Here we are, one month post US COVID-19 outbreak, and we are surviving. Some days are definitely better than others but that's OK. That's normal life outside of a pandemic.
We have our school routine down and its going pretty well.
We start school each morning at 8:30 am. We do 30 minutes of "Come, Follow Me" during which we read and discuss different chapters in the Book of Mormon. It's been great. We also say the pledge and our words of affirmation. It's a great way to start the morning.
Then from 9 am- 12 pm we work on school work.
All their school work is posted in "Google Classroom" each day so we just log in and see what we have to do each day. Mondays and Wednesday we do literacy work and Tuesday and Thursday we do Math. Each day the kids to independent practice too.
Tanner's school work is the hardest for me because he's older and he's learned math a totally different way than I did growing up. So I've had to do a lot of "googling" to figure out how they are teaching long division and fractions these days. There has been a steep learning curve. But Tanner is very self motivated and he does great.
Most of Tucker's school work consist of videos and online games and quizzes. He's doing great and loves doing school from home.
Bailey handles her school work pretty well. I just usually need to check her work and make sure she's turned everything in.
Meanwhile, outside of school work we've been having lots of fun together. All this time at home together has lend to lots of quality time.
We love roasting hot dots and s'mores over the fire in the evenings and mercifully we've been having some gorgeous weather.
We've also have the occasional PJ day and lego marathons.
We've been putting our artistic abilities to work on some sidewalk chalk art.
The kids love our chalk mosaic. It was pretty fun.
And we discovered that the garage makes the perfect place to play with magtiles. The magnetic shapes stick perfectly to the garage door and it was so fun.
Benson has gone through about 5 bottles of bubbles in the last month. He is constantly filling his bubble machine and then spilling it accidentally over and over.
Another trend we decided to try was the whip cream challenge. This fun night had us laughing so hard. Basically you put a dollop of whipped cream on the inside of your wrist. Then you smack right before below your wrist and the whipped cream flies into the air and you have to try and catch it in your month. It was way harder than I thought it would be.
Tanner had some of the best catches. We were laughing so hard.
Tucker couldn't quite figure it out but he enjoyed licking the whipped cream off his arm.
Benson had us all laughing. He was a mess of whipped cream and never once got it anywhere near his month but he was so enthusiastic in his attempts.
We've been finishing off our nights around the fire pit whenever possible.
We are big fans of s'mores at this house.
We've also really been enjoying our "at-home church".
Having the kids write their own talks has been amazing. They bring such a sweet spirit into our home.
I want to always remember their sweet testimonies. We asked the kids to write a talk about why they are grateful for the restoration of the gospel and Joseph Smith's first vision.
Tanner's talk read: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" That verse means to me that if anyone has questions for God, say a prayer and he shall answer it. 200 years ago Joseph Smith asked God which church he should join. He said a prayer, asking his question and like 200 years later in the present, 2020, my mom and dad have been telling us that if we have a question then we should say a prayer and ask God. What James wrote in his letter has lasted all these years. That's pretty to cool because if you ask me its like James is seeing the future and letting us know that we can pray to ask God for answers. What James said is very simple, just say a prayer- that is all you must do. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."
Bailey's first talk she ever wrote for church read, "Joseph Smith was born on December 23rd. The month of Christmas. Earlier Dad told me a storyof this guy who prayed and asked God to keep him safe. The next day he decided to ride a motorcycle without a helmet. He got hit by a car and had to go to the hospital. He was in the hospital for a long time and he wanted to blame God. But he didn't because he knew it wasn't God's fault it was his own fault. This is important to me because if you ask God to do something for you, like this man who wanted to ride a motorcycle, it wont work unless you do what you need. I've been praying to ask God to help me find my toys. But I wasn't looking I was just hoping they would show up magically. But I learned God wont just do things for me, you have to work towards stuff. My favorite part of the first vision, you may think its the worst part, but its the part Joseph Smith is hurt by Satan. Its my favorite because it tells us that Satan doesn't want us to pray. He gets us to be too tired to pray or not want to. But we should not let that happen, we have to try. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."
I helped Tucker type his first ever talk and it was pretty cute. He read it with only a little help from me. His read "When I hear the story of the first vision I feel good. I feel good because Joseph Smith saw Jesus and God. And he got an answer to his question. Because Joseph Smith's prayer was answered, I know that my prayers can be answered too"
Oh and one day the kids school put together a drive-by parade. The teachers and principals all drove their cars in a huge parade line through all the neighborhoods in our school zone. It was so cute. My kids were so excited to see their teachers. We made a sign and cheered when their teachers drove by. It was incredible. It was so touching to see how loved my kids are by their teachers. Their teachers were loosing their minds with excitement to see their students. Bailey's teacher nearly stopped her car when she leaned out the window to wave and send Bailey a hug. It was so sweet.
Tucker's teacher had her head out the sunroof of her van while her husband drove her and was yelling at him. He was so shy but I could tell he was so happy to see her. And Tanner's teacher didn't stop yelling hi and sending love until she turned the corner in our neighborhood. It was so cute.
I literally started crying because I was so touched by their love for my kids. It was amazing.
Chris has also been taking the kids on frequent bike rides. They need to get out and stretch their legs as often as possible. He's so great and it gives me a nice break during the day. The kids love it.
Tucker has been refusing to ride his real bike, but we are hopeful we will get him on there eventually. Until then, he loves the ziggler.
Our daily life is so strange right now
We also got to pickup Aunt Laura from the airport since she was able to fly home from Japan. With the pandemic taking over the world and airports shutting down, we were worried we wouldn't be able to get her home. So we were relieved that she was able to get back to the US. We didn't actually get to hug her but we brought her car to the airport and brought her the sign Aunt Sarah made. All the family in NWA signed it. It was fun. It would have been more fun if we could have given her hugs.
We are just so relieved to have her home. She had to spend two weeks in a travel trailer on Nanny and Papa's driveway while she quarantined. But after two weeks she moved back in with them and is healthy and safe. We can't wait to see her when this is all over!
We also watched General conference this month and although it felt the same to us, the conference center was empty and no one met at church buildings to watch. Everyone watched from their own homes. The kids love conference weekend and all the fun activities that go with conference weekend.
We did our "General Conference Store" again and the kids love earning conference bucks to buy things from our store.
Also, because this April marked the 200 anniversary of Joseph Smith's first vision, President Nelson led the church in a solemn assembly and a special Hosanna shout. President Nelson said " We pray that this will be a spiritual highlight for you as we express in global unison our profound gratitude to God the Father and His Beloved Son by praising Them in this unique way.”
We pulled out our white handkerchiefs and it was pretty special.
The kids are rocking their school work still. Poor little Benson struggles in the mornings because he just wants to play and all the kids can do is work. That's been one of the hardest parts of the situation. With Daddy working from home, the kids working on school from home and me trying to help, Benson is missing our one-on-one time.
Sometimes he joins the kids at the table and watches their videos with them. I love the picture of Tucker and Benson snuggling together.
The kids also have "Google hangouts" with their class and teachers on Fridays. It's pretty adorable.
This whole situation has been hard but the kids are handling it like champs.
I've been feeling a bit like a cafeteria lady lately. Each day I make lunch and the kids and I watch a home safari visit. It's pretty cool.
Also I have to document our social distancing visit from the Allreds. They brought me my birthday present and some cookies for us. The kids were so excited to see each other that they could hardly maintain a 6 foot distance. The Allreds were literally busting out of their windows. It was so cute.
We ended our night with ice cream cones.
Basically, our entire world has changed and its been an adjustment. But we've doing our best to make the most of it. I feel incredibly grateful to be able to keep my family home and safe. I'm grateful Chris still has a job. I'm grateful for my kids' teachers who are doing their best to make digital learning successful.
Here are a few milestones that have happened in the last month in Arkansas and around the US due to COVID-19. I just want to have this information written down so I can look back at it years from now, when normal life has resumed and I've forgotten the small details, and remember how crazy life was.
-Gas prices in Bentonville are $1.19
-Oil prices drop to the lowest price ever NEGATIVE $37.63 a barrel, meaning producers have to pay buyers to take it off their hands.
-All schools, even colleges, closed around March 17th, expected to go back in April, but now not until next school year.
-Distance learning mandated by the state to start by March 17th for all.
-Social-distancing measures on the rise.
-Tape on the floors at grocery stores to help distance shoppers (6ft) from each other.
-Limited number of people inside stores, therefore, lineups outside the store doors.
-Barber & beauticians face fines and/or loss of license in many states for providing services in people’s homes while shops have been mandated to close.
-Gyms, Disney World & other amusement parks, Beaches and Overnight camping sites closed
-Bank lobbies closed
- Zoom and Google Hangout becomes the primary way to teach, work, have city board meetings, etc.
-Millions of people out of work & unemployment claims sky rocket.
-Entire sports seasons cancelled.
-Concerts, tours, festivals, entertainment events - cancelled.
-Weddings, birthday parties, funerals, family celebrations, holiday gatherings - cancelled, postponed or only immediate family allowed.
-Most College & HS graduations canceled.
-Nursing home & hospital patients aren’t allowed visitors.
-Places of worship are closed.
-No gatherings of 50 or more, then 20 or more, now no gatherings of 5 or more.
-Temperature taken & questions outside all appointments & some jobs
-Only socialize w/those inside of your home.
-Children's outdoor play parks, skate parks, dog parks, basketball & tennis courts are closed.
-Shortage of masks, gowns, gloves for our front-line workers.
-Shortage of ventilators for the critically ill.
-Panic buying sets in & we have no toilet paper, no disinfecting supplies, no paper towel, no hand sanitizer.
-Shelves are bare of basic foods like beans, rice & some canned goods.
-Manufacturers, distilleries and other businesses switch their lines to help make visors, masks and hand sanitizer
-Government closes the border to all non-essential travel.
-Hotels closed to all out of state guests.
-Press conferences daily from the President & AR Governor.
-Take-out or drive-thru is the only option if you want grab a bite out.
-Pet adoption spiked with families at home.
-Delivery of non-essential orders are delayed by Amazon & Walmart.
-Daily updates on new cases, recoveries & deaths.
-Barely anyone on the roads.
-People wearing masks & gloves in the grocery store.
-Essential service workers are terrified to go to work.
-Medical field workers are afraid to go home to their families.
We are praying this is over soon but who knows how long it will last. We will do our best to keep our chins up, be kind to each other and be happy. Best of luck to everyone out there surviving this craziness!
