Our days at Home

My children and I have been wandering around the forests and parkways near our home like a nomadic family. 
Just as I was relishing in my new life of kids in elementary school, everything changed again. I now, once again, have my little pack following close behind me as I try to fill the days.  😗😗😗😗 
  

 I am so grateful for the gorgeous spring sunshine this week as we adjusted to life at home all day. 

I really tried to keep them on a schedule with their school work.
However, sometimes things got off track a bit. 😳

When we found out the kids were going to be out of school all of April, I had to pick up their school supplies and books. 
When I pulled up to the school, the trees in the front were in full bloom, like they are every year. I always anticipate these trees in front of the school this time of year.
 I greeted a few of the staff and teachers in the entry way before gathering my things; I could feel tears in the back of my eyes and a lump in my throat. 
I believe that my kids won't be finishing their kindergarten and 2nd grade year here, and there was a deep grief in the pit of my stomach; I mourn deeply this loss. 
Everyday I still wake up and I just can't believe all this is going on. 
However, I've come to the place of acceptance and acknowledgement that this is how life is going to be; I  want my kids to look back on this sabbatical  from school with happy memories. I am determined to make this a meaningful 2nd grade and kindergarten year for my children. 
I do believe good will come from this ultimately, and spending these few months with them will be a treasure to my heart. 
During my first week instructing them, I've already gained such valuable insight to the students they are and their individual needs and strengths. 

John and I are missing our friends too. 
Saturday  night we had a virtual happy hour with a few friends via FaceTime. It was actually a better time than I initially thought it would be. I usually do not enjoy FaceTime, but now it is truly wonderful. 

It's interesting to observe the changes in society. 
People are home.
There is a lot of sitting around on front lawns and porches and park benches. 
I see families walking and biking together. 
There is no where to go, no place to be. 
The hustle is gone, and surprisingly I have to admit that it's kinda of nice. 

Here are some of the ways we've been keeping busy during our time at home.
We built leprechaun traps for St. Patricks day....

 And searched for lucky four leafed clovers in the lawn....

We wrote in journals everyday, Evelyn enthusiastically assisiting  the boys with spelling and penmanship. 

We went fishing, although we caught nothing except each others' lines 😬

And we wandered around outside a lot, walking in the woods and through the neighborhood. 

 On Friday we had a picnic at the park.

We are enjoying the simple things.

On Saturday we hiked to Wahclella Falls. It was a wonderful morning exploring and marveling in magic and beauty.

 Being in nature like this allows me to escape reality for a bit.

 The beauty is captivating.

 The gorge is my favorite place to be, full of peace.

 We came upon so many waterfalls and interesting rocks.

 And we found a cave! John went in a little to explore it, but the kids were terrified that he'd run into a bear.

 There were a lot of chard trees from the fires a few years ago.

 However the forest was covered in green! Moss, flowers and new growth were sprouting out of the burned tree trunks and branches. 

I remember a few years ago mourning the gorge as uncontrollable flames consumed it. 
But now I see that it wasn't totally destroyed; in fact, it is just as beautiful as ever. 

And as I observed all the small pockets and signs of regrowth, a hope swelled within me that all will be well.  

Zoo Sounds

"Mom! Mom! Come Quick!"
My kids were outside this morning waiting for school pick up, and they were so excited about something.
I ran to the door, and they exclaimed to me, "Listen! It sounds like the zoo out here!"

"Camo day" at school during spirit week

I stood and listened, trying to figure out what they were referring to, and then I heard it:  a chorus of birds.
The sound did sound foreign and exotic.
 It resembled what we heard at the zoo in the aviary.
We all paused for a moment and took in the beautiful sound. "It's a zoo, right mom?!" said Caleb.
"Well, actually," I began, "that is the sound of Spring coming."
The delight in his eyes was magical; it was just what I needed after a weekend filled with dread and  apocalyptic panic of the news and of the Corona Virus.

This was a moment that broke my worried, hazy bubble and let me experience peace and joy.
Although we talked about this virus threat in front of the kids, they didn't experience (thankfully!) the same fear that my husband and I felt. Because it was detected to have infected a person in the town next to ours, everyone was panicking.
As I was making muffins this morning for breakfast, I coughed a small cough into my arm. As he mixed the chocolate chips into the muffin batter,  Caleb very casually, but very matter of factly told me that I probably had "the virus."

I was not concerned or paranoid about this virus until I went to Costco (as we usually do on Saturdays) and saw the mass of people loading up enough food, water and hand sanitizer for a month. I've never seen anything like it; the lines wrapped around the ENTIRE store!

It was in that moment when I considered that perhaps I needed to be panicking too.
Are we missing something? Is this the end of us?

When Sunday rolled around, John and I had the discussion of whether to attend church. We started to analyze our activities. Suddenly, breaking my swirling mind, the verse found in 2 Tim. 1:7 popped into my head.
"For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love, and of a sound mind." 
Should I be cautious? Yes. Should I be AFRAID and PANIC? Clearly no. 

If this is what I believe to be true, His Spirit is not of FEAR.
So, we decided to continue on as normal, washing our hands and taking more precaution, but say good-bye to the fear.

HOOP-A-THON fundraiser

My best moment for sure today was listening to "our zoo" outside our front door this morning.

Thanks Caleb, for teaching me, yet again, to take a step back, enjoy the moment, and be amazed at life.

Everything turns into a competition with the boys.
Caleb shot the most baskets at their school's hoop-a-thon fundraiser last week.
He was very pleased.  

The kids had their annual fundraiser for their school. The week was full of school spirit and excitement.
Evelyn decided to dress up like the neighborhood cat, Bob.