A Good Day

"I was glad when they said to me, Let us go into the house of the Lord."

Psalm 122:1

Yesterday was indeed a day of gladness for our church family. For the first time since March 15, our whole congregation was able to come together, in person, for a worship service. Yes, we social distanced. Masks were worn. People were seated in family groups with every other pew left empty. Blue taped Xs marked spaces to leave vacant. Hand sanitizer was available. Doors were propped open. Ushers were available to direct you to your seat and to guide the orderly exit at the end of the service.

But it was glorious! I was so happy to see people's actual faces and to sing hymns with all the people. Our service was live streamed online and also available on Zoom for those who still cannot get out, so that's a blessing too. In one form or another, our congregation was together. 

Trey's sermon was based on Nehemiah 3 and 4, and he encouraged us to build bridges to bring others to Jesus. He used the principles from the people rebuilding the wall in Nehemiah to illustrate how we can do the work set before us today. Bridges to Jesus. Isn't that just what the world needs?

After the service we all visited in the parking lot. There was much catching up to do and so many smiles. It was such a beautiful morning. 

Our Sunday afternoon was a typical one. I served lunch to my family and Julie, Big Sam, and Mae. After we ate, I took Mae outside and she helped me water my plants. Then I let her play in her baby pool and she enjoyed a popsicle. She loves to be outside! Pop took her for a walk, and Clay pushed her in her pink car and blew bubbles for her. Throughout the afternoon she also played with or was entertained by Leah and Sam too.  

Our church also had our Sunday night Bible study at our building (and on Zoom), so we attended that too. After more visiting in the parking lot, we headed home.

It was a nice, restful day, highlighted with the milestone of gathering again with God's people in real life.

Are Your Days All The Same?

Do you have to think about what day of the week it is? What is the date? What is the month?

Without the regular markers of going places on certain days, I frequently lose track of what day it is. Most days seem like Saturday, even we are doing school. Thankfully, our homeschool year is wrapping up. Leah has to study for and take one last chemistry test. Sam is taking his last physical science test today, and they each have to finish up their current chapter in their vocabulary workbook, Wordly Wise. (We will just pick up where they leave off in August.) I am reading aloud to them Amos Fortune, Free Man, and we should finish that Monday or Tuesday. Then this school year is DONE! Yay!

More days of sameness coming up! But I have to say that with the exception of not getting to attend worship services and Bible studies with my church family (in person....not on Zoom), I am pretty content with the sameness of my days. I like walking more than once a day. I like reading outside after lunch. I like doing my housework in the late afternoon (since I don't have to be anywhere!). I like cooking more involved suppers some nights (again, I am home; I don't have to rely on the crock pot to cook while I am at some activity). I DO miss my friends. And I am sad that my children's camps and activities are cancelled. I know they miss their friends too. We have let them visit their cousins some recently, and that has helped everyone's spirits.

Speaking of sameness, there is one thing, that stays the same and His sameness brings great comfort. Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." For that, I am thankful. When I feel anxious about the uncertainty of our future or even sometimes anxious about the sameness of my days, I also draw comfort from this passage of Scripture:

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:6-7

Changing the subject----about the internet. I heard on the news earlier this week that 32% of Mississippians do not have access to broadband internet. Guess what? We are in the 32%! Our satellite internet has been tested and stretched to the max these last two months. With Clay doing his college work online, and all the Zoom services and studies we have going on, in both March and April we got the "you are about to use all your data for the month" warning from Viasat about 8 days before our billing cycle was up. We squeaked by both months, barely!
One day our home will have high-speed internet service. One day.
Thankfully, blogging does not use up a lot of data.

I hope everyone has a fun, safe, and productive weekend.

Some More Blessings of These Times

While Jimmy has still been working, he had a week off in April (we had a week long trip planned to Arizona....zigzagging across the state, visiting the Grand Canyon and some other national parks as well...of course it was all cancelled), and he is getting home much earlier than he used to prior to the coronavirus. That, combined with the days being longer, means that we have more time together. I feel like Jimmy and I have had more time together the last six to seven weeks than we have had in a long, long time. Thankfully we still like each other! The time really has been a blessing.

Yesterday Clay took Leah, Sam, and Clay's friend, Libby to visit Julie, Big Sam, and Mae about an hour away at a lake house where they are vacationing for a few days. As soon as Leah and Sam finished their schoolwork for the day, they took off. I used my time alone to read outside for an hour, clean out my pool, work on the never ending pile of laundry, and vacuum the basement. When Jimmy got home we went on a very pleasant four mile walk on and around the trails at our local high school. After that we ordered take-out from a new restaurant in our tiny downtown called Old Town Steakhouse and Eatery. This is our second time to order from them (they had just opened before the pandemic hit), and both meals were delicious! We ate at home, just the two of us on our table for ten. I guess that is what it will be like in four years when Sam leaves for college. We seemed small at that big table, alone. Jimmy played some nice music on his speaker to accompany us, and we put our food on real plates instead of just eating out of the styrofoam. Fancy. We ended our date by watching the beginning of a documentary on PBS about George W. Bush. It's two hours long, so it will probably take us 3 more nights to complete! I read a memoir by Laura Bush last year (actually listened to it on Audible, which I recommend because she read it herself, and her voice is so pleasant!), so a lot of the material covered in the show last night I knew all about based on her book. Her book is called Spoken From the Heart, and I recommend it.

The first 41 days of our shelter at home/stay at home/safer at home I cooked all the meals. All the meals. And then, one day after we had worked outside for most the day Jimmy suggested we order take out. What a blessing. I don't mind preparing and serving meals, but I got so excited about this simple pleasure. We ordered chicken and French fries from Abner's, and it was so yummy! Later that same week we ordered our first take out meal from the steakhouse we ordered form last night, and the kids and I kept saying how delicious it was! I was so excited again to have restaurant food! :)  We have since ordered Chick Fil A and ate with Julie's family one night, and that was fun too.

I just keep trying to look on the bright side. Some days are harder than others, but just keep looking. Surely there is a bright side in every situation.

Some Things We Have Done

I'm glad I took some pictures over the last six weeks, because I had already forgotten about some of these things. (And I'm sure other people in my family have pictures of other activities that I don't have.)

The four of us did some hiking at Dismals Canyon in Alabama.

Mae has come to visit us a lot.

Clay worked in his forge. He made some pliers completely from raw materials. (I need a picture of the finished product.)

We celebrated Clay's 21st birthday.

Mae loves to color.

And be outside.

Big Sam and I have given quarantine haircuts! I trimmed about 4 inches from Leah's hair and 5 inches from Julie's (no picture.)

Sweet Mae again!

Sam and Clay built a rock climbing wall. This is during the construction phase.

And this is the finished product.

The Easter Bunny came.

Leah, Sam, and Mae dyed Easter Eggs.

Clay made homemade bread and this homemade flan, pictured below.

I deep cleaned my oven (not using the self-cleaning feature). It took about three hours! This is the before picture. I am embarrassed to say that I have never deep cleaned my oven, and it is 15 years old!

After--not perfectly clean, but as clean as three hours of hard work, baking soda, vinegar, scrub brushes, norwex cloths, norwex cleaning paste, and elbow grease could get it.

Jimmy planed some boards from trees that had fallen or been cut down last fall.

Leah did a couple of Bob Ross art classes online as well as created much art on her iPad.

All in all, it has been a fun, productive shelter at home experience. I have kept up with my housework and even cleaned out a couple of closets and drawers.  Jimmy pressure washed all our concrete around the house and backyard/pool area, and he also finished a beautiful desk he has been working on for years. Sam built a go cart from an old piece of yard equipment....he attached a trailer hitch to it, and it will pull his four-wheeler. I need to take a picture of it!

Staying Home With Books

After a week or so of our quarantine, I began to feel out of sorts. When I scrolled through my Facebook or Instagram feed it seemed like everyone was having so much fun while sheltering at home. Baking homemade bread. Cleaning out closets. Working in the yard. Preparing themed meals. Watching hours of Netflix. In general--getting lots of things done! Personally, my life had not changed much except that I was not driving the kids to activities 3 days a week or going to church services 3 times a week. Our homeschool load and my housework responsibilities stayed the same, and so I did not suddenly find myself with large pockets of time to fill.

Or so I thought. 

I had a pity party for a couple of days, and then I began to take a closer look and find the blessings of being at home all the time. Actually, I did have extra time in my day. Driving to and from those activities plus the time while they were doing the things did take lots of time. Running errands and buying groceries did take lots of time. And now that I was home all day, every day with no interruptions, I found that I could do some extra and fun things too!

Two fun and rewarding activities have been worked into my day almost every single day since mid-March. These are things that I was not doing consistently or spending large amounts of time on before sheltering at home.

Reading and Walking.

(It's a long story why I am not running anymore, and that's another blog post.)

I realized that walking up and down my driveway was great therapy. I had time to do it for thirty minutes each morning before we began school because (1)we were starting school later than normal since we did not have activities to get to at the end of the school day and (2) I did not need to allow time to shower, blow-dry my hair, and put on makeup because--no outside the house activities!

I also found that I can walk again for thirty minutes or more either during our lunch break or when I am done teaching for the day, usually by 1:30 or 2:00. And, many afternoons or nights, either before or after supper, Jimmy and I are walking for 20-30 minutes.  All those minutes of walking are adding up, and I feel so much better for doing it! I am closing the rings on my watch again. Yay!

An even bigger benefit is that when I am walking alone, usually an hour or more each day, I listen to audio books. I am on my third audio book, all listened to while walking up and down my driveway!

First I listened to The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. (9 hours, 53 minutes). Next, I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. (I had about 13 hours left in that book). Beginning in March of 2019, Leah, Sam, and I have listened to all of the Harry Potter books whenever we were in the car. We were about halfway through book 7 when the coronavirus came, and suddenly we were not in our car anymore! Leah and Sam both finished reading it at night, but I decided to finish it on Audible while walking.  I am now listening to The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall. It is 10 hours, 50 minutes, and I have 8.5 hours left. 

Sometimes I listen to podcasts for a little while in between book chapters or books, but mostly I have listened to books. It has been most enjoyable!

Another blessing of extra time I have found is reading books. I am reading at least two books at a time in addition to my audio book--one on my iPad kindle app and one that is a hardback or paperback. I make time almost every afternoon to sit outside and read, and I also read in bed each night.

Here are the books I have read since the beginning of January, with most of them being completed since March:

Tending Roses by Lisa Wingate

The Guardians by John Grisham

Send Down the Rain by Charles Martin

The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin

The Light of the World by Elizabeth Alexander

Never Say Never by Lisa Wingate

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

On the Bright Side by Melanie Shankle

The Story Keeper by Lisa Wingate

The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett

Hannah Coulter by Wendall Berry (a reread)

The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate

My Antonia by Willa Cather

Don't Overthink It by Anne Bogel

I am currently reading:

Greensleeves by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

The Language of the Sycamores by Lisa Wingate

Books I have just purchased and are ready to be read next:

Camino Winds by John Grisham

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

The Accidentals by Minrose Gwin

Melanie Shankle's timely released book, On the Bright Side, reminded me to do just that. One big bright side of being home all the time is lots of time for reading---and walking.

Sheltering At Home: The Beginnings of These Strange Times

I have so many things to say about this whole sheltering at home thing. For me, it seemed to come on suddenly. The coronavirus wasn't really on my radar in January and February. In early March, I think, Leah asked me about it, and I googled and read a little bit...  Olivia and Julie both asked me about it, and someone mentioned that we may want to get a week or two worth of groceries "just in case"....so I really did not think much about it. I rarely watch national news (like 10 minutes of the Today show 3-4 times a year). I do read our daily local newspaper every day, but until early March, I just don't remember much coronavirus news in there either.

Then on Wednesday, March 11, Clay called me saying that news he was hearing around campus indicated that the coronavirus was spreading, and that the college was most likely going to extend his Spring Break (which would begin March 14) for an extra week.  We debated for a day or two about whether he should fly home as planned, or drive his car since he would probably be here two weeks instead of one. We finally decided for him to drive. I cancelled his flights, and I am so glad I did! They never opened campus back up for classes or for the students to return to the dorms.  Like most college campuses around the country, his college transitioned all their classes to the online format, and he finished his semester here at home. In fact, just today he is allowed to go back on campus to retrieve all his belongings and move completely out of the dorm. The school has strict social distancing policies in place for the move-out. He is allowed 4 hours to move out, and only 10 students can move out per dorm at one time.  Clay drove all day yesterday to Florida. He will pack up my SUV this morning (with a luggage carrier on top and a carrying tray on the back), and drive all the way back home after lunch.

Beginning on March 14, things began to look slightly different around town.....the local schools and colleges extended their spring breaks another week, lots of people were at the grocery stores stocking up on food and supplies, and activities and meetings began to be cancelled. We were off school and Jimmy was off work the week of March 16 for our Spring Break, and by the end of that week, our town was beginning to shut down. Our mayor limited gatherings to 10 people, and restaurants and other businesses began to close or offer curbside business only. Our church switched to online services.

The rest of March and most of April here looked like all the rest of the country. Most people stayed home. Our state and town issued a few different orders at different times: safer at home, shelter at home, shelter in place, etc. All I know is that we stayed at home. Of course Jimmy went to work, but the rest of us stayed home. I did grocery delivery once (which was a delight), and the other weeks I have done grocery pick-up. A couple of weeks ago I wanted to buy my own groceries, so I went to both Kroger and Sam's one morning. It was so strange! I went back to pick up last week, but I plan to go inside the stores myself when I need groceries again. They are out of so many things, and I feel like I need to see what else is available and make adjustments to my list based on what the store does have.

In upcoming posts I will share what we have done to pass the time at home, what some of my struggles have been, and what blessings have abounded because of these strange times.

I Think I Might Begin Blogging Again

It has taken me 30 minutes to remember (and relearn) how to sign in to blogger, update the "About Me" section, and make a few updates to the colors and design on my site. Whew!

I have thought a lot about blogging these last 49 days. (Who else is counting how long you have been "sheltering in place"?)  I have many thoughts swirling around inside my head--concerns, confusions, hopes, expectations, distresses, blessings, anxieties, and much much more.

Since I have not shared on this blog in over a year, I will begin by catching you up with my family.

• Jimmy is still practicing cardiology. He will celebrate 20 years in his practice here in Tupelo in October. 
• I am still homeschooling my last two children who live at home full-time. Leah is finishing up 10th grade, and Sam, 8th grade. Our last day of school this year will be around May 18-20. They each have 11 days of work left to complete.
• Olivia and her husband Brian still live in Indiana. Olivia works at an elementary school about 1 mile from her house, and Brian works at Walmart. I try see Olivia at least once every three months. We visited them in Indiana at the end of February, and Olivia is scheduled to fly here in early June.
• Julie and her husband Big Sam live about 15 minutes from us. Julie is a full-time mother to Mae, age 20 months, and she is expecting another baby in August. The gender will be a surprise! Big Sam preaches full time at a small congregation in Rienzi, and he also works part time for Relias Healthcare. 
• Clay finished up his junior year at Florida College here at home, online (coronavirus). He has been accepted to pharmacy school at the University of Tennessee, and he will begin his studies there in August. 
• Leah and Sam's homeschool has not changed any due to the coronavirus, however, they have missed participating in their outside activities including track, CrossFit, piano lessons, and teen Bible studies. 
• I am just carrying on like always---cooking, cleaning, teaching, doing laundry, etc. Jimmy and I will celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary next month, and I am still so happy being a wife and mother and now a grandmother too!

My hope is to write a little about how confinement at home has been for me. What has encouraged me, what has depressed me, and how I am trying to look on the bright side and make the best of a strange situation.

I'll try to catch up on changes in my life regarding exercise, homeschooling, Bible study, and much more. And I'll try to update family photos soon too.