Year 5, July 20th-23rd, 2020: CIY 2020 Week! Cancelled.

Moody Monday. Woke up from another deep sleep scary dream jaw hurting from clenching. I can't remember it now though. But I've been fighting my self all day. I didn't want to workout, but I did, and I couldn't keep up. My balance was completely off. Abishai kept interrupting. At least I got a shower in. Keturah went to church for a little bit to help put together swag bags for CIY. She was supposed to help Mrs. Alison put boxes together for the KP virtual camp, but miscommunication happened. So, Keturah and Justin will go with Grandma bright and early to work on boxes. She said Justin our black neighbor was there helping, too. Then Justin had a behavioral health appointment. The lady is nice enough, but I have a feeling I'm not going to get the help I want from her. I even tried to say, "What games should we play or books should I read that would help? And she couldn't answer." My sister was asking how it it was going and I had to tell her, I haven't had time to look through any websites or materials yet because I'm focused on helping other homeschoolers, working on the boys' room, and Benaiah's open house. Once the boys' room is done, I can focus on school, which means focusing on Justin's stuff. I know it will be a long haul to figure out what works best, so I know that he won't be cured by the start of school anyway. I just can't focus on that many big things at once.

Like my email, games, and photos, ugh! What was the rest of the day like? Chores, supper, video games, bedtime. Same as always. Nothing too alarming. The pictures explain the rest.

I hope to put this posts together, but if I don't, here's today's project: the boys' closet! Gotta get those nailboards up. I was very frustrated when I started, but then had coffee and doughnut, sent a few texts to people, and sucked it up and got back to to it and got it down. I felt much stronger than I would have been a few months ago, so that was exciting! I am a bit sore now because of the weird angles, but at least I got it done!

Stupid nails. Stupid previous home owners and tenants. I be there was carpet that had to come up when the bathtub overflowed or something and they didn't get someone in to help with it. They had said it wasn't working properly or something.

Yes, the carpet padding. And yes, there's a hole in the wall of the boys' closet to access the plumbing on the bathtub. And yes, it's only covered by an old tote cover. Strange, ugly, not done right, frustrating!

I saw lots of daylight, sigh. And why is this piece of insulation here? Crap job. Just crap. I can't wait to have a professional tackle this. Yes, I want it nice and cleaned it up and we'll pay a price for it.

I'm remembering how disjointed it felt bringing clothes back and forth to college, especially when I took over Jared's laundry before we were married, because why not? He hates doing laundry, and I had already secretly said yes to marrying him. And I used to do my family's laundry with men's underthings in it so,....anyway. I just remember having to get it all there to college and back. This way, he just picks this up and goes. I mean, he'll need to pack up the shirts in a bag or hang them in the truck cab or car or whatever, but it's all organized for him. Shorts, long pants, long sleeve shirts/hoodies (2 drawers of those!), short sleeves, nylon bed shorts/underwear/socks. I've got my boy ready to go! Now, it's his turn to keep it straight. Which he won't, because he hasn't practiced doing it, because I don't mind laundry and just get it done for him because I like to help.

Scary.

I have pictures of their room from a couple of months ago on the blog if you want to compare what this looked like.

Previous water damage. Something I can't do myself and I'm not going to try to scrub it out. Probably should just replace it. It's still solid for now and I'm putting the dresser to the right of it, so most of the weight won't be on. I'm putting just a few lightweight things in this corner.

Too much stuff.

I flipped Abishai's dresser to face forward, but I might regret it when I actually try to do something with the drawers. I usually take them out and set them on the floor when I'm going through clothes, so we'll see. And Justin now owns all the space in the bigger dresser that he was sharing with Benaiah. The hanging clothes are a bit of an issue for Justin, so we'll have to go through them and see if we can cut down on them or put shorts in a drawer or something.

Why? Why can't the men be thorough? Surely he can't fit into size large anymore. He's even been getting XXL when he buys shirts. Sigh.

My sister was concerend about the shelf bowing. It is a bit, but It s resting on some solid wood and is made of solid wood. I didn't see any cracking either. There's another set of boards higher than this, like there is in Keturah and our closets for a second set of shelves. I have no idea where those went, but that's ok, I can fit things up there just fine. I am always careful to spread the weight, too.

Video explaining the boys' closet shelf

Abishai wanted to work out after I did and he followed right along to the music and tried to do the moves. I think he's seen me do the first few moves a lot because it was very close to getting them!

Get low, get high! Squats!

Time for a plank!

Trying out the weights.

Justin's 10 pushups.

Not many in this bag, so it was pricey, but I love to spoil my kids with fun food like this. I guess they were ok since I didn't hear otherwise.

Abishai cooked lunch for me.

Well, I moved it a few feet and took photos. I haven't put it up on FB Marektplace yet because I know it will be gone in  heartbeat. I just want to make sure Abishai is ready. I think he is.

The nastiest zit I ever did see! It almost looks like a wart! And when I popped it for him, it squirted at me! Ew! He complains about his "acne" but really, Justin and the others haven't had that much. Benaiah has more than Justin, but we never had to get special creams or anything, he just dealt with it and now his face has cleared up for the most part. Justin gets a few like these. Keturah's is worse than Justin's because she doesn't wash her face consistently. Jared had very few pimples growing up, and I had them probably like Keturah, mostly tiny ones on my chin, and a few big ones here and there, but nothing all over or needing any special treatment. Thank goodness.

Socks was in an unusual playful mood, and was digging in his little cooling off spot while the kids were out with him.

Socks went under the trampoline!

And under the playground!

Socks was eating the stick that Abishai gave him. I have no idea why he needed the extra play time, but it got all 3 boys out of the house.

Abishai wanted targets for his guns. So, we had these reusable sticker targets from Canada. I used a small piece of tape to put them up too because I'm not stripping stickers off of glass. No thanks.

I think it's been a month since we put these pinecones with sunbutter and birdseed out. I have been watching them but nothing changed about them until maybe last week.

Well, maybe that one came off in a storm?

Where'd that one go?

Waiting for Daddy to drive into the driveway.

Did the squirrel get this one?

Looks like this one got cleaned up by something.

Again, where did the pinecone go to?

Socks' cooling off spot. No, I'm not worried about it. He's done it before. He won't dig it deeper than this.

We did not shoot off any fireworks in our yard. Why is this in our yard? Sigh.

Fresh Indiana sweet corn on the cob. No butter necessary! Great cold, too!

Current status of the Keturah's room, waiting to receive Justin's bunk bed.

Current state of the boys' room. Still a lot to move around and Justin has to go through his stuff!

See, my hair had been really short. Twice. Once was when we lived in our first apartment and Amy Sloan was just in beauty college. She gave me a haircut in our bathroom. And then maybe I donated it when I did this haircut, I can't remember, but I did cut it short when I was getting very hot with Keturah's pregnancy. Then I let it grow out to back length as hers grew out. I don't think we did anything to our hair for 3 years. And man, um, breastfeeding has it's perks, don't you think?  Keturah was a month old in this picture.

Great prayer to pray over husbands.

Cancelled. Again. This time because of the threat of rain. It's 9pm and Keturah's CIY Mix was supposed to be from 6:30 to 10:30pm tonight. Well, there was a decent chance of rain tonight and tomorrow night, so the church cancelled both nights. The kids were supposed to meet at someone's house and stay outside the whole time because of Covid-19 restrictions. I don't know or understand why it couldn't have been held at church. The even broke up the numbers to be under what I thought was the current restrictions. In their video message and in the email, the youth pastor said, "We hate this, too." Yes, he used the H word. It really sucks. They've all worked hard on this. So, the kids will get to do a drive thru thing to get their swag bags that Keturah helped label and pack and then they will do some of the small group stuff with their small group. We don't know about the CIY Move for the boys yet. Praying that there is no rain because this is the second to last big thing for Benaiah.  Keturah seemed unfazed by it though.

In other news, New York, the state, I think, said anyone coming from about a dozen or so states had to self quarantaine because of the high number of Covid-19 cases. Guess who was on that list? Indiana! And Nebraska (where Gary had just been). And we now know someone else personally who has it and I don't know her particular condition but it's thrown the family and friends for a loop as they were gearing up to go back to school. She's a young adult but still lives with her family because she's in college. What a mess! And some schools in our area have now delayed opening or going to do virtual school for a couple of weeks first. My heart goes out to them all. I wrote this post this morning because my heart is just heavy. I'm not mad at the moment at people only wanting to homeschool for a year. I am trying not to memorize rules that don't affect us. I'm trying to keep my head down and stay in my lane. I'm just saddened by the struggle and chaos. And grateful that we have an established pathway to learning and lifestyle that matches. Our routines won't change much. Social life, sure, but academically, we will press on. Keeping up with the house projects will continue. And all of that.  Here's what I wrote:

FB post: "Some days, it’s just good to say that I’m thankful we’ve homeschooled all along. I can’t imagine the pressure everyone is feeling right now. I feel so sorry for them all. As I continue to go about our mostly normal routines, finishing up projects, all the while thinking about when to start and what exciting things we will learn this year. I’m imagining Abishai reading whole books by the end of the school year. And working through the 1700’s, 1800’s and maybe part of the 1800’s. I get to learn chemistry and geometry again. And we will be back to read alouds. I wish everyone could understand yes, how hard this homeschooling journey is, but also just how wonderful it is to see the light bulbs go off in their little heads. And how much you learn and understand too. It’s not about teaching to a test. It’s about life long learning, something everyone should do. God created us with wonderful minds to understand his world and connect with him. So I continue to watch and pray for those around me, especially in my public school community. I know the struggle is so real. I’m here for you. But it’s also a time to really think about what true education, knowledge, and wisdom is and how it can be delivered to the learner. How do we as a culture view education? A necessary evil? A way to learn how to make money so you can go play on your weekends? Learn for learning’s sake. Not for a test. Not to pass a grade. Not to go into a trade. Education is so much more than that. And I’m excited about our school year all the while remembering to pray for those who aren’t. I’m privileged to do what we do. To have the ability to choose to earn less so we can give more to this endeavor. Not everyone can. We are blessed with our homeschooling lifestyle. 
This is a lament, in a sad voice. Not a judgment. Your choice is a valid choice. So is mine. My opinions are valid and so are yours. Please don’t turn this into an argument this time. My heart is just super heavy as our local schools are going back, maybe, with ever changing rule in the next two weeks. That is all. This isn’t political. It’s just sad to me."

So, what else did we get up to today? Well, Keturah and Justin went with Grandma to church to help pack boxes for the KP virtual camp on Saturday. They had a good time. And for me, I liked that they were out of the house, not on screens, doing something worthwhile, and volunteering. I didn't really ask them to go, I told them. They need more volunteer hours. We all do. And I simply have my volunteer hours tied to my homeschool groups right now. So, I stayed home and worked out with Abishai nearby. Benaiah is working mornings this week because he thought he was going to be at CIY at church every night this week. So he went to work and then to Ava's. He'll be home all day tomorrow and tackle a couple of piles I need him to go through. After lunch, Abishai and I played tea party with his stuffed animals and took them to the park. Then I rehomed some of my parents' things. I also set up bins for Justin to sort his stuff into in his room. He got a tiny bit of it done. Good thing we have all day tomorrow! I just have one appointment at 4pm on the phone and dinner will be leftovers. We'll get to hopefully knock out some of this sorting stuff. I'm still working on the TMNT Legos, but we are getting closer. I was able to at least locate their boxes and instructions for every set except one. 

I made a good dinner and then Jared was off to Bible study. And that's about it. There really wasn't much rain until much later, but tomorrow night looks pretty nasty, too. Poor kids. And now they have to try to get together with their small group, maybe even through Zoom, and school starts in less than two weeks. It's insane and I know everyone is exhausted with dealing with the unknown. I'm exhausted trying to help people .I'm tired of my Barre Blend and want something shorter and less intense even. I need to work on the food portion of my life again. 

Yeah! It's always a good thing to do volunteer work!

The three amigos sang a song together about West Virginia, maybe the state song? I just hope they have their masks handy when they are not singing.

#Truth and as I tell other homeschoolers, the middle school years are review years, and just making sure they get some basics before they really have to go after it in high school. Be patient.

Aw, just a baby with his blankie and paci and his doggy! Too cute!

Yup.

IG post explaining what they were doing.

 Abishai wanted to preach to someone but no one was listening.

Tea party/picnic time with his friends. Abishai just wants a companion.

We all got fruit snacks!

Taking his friends to the park! Aka the backyard. We had to get the wagon and stroller out so all the friends could see on the way to the park. And BB8 is strapped in his seat.

Helping Clifford climb up the climbing wall.

He made it!

Everst and Skye wanted to fly!

Time to go for a swing! Dinosaury went too!

BB8 all strapped in and taking a nap.

Chase is keeping everyone safe!

So is this guy. Our watchdog.

Dinosaury wanted to take a ride on Abishai's bike.

Our snack after the park.

Boo!!

I took a pretty neat picture of my birthday flowers, so I made it my background on my phone instead of the TV show Poldark.

Is this a Lego or a knock off? Hard to tell. All Legos have "Lego" printed on them somewhere. But I can't just tell on this one!

Well, it was another productive day! I did yoga, showered, and had a little snack before diving into the Justin's keepsakes. We got through quite a bit of it, too, only leaving the Legos as compacted as we could on the shelves, but not on the bunk bed desk (or they are easy to remove). That way, whenever Daddy is ready, everything is cleaned off. We will tackle Legos and any remaining odd books and things on the bookshelf nearby after the room is rearranged as we are not planning on moving those two furniture items. Benaiah also finished with his things. I put a few things temporarily in the closet to get them out of the way. The goal is get everything up off the floor and easily removed room in temprorary boxes for Jared to easily manuever. Same goes with Keturah's room. When he's ready to tackle that, we will have to remove her things again to the living room and it's just easier if it's already been gone through and put in easy to remove boxes. Oh, Justin has one more boxes of misc little stuff and his two drawers of little things, but by the time we go through that, he will have downsized quite a bit on what he wants to keep. I'm proud of all three of my kids and their ability to let go of things. I want to teach them this early on and try my hardest not to hinder the process. I even told Justin to put some paper in the trash that he just wanted to recycle, lol. It wasn't much. However, I did have to be very stern with Abishai because he kept coming in and interrupting us and Justin was making decisions without thinking it through. But we made it. One step closer to the room makeover.


I spent a good portion of the day on planning and logistics with Lisa for the open house, with Shauna because they coming up to visit next week, and even with the Bible study ladies. And keeping up with I think 40 people I approved in the IAHE Marketplace FB group. The kids used the pool today for a bit and did their screen time. Leftovers for supper. I talked with my sister Stefanie for an hour while she drove back from somewhere. Lots to unpack there. Benaiah was home all day and then went out with Ethan and David for the evening. Yeah! The three amigos! I told Benaiah to get some pics of themselves since they don't see each other often. And I also told him to stay out late or whatever. I think he works in the morning though.


When I was trying to coordinate dinner with the Johnson fam, Benaiah reminded me that he's going out with Ava to Kentucky Kingdom next Wednesday. And I forgot we might have a volunteer thing to go to. I said something about well, you might just not be able to come to family dinner then. He felt rejected and dismissed. I told him that I'm trying to accept the fact that he just won't be able to do everything with us anymore and that he and Grandpa's schedule is what gets in our way most of the time. It stresses me out. Now I have a whole list of things to work around for next week and we finally have the open house to do! I think I might do a little pity party in the next 24 hrs, because coordinating with 6 other adults is ridiculous. This is why "vacation" is so hard. We aren't on vacation. J4 is barely on vacation because she's supposed to work on her mother's house. Benaiah, Gary and Jared work. We have our normal social obligations. Gary's gone this weekend so we can't have normal Sunday lunch. It's totally insane and it's only for one week! Just trying to do a dinner and a movie night, on two separate occasions. But yes, Benaiah felt dismissed, and I feel bad. But now I just want to throw up my hands and give up because everybody is confused. Ugh! I'm going to make a chart when I'm done blogging.

Speaking of blogging, I've been asked to help a local parent group write a guidebook on homeschooling and write a guest post on their blog! And, a librarian wants to do a zoom call/chat for people in Greenwood! Eek! Exciting and scary all at the same time! And we are changing things up in the Marketplace and new graphics about curriculum is being made up by our wonderful IAHE team! And the website is updated, again! If only the whole world would work as efficiently and passionately as the IAHE team, life would be grand! I've learned so much about being a team member, asking questions, jumping in when I don't know what I'm doing, and wanting to please our leaders in everything I do. It's where my heart is at, that's for sure. I think I saw a blog post and reposted it on Facebook about passion in ministry. Or when you aren't passionate about ministry. Anyway, whatever it exactly was, one of the points was to be excited and want to continue working in whatever ministry you are in vs. just clocking in and out. And also not to be over zealous that you forget the people back home. But when you live, breathe, sleep, eat this stuff, that's where you've found your calling in this particular season. I've found mine, and I keep coming back to it over and over because it's hard but I'm learning and sharing and helping and ah! Yup, sometimes I prefer to work on something for IAHE than anything else I should be doing. I'm not the only one in our team though. And I will hold my friend accountable, too, to set down the keyboard and go play with the kids, lol. We need to live out what we preach! Lol.

Well, I didn't know if this for real or making a joke. I mean, I don't mind being a "rebel" but it's not the word I would have chosen for this. The rest isn't wrong though.

It started storming outside but he's not usually afraid of storms, so I don't know why he wanted to come get hugs. But he did. My old man doggy.

They usually don't broadcast it live unless it's sold out because they want to encourage people to attend the race. They do replay the race on TV later in the evening on the same day. I wish they would broadcast it every year like they do for every football game. But they did cancel all the 500 Festival festivities. I thought they had already done that. Whatever.

Here's the boys' room in the middle of the chnageover. Benaiah's clothes are to the right. The drawers and desk are empty Justin's Bunk bed. Boxes we are using to sort Justin's stuff into is in the Thomas bed. I'm waiting to get the approval from Abishai to list the bed. I'm sure it's going to be gone as soon as I post it.

Legos and their shelves won't move until the bed changeover is done. THEN we will do a huge rearrangement of everything, add legs to Benaiah's bed (the mattress will go on the triple bunk) and make it Justin's Lego table. Then we will start purchasing craft/nuts and bolts smaller drawers to put underneath where he can really sort his Legos. We'll also buy enough Lego plates to cover the top. We won't glue them down so he can change them around. I can't wait to see what kind of cityscape or Star Wars scape or creations he's going to build!

I can't wait to change this into a Lego table!

I'm already liking the dressers in the closet. And I put a few boxes of toys in there as well for the moment.

Legos stay. Chair and boy's foot moves. He didn't want to be in the picture. But he's been sitting in this corner, day after day, with his personal fan, and his tablet for weeks now talking to his friends as he fiddles with his Legos.

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Not sure if the space rocket and posters need to move. The hanging rack does and the bookshelf if we are to put the bunks on that wall like I was thinking we would.

Abishai's thinking pose #1.

Abishai's thinking pose #2.

Um, yeah, that's a huge spike! And this is just in the Used Curriculum group! In the large discussion group, we've been adding 70 people a day! It's nuts how many people want to homeschool. Although, I would say 10% are using other online public school options, 1-2% are looking to supplement public school elearning, 60 % are only doing it for a year because of Covid and the rest are doing it for more than a year or have actually thought about doing it for the past few years and actually want to continue after Covid has calmed down. It's nuts! I'm just glad we have such a strong organization with incredible resources! God has been preparing IAHE for the last couple of years by adding on a website team, a special learners team, a social media team, and lots of other volunteers! Exciting times for us all!

Keturah's popcorn and Hershey bar mixture. Looks delicious! She said the chocolate was melting on the warm popcorn. Yum!

Since Jared looked a little forlorn because I hadn't actually prepared the pomegranate he wanted last night (he said to have it out, he didn't say to actually prepare it, but I did make him salad!) I was a good wifey today and did it for him because I love him. It's a good thing my sister called to talk because it helped pass the time. It took awhile to get all the seeds out, but yum!

It's a good thing I can work my volunteer hours from my phone! Up and down, here and there, at the dentist's office because he was late again, while I brush my teeth, while I fix food for the kids, sigh. Apparently, I walked 2500 steps today. I did walk in and out of the dentist's and the optometrist's offices today, but that's it. No grocery store run. No mall. 2500 steps at home. And I didn't have my phone in my pocket when I worked out either. That's how much I walk back and forth at home sometimes! I wasn't even outside! So, there's that. I put in a powerful workout today! I'll do one more tomorrow and call this Barre Blend program done! Now onto finding something to use as maintenance that won't take 40 minutes. I'm thinking 20 max 3 times a week. I just don't have the time when I homeschool. Then I guess I'll work on my diet. Jared has lost 50 lbs over the last few years and hit 200 lbs for the first time in 24 years! He's intermittent fasting and only eating between 12pm and 6pm every day as a challenge with his friend. And when he does eat, it's not many carbs. I was a little shocked when I realized that uh, his frame had changed so much and he wasn't as soft. Now, if he had worked out, he would have gained weight because of muscle. So, if we could combine my working out with his diet, we would come out even, eh? Because I have gained more than 50 lbs in those 20 years and the scale isn't moving one bit.  Sigh. So, that's where we are at. I keep telling him I have never cared about a man's physique. Just his face (facial hair and eyes mostly), long hair, and intelligence. Well, and of course his faith, too. So, he knows he's not doing it for me. We both want to be healthy. We both love each other as we are physically. We both want to live longer lives than my parents, who died at age 60 and 61. Oo, that's a scary thought. To only have 20 years of life left. Eeek. Moving on.


Oh but the stress of the day, or potential stress, is heavy today. Not only did the governor tell everyone to wear masks starting on Monday, the mayor of Indy put more stipulations out and we went back a phase or two. Gatherings of no more than 50 people unless it's a religious thing and then only 50% of capacity. Masks indoors and outdoors regardless of social distancing and he mentioned offices specifically. Yes, when I shared the link with family, I told them that specific part. I can't make them wear it in the office, but it's what the mayor's mandate is. The mayor also wants people to self quarantine for 14 days if they travel out of state to a state on their list that is high risk. Uh, that might affect Gary's travel schedule, I don't know. The rate of positive test results in the county is 10% of those who are tested. Schools are changing their policies again and aren't allowed to open in person classes until Aug 6 at the earliest. That means our district will start with a few days of e-learning first regardless of what option was chosen by parents. Sometimes, I just wish our nation wasn't so wrapped up in so many rules and regulations because it's such a domino effect. Living off the grid and far from the hamster wheel of life, the busyness of city living, sounds awfully nice right now. And so, I had to stop myself and remind myself. None of these things really directly affect us. Benaiah will keep working and he always brings his mask and says he wears it. Jared will go to work or work from home, whichever, and I can't make him wear a mask in the office, but he wears one when he walks around the building and in stores. We all wear masks in every store and office regardless of that store's policy, so the kids have no problem with it. Our homeschool lifestyle is safe and secure and as soon as I get this older child moved out, I can settle into our new routine for the school year. Our income won't change. Our residence won't change. Our education won't change. Our church life is the only thing that directly affects us when it changes. We weren't planning on going to church when it reopens on August 2nd anyways, so if something changes in the next couple of days, it will won't affect us. They were able to hold their CIY event tonight and tomorrow night. 1st-5th graders have a virtual camp. Keturah will do virtual camp with her small group. Kid programming might never return until a vaccine is created. We only started to see our friends beyond our small group, so it's not like we started into regular life just yet anyways. So, why am I worried? I don't need to be. I need to stay in my lane. I need to help those who need help. I need to balance between volunteering and enjoying my home life. And I have enough stress coming up next week.


Oh, I already feel the stress coming about the open house and the in laws coming up from NOLA. Oi! It doesn't matter how prepared I am, the last minute stuff always stresses me out. I get mad at others for now reason. And it's PMS week. This is going to be SO fun! But at least I can set up my coping mechanisms, take deep breaths, read a little Poldark, and move on. Or when my HSA card is declined and I've locked myself out of my patient portal and can't pay my medical bills. Deep breaths. Walk away. Try again tomorrow. Or pay them after the open house. Whatever. Let others make the decisions they have to make. Ignore social media and YouTube channel videos piling up. Delete most of them. They existed before you found them, they will exist even if you don't watch every video. It doesn't all depend on me. Wait and see. Then decide. Whatever the church decides to do, won't affect us. Benaiah will help at church with tech like he is tonight, or he won't. He's the adult now. He knows what is best for himself and others. The other adults in his life will look after him if he needs it. We all good over here. I don't have to decide if MNO or park days will continue. I can say yes and no on a day or two beforehand. We aren't committed to sports, music lessons, or co ops, so there's nothing to worry about there. So, feel sorrow and frustration and empathy for others' problems for a moment, and then let that moment pass. You are not dismissing them by doing that. You are unburdening yourself so you are free to do what you need to do. Breathe and stay in my lane. That's what I need to do.  That's what I will do. I've got my plan. I will work my plan. I will tweak my plan (and be made for a moment, because I hate that!) if need be. I'll be ok with the outcome (eventually). 

I am grateful for our lifestyle. I'm grateful that we got haircuts and all my appointments are done for a long while so I don't have to go out. I'm grateful we already wear our masks all the time when we are out and the kids don't complain about it. I'm grateful that I have two introverted kids who don't need a lot of social interaction. I'm grateful we can take turns with the extroverted kid. Our kids were not suffering socially before Covid and therefore, they aren't suffering during it either. They do have each other, whether they like it or not, lol. We will survive, just like families out in rural America 200 years ago and today. Being part of a family IS a social life! It's a bit lonely out on the prairie, sure, but I don't think many died because of being socially deprived and depressed. I think we will survive today, too.

He does play on his own a lot, too. But sometimes, he's just all up in your face!

Just started the book and it's due in 5 days from the library.

Yes, it's Poldark. I might read the whole series of novels. We'll see. Two weeks is too short. I might just have to borrow the hard copy instead.

And 3 of those girls belong to pastors at our church! Crazy! Such great names though!

Aw, Michael W. Smith with daughter Emily. He said that it was time for "cousin camp" put on by Debbie, his wife, and others. I'm guessing about 10 of the 15 grandkids would be of age for it. But how cool! Our kids did Grandparents camp last year!

Aww, their little schedule!

What a great Grandpa Smitty! Dressed up as Moses! Too much fun!

It's $350 but oh my goodness, check out this description!

Bigger than the Death Star? And the Imperial Destroyer? Really? And you can play it?!

It's over a foot wide and deep! That's huge!

This number will never matter to me. But I'm glad he's excited about it. And yes, Jared is wearing his toe shoes as always.

Keturah got new glasses today! And she brushes her hair, but it's just unruly sometimes.  And we learned you can now get a blue light filter right in the lenses for $15 more! I would have done that if the other lady had told me! I hope I remember that the next time I get new glasses! Aqua blue/Elsa blue is still her favorite color.

Bwahahahaha, obviously Justin's ADD kicks in when he mows. Check out those squggly lines! Hey, look, the sky is blue (as he looks up!) Whoops, I better squiggle back to where I was. Benaiah actually told him the lines don't matter. Um, yeah they do. And Justin didn't trim and he forgot the back rows in the back yard. Hey, squirrel! And then, he had to go in the house twice for things he needed to take with him to CIY (he didn't have a list though, so that's my fault) and forgot one of them when I dropped him off! Oh this kid! I'm trying to keep him laughing at himself, but he's quite embarrassed at all of this. Poor guy. We'll get it figured out. Hang in there.

The Creek's CIY put the lyrics up on Instagram for the kids to screen capture instead of having a screen up front like an outdoor concert. Interesting.

OOOO, a new Amazon show? I don't know much about this person, although I had just seen her name when I was looking up science curriculums that were going through science discoveries chronologically. Hm,...

 This video of a huge Lego roller coast is so cool! We still have our tickets to BrickWorld for the fall, but I doubt it will happen.

The youth group did a little video where they dressed up as Panda, Elephant and Shark and met at the church parking lot so they could carpool to the house where CIY was at to save parking spaces for others. It was pretty funny!

The End