the great pause

I've heard this unique historical event called "The Great Pause" and I can't think of a better way to explain it.  The whole world feels as if it's on pause and it's beautiful, weird, crazy, and surreal all at the same time. Living in the midst of a global pandemic is not something you ever think about actually happening.  It seems to have happened over night.  One day kids were in school and life was going on as it normally would and then you begin to hear the words "Coronavirus" and "COVID-19" and very soon after, schools are shut down with restaurants and stores following one or two weeks later.  We are on pause.

We can no longer go to the grocery store and grab a cart without thinking about who else has touched that very cart and what germs might be covering it.  There are workers wearing masks that wipe it down before they hand it off to you trying to protect their employees and shoppers as best as they can. As we walk around the store, so many people avoid eye contact and it's eerily quiet as people are no longer engaging in conversation as they shop. We can no longer go to a restaurant and sit in their dining room, we must order curbside or line up in the drive thru. We can only online shop for most things which takes much longer than usual due to all the restrictions and precautions to keep workers safe. We aren't supposed to be gathering in groups of over 10 people. Many people are working from home and the kids are learning and completing assignments all remotely. Meetings and birthday parties are happening through technology with sites such as Zoom taking over as the best way to connect these days.

While everything is do different and we are adjusting to a new normal, there is so much goodness in all the crazy.

We are spending more time making meals together at home rather than eating out, we are baking more, we are writing more letters to loved ones, we are meeting new neighbors, we are taking more walks, we are spending so much time outside, we are having wonderfully deep conversations, we are learning how to use Zoom and other technology tools, we are finding creative ways to bless others, we are learning new art techniques and doing more art projects than ever, and if it's even possible, we're reading more books than ever. We are growing as individuals and as a family and I am so stinking grateful.

The gift of this time is not lost on me, that is for sure. I pray each night with the little girls that when this is all over that we would never completely return to "normal" as a society, that hearts would be changed before it's all over, that hearts would be softened, that people would realize the most important things in life, and that we would never be the same after this experience. I know the Lord has lessons for us in all of this mess and I don't want to miss them. I don't want my family to miss them. I keep praying that our eyes are opened to the goodness in the world, the goodness in others, the goodness right before our eyes every single day.

I am incredibly thankful to have this extra bonus time with the kids.  I love having them all home with me full time.  It's an incredibly rare gift that I will treasure forever and know that I will desperately miss when it's all over. This time has not been without its challenges of course. The first week was bliss as it just felt like a vacation that we were all desperately in need of. And then as time went on, reality began to set in. It seemed to especially hit hard with Avery, being the oldest and missing out on the most...her DC trip would no longer be happening, she wouldn't see her lunch table gang for an unknown amount of time, our planned night at a hotel for her birthday couldn't happen, no family for her birthday celebration, etc. We got into a groove pretty quickly however and I was in my element making a schedule and planning their "learning time". That was awesome for 3 weeks before mandatory assignments began coming in from school when the governor decided that the stay at home order would be in affect until May 1st. Our schools and teachers had to quickly figure out how to teach them new curriculum remotely and we had to figure out a new schedule at home and how to navigate the large number of websites we had to access to complete the assignments. We had a tough transition and then found our way and began to get the hang of it. We're doing what we can making the most of our days, some much more challenging than others but we're doing it together. And that's what makes it all worth it. We still get to be together, my five favorite people in all the world.

christmas time

Since Thanksgiving was early this year, it felt as if we were given an extra week of Christmas which felt like such a gift.  The kids went to Columbus a day early to help Grandma prepare and so Tyson could play with Shane and that provided a day for me to prepare their rooms for Christmas.  They knew we were decorating when we came home that weekend after Thanksgiving but they didn't know that I had bought special Christmas sheets for their beds.  So I decorated their rooms and changed their sheets and pillowcases for the new festive ones and added as much Christmas as I could with the exception of actually decorating their mini trees because I know how much they love that part.  I couldn't wait for them to see their rooms when we arrived home and I will never forget their reaction.  They were all completely surprised, so many squeals, laughter, and thank yous.  It was precious.

We got right to work decorating the rest of the house that night and it was so much fun that as usual, I didn't want it to end. Our favorite part is always reminiscing as we look through ornaments and deciding where they should go on the tree.  The kids have their smaller tree up in the kid zone and they only hung ornaments made by Aunt Debbie and Aunt Beth on it this year while we hung all the others on the bigger downstairs tree. At least we thought we hung all the others but I knew some were missing and they turned up in a box in the basement about a week before Christmas.  Those will be the first we hang next year.

Jason took extra time off this year and we made the most of every minute.  It actually felt slow for those two weeks he was off.  It felt slow and beautiful.  We had plenty of downtime making room for cuddles and conversation along with plenty of adventures mixed in.  He cooked us some of the most amazing meals ever and we even got to go ice skating. We watched our typical Christmas specials including Elf and Christmas with the Kranks. We cut out and decorated sugar cookies, put together a gingerbread house that kept wanting to fall apart, made puppy chow and buckeyes that the kids delivered to neighbors, went out to eat, did our annual minivan express night, attended a Christmas Eve service at our church, and the kids were even able to go caroling again with neighbor friends just a few days before Christmas.  We had our candlelight Christmas Eve dinner of (frozen) popcorn shrimp and our cinnamon rolls Christmas morning complete with a candle lit on one so we could sing "Happy Birthday" and blow out the candle for Jesus.

A new tradition of the kids having a sleepover in the little girl's room on Christmas Eve began when we moved into this house 2 1/2 years ago.  This is such a big deal to them and they get really excited about it but this year, they turned out to be a little too excited.  Could have been the hot cocoa with tons of toppings they had at church that morning, the loads of sweets they ate that day, or the bottle of orange crush I thought it would be fun to let them have at dinner.  All of the above plus an extreme level of excitement are most likely all to blame for the fact that I heard footsteps at 4:00 am and went upstairs to see that the light was on in the bedroom.  I went in to find them all hanging out, eyes wide open, happy as can be.  They had been up since 2:00 am just partying it up together.  So, much to their dismay, I made them all go to their own beds so they could at least get a couple hours of sleep.  They were devastated but all fell asleep within a few minutes.  I was freaking out a bit thinking that Christmas day would be ruined because they'd be too tired to handle it.  I finally fell back to sleep after worrying about every possible scenario but assuming they would sleep in after all that partying nonsense.  6:45 am was my next wake up call.  So they got a few hours of sleep on Christmas Eve and thankfully, Christmas day was far from ruined.  We had a wonderfully sweet day.  They were losing their minds by dinner so they did have an earlier than normal bedtime but they were all ready and fell asleep immediately.  Crazy kids.

Jason and I played Christmas Vacation in our bedroom as we wrapped the kid's gifts, which has become a little tradition for us.  We went crazy this year and wrapped a few days before Christmas Eve which shocked us both.  We have so much fun laying them all out and deciding what order they should be unwrapped.  We put numbers on them so the kids know the order and each kid had their own wrapping paper as well.

The kids get really into giving gifts to each other and us.  They spend their own money at their school holiday shop or we take them to the dollar store and Target.  They wrap them all themselves and get so excited to give that they can hardly stand the wait.  It's my favorite part watching them light up as they give their sibling that well thought out personal gift.  And this year Violet got a set of 3 BFF necklaces for Avery and Mia which was so stinking cute.  Also, this year Avery made every member of both sides of our family a perler bead ornament.  They were the cutest things, so well done and thoughtful.  They were a huge hit.

The favorite gifts ended up being Avery's stingray stuffed animal, Tyson's mini indoor basketball hoop, and the little girl's microphones.  They played with those microphones ALL DAY LONG which meant loads of entertainment for the rest of us. A few weeks later and Tyson still can't get enough of his basketball hoop which Jason set up for him in the basement complete with 3 point and free throw lines.

We traveled to Scottsburg the day after and to Columbus the next weekend and stayed one night at each soaking up the extended family time.  The kids enjoy their cousins on both sides and we have a great time just being together.

My heart is bursting with gratitude for another precious Christmas time with my people. So much goodness.  I always have a hard time letting it go but I have to remind myself that there is so much goodness in our everyday if we have our eyes open to notice.

  

  

spring break

For our spring break adventure this year, we chose to visit some dear friends in Baltimore.  They have four kids like us which makes them familiar with chaos so what's four more kids added to the mix?  Somehow we got lucky with some seriously amazing travelers.  They have notebooks to work on if they want, books to read, and we listen to audio books and fun music but they're also content to just sit and stare out the window.  We don't do movies and they don't even care.  We love our road trips.  

It was so neat watching our kids play together with the Kuhls.  They did so well and made having 8 kids in one house seem like a breeze.  

The boys got to play plenty of basketball in the living room since it was cold.

Jason and Declan had some deep conversation.

These two got to have a sleepover and they were the cutest.  They met when they were babies and have seen each other a couple times since but they barely know each other and had a blast together.

These two were just hilarious and cute.

We finally got to visit the church they planted several years ago and hear Carl preach.  That was a highlight for sure.  One of the most applicable sermons I have ever heard, so many take aways and it helps when you know and love the pastor for sure.  It was such a sweet visit hanging out with all the kids and then having a chance for grown up talk at night after they went to bed.  We were all sad to say goodbye.

We continued our spring break adventure by heading to Washington D.C. which we figured just made sense since we were so close.  It was quite an adventure with so many new experiences and surprises like the snow storm that came to the city in the middle of our time there.  

The subway experience was definitely a favorite.  The kids had never done anything like that before and they thought it was the coolest.  Riding with them with so much fun.  

We did have the one subway experience that Jason and I would like to forget but never will.  The subway was so crowded and we had four kids and a stroller so it was tough getting on quick enough when the doors opened.  One time we had too many people in front of us and we were newbies so Mia & Violet hopped on and then the doors started closing before any of the rest of us got on.  We stood there screaming while they stood there staring at us and crying.  It was horrible and scary...until Jason literally pulled a hulk move and opened the subway doors back up.  It was seriously a miracle that he was able to do that, it was crazy! He barely made it in and almost got a foot stuck in the door.  I was completely freaking out as they rode away in the subway with the other 3 of us just standing there watching.  We kept in contact, thank goodness for cell phones and we were reunited soon after.

We visited the air and space and american history museums.  The kids thought it was all amazing for a short time until they got too tired.  We had completely worn them out with all of our walking and exploring in the freezing cold.  So we took it easy and slowed down to give them time to rest.

Our favorite was definitely exploring the sites and memorials.  So much to see there and Jason and I had not been in so many years.  We dressed as warm as we could and made the most of it.  

We especially had fun at the Washington Monument...lying on the cold ground just to look up and running all around it.

Exploring in the city with our people was awesome.

And my mini me brought her camera along too of course.

And how lucky is it to find a penny when you are in the Lincoln memorial.  I mean that is the coolest.  The kids were pretty convinced people drop those around there on purpose just so sweet little kids can pick them up and get super excited.

Hotel time is always a hit with our crew.  They could not wait to swim of course.

Another surprise was that we weren't ready for it to be over so we stopped in Huntington, West Virginia not the way home and had the best time.  We found a great cheap local bowling alley and so we all got to bowl which was awesome.

It took so long for Violet's balls to get down the lane but she was so stinking cute waiting for it.

And they would always celebrate together when it finally made it down to the pins.

Daddy with the win obviously.

We had some extremely worn out kids when we began our trek back home.

We couldn't go all the way home until we made a pit stop in Kentucky to visit Sara, Mark, and baby Jonah.  It was so worth going off route for those baby squeezes. 

So many new experiences, old friends, smiles, and sweet memories.

valentine's day

Valentine's Day is a favorite around here.  The actual day is always fun but it's the preparing for it, the planning of how to let our people know they are crazy loved that makes us all giddy.

Picking out the school valentine cards is always a fun time and thanks to the Target $ spot, we get adorable ones with a little eraser attached for cheap!  Violet helped Mia out attaching erasers this year while Mia wrote names.

This paper came home from Mia's class and it made me cry.  She loves her Great Grandma so much, we all do.  I love our sweet Mia's heart.

Some years I get more into it than others, but I believe that some sort of heart shaped food should be consumed on Valentine's Day.

Violet thinks so too.  She loves her waffles.

Sweet little thing went all out with the red and pink this year and was adorably festive and so happy about sharing cards and gifts with her people.

The Valentine school box tradition lives on and Avery has fun with that every year.

But the part I remember most about this year's Valentine's Day is the heartfelt, handmade gifts that Mia created for her siblings.  She planned and thought out something very special and unique for each of them and I helped her execute.  The results were amazing and she was incredibly proud.

Avery got a fabric bookmark made with mostly green fabric (her favorite color) and complete with her name stitched on the front.

Violet got a ballerina pillowcase with her name stitched on the front in pink.  So adorable and Mia made it with a tiny bit of assistance from me.  So proud of her thoughtful heart.

And Tyson got a fabric Pokemon card holder.  It was pretty cool and could fit his most favorite cards. They all enjoyed their gifts but watching Mia's face beam with excitement as they unwrapped them was the best part of it all.

We even managed to squeeze in some kid shots on the porch.  Love these sweet babies so much.