This year started out a little quieter than most. Instead of a big New Year’s party, we celebrated with family. We took a few weeks to adjust to the cold and back in routine after the holidays. We stayed home for Christmas and really have started to nurture our family unit. Christmas was special as each child opened their Santa bags, with big surprises and big smiles.
We enjoy being together and the holidays always help put that into perspective. Carmen and I bonded over the Nutcracker ballet, and we had a fun year with the boys appreciating the magic of Christmas.
A few weeks into 2020, I was called to teach Gospel Doctrine in our church congregation. This would allow me a unique opportunity to really dive in and study the scriptures. My heart has been with my young women since we moved here… Almost six years. That’s a long time to see these awkward 12-year-olds grow into beautiful brides. I am so proud of each girl. Every one has her own story. I love them dearly.
I jumped right into my new calling and instantly started listening to every podcast I could. I love to study and then listen to different people’s perspectives. I love jotting down notes in my journal and highlighting. The scriptures are coming alive for me again, and I LOVE the Book of Mormon. I know it’s true.
Then in January, we were hit with some sad news about Kobe Bryant. Seems silly, but my husband and I were pretty bummed out. You see, he was a Kobe fan and watched hundreds of Laker games. I was saddened by more of a personal angle with his wife and daughters. Just when we thought we were done mourning, ESPN would feature another memorial, another interview, or another game that tore our hearts out again. We would lie in bed and scroll instagram to see dozens of athletes paying tribute to Kobe. He seemed invincible. His will to work hard and improve was unmatched. It just didn’t seem like he could die from something so tragic. Anyway, that was the way 2020 started out. 😉
The highlight month was February. Nora had turned 8 and we were able to baptize her with my family in town. It was a really quick visit, but filled our cups up. I wish I lived closer to my parents. I really enjoyed seeing my dad soak up my kids! They are getting older and their memories are being formed. I’m grateful they can come for big moments like this. Nora is really growing into a beautiful young woman. New confidence with her ears pierced, school shows, and becoming more outgoing with friends are a few examples.
As the spring came, we found our groove. I decided to sign Afton up for ballet, and she was thrilled. She tried on her leotard at least 10 times and always asked which day it was, waiting for her ballet day to come. We had started a neighborhood carpool for Carmen, as we signed her up for three classes this semester. She is really enjoying dance and this is the age where they have to start sorting out their commitment level. She had auditioned for Aladdin and made it… I was excited she’d have another chance to perform on stage.
The boys are adorable. Music makers Wednesday, then library on Thursdays. We’d clean on Mondays, run errands on Tuesdays, and then Friday was open for fun. They thrived with a schedule and really looked forward to every outing. After we’d go out for a couple hours in the morning, we’d come home for lunch and naps. Pick up the girls, and then out for night activities before bed.
Soccer season was just starting up. Carmen and Nora both had a couple practices. We love their teams. Afton was super thrilled for soccer too, but didn’t get a chance to see her team quite yet. First practice was the first week of March.
That’s when everything changed. Corona virus… or if you’re trying to be “official” you call it COVID-19. Friday, March 6th I picked up the girls from school. Nora was bummed because she left her book inside the school. I told her, “Don’t worry. We will be busy over Spring Break anyway…” and that was that.
It is now April 8th and there are no signs of going back to school anytime soon.
We are pretty informed people. I like to listen to the news, or at least scroll things trending on Twitter to stay in the loop. The first day I was hearing about this virus was around the 10th or 11th of March. It was midweek, and we started seeing memes and funny jokes about it on the internet. No one was certain what it was, but most said it was similar to the flu symptoms. I remember the first few bits of news were (1) The NBA was suspending all games, (2) No March Madness, (3) No Houston Rodeo.
These were the top three news bits that impacted our family. We didn’t have any big Spring Break travel plans, although many people were having to make hard decisions about vacations. We were super bummed the Rodeo was cancelled because we had actually booked a hotel and made REAL plans.
We tried to pull off something, so we took the kids to a lakehouse on Jacksonville lake. ATVs, Jet Skis, game nights, pontoon boats, soda, pancakes, bunk beds, dance parties, smores… I think they had a great time. It wasn’t as exciting for us as parents, but I was grateful for a safe place to practice “social distancing” while making memories as a family.
School was pushed out to March 23, then April 3, then April 30… I can’t even keep track right now. But the moral of the story was…. we weren’t going back to school anytime soon. I saw my friend post a teacher planner where you can put in paper and write on it with dry erase marker, and I instantly knew that I would need that. My kids are visual. They like to know what to expect. I think that’s why things go fairly smooth in our house, because they know the expectations. The more prepared I am, the better the day.
We enjoyed Spring Break, and then the extended week thereafter. We did a few academic things, but nothing set in stone. Then the district introduced the curriculum. The first two weeks were difficult. Learning passwords…. figuring out where things were posted. It was crazy. I was like a ping pong ball. “Mom, I need you.” “Mom, can I take the test?” Doing assignments that we thought were assignments, only to realize they’re basically the tests. I saw a lot of posts from moms about the panic. I saw what other schools were doing. I wondered about our schedule and our platforms.
Carmen took control of her learning. She was all about it. She made a binder, printed off papers, and thrived navigating her schoolwork. She had done a lot of online learning already in her class, so that was helpful. Nora’s teachers had some creative ways to engage the students, but it took a little more figuring with Google Classroom and such. Afton is in kinder and it’s hard to even learn how to click the mouse, let alone sit and do school for hours. She loved watching videos that her teacher normally showed the kids in class. Her face lit up! We worked together, and we’re doing it. I like that the assignments are still in line with the TEKs standards for Texas schools. I like that.
The kids did a few powerpoint presentations. Carmen wrote and typed up a story she wrote on her own. They were thinking of creative ways to stay engaged. I tried to make things fun, but it was also difficult being the fun one, the teacher, the cleaner, the disciplinarian, etc. etc. all at once. My kids were staying up late because they were less “worn out” and so I had little time alone by myself. I found myself staying up late on my phone just to have a couple hours of alone time by myself. Everyone would say, “Oh I have so much time to do _____now.” and I thought the exact opposite. I have way LESS time, because I have no time solo.
We’re adjusting.
What is really neat to see is how the bonds between my children are being strengthened. I’m not sure if I am happy or stressed by this quarantine with more kids. Glad they have each other, but a lot of mouths to feed. Michael has had a lot of added responsibility and stress at work as they adjust to these changes, so I’ve tried to give him space to feel all of that out.
One of the things I’m grateful for is that he was so helpful with executing our landscape design in the back yard. I brought home hundreds of dollars worth of plants and he would help me plant them, without complaining. We spent most of late February early March planting, and I’m so glad we did. Now that we are home for so many days, it brings me so much joy to see my plants and flowers thriving. We spend a lot of time outside, and I’m happy we put effort into making our landscape more of what we wanted it to be. We’ve always just inherited whatever the previous home owners had. I’m starting to feel like a real grown up.
Anyway, this has been a weird time of life. A lot of bike riding, sidewalk chalk, and finding joy in the little things. We miss our friends so much. It hurts my heart. I think it’s putting things into perspective that I often took for granted.
We’ve been doing sacrament meeting in our own home. A really special and scared experience. I taught Gospel Doctrine over Zoom. We watched General Conference together with many noteworthy changes, a worldwide fast, proclamation and solemn assembly. I’m grateful to have direction during such an uncertain time.
We don’t know what’s going on with this virus. Where we live, there are about 66 cases. We are trying to stay in, limit contact and only go out when necessary. My kids are old enough to understand, so I’m happy about that. The boys are bored and a little clueless, but I think it’s been good overall.
I turned 32. That was a big one. Nana made me dinner and that was for sure the highlight! I’m trying to stay in shape and not let the 30s get the best of me. I ran a 15k right before all this corona virus hit, and I’m glad I was able to spend January and February getting in running shape. I ran 9.1 miles and it felt GOOD. It wasn’t easy, but I was really proud of my efforts. It’s important for me to push myself to do things outside my comfort zone. For my gifts, Michael got me an amazing projector, a bread maker, and we bought an outdoor swing to cap off our landscaping project!
We’ve been watching more documentaries now that sports are on hold. I love inspiring stories about individuals who have so much determination. I always love learning about the human spirit and how resilient individuals can be. Whether you’re a rock climber who cut off his finger but scaled Yellowstone’s El Capitain, or the Iron Cowboy who ran 50 Ironmans in 50 days, or Cool Runnings… I just love those inspiring stories. I’m reading the Saints book, and I am equally impressed with the courage and faith of those early members.
The other Sunday I asked my family to share some of their heroes to show my kids. I wanted to spark a love for their ancestors, as we come from amazing forefathers and incredible women of faith. I want them to know they belong to a bigger family that can do hard things. We don’t give up. We don’t shy away from a challenge. We push on.
Carmen was trying to do 200 jumps on her jump rope, and had to stop at 177. She was crushed. We can’t give up. I went in her room and put my arms around her. She has a passionate heart. She cares so deeply. I love this about her.
There’s been a lot of time for my older two girls to bond. Before, Nora would do a lot of annoying things to get her attention. I think now that they have so much time together, that is starting to shift. Afton is able to bond as well, because she LOVES to play games. I will find them all playing games late at night in a room together. I love it. They have been creative and artsy, kind and helpful.
One thing that will hopefully really bond our family is our dog that is coming in 10 short days! It’s going to be a huge adjustment, but hopefully bring a lot of joy. We’ve been considering adding a dog to our family for about a year. Wade came out of the womb being obsessed, so I knew it was a matter of time before I get that boy a dog. I think it’s a great time for our family to bond with a pet. I’m glad we’ll have some time at home to care, potty train, and connect with this dog. It will certainly coming to a loving home!!
Whenever we are bored, I try to think of who we can serve. I think this the best way to get out of a funk. One time we just had to get out, so we piled in the car with chalk and jumped out to write a quick love note on a few friend’s sidewalks/driveways. The adrenaline turned these whiny kids into happy campers. We’ve dropped off a few things to friends, but it stinks not being able to really hang out.
We do zoom chats and the girls have dance classes and piano lessons. We are trying to normalize things as best we can. We have set backs like when my car battery died in the pouring rain, or when there was a huge line just to get into Sams club, but that’s life. Things go in waves.. ups and downs, some days better than others. We can cry, vent, let it out, worry, but then today is another day.
We are social people. This is hard. I know there are many that have things a lot worse than we do. There are people overwhelmed with bills, unemployment, small businesses, travel setbacks, missions cut short, graduating seniors… our disappointments have been minimal when comparing it to others.
I know this is a unique time in our world’s history. I think of so many who are overwhelmed, over scheduled, and needed time to heal as a family. Our home is a safe place. Our family is our primary connection. I pray this is a time of healing for many who need it most.
We miss normal life, but I hope my children look back on this “pause” with smiles and fond memories.
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