COVID-19 Quarantine

We are a little over two weeks into our social distancing. We have been asked to stay home and stay 6 ft away from other people. We are allowed to go outside to exercise. However, all parks have been closed, all schools/colleges have been closed, all beaches and boating docks have been closed, all private and public golf courses have been closed and all sporting events have ceased. March Madness was cancelled, as were all MLB Spring Training games. ESPN is playing recaps from years past.

The kids last day of school was Friday, March 13th, followed by Spring Break. Trevor started working from home that same day. Since that time, Trevor has been working hard from our home office preparing for his strategy meetings with Collins Aerospace, UTC and Pratt Whitney. He refers to himself as "Mr. Doom" as he compares our current situation to 9/11. His research shows this current situation as being much worse than 9/11 and that took 7 years to rebound back from. My last day of work was Friday, March 20th. I'm now off indefinitely, as my clinic has closed temporarily.

This pandemic is wreaking havoc on our economy as we watch the stock market plummet. Those who can work from home are, but others like myself, are out of work without pay until this virus is controlled. Our grocery stores are having trouble keeping toilet paper, hand sanitizer and Clorox/Lysol wipes in stock. Ice cream and frozen foods are at a premium. Costco has been out of meat and has a line outside the store. Aldi was well stocked when I went last, but items were selling fast and the check out line was wrapped around the store. Some restaurants are still open for take out and delivery options, others have closed completely. We are trying to support our local businesses.

The kids started "distance learning" last week. They are using zoom to meet with their classes. It has been a little difficult trying to stay organized with this new format, especially for Trace, but he is catching on. Trace starts Art, Choir and Drama this week. Not sure how those will go? The kids are keeping track of their gym minutes by going on bike rides, jumping on the trampoline, shooting baskets, going on walks, etc., We are very thankful that our kids are still learning, as our public school family and friends in Iowa are out of school indefinitely due to not everyone having access to electronic devices and wifi due to the "no child left behind policy".

As for entertainment, we have lots of time on our hands. We have setup our trampoline, swam in our pool, played pickle ball, gone on lots of bike rides and walks, are reading/listening to books, spending more time with God, blogging again, and doing soccer challenges. Trace is playing lots of Fortnite and watching YouTube videos. The girls have been binge watching "Once Upon a Time". Kaylee is rereading the Harry Potter series.  I started reading the Left Behind series to Trace and Kianna. Trevor has been working a ton. We have put together one puzzle so far and have taught the kids to play Cities and Knights. We have watched family movies and caught up on shows and are searching for new ones.

We have been FaceTiming and having zoom meetings with friends, family and our small groups. Church, youth group and chapel services have all moved to online. Zoom has been a blessing. Last week Stacie setup a family zoom meeting. We got to chat with Andrew in Colorado, Aliyah and Bree, Mom, Grandma and Rylan and Stacie and Patrick. Grandma Carie was so confused by zoom. She kept asking if everyone was in Florida with our family and thought that Andrew's AirPods were hearing aides. Technology has come along way in her lifetime!

In regards to food, we have been ordering take out once a week. Kianna has been watching some cooking videos and made us gourmet burgers last week. They were stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon. They were served with carmelized onions and a garlic aioli, and served on toasted brioche buns. She also made homemade potato chips. They were amazing!!! The following night, Kaylee made us bacon and guacamole grilled cheese sandwiches with a salad and chocolate chip cookies. Thankfully our freezer and pantry are well stocked. I finally got my hands on some yeast, so Kaylee just started an Amish Friendship Bread starter yesterday. We have to wait 10 days for it to be ready, but it will be worth the wait. We are eating well to say the least!

The main thing is we are staying safe and are healthy. We found out this week that Kaylee's Biology teacher has Covid 19 and pneumonia, so we have been praying for her. Pastor Dan has challenged us to pray Psalms 91 over our families, so I have been doing that. In one regard, it has been nice having all of our crazy distractions taken away from us. We no longer have drama practices, beach volleyball practices, club basketball practices or club soccer practices. There are no sports to watch on TV. There is no shuttling kids to and fro. We get a little stir crazy at times. We get on each others nerves at times. We laugh at times. We love each other always! We are blessed beyond measure to social distance together!!!