I have been trying to keep myself occupied while we are social distancing and isolating. I've been working on my children's baby books and memories and things on Shutterfly, and I thought about where all the pictures and stories are so I can do that better. When I was pregnant with my boys I kept journals for them, and wrote in them afterwards as well. To record things I felt were important. I'm not as good at it as I should be, but then I remembered that at least after having Ammon I was writing consistently each month in my blog. So, I decided, that at a time like this when some historical things are happening, that it might be time for me to make the time for that again.
So, I want to start with March. March is always really special to me because it is the time when I remember that one of the greatest miracles came into my life. Michael was born, and this year was especially eventful. I wanted to do a party with the family, and since my Mom and brother Geoffrey needed to bring me the washer and dryer they had for us and also the piano that Geoffrey got for me I decided to do that all in the same weekend. I didn't do a great job of taking pictures, per the norm, but I was able to take a few and we were able to enjoy time with everyone at our home. It's not very big, but it's full of love. I also wanted to do a party where Michael could invite 2-3 friends from school, and I was going to be texting the parents to see if I could set that up and on Michael's actual birthday, March 11, there was a worldwide pandemic announced and that we needed to start social distancing. It's a term that basically means to quaratine or isolate, just a little less intense. There is a virus, the Coronavirus COVID-19, that is sweeping the world right now and there is no cure, and healthcare isn't able to deal with all the cases coming on all at once. There is also no cure, and it presents with cough, fever, shortness of breath, and tiredness. It really just sounds like a bad cold or flu, but it actually hits some people worse than others. If you have an auto-immune disease or different health problems or a senior (60+ years old) then you are more prone to getting it and without being able to go to the hospital, because they are overflowing in a lot of places around the world, you will die. The severe cases have the shortness of breath, and without having enough ventilators for new cases as well as people who are already using them it is causing huge problems in the world. So, in order to "flatten the curve" as they put it, and reduce the number of cases coming in all at once we are asked to social distance. In some states they have closed their borders and they are on mandatory isolation and curfew restrictions. So, it is definitely something that is crazy in history right now. The main point is that this was put into effect on Michael's birthday, so it was definitely memorable and I wasn't able to do the party with his friends like I wanted to.
So, after the schools have shut down and we are now doing school from home and online we have had to figure out a new normal at home. Matthew is also doing his Nu Skin job from home, so we've converted our bedroom into an office space for him to take phone calls. Pearson is also living with us right now, and he is required to work from home as well, so his room is also turned to office space of sorts. In the meantime I am helping the kids with school downstairs and trying to keep them moving on it, entertained when they are done, and quiet all at the same time. Now, while a lot of people I know are really struggling with this, I feel like I've been blessed to be prepared to deal with these issues at this time. I'm a stay at home Mom because God told me to quit my job last year. And some days it is harder than others, but I think we are weathering the storm pretty well, considering everything. The boys are adjusted now to the new normal, and we are working on making sure we change things up for them at different intervals to make sure that they don't go crazy or get too stressed about their school work. We are taking daily walks, which is helping me with my weight loss goal I started the week that the COVID Pandemic started. I'm trying to get my body back into shape to have another baby, so it's been rough that way, but the boys help me to exercise and eat consistently. We only go out once a week for necessities at the store. That's another blessing we have had is that we had stocked up on our food storage the week or 2 before the pandemic, so when the stores were overrun and there wasn't toilet paper or hand sanitizer or food left on the shelves, we didn't have to worry. We just needed the perishable stuff like milk, eggs, cheese, bread, etc . . . I have my menu board and we've been better at using it so we are prepared and we aren't afraid. We are following what the Lord has said and things are working out for us. Not to say there aren't challenges, but I feel more confident and capable of facing them because of it.
The other thing that changed is that the Church has suspended having meetings to help aid in flattening the curve. The prophet, Russell M Nelson, is a Dr, and I don't think that is any coincidence. He is leading us and helping us to stay safe and also to be able to still worship. Because of the new Come Follow Me program that was announced in 2018 and launched in 2019 we are able to still have our lessons and our bishop authorized for the priesthood in my home, Matthew and Pearson, to be able to administer the sacrament. It's actually been a huge blessing for our family because Matthew is able to attend church meetings now. He works a second job on the weekends that is a graveyard job and he hasn't been able to go to church in months because of when he gets off and the time church normally starts. So this has been amazing. I've also been preparing to teach my children the Preach My Gospel lessons to prepare Michael for baptism next year, if he so chooses. We were also asked to prepare for General Conference by the Prophet, as they won't be holding it in the conference center and only the speakers will be there and taking every precaution the CDC has set forth. I will talk about conference later, but this was very exciting to me and I actually took the time to prepare.
The boys are doing really well. Michael is doing great in school. He struggles a little bit with the way that they teach the Common Core Math, but we are figuring it out and he's getting it. Ammon is doing REALLY great and he loves doing the online ZOOM meetings with his teacher each day and then we have packets that we've picked up from the school that he does every day as well. Michael has a packet and also online stuff he does, and we've got a pretty good system down. We've also been playing the board games in the house, we've established what will be watched for screen time so there's no fighting, and we are just learning to use what's around us to play. We also have downloaded on my phone the Marco Polo app, and it's like video texting. It's amazing actually, and has helped SO MUCH!!! The kids are able to talk to their friends and grandparents and I'm able to talk to my family and friends that live so far away. It's been great. One down thing is that our computer died, so we needed to see about replacing it. We decided to, and it's an all-in-one with a touch screen. It's been really nice and I'm very happy with how it's helping especially with the online schooling we are doing now.
I NEVER wanted to homeschool my kids. And a lot of people on Facebook say that this is actually not the same as homeschooling. However, I have felt the Lord lift me and make me equal to the task. So, I have seen a lot of blessings come from being together in isolation all the time. I have gotten closer to my boys, I have learned how to adapt date night for always staying in, and how to entertain my boys and make sure they have avenues to work out their energy and creativity.
I know there are a lot of bad things happening in the world because of all of this. The economy is suffering, but the government has passed a bill to give us all a certain amount of "stimulus money". So, we each get a certain amount of money depending on what was made in our 2018 taxes and the size of family. There are a lot of people that are having issues with their anxiety, and depression. People that have domestic violence happening in their home and those with suicidal thoughts are having a huge struggle and there have been a lot of deaths due to that. So, we are praying and fasting that this can be controlled and can calm down soon.
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