Happy Birthday, Zach!

He doesn't ask for much.  All he wanted for his birthday was a new pair of running shoes and the chance to try them out.  Done!

Throw in a coffee cake, a family hike, some homemade gifts from the kids, and a meal of his choice and this guy had one happy birthday.  Zach is our rock.  He is grounded by his faith, loves his family, runs with dedication, and finds the good in all circumstances...even while celebrating his birthday in the midst of the quarantine.

Happy birthday, Zach!

We are so lucky that you belong to us!!

Just Read

When you are stuck at home for days on end...

...just read.

When the weather is too cold or windy to play outside...

...just read.

When you need a little quiet time alone...

...just read.

My kids have filled hours of their quarantine days reading books.  Briggs loves when someone will sit down and read to him, but he is also quite content to look at books on his own.  Adelie has grown as a reader this past month, polishing off at least 3 or 4 chapter books along with all the other picture books she reads for school or to Briggs.  And Staley has been devouring books at an alarming pace.  Most of the longer chapter books she has read take her a few days, while she might polish off a few 100-200 page books within a day.  I hope that the library opens up before we run out of books in the house for her to read.

We have found plenty to keep us busy during our month of quarantine.  We do school.  We play games.  We go outside.  We write letters.  There have been lots of plays and concerts and dance shows and imagination and fun.  But when all else fails...

...we read.

Easter: Quarantine Style

Our Easter is usually a full and busy day.  We typically get up, get dressed in our Easter finery,  take pictures, go to church, enjoy Sunday School and brunch, attend the Easter service, rush home, find Easter baskets, head to Zach's aunt's house for lunch and an Easter egg hunt, head over to my aunt's house for a another Easter egg hunt and dessert, and then come home tired from our full day.  We love the time with family.  We love the scrumptious food.  We love watching the kids' excitement about Easter egg hunts and Easter baskets.  But sometimes the true significance of the day can get lost in the hustle and bustle of the festivities.

Our Easter in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic gave us the opportunity to slow down and really focus on the true meaning of this day.  We slept until the kids woke us up, read the Easter story together as a family, and then the kids got dressed for annual Easter pictures.

Adelie still wanted to wear her Easter dress and do her hair, while the other two opted for a more casual Easter look.

We headed to the basement for the kids to hunt for their Easter baskets.  Their baskets were filled with quarantine essentials.  New books, new games, new underwear, and squirt guns.

Since we have been doing virtual church, Staley often follows along in her Bible during the sermon readings.  Adelie has been sad that she does not have a real Bible as she keeps trying to find the verses in her story book Bible, so she was SO excited about getting her own Bible in her Easter basket.

I love that all 3 of my kids love books and reading so much...and I loved catching them all reading together from their new stash.

After Easter baskets, we headed out into the back yard for an Easter egg hunt.

All 3 kids had a great time hunting for eggs.

I know they enjoy the candy inside, but I truly think most of the joy is just in the search.

Although we couldn't enjoy the day with extended family, Grammie and Grandpa did stop by to watch the kids hunt for eggs and share a little family time with us... from a safe distance.

We then headed inside to attend our virtual church service on the couch as a family.

And then we enjoyed a scrumptious Easter brunch.  Although we couldn't share our table with others, we did deliver some Easter brunch to a few neighbors to share a little Easter cheer.

We then spent the rest of our day playing our new Easter games, napping while the kids read their new Easter books, taking a family walk, and then enjoying a yummy dinner of ham, sweet potatoes, cheesy carrots, fruit, and rolls.

We were not all dressed in our Easter finest.  We did not get to enjoy time with extended family.  We were not able to fellowship with our church family.  But regardless of how we celebrated, our Savior is risen.  And that is something we can celebrate in our sweatshirts and headbands.  That is something we can rejoice in from our couch and around our dinner table.  That is what Easter is truly about.  It may not have been a typical Easter, but it was a wonderous Easter nonetheless.

Rejoice!  Jesus is ALIVE!!

Spring Break: Quarantine Style

The kids have been on spring break from school this past week.   A few months ago we planned a 4 day trip to Chicago to visit museums, eat at fun restaurants, play at cool parks, go to a White Sox game, and explore the city as a family.  Obviously those plans were shelved.  Instead our spring break looked more like this:

Playing outside, riding bikes, going on walks, and putting on plays (complete with face paint, of course.)

While I worked my 2 days, Zach and the kids built these elevated garden beds, filled them with dirt, and planted a garden.

We have still been reading lots of books together and playing lots of family games.  We keep adding to our game repertoire.  Skip-Bo became the new weekly favorite.

We got "egged" by some neighbor friends.  The kids enjoyed hunting for the eggs and then paying it forward by egging another friend.

I don't know what the kids liked better...finding eggs hidden in our yard or sneaking into someone else's yard to hide eggs for them.  Such a fun way to connect with others during this socially distant time.

We cleaned out the garage.  There is nothing I find more attractive than a man with his cleaned out and organized garage shelves.

We attended a "drive-in" communion service at our church on Good Friday.

It wasn't how anyone a few months ago would have thought a Good Friday service would look, but it was nice to at least be with our church family, even if all we could do was wave at each other through our car windows.

The kids got a surprise visit from the Easter Bunny courtesy of NTA (their acting group).  You know it's a theater arts Easter Bunny when they show up with a fully coordinated dance routine.

The kids and I made resurrection rolls while reading the story of Good Friday and Easter.  They enjoyed discovering that their marshmallow Jesus was no longer in the tomb.

We ventured to Farmdale Reservoir to expand our hiking grounds.

The kids enjoyed the more rugged terrain, the teeter-totter bridges, the water crossings, and the new area to explore.

We hiked about 3 miles and all the kids did great!

It might not have been the spring break that we had planned, but it was still a good week.  We were thankful for sunshine, some beautiful days, no school work, and some more fun time together as a family.

Three Weeks In...

Three weeks in, we have settled into a good routine of school, work, life, and fun.  This is what our weeks look like:

We sleep in until about 8:00-8:30, eat breakfast, do devotions, and then start our day of school.  Briggs works at the dining room table.  He has been working on his preschool workbook, writing his name, memorizing his address and phone number, doing alphabet or number activities, sounding out simple words, and watching videos his teacher sends of herself reading stories.  He likes when I do school activities with him, but will also work diligently on his own while I help out the girls.  He usually does about 30 minutes of school each day.

Adelie sets up her workstation in the mudroom.  She has daily worksheets and some digital activities on her school Chromebook.  Her teacher posts a daily book that she reads to the class, which Adelie really enjoys.  Adelie likes to check in with me after each worksheet or activity, and I always check her work for accuracy and thoroughness, but she is getting better about being self-sufficient during her school time.  Adelie also does daily reading and writing activities.  She has been enjoying a few different chapter books and has loved writing pen pal letters to cousins, friends, and to a group of ladies at the local nursing home.

Staley's teacher posts daily assignments on Google classroom.  Staley has a few textbooks and worksheets, but most of her work is done on her Chromebook.  She rarely needs my assistance and is very diligent about getting all her work done.   Staley has also been devouring books in her free time and writing pen pal letters.  She has been writing to friends and cousins and has a group of 2 men at the local nursing home that she writes back and forth with.  

While the girls finish their school, Briggs likes to play and do art projects.

Or help me in the kitchen.

After school and lunch, the kids do quiet rest time (where the girls do their reading and pen pal letter writing activities), and then we head out to enjoy the weather.  We've been going on lots of bike rides, venturing into the realm of riding around town.  Riding to the post office to mail their pen pal letters has been a fun outing.  I still walk along with them, but it's getting harder and harder to keep up.

Another new favorite activity is going on "adventure hikes" at the lower lake park.

The kids love to leave the trail and forge their own paths, climbing up and down ravines and balancing on fallen logs.  Of course, they often make up songs to sing while they are adventuring along.

They call themselves the "adventure kids."

There has also been a fairy garden play (the girls were flower fairies and Briggs was the gnome)...

face painting fun...

the "gift" of a super big box that has brought hours of enjoyment...

sending love out to the community with hearts on our door...

the chance to try out Staley's telescope she got for Christmas to check out the moon...

and a social distancing visit to wish our niece, Olivia, a happy 13th birthday.

We also have plenty of time for reading books, playing games, going on walks, attending virtual church and virtual Kids Connection, family movie nights, lots of play time, and getting jobs done around the house. 

Looking at our April calendar, it appears that we have another month of more of the same.  And you'll hear no complaints from me.