COVID-19

The Carona Virus, or COVID-19 - the biggest health pandemic since the 1918 Spanish Flu has hit the U.S. and it has hit us all hard.  At first, we thought it would be no biggie and we were safe in Montana.  But when everything started shutting down, we knew things were going to start changing.  When the Church leaders announced that church on Sunday in chapels would not happen but it would happen in our home and then temples being open only by appointment and for live work, we knew things were going to get real.  School closed down, for two weeks at a time.  Stores, parks, fishing access points, all closing.  It seemed like a dream, but it was real!  We started staying home on March 16 to practice social distancing.  As the virus progressed, we had shelter-in-place orders.  

I am thankful for the Gospel and the peace it brings.  Especially the Book of Mormon.  Every morning when I read, I swear it applies to what is going on in my life at that moment.  "The things which we write... must remain" (vs. 1). Indeed.  If there ever was a time we need the truths of the Gospel it is now!  We can develop and maintain unshakable faith by studying the scriptures to "learn with faith and not by sorrow" (vs. 3), having hope through Christ (vs. 4), worshiping Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and keep the law (vs. 5), "search the prophets" so we can have our own revelation and prophecy (vs. 6), "take counsel from [God's] hand" (vs. 10).  With all of the uncertainty around us, we can choose faith over fear. Joy over sorrow. Prophecy over panic. Last night, we were talking about the COVID‐19 at dinner.  We talked about how blessed we are to have the Gospel and the words of the living prophet.  If we study God's word and follow His prophets, we will be okay.  We are thankful for the home centered, church supported system. We are thankful for the counsel to always have food storage and stock pile. We are thankful for the Plan of Happiness and that God is in control. We are thankful for the word of God which gives peace in troubled times.  Our oldest started crying last night and saying "It feels like the world is crashing down".  Not just the pandemic going on but my cousin just had a massive tumor removed, my sister is on bedrest, and we got word yesterday my Grammie is dying.  I felt to share the words of President Monson with her. "Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us. My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.” ️

We've been trying to stay positive.  The last day of school before the kids were out, the kids said everyone seemed a bit crabby. Including me.  With all of the things going on, it was kind of a hard day.  Emma and Lucy have been writing encouraging notes on the wipe boards and windows with our window markers.  Emma wrote Bee Positive and drew a cute bee and Lucy wrote "Jesus, he is always watching over us!"  and the boys said nice things and gave great hugs.  Cal prayed that "we would look on the bright side of things".  

Dave saw this coming and ran into Sam's Club to get some regular groceries for us and a few extra things.  It was crazy as most of the store was cleared out.  Especially toilet paper and hand sanitizer.  I get the latter, but toilet paper!?  Really?  Everywhere is wiped out of toilet paper (sorry, couldn't help myself with that pun...).  The canned food, frozen food, cleaning supplies are vanishing fast and people are hoarding.  It made me thankful for food storage and the council always for our church leaders, so it isn't really a big deal as we always stockpile and keep several months supply on hand.  The store here also is wiped out, everywhere is cleaned out!  

So now we have social distancing.  The federal government is asking all states to decide what is best for their state.  We were one of the last four states to find cases of COVID-19 (The Final Four this year, haha!  Since the basketball games are all cancelled).  Our governor cancelled school for two weeks and they asked all who could work from home do it.  They shutting down all kinds of businesses and services for now.  We are learning what social distancing means.  We are supposed to stay away from others except our own families.  And then groups of 50 or more shouldn't happen and then they said 10.

This whole thing has been crazy for Dave!  He is kind of on the front lines.  When he hasn't been at work, he's been on the phones.  Working with his employees to get ready for this, setting up incident command just in case, taking samples from the lab to Billing's Clinic main campus.  Plus, they are fighting a legal battle right now, which is a silly one and they luckily found no evidence that this ex-employee is accusing people at the hospital of.  It's been a doozy, that poor man comes home pooped out lately.  And then he can't sleep at night because of all of the wheels turning in his brain and things he is trying to solve.  Praying for his guidance and to be able to rest.  He also got a pay and benefit cut, no PTO, no retirement matching.  Because they are preparing for the worst, and they are not doing elective surgeries, PT, etc. and only life saving ER visits and treatments, all of the directors, managers and physicians got a pay cut in order to not have to let anyone go or close doors.  So I think it's noble of Billings Clinic to do that, but at the same time kind of frustrating, because they're the ones working their tails off and so many hours and putting their lives on the line.  

"This Corona Virus thing is pretty lonely" Emma said.  As we've explained to the kids where it has come from, Covey has said some pretty racist and sad things that we've had to explain that it is no ones fault and we are all God's children and he loves us all and we shouldn't point the finger but help each other.  Oh, the COVID-19 related memes keep us laughing.  We've gotta keep some of this light hearted, right?  They've had some pretty funny memes on social media and I saved some of my favorites.

We had another two weeks of school cancelled, and then another, until they decided to do distance learning for the remainder of the year.  We did workbooks for the first week, before the teachers assigned work for the kids (I'm such a mean mom!), practiced hard, did some chores, did some cooking, played board and card games, read more than normal (I don't know what's longer...our grocery receipts or library receipts, haha!), went outside everyday - for walks, did some biking, went sledding, and then did science experiments and art projects, played games on the Switch, caught up on the Mandalorian and watched lots of Studio C and JK Studios, and tried to do service for others.

Our second week of quarantine looked a bit like this - wake up, make beds/clean rooms, breakfast, morning devotional, fighting, eating again, rotating through school work on the computer, paper work, practicing, and reading, throwing on a load of laundry, doing a live online video for my preschool class, eating lunch, finishing up responsibilities, teaching piano to a few, playing glow in the dark dodge ball for P.E., listening to classical music and identifying the paintings, whining over when it's time to have screen time, eating snacks again, painting rocks, texting and video chatting with cousins and friends, having some screen time, making and eating dinner, impromptu jam session, folding up the laundry, scripture study and making our prayer diorama, and our nightly movie nights (not just Fridays anymore, ha!).  Each night, we've been having one of the kids cook.  That's been fun.  We do this during the summer a lot so it's great to bring it back! 

We got to go out and walk around the Laurel pond as a family, which was a treat!  We saw two large cranes, other pretty birds, fish jumping out of the water, geese coming this way again, the beautiful sunset. Then we got takeout pizza to go as all restaurants are closed.  Everything is order online and curbside pick up or drive in only.  It's amazing how much we take simple things for granted. Nature, family, and food.  God gave them all as great gifts and it is wonderful to take in all three at once.

We now have a shelter-in-place mandate from our governor and no school until at least April 27 now.  They keep extending it two weeks at a time.  Parks are closed, national parks are closed, theatres and recreation places are closed, fishing access points closed, many stores and businesses, unless deemed necessary are closed, everyone who can is working from home and many have been laid off.  The CDC also now recommends anyone going out should wear a face mask.  Many have been made and donated to the hospital, which is awesome to see many people sacrificing their time to give.  

I made it a goal to keep a gratitude journal at the beginning of the year.  I think of 3 new things every day I was thankful for that day and write it down.  It has really helped me keep a positive attitude throughout this whole ordeal.  So many have been complaining so much about how hard it is to keep all the kids' school work straight, to have all the kids home, to not be able to go anywhere, that there's nothing to do, that they are going stir crazy.  Though we have our moments, and we all do, I am thankful for this time and the time we have together!  It is a blessing in disguise.  We also have never been healthier.  No one's been sick at all this whole stretch, so that's another positive of stay-at-home orders.  This has been a blessing and I'm grateful I was inspired to do this, which has helped me during this difficult time.  

We have been trying to have the kids keep in touch with friends remotely.  Video chatting and online game time for all the kids and Emma went on a social distanced bike ride with one friend.  I got and made some calls to old friends so it was fun to reconnect "the old fashioned way" rather than just texting.  

We are getting pretty lazy in dress and grooming.  Dave gave himself a haircut and Cov insisted he wanted one too.  Cal says he growing his out because he's always wanted a shag and I said this would be the one and only time so he can go for it. Cov has always wanted a buzz cut so we finally gave him one.  I don't think it looks too bad, but then again, I did it!  ;) Cov made us laugh when he said he was going to grow a beard out and facial hair during this time.  We joked with him that he didn't need to shave right now with everything going on.  Sometimes we go for more than a couple of days without a shower... kind of gross, but who is there to smell us or see our slightly greasy hair? 

We had Spirit week one week to mix things up and keep our spirits up.  Monday Cov chose  Jammie day and we had breakfast in bed, did a pillow fight, snuggled up and read lots of books, watched a movie, and wore pajamas all day.  Tuesday was "Stranger Things" day (Cal and Em's new favorite TV series, Cal chose it), so they had Eleven's waffles for breakfast, watched Prank Encounters (the younger kids and I could watch this), the boys did hair like the boys from the show and girls had side pony tails in scrunchies, we played indoor baseball because there was something about a bat from the show, and Daddy and the two olders watched a couple episodes later.  Wednesday was animal day that Lucy chose.  The kids could dress up like their favorite animals, watched some zoo videos, read some animal books.  Thursday was ..... day.  Friday, I got to choose and I did musicals day.  I woke up the kids with "Good morning!" and dressed up as Millie from Thoroughly Modern Millie.  Cov and Lucy dressed up like Mr. Vandergeld and Dolly from Hello, Dolly and then some cats from Cats!  We learned some of the Tapioca  dance and some from Hello, Dolly.  We ate Hello, Dolly bars.  Talked about our favorite musicals and why and of course, we watched a musical, which was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  

We had a travel week one week where each day of the week, the kids got to choose where we'd "travel" and we did activities related.  Cov got to choose first and he chose Area 51 and Roswell, NM.  We checked them out on Google Earth, made flying saucer/UFOs out of things from the home and voted on our favorite styles, best flyer, etc. and we had flying saucer pie.  Cal chose Japan and Korea.  We learned some words in Japanese (the kids are working on Duolingo and Cal chose to learn this language, Emma chose German and Lucy chose French), we learned some basic karate and did some Sumo wrestling and bo staff fighting, made some paper fans, and some Asian food for dinner. Lucy chose France and we checked out the Louvre on Google Earth, did a fashion show, and made some French turkey, french bread, cheese and grapes.  Emma chose Russia so we learned the card game Durak, and played Cossaks and robbers, kind of like cops and robbers.  Friday, we did Mexico and we made God's eyes, learned how to salsa and tango, and made Mexican food for dinner. 

We are learning to celebrate in different ways.  One day it was Lucy's friend Jolee's birthday.  We went down her street behind a bunch of police and fire cars and trucks.  We honked and had a sign for her and wished her happy birthday from our car.  She lit up and was so glad to see her Lucy friend.  We had birthday parties for cousins where they played games over the internet.  We had a graduation parade for the Seniors, where we sat in our cars and cheered as they drove by.  

We've been trying to do little service projects, by dropping off goodies to the neighbors and friends and our ministering families.  Emma has gotten some fun packages from Young Womens.  Serving helps us keep happy.  We learned about King Benjamin and have been trying to be in the service of our fellow men.   We made pictures for people in the nursing home, and made packages for our ministering families.  

Dave and I were really consistent about our weekly date night at home.  We had some fun dates, including a fun Phantom of the Opera date.  Cheese and grapes, along with pretzels that were dipped in white chocolate to look like the Phantom's mask, a quiz on which character we are most like, some lyric trivia, and we watched the movie of course, with battery operated tea light candles all around.  It's been fun getting back into the dating thing, something we haven't been 100% consistent with and our relationship has just gotten better because of it!

We are getting the hang of things here now.  We are six weeks in now.  Some kids I basically have to sit on for them to get their stuff done, and others get it done right away and are done by lunch time, which is nice.  But we are figuring it all out now.  And time is flying now!  At first, the day went by pretty slow but now we're cruising.  Soon it will be summer! 

It was so nice when it warmed up!  We had an epic day playing soccer at the park, lots of walks and bike rides, and working on projects.  We completed a loft in our garage, Emma and Dave did most of it, and Cal helped quite a bit too.  The three youngers liked getting up there once it was done.  I am refinishing (finally) our kitchen chairs.  I did our table a year ago and time to finish up!  Cov has especially liked helping with this.  It's not perfect, but it will work for now!

Things started opening back up at the beginning of May.  Phase 1 was some restaurants and other businesses opening again.  I think the last time our kids have stepped foot in a store was the beginning of March!  They had a survey go out to see if school should resume for the last 3 weeks with extra precautions.  Ultimately, the district families and school board decided against it so home school for the rest of the year it is!  We pick up packets for the youngers on Fridays, and drop off their completed work.  Then we do the rest of the work the next week.  The older two do all their work online and do a pretty good job.  Some days, certain children of ours take alllll day to get their things done and unless I'm practically sitting on them, it doesn't happen.  Some times, I really like this change of pace and the homeschooling bit.  Other days, I'm really grateful for the school system and their teachers and the structure of school.  Cov tells me he feels like he can just monkey around at home, when he'd never do that at school.  It gets frustrating at times and I loose my temper, but we are getting better each day.  

There's gotta be a reason for this.  Maybe this is a time to remember what is truly important.  To realize how important social interaction is and how much we need it as a screen is no substitute for a real person.  To remember how great it is to give a hug or high-five.  To realize we don't always have to go, go, go.  Sometimes less is more.  To develop our talents.  To learn new hobbies.  To take time to be quiet. To turn to God.  To repent.  To get closer to our families.  To remember to think about others more than ourselves.  To check in on our neighbors and the elderly more.  To do something to help someone.  To do something to help the world.  It hasn't always been easy, but there is good in everything.  

I joined this group on Facebook that participated in the Worldwide Fast on April 10.  I love the interesting insights that this woman named Sherrie Reynolds in the group shared:

"The Latin root of the word "quarantine" is "forty".

So what does the Bible say about 40?

The flood lasted 40 days.

40 years Moses fled Egypt.

40 days Moses stayed on Mount Sinai to receive the Commandments.

Exodus lasted 40 years.

Jesus fasted for 40 days.

Lent is 40 days.

40 days for a woman to rest after giving birth.

A group of theologians thinks the number 40 represents "change”. It is the time of preparing a person, or people, to make a fundamental change.

Something will happen after these 40 days. Just believe and pray. Remember, whenever the number 40 appears in the Bible, there is a "change".

Please know that during this "quarantine" rivers are cleaning up, vegetation is growing, the air is becoming cleaner because of less pollution, there is less theft and murder, healing is happening, and most importantly, people are turning to Christ. The Earth is at rest for the first time in many years and hearts are truly transforming.

So, during this time, enjoy it with your loved ones and return to the family altar together. Family prayer is a great blessing. Through prayer you will see the changes God can work in you and in your home. Christ promises us that everything works together for the good for those who love God: Romans 8:28!

Remember we are in the year 2020, and 20 + 20 = 40.

Also, 2020 is the year of the United States Census. Jesus Christ, the savior of the world, was born during a census.

Lastly, 2020 is perfect vision. May our sight focus on the Lord and living according to His perfect vision for us knowing He holds us in the palm of His hand.

May these days of "quarantine" bring spiritual liberation to our souls, our nation, and our world.

The best is yet to come. Trust in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!"