I did nothing today. Really nothing.

I did nothing today. A little school work, a little walk, but really nothing.  Like less than Quincy. I had to document my family members day because mine was highly uneventful. And I didn’t like it very much. Tomorrow, I need a project.

Blue watching us play in the driveway 

 Badminton 4Square was the family game tonight.

 Clif and Miles made Chicken Picatta

Miles’ geodome blanket fort for the youth group challenge 

Lunch break

We’ve been taking a lunch break every day and walking up to Trailridge to get a school provided lunch. It’s a nice way to break up the day and get some exercise. Quincy is still on the mend. He wanted to go for a walk today and was waiting at the door with three good legs.

A Beautiful Sunday

Miles is making a geodome box fort. I think he has spent 16+ hours on it so far!

Ready for church in the living room!

Quincy was sore from yesterday’s walk, so we took Blue on a 3-4 mile walk around the lake.

Miles and I got the kayaks out for a windy day on Lake Jacomo while Clif and Emory went for a bike ride.

Big Blue

Blue has really been growing your last few days. He’s getting huge! For some perspective… That is a tennis ball!

Matt is 40!

Our friend Matt turned 40 today! He had a big party planned this with live music and food trucks. He had to put those plans on hold due to the coronavirus. So instead, he had a party on YouTube for all of his friends and students. This is a picture of us dancing and singing along.

Human life detected!

It’s hard to talk to an empty room when teaching. Jokes aren’t as funny when there’s no one there to laugh. You can’t make fun of anybody because they’re not in the room to see their reaction. So teaching at home hasn’t been as magical as I had hoped. Although it has been nice not to say “voices off” 125 times a day. But today I got to video chat with one of my favorite students! Of course, she is a tuba player. She was concerned because her band book is at her dad’s house and she is at her mom’s house and she can’t get her work done. It was so good to hear her voice and see her smile! I got into teaching because of the students. It’s not the same without them.

Aqua Blue

The second day of school was a little more smooth than the first day. I managed to get a nap in the middle of the day. That’s difficult to do when were in regular school. We just realized we’re going to have to set boundaries. It’s very easy to go back to work in the evenings to finish things up. That’s just no way to live.

We finally saw the sun today, so I let the kids get out the new pool we got for Blue. He showed off that he is a water dog at heart. It turned out to be a pretty good time to get a puppy after all!

First day of school

Virtual school, that is. Maybe it’s just because all of this is new, but today felt more mentally exhausting than a week of regular school. I’m sure will settle into a groove. There’s just a lot of things I’m not used to in the virtual world. I made videos for my students to play along with. Clif was juggling six balls at one time, like usual. Emory spent Virtual school, that is. Maybe it’s just because all of this is new, but today felt more mentally exhausting than a week of regular school. I’m sure will settle into a groove. There’s just a lot of things I’m not used to in the virtual world. I made videos for my students to play along with. Clif was juggling six balls at one time, like usual. Emory spent five or six hours doing her homework and practicing. Miles worked from 9 AM to 9:07 AM. He says he got all of his work done. I guess we will see!

The Teacher Parade

In the midst of all this confusion and fear, there has been so much beauty revealed to me.When I ask God to heal our land, he answers, “I am”. Today I got to see some smiling faces. The Greenwood teachers drove through our neighborhoods in a parade for the students. There was so much hope on those students faces. I didn’t see uncertainty or fear or anxiety. I only saw joy and hope. We will make it through these days just fine. What we’re being asked to do is not that challenging.  And when we come out on the other side of this, may we always be changed by what we’ve learned during this time. Slow down. Help each other. Your family is a gift. Love one another well.

All is well on the hilltop

I promise... this is as close as we got! We had a book to bring Papa for an early birthday gift. It was so good to see their smiles. Then, we played trivial pursuit over FaceTime with them tonight. They didn’t do so hot. I think they tied for last place. 😮

 

It is a lot.

We found out today we are in lock down for 30 days starting on Tuesday. No school until April 24. I’m still processing all this information. It is a lot.

 Here is Miles working on his Iron Man mask. While wearing a narwhal hat.

The finished Iron Man helmet.

A family Zoom session with the Sturdivants, Franklins, and Thurmonds.

Too many sweet moments today...

We had so many great moments today. So I cheated and chose more than one photo. The national news with COVID-19 is awful. The devastation is coming, I can feel it. Each day, numbers go up. We knew this was coming, but it is hard to see in real time.  For now I will focus on these joyful moments!

 Blue is home! And he is tired!!

 Oh my stars. What happened here?

 We were at Walmart when the truck arrives with a fresh supply of toilet paper. It’s good, we were down to our last two rolls!

This is where I found Miles in his underwear with his poop emoji hat on when I asked him to clean his room.

Emory has been playing the piano for the last 30 minutes. I haven’t heard her play for a few years. It is heavenly!

Last day in Colorado

I insisted we get a photo before we left this morning. I really didn’t wanna leave. We were expecting 15 inches of snow today, and we were afraid it would be hard to get out tomorrow if we waited. I think I just wanted more of this. More family time. More rest. More time with God in the mountains. Plus things are so uncertain everywhere, I didn’t want to go back to normal life. But we are safe at home, we have everything in Missouri. It’s time to learn how to be online educators. And it’s time to go home and see Blue! We really miss him and all the joy he brings our family! Quincy has been a delight this trip. But I think even he misses pesky little brother.

Ticket to Ride

Miles got to be in charge today at the EP condo. He spent his money on his favorite game, Ticket to Ride. Since none of us knew how to play, Miles lead the game and taught us how to play. It was fun to see him in his element. My favorite quote of his was, “I’m going to risk it for the biscuit.”

A photo a day...

We have entered a new scary place with Covid-19; the Corona Virus. We have been encouraged to “Social Distance” ourselves form the world. Technically, we shouldn’t have gone on vacation in the middle of a pandemic. We had a trip to Ireland scheduled that we had to cancel, so we ran off to Estes Park to chase away our sorrows. But it feels like home here. It feels safe.

This is the craziest time in our lives. There are so many unknowns. I’m journaling about what God is showing me in this time. But I love to use photos also to tell a story. So I decided to take a photo a day to help me tell this story. This might be one of my favorite photos ever.  In this photo, we are so alone, but GOD IS FULLY PRESENT!!

The Thurmonds  social distancing

Meet Blue!

Ha ha! Read the first line of my last blog! I guess this wasn’t impulsive at all! We brought home Boulder Blue on Feb. 4, 2 days after the Chiefs won the Super Bowl. It was a very good week!