2020 :: week 15

April 5

We went for a walk Sunday morning before General Conference began. Our neighborhood is in full bloom and I love it! It is a reminder to me that even though the people of the earth are in a bit of chaos right now, creation is constant. All things last for a season and then pass. After the dormancy of winter new life springs forth and is bursting with beauty. Also, I think I missed a lot of spring last year because I was in the throes of life with a newborn, feeling a bit overwhelmed and not getting nearly enough sleep. I enjoyed watching conference, and Sunday morning I especially appreciated Elder Holland's talk. A neat experience for Anthony and his family was seeing his grandparents in the conference center audience singing a pre-recorded version of The Spirit of God (from October 2000) after the Hosana Shout. The message that I seemed to hear over and over was to turn my heart over to the Lord, and immerse myself in good things, dedicating my life and daily devotion to Him.

April 6

Ahhh! Miles can now climb up the stairs. Getting down is another story. Thankfully with everyone home all day we have a lot of people willing to spot him. Hopefully we will be able to teach him how to safely come down soon. No such luck yet. In the meantime we have put up a gate at the bottom of the ground floor stairs, and have used pillows to block the bottom of the basement stairs.

April 7

We have started watching a few new shows since we have been social distancing. Elliott's favorite is the Masked Singer. He watches at least one episode a day, and sometimes the other kids watch as well. Lauren and Elliott have played together so well this week and have taken to playing their own version of the masked singer on our trampoline. Lauren is wearing my beanie and has fashioned a dish towel into wings, transforming her into a butterfly.

April 8

Wednesday started out hot! I think it might have been the hottest day of the year. My phone said it was 88 degrees in the afternoon. Since we are constantly watering our grass these days, I pointed the sprinkler towards our trampoline and Elliott and Lauren jumped in the water for quite some time. After dinner that evening I took Miles for a walk and Lauren and Elliott came along too. Lauren played her harmonica as we walked along our usual mile long route. The temperature had dropped about fifteen degrees and it was a gorgeous evening. I wanted to bottle up the moment, my sweet daughter, wearing her swimsuit and playing the harmonica without a care in the world. There are a lot of things I don't like about life right now, but the slower pace is helping me to live in the moment and notice and appreciate the simple joys of life.

April 9

Modern problems require modern solutions. Our book club typically meets the second Thursday of the month. Due to the stay at home order, this month we met virtually, via zoom! The book we read and discussed was Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn. I actually didn't read it, because my hold at the library didn't come in before the libraries closed. It is the first book club book I didn't get around to reading in about a year. I have been reading some good books lately. I finished reading My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray (about the life of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, wife of Alexander Hamilton) and Lovely War by Julie Berry (YA novel about love and war, that takes place during the Great War).

April 10

At the Saturday evening session of conference President Nelson asked members of the church to participate in a day of prayer and fasting on Good Friday. We spent the day fasting, and while it was challenging it felt good too. That evening I went on my weekly grocery trip. Grocery shopping is so strange now. Reduces hours, one way isles, limited number of shoppers allowed in the store at a time, only one person per cart, reduced varieties and/or limited quantities on pantry staples, decals on the floor six feet apart denoting how close you can be while standing in line, etc. I am very much looking forward to grocery shopping without so many restrictions!

April 11

So far the best thing to happen to our family in the COVID-19 era is hosting the Salazars for about 12 hours as they passed through on their way to Utah. Both of our families have been practicing social distancing for about a month, so we figured it was safer for them to stay at our house for the night than to stay at a hotel. Not to mention more fun! Lucas and Miles weren't quite sure what to make of each other and touched each others faces more often than is socially appropriate. I think they bonded over their mutual enjoyment of our car ramp and look forward to getting them together again whenever that will be allowed.