Quarantine Week 5
4/17/2020
We are now through our fifth week of quarantine / lockdown / social distancing due to COVID-19.
Here's what our week held.
My husband's dad turned 78 this week! Since we couldn't give hugs or even venture into their home, we did the next best thing - we sang Happy Birthday in their front yard while Grandpa and Grandma watched from an open window. Grandpa says that was a birthday unlike any other in his 78 years of life! Yes, sir!
The weather this week was much cooler, winter-like. We had snow a few times and even inches of accumulation. So, we appreciated the snow day and the kids built a snowman.
Before the weather turned cold, we did spend some time outside. We bought this plastic baseball and t-ball set for our youngest son, which keeps him happily busy outside now. He seems to be rather sportsy - loves kicking and throwing balls.
We also planted a tree in our side yard. I had our 2 year old stand next to it - they're about the same height. We'll look back at this picture in 20 years and be amazed at how much they both grew, I suspect.
Easter was last weekend. I finished reading this book - Amon's Adventure - with my oldest son. This book is meant to be read one chapter per day throughout Lent, to culminate on Easter Sunday. We enjoyed this one!
This week we were blessed by some friends who purchased some bulk bacon and chicken breast and shared 70 pounds of it with us! That's a lot of meat!! Every week of this quarantine, we've had somebody (neighbor, friend, etc) bring us something just to bless our family. We're thankful!
We played a few different games this week. Here's Tumble, which is fun for all the little ones. It's like Jenga, but includes marbles.
Rainbow Woods - an old game, similar to Memory.
Mousetrap - more fun to set up than to actually play
Uno with the littlest ones - and the 2-year-old won!
We also played Q-bitz and Memory this week.
It was a week of kids playing with the boxes.
Box boats. Box houses. Box beds.
We also used one huge box for the kids to contain their water beads / water balls. These are so fun!
I spent time teaching my 4 year old some kitchen skills this week - he helped rinse and then cut up black olives. He felt quite accomplished when he finished this task!
A sweet moment with the my 6 year old reading a book to my 4 year old.
When I can find good sale prices on toys, I usually buy them and save them for birthdays/Christmas. This week, just for fun, I gave the kids a little something I'd stockpiled.
A Lego Friends dog park made this girl's day.
And my oldest son loves Legos so this construction set was a hit with him.
My husband's employer has been expecting full 40 hour weeks now, as they've discovered some online training that can be done by all of the employees working from home during this time. We are thankful that he has a job and a steady income, during this time of high unemployment and economic uncertainty.
Our government recently passed an economic stimulus package that paid American adults $1200 each and families received $500 per child. Our portion of that stimulus arrived this week, so we thank God for that extra provision and are seeking Him on how He'd have us use that for His glory at this time.
Within our county, we have seen an increase in coronavirus cases and deaths this week (though still quite low, at less than 8 total deaths). While the "experts" were expecting to peak this week, that doesn't seem to have happened. The stay-at-home orders for our state continue until May 1st, but many people are encouraging re-opening business as soon as possible. Everyone is feeling the effects of isolation, but everyone is also concerned about the spread of the virus once things open back up. What will be our new normal? Nobody knows!
Stores are now limiting the number of customers inside the store at one time. They've also put up plexiglass sneeze guards to protect cashiers from customers. Many stores are making aisles one-way only to keep customers from getting too close to other customers. More than half of customers in stores are wearing face masks. It is a very strange thing to see grocery shelves bare (of toilet paper, Lysol wipes, milk, eggs).
We have occasionally been picking up school lunches that our local district is providing. This gets us out of the house and yet is "safe" (no contact with the lunch lady who delivers it right to our trunk). And it also saves us some money on groceries and gives the kids some variety in the foods they eat. Milk cartons are a novelty!
I continue to have hives (for the last two weeks). I assume they are a stress reaction to these strange times in which we live. But I'm also trying to discern if anything in my environment has changed that would cause hives.
Everything from church to small group to BSF group is meeting virtually. I truly can't imagine what this quarantine would be like without the technology that allows us to at least talk/see one another since we cannot have any physical contact with anyone but our immediate family.
Week 6. Like it or not, here we come!
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