward to it so much, and after the crazy week, I sure needed the monthly therapy session it always seems to be.  Well, my friend, Alisha, came to the rescue, and we were able to use Zoom for our meeting.  It was perfect!!  Yes, we weren't all together in person, and there was no delicious food to share, and it may have felt like a funny version of the Brady Bunch, but wow, it was awesome!  We talked and laughed for two hours, and even discussed the book quite a bit.  It was just what my heart needed.


This has been a somewhat difficult situation, but I feel incredibly blessed that my husband still has a job and is getting paid, we have a safe and large home to hunker down in, and I have more than enough food and supplies. Truly, in so many ways, this situation has huge silver linings, like all the extra time we get to spend together as a family.  I feel like it is a gift.  And even though there were many things that got canceled that were disappointing, as my calendar was suddenly wiped clean, I felt a huge burden lift off of my shoulders.  I had not even realized how completely overwhelmed I was feeling. And so for now, I will keep looking for the silver linings, make the most of this time with my family, and pray for all those affected by this global pandemic.

A Little March Fun

March has had some fun moments so far, and one of them was Dr. Suess' birthday celebration in Arthur's class.  There were lots of fun spirit days all week, and cool activities, like special crafts, drawing Dr. Suess characters, and even making Cat in the Hat hats out of Oreos and marshmallows.  I taught a bunch that week, and so I got to be involved in some of the fun as well.  But the best part of the week was when I got to go to Arthur's class and read them a story.  I do it once a month, and I love it.

Another fun thing, was getting to celebrate my birthday with my kids.  Because we were gone in NYC on my birthday, we did a little celebrating with them on Sunday.  I got some fun presents, they decorated my bedroom door, and my friend, Becky, made my birthday cake for me.  It was delicious!!  She and her husband came over to eat it with us, which made for a fun little party.

Another very fun thing, was our combined youth activity on Tuesday night.  We played Human Fooseball, and it was awesome!  The kids had so much fun, and some of the adult leaders even got involved, and Brother Newcomer, one of our bishopric members who is usually so gentle and quiet, was quite the competitor (and maybe a bit of a cheater - ha ha!).  It was such a blast!

Right now, things are changing quickly because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and I am not sure what will be happening here in the near future, but I am very grateful that we were able to squeeze in a few more fun things before things might get really crazy.

Birthday Adventures in New York City

About a month or so ago, Kevin suggested that we go see a show in New York for my birthday, and before we knew its, I bought train tickets, had a hotel booked, and tickets to two different Broadway shows for my birthday weekend.  We were both so excited for it, and on Friday, my birthday, we were off on a train to NYC.  (And wow, although driving to New York isn't all that bad, taking the train was amazing!)

Our first stop after we arrived at Penn Station, was to stop our luggage off at our hotel, which was just around the corner.  Then we walked to The Little Pie Company, not to far away, and got some lunch. We had been wanting to try this place for a while, and we were not disappointed.  We shared a chicken pot pie, which was fabulous, and then we each picked our own pie for dessert. I got a strawberry rhubarb pie and Kevin got an apple pie, and they were delicious!  It was the perfect start to our weekend.

After lunch, we hopped on the subway and headed uptown to attend the Manhattan New York Temple.  We had the most wonderful time there in the temple, and one of the best parts was getting to visit with some good friends from Twin Falls, Kathy and Terry Dodds We went to high school with some of their kids and our parents are friends.  Seeing them felt a little like coming home, and was a special blessing.

After attending the temple, we headed back to our hotel to check in, but we made a quick stop on the way there to get amazing bagels at Best Bagels and Coffee.  They were giant and delicious.

We checked into our hotel and enjoyed a quick rest before we were out on the streets of New York again.  We decided to have dinner at Los Tacos No.1, and this time I made sure NOT to get the salsa, so I could actually taste my fabulous tacos.  And wow, hey were so good, especially the fried quesadilla.

After dinner, we walked to the Al Hirschfeld Theater to see Moulin Rouge!  It had been raining on and off since we left the temple earlier, and thank goodness we had brought umbrellas with us, but as the rain picked up and it got colder, I was freezing.  Luckily, we got to the theater early enough that we could stand under the overhang as we waited to get into the theater. (Side note: My feet were frozen because they were soaking wet because of the rain.  When we got to our seats, I circumspectly slipped my shoes off and put my gloves on my poor frozen toes, and it may have taken half the show before they thawed out. I was so afraid that someone would see - it was seriously embarrassing, but I was desperate.  Luckily, nobody noticed, and it gave Kevin yet another thing to make fun of me for.)

The show was AMAZING!  And just check out the set!  It was spectacular - truly.  Before the show began, some of the performers came out on stage, like circus performers.  It was so cool.  And although it was a little different from the movie (which I have loved forever), it was fantastic.  So much fun!  

Once we got back to our hotel, I ate my red velvet cupcake from the wonderful Magnolia Bakery, since it was my birthday, after all ;).  It was the perfect way to end my birthday and the first day of our adventure.

Day two dawned, and with another great food tour of New York.  We started things off with a delicious breakfast at Maison Kaiser, a fabulous French bakery/cafe.  My food was great, but Kevin's waffles were divine - oh, and my hot chocolate was amazing.  They had all these fabulous pastries that I will have to try another time.

After breakfast, we were going to pop across the street to the New York Public Library, but it opens late on Saturday, and so it was still closed.  Instead, we walked back to our hotel, by way of the the largest Macy's in the world, and the biggest Old Navy I have ever seen.  It was four stories!!  The main reason we went into the stores was because I was so cold, and needed a place to warm up, but that Old Navy was amazing, and of course, I found something to buy - ha ha!

We got back to our hotel in time to check out and store our luggage, and then we went to Black Tap for lunch.  The burgers looked good, but the thing that brought us there were the amazing milkshakes.  We shared one, and it was so fabulous and super delicious.  It had giant brownies on it and so much more.  Wow!

After lunch, we headed over to the Walter Kerr theater to watch Hadestown. We had fabulous seats, and were so excited for the show, as it won the Tony for best musical last year.  It did not disappoint. It was amazing, and we both loved it!!

After the show, we walked toward uptown to get dinner at Angelo's Coal Oven Pizza. It was so, so good!  And I love watching them make the pizzas in the back while we ate.

On the way back to our hotel, we walked down 6th Ave, with the One World Tour down the street and past Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center.  As I was walking through the streets of NYC, hand in hand with my Kevin, I realized that that was my favorite part about this whole adventure.  The shows were amazing, the food was spectacular, but sharing it all with Kevin was the best part - exploring such an amazing city with my best friend by my side.

As we got closer to our hotel, we walked past the Empire State building, and by the time we got closer, it was all lit up and gorgeous.  Like it was saying goodbye to us.

We picked up our luggage and walked to Penn Station to wait for our train home.  Before we knew it, we were headed home on the train, and I may have slept on and off on the ride.  After going full out for two straight days, and walking miles through the city, I was exhausted. I had saved one treat for our ride home - a key lime cheesecake from Magnolia Bakery, but when I opened the box, they had accidentally given me a key lime square instead.  I was so sad.  Don't get me wrong, it was delicious, but it wasn't the heaven that is their key lime cheesecake.  Oh well.  Everything had gone pretty amazingly all weekend, and if this was the one thing that went wrong, then I was pretty darn lucky.

We got back to our car in Lancaster by 11pm, and so got home around midnight.  We were very worn out, but it had been the most amazing weekend, and the best birthday celebration I could have ever asked for.

Hard Things

Life is always a little tricky.  We are all given trails and hard things we have to endure.  I know that compared to most, my trials are so very small, but some days they seem to rise up and overwhelm me, and even the good things can begin to feel like too much.  Last week, I went in for my second annual mammogram.  With all the family history of cancer in my family, and knowing that my grandma had breast cancer, it always makes me a bit worried.  I went in, I was calm, and it seemed just fine.

The very next day, however, I got a phone call saying that they saw something on my films, and I needed to come back in for another mammogram and an ultrasound.  I knew that it was a common thing to have happen, and I knew that it was probably nothing, but it didn't stop me from feeling like I wanted to curl up into a ball and cry for a while.  Luckily, I have my amazing husband who came home and held me for a bit.  And who took the day off of work to go with me to my additional tests - which turned out to be nothing, thank goodness.

Another hard thing happened to Derek last week.  On Thursday, the opening night of his show, he came home from school with his hand completely swollen.  Apparently, a boy at school who had bullying and threatening him, pushed him down some stairs in between classes.  He fell on his hand, and was in terrible pain.  As quick as I could, I was taking him to the ortho instant care, but there was a two hour wait, and he was supposed to report for hair and makeup in an hour.  I prayed for a miracle, and we got one - they got him in, and luckily it was not broken, but just badly sprained.  They gave him a brace to wear, and we got him to the school just in time for opening night.  It was horribly stressful, but we were blessed with some true tender mercies.

We have also been having some struggles with Arthur lately.  He has been especially argumentative and angry at school, refusing to do work and breaking down all the time.  I am not sure what has shifted, but it has been hard.  At home as well.  It actually seems like he is an angry teenager trapped inside a seven year old's body. It is hard, but I know that we will figure it out.

I have also been more than a little overwhelmed with my calling as the Young Women's president in our ward.  With the new program, especially with the changed for the young men's leadership, I have felt very overwhelmed lately.  I love my girls, I love my calling, but sometimes it is just one more thing on my plate weighing me down.  Luckily, I am blessed with amazing ladies that serve in the presidency with me, and so I am not alone.  And things are going more smoothly, little by little.

I have also been working a lot.  I had planned on only subbing two days a week, three at the most, but I have been doing a lot more than I had planned. That has added a lot to my stress, as my days off have been filled with appointments and things, leaving little time for the things I need to do at home. I know I need to scale back, and that will lift a lot of the load off my shoulders.  Even though I absolutely love teaching, there are some things I can't let go of or change, but taking less sub jobs is something I can change.

Life is full of hard things and trials, but the important thing to remember, is that we are not in this alone.  We have a loving Father in Heaven who is watching over us and guiding us.  He knows us, and he sees what we do not.  He knows my heart, and he can help me do anything I need to do, and he will guide me when I get a little lost along the way. He can give me peace in the midst of any trials.

Our Handsome Sailor and The Little Mermaid

Starting the first week of December, Derek began rehearsing for his middle school's musical, The Little Mermaid Jr. He has been working hard for months, and this past weekend, Derek, the sailor, put on a show - and he was fabulous!

A few weeks before the show, I went and took headshots of the cast and crew, and so I was able to get this picture of Derek and the other sailors.

Last week, the cast went around to all the elementary schools in the district and put on a preview for them.  Arthur was in heaven when Derek came to his school, especially because he danced with him when the cast went out into the kids.  Arthur's teacher snapped some pictures for me, and it was awesome.

A few days ago, we had the Parent Preview, and so we got to watch the show before opening night.  That made Arthur even happier, and we just loved getting to see the show.

Thursday night was opening night, and they did a fabulous job!  I loved getting to see all their hard work pay off, especially my sweet Derek.  

After we watched the show, I asked Arthur who his favorite character was, and he said, "Derek, of course!" He sure does love his brother.

Arthur's second favorite character was Prince Eric, and so he had to get a picture with him. Derek had four performances, and we made sure one of us was at every one, which was awesome.  We are so proud of our Derek, and so grateful for all the people who worked so hard so that he can be a part of experiences like this.

On a side note, I helped out a few nights at the concessions stand, and there were so many sweet kids that I had substitute taught for.  They would see me, get excited, run over and give me a hug, and then their parents would be super confused - ha ha!