Day 5 {COVID-19}

I'm counting from last Thursday, the first day Mike was working from home, and all of our activities started being cancelled.

I'm sure the kids' enthusiasm will wax and wane during this time of home arrest, but they sure were productive little arts and crafts bees today (on top of our usual school assignments). And I can't claim any help at all. They found all of the supplies they needed themselves, worked unassisted, and cleaned everything when they were done. My heart goes out to parents of just little people during this time! I found this list on facebook (which I got back on, as I've been finding a lot of inspiration and resources and just social interaction despite the isolation). Today alone, they crossed off at least six things! Salt painting Making salt dough ornaments/cookies (to paint another day) Homemade slime! Watercolor animals— Day 1 of (McHarper Manor's free online art lessons) We added some lights to the basement fort Annnnd... a care package from our dear Pittsburgh friends showed up to give some fun reading material and activities/Saint Paddy's Day supplies for the boys (and girls, but the boys were all over it :-)) We appreciated some actual outside human interaction this evening, as Elizabeth brought by some homemade monster cookies, and we got to chat with her for a while (at a distance!) about the crazy current state of things. Then we topped it all off with some Noodles & Company rapid pick-up and board games (and Mom was the first in bed). I'd say today was a winning day!

Isolated

I admit that just a few days ago, I was not in the least bit concerned about this far-off coronavirus that started in Wuhan Provence, China. The voiced concerns that I'd seen or heard seemed like hype to me, and initially, so did Mike working from home- a lot of "fuss over nothing," though I was certainly glad to get to have him home more often. We are four days into when he started working from home and all of our activities started being cancelled (though two of those days were weekend). I want to begin documenting this time- what a historical period to be living through!

Firstly, I know we are not nearly as affected by this pandemic as a lot of the world is/will be. We already homeschool, the kids already eat lunch here every day, we are able to afford stock-piles of food and supplies, as well as some extra indoor/outdoor activities/games that might enrich this time of being, for the most part, secluded. Our prayers go out to those whom it affects more severely, as well as, of course, those personally dealing with the infection of the virus.

We are grateful for our faith right now, especially, with the knowledge that God is ultimately the one in control. He has won the battle against the evil one and darkness. We have nothing to fear and put our trust in Him alone, and we know that this is only our temporary home until God calls us to our ultimate resting place, with Him. There are so many great verses that reiterate these points, and we keep reminding the kids of them, when they seem at all anxious. While their fears seemed very tangible at first (difficulty sleeping, etc.), I think they are accepting our current situation more and embracing it as well as they can by being proactive in helping out and finding things to occupy themselves while stuck at home. We've been working to make our once-scary cement basement a lot more inviting by adding more lights and some rugs and beanbags, which had been out in the garage. They've pulled out our Fort Magic and built a cozy hideaway with some sheets and Christmas lights, while listening to some audiobooks on the boombox, and we brought the train table from our other house. I'll post more pictures soon. They've also been taking advantage of our super fenced-in city lot and spending a ton of time playing outside... and in our vehicles. They spend hours out there :-D


Hill-rolling on Friday We've still managed to get outdoors by finding large areas of space nearby for the kids to run around and get out some energy. This morning the kids and I walked down to a big field 0.2 miles down the road and spent a long time there playing "field games" of sorts with some hula hoops and cones. Our trips back to our other house are good for burning energy as well. I'm glad we at least have that. Watching Mass live from Brisbane, AU

Bishop Hying has recommended that most people stay home from Mass, especially those with compromised immune systems (Mike has diabetes and is high risk if he contracts COVID-19), elderly, and children--and those who come into contact with these groups on a regular basis (I wonder who this doesn't include?). The kids enjoyed participating in a live streaming of a Sunday morning Mass from Brisbane, Australia and making an act of spiritual communion last night. The Aussies didn't seem nearly as concerned about physical contact or large groups of people, but the priest did mention (after Mass) a very similar list of new guidelines for receiving the Eucharist, greeting each other, etc., as have been recommended here.

I ventured to Aldi and The Healthy Place (to stock up on immunity boosters!) on Friday, and people were very friendly- going out of their ways, it seemed, to offer smiles, encouraging words, and thoughtful gestures ("Here, take my already-paid for cart." "Take my quarter." "No, please, take the cart." Hah!). It's nice to see people come together instead of some of the insults and blaming I have seen on social media (which I've fortunately given up for Lent, but I do peek in on Sundays). If ever there is a time for us to come together, even if from a distance, it is now.


Offering prayers of health, provision, and peace for all of our friends and loved ones, especially, during this time... What a Lent!

When the Freedom Swim is cancelled, we RUN

My phone died shortly after this, and I didn't get any more pics than these.

The kids were kind of bummed because their Freedom Swim, like everything else in our life right now, was cancelled today. Some of the members of our team decided to hold a "Freedom Run" at a local high school track this afternoon to track laps instead of pool lengths.

It was just our kids and three small families in the brisk, open air, with Christian workout music blaring on our portable speaker. The kids still had the opportunity to actively participate in this cause they've been raising money for without the high risk of germ-sharing in a high school natatorium with a ton of other people (we were careful to use hand sanitizer before snacks and keep our "social distance" from one another, in general). The kids all ran for one hour and they took little breaks here and there for snacks or water or just to rest. They did an awesome job. We kept track of their laps- even Toby and Opal joined in, though they weren't signed up for the swim event. Here are their distances run:

Jack: 25 laps (6.25 miles)
Abigail: 20 laps (5 miles)
Iris: 20 laps (5 miles)
Opal: 16 laps (4 miles)
Toby: 12 laps (3 miles)!!!

I was amazed by how far they all ran (And Toby!-- all with a big coat on a huge smile on his face :-D), especially having not run in probably months!

The kids are so grateful to everyone who made a donation to their fundraising (if you haven't received a hand-written thank-you from one of them, you should soon!). If you'd still like to contribute, here is their page- https://ijm.donordrive.com/participant/1612
All proceeds go to International Justice Mission, a reputable organization, which our family has personally supported for years.

Thank you all, and God bless!

Mud season

On Sunday, we got our first real taste of spring for this year- it was at last 60 degrees and sunny! Toby made a snack for his siblings to eat out on our back deck :) From last week, but still sweet... Majestic Sand Hill Cranes- they were doing a mating dance- so neat to witness! In the late afternoon on Sunday, we walked down to a big park a half mile from our house with Will, Ashley, and cousins. It's nice to be closer to them- and so many things! Freeze tag Dirty piles of snow that have been building all winter are still present on roadsides, but for the most part, the perma-winter-white-stuff melted these past few days, though I'm certain that's not the end of it. Some people here refer to this time as "mud season," which seems appropriate to me. Growing up back east, spring looked like daffodils and little green and soon pink and white and yellow buds everywhere- and a greening up of everything (Nothing got completely brown and dead looking as it does here). I don't recall much mud or ever wearing boots, and that's all our kids have been wearing lately. I do miss our mudroom, as crowded as it was- now we have a mud deck- and a mud mat by the back door, where piles of mud-caked galoshes and soggy outerwear accumulate.

I am looking forward to later in April- to Easter!- when the green of new life seems to emerge before our eyes. But for now, I will relish these warmer days that get our kids outside and running around and walking the short distance to the park, that have us all eager to soak up some vitamin D. And the wonderful graces that have come our way this Lent so far. I tell ya, we have some amazing friends and family and kids- a wonderful homeschool group, and so very much to be grateful for!

I wish you all a blessed mud -and Lenten- season!

CSH happenings {popsicle bridges & St. Paul Catholic Student Center field trip}

This bridge held 175 lbs before the builder (from Toby's class) decided she didn't want to break it- who knows how much it would have held?! This one held 185 lbs before breaking! I wish I'd taken a close-up of the actual bridge of Jack's- it looked pretty sturdy, and it held 75 lbs before snapping.

I didn't get to see the other kids' bridges with weight on them, but these were so impressive! I was astounded by how much weight they could withstand- a fun project (that I am glad is over! Oh- the popsicle sticks and glue everywhere while I was trying to pack our house and move! :-D). Today, our group got to go on a tour (given by one of the dads of our group) of the newly built St. Paul's Catholic Student Center downtown. We learned all about its history and all the neat little things that went into the making of it. That beautiful mosiac is made up of over 300,000 Venetian glass mosaic squares. This sample (before they did the real thing) was hanging in one of the staircases. Little hidden gems everywhere- each with a cool backstory The stunning sanctuary There were prominant saints depicted with mosaics on each side (Mary Magdalene and St. Augustine closest to the confessional :-D) We learned so many fascinating facts about the symbolism and certain styles of churches- why they used particular aspects in the recent building of this one- which features were God-made, and which were man-made (some were really hard to tell- some of the columns, marble, and wood were painted- some were imported from Italy or Spain). I wish I'd gotten a better picture of these stations of the Cross- they were beautifully carved. And to top off the tour- a breathtaking view of the lake and the Capitol.

We then got to attend Mass, much to the initial dismay of some very hungry kids (my tummy was growling as well), but I assured the kids that meant it would be an even bigger sacrifice to go, and we were all glad afterwards that we did (except/despite the little two, who were making it impossible for me to do anything but try to quiet them and get them to stop crawling around under the pews)- the graces that pour down on us are always many. Abigail told me afterwards, "Mom- I didn't think I was going to like this field trip, but I actually really liked it." On our way home, we made it through Trader Joe's (still having not eaten) without incident. And the kids enjoyed the unexpected company of cousins in the afternoon.

We are blessed.