A new normal

Hello everyone!

I've been thinking of you all and praying for you each day.


How quickly things have changed. As many things in life, I suppose. Times like these are a reminder of just how quickly life can look so different.

Starting with pictures - Pre-Corona ;)

 

 

For January Co-op, Grandma Kelly and Grandpa came to do a campfire cooking class with the kids!

                 It's hard to believe that this co-op was more than likely the last of the school year.

                                            We also had some sled dogs come visit!

                       Ashton had an all night youth lock-in party at church with his youth group

                       
                                                 They were all really tired by the end

                               
                                                 Sweet Boots :)

                     
                            Josie always decorates her bedroom for the holidays

 

 

                                          Learning about George Washington

 

One morning, the kids surprised me with this awesome breakfast

 

 

Celebrating National Pokémon day!

 

I've been slowly putting together next years curriculum for the kids. One of my favorite parts about homeschooling!

 

I'm really missing the library lately

 

                                      Liam has been carrying rulers around everywhere lately!

                            I love the little life lessons mixed in with their grammar lessons.

              
       For the rest of my life, I will always remember early spring days with opened windows while listening to the kids play outside. These moments will always hold a warm place in my heart.

 

Some of our biggest news! We have a dog! I honestly still can't believe it myself. We weren't exactly planning on having a dog. And I honestly believed it would be years until we were "ready" for a dog. ...But my friend took this little girl in and found she wasn't a very good fit for their family as their Pitbull wanted to play with poor Yuki -and Yuki was just too little. We decided to give her a try and see how things went.

  Long story short, this little dog was just meant for us. And we are just so grateful for her. She has brought us so much joy.

 

She is smaller than our cat!

                                                        She is such a silly little girl!

                                       On the warmer days, the frogs have returned!

                                                                and the snakes!

 

 

We have been reading Anne of Green Gables at lunchtime. Anne reminds me so much of myself when I was a child. -So wide-eyed about everything in the world and lost in her imagination. Personifying things like the wind and the spring flowers. With every chapter, my heart feels so filled with gratitude for all the little things that make up this wonderful world. In life, you can either see a tree or you can see the entire forest. And I'm so happy the Lord gave me eyes that can see and fully feel it all.

 

 

    In these times of uncertainty, it's all so easy to hold the weight of the world in our hands.

But meanwhile, the Lord is bringing the robins home safely in the spring. And the trees are budding. The Spring snow falls. The creeks are rushing.

And I hear him saying, "Just behold all of the goodness I have made. and carry all that goodness in your heart. And the rest? Well, you simply weren't made to hold all of the rest."

We over-complicate and over-analyze and I'm simply glad the Lord is the one that is holding us. ...So we are free to let go of all the rest.

 

                       The kids learned about the Wild West! One of my favorite history topics.

 

       I found this adorable little book for the kids on thriftbooks.com. I just love the old illustrations.

                                 This quarantine stuff has been filled with baking days.

                                                          Yuki meeting Opie

                                     Constructing their Leprechaun traps

 

With schools being out, we've been taking advantage of some of the fun Science and Art lessons they've been streaming all over the internet!

 

 

 

                     This is pretty much how Eli looks every single time he comes inside.

               
                                                         Ready for the leprechaun!

 

                       
                      The leprechaun left little surprises around the house and a pretty big mess!

 

A festive St. Patricks Day breakfast!

                                 We read "Fiona's Lace" -One of my personal favorites.

 

"It's in your heart home resides, and it will remain there as long as you remember those you love."

                                  Shamrock shakes after a corned beef and cabbage dinner!

                                               We also played,"Roll a Leprechaun"

    Early last week, we were hit with the sudden realization that Boots had not asked us for her breakfast one morning. We looked everywhere... and she was no where to be found. She had slipped out at some point while we were letting out Yuki in the morning and seemingly disappeared. Our hearts were so broken and we all cried a lot that day as we continued to search.

 

Before we went to bed that night, Josh tore away at the skirting at the bottom of the trailer to do one last check. ...And there she was!!! Again, we cried. But happy tears. We all love her so very much.

        Yuki not pleased that I cracked open a window because it was feeling a little warm inside

 We have been making some of the recipes from these sweet little books. A favorite was the Saucy Chicken.

 

Josh has been working from home since St. Patricks Day. I love that we can all be together.

                                Stopping at the Lakeport Market for lunches for the kids

 

               
   Mrs. Magda from church has been giving the kids fun little challenges to do while church has been out. Last week, we made a hopscotch of all the books of the bible.

                                             It's beginning to look a lot like Easter!

 
                           Celebrating Liam's birthday... Quarantine style... He was sad to miss his usual birthday dinner at Moo and Grandpas but happy he was able to Skype with them.

         Liam likes to make homemade contraptions of many kinds. He's our little inventor.

                                                                    Church at home

                                                                  A Sunday Bath

                        
                                                          And nap!

                         Sharing one of our favorite places with our favorite little Yuki

                                                       Liam turned 8 on Monday!

 

                                                   We woke up to a Spring snow

 

                                          He requested bacon and blueberry poptarts for breakfast

 

We made an indoor tent for a living room campout

 

And of course he requested spaghetti for dinner!

      He wanted a chocolate chip cookie cake - So I made him a chocolate chip cookie ice-cream cake!

                                                            He had such a fun day!

 

                                                 Yuki turned ONE the next day!

                                                         Back to the season of mud!

 

That is all for now! Know that I am praying for you and we love you very much!

 

Xoxo, Jessie

 

 

"I hope you will remember that things truly worthwhile and that will give you happiness are the same now as they were then. It is not the things you have that make you happy. It is love and kindness and helping each other and just plain being good." -Laura Ingalls Wilder