springdellgirl: COVID-19 Quarantine: Days 241-245

Day 241:11-9-20 (Monday)

Today is Reilly's Birthday! Our oldest child turned 24 today! What? How? I was 24 when I had her! Time is moving too quickly. I am so grateful for this kid of ours! She is HILARIOUS!!! She takes no crap!! She loves her family!! She is AWESOME! I absolutely love that she lives in Spokane and continues to be close. (Despite her telling us multiple times in high school that would NEVER happen!) LOL. She is a spitfire and we love and adore her!

We let Ailey have *school* at her friend Savannah's house today with her friends. My friend Kata was overseeing it all and making sure that online school actually occurred. It's hard to balance things... allowing kids to have occasional time with friends and trying to protect Tyler (and the rest of us) from COVID. It's never an easy decision.

We had a great family video chat tonight with all of the kids. Kam's birthday is on Wednesday and he and Reilly always celebrate together so it was nice to be able to at least sing Happy Birthday to both of them.

Reilly had a big birthday celebration at her work. Her co-workers and employers decorated the office and catered lunch. Everyone wore pajamas to work. She got flowers and gifts and felt very valued. I love that for her! Kameron had a birthday celebration today too with his district. There is a sister whose birthday is also this week so they had a big double birthday party for both of them!

The work is picking up for Kam and his companions which is great! They are able to leave the apartment now since disappointed Trump rioters aren't really a thing. One of the biggest challenges for missionaries right now is boredom. Having to be in lockdown or partially quarantining and not being able to get out and meet with people drains them. Kam's friend who is a missionary in Las Vegas is in full COVID-19 lockdown; as are the missionaries in the Wisconsin part of Kam's mission. He is glad that at least he can get out, do service, and attend his church meetings in person. He and his companions still work at the Christian Kitchen, a local food bank, every Wednesday which he enjoys.

I had a long phone conversation with my dad last night. He has made several big decisions. He wanted to talk to me about his will and all that comes with that and then he also told me that he made the decision to return to church activity. He said that actually he and Gayle talked about returning to church about 5 years ago before she passed away but that her fragile health didn't allow it. My dad told me last night that he had looked up his ward on the internet and contacted his bishop. He has an appointment with him tomorrow night. Will wonders never cease? This is after a 44 year absence. Wow, I'm proud of him. Taking the steps to contact the bishop and put himself out there is scary. I hope he is welcomed and fellowshipped.

Day 242: 11-10-20 (Tuesday)

Lots of snow arrived overnight. It is looking Christmas-y. Tyler made me an awesome winter painting station in our garage. I am so excited about it! It is AWESOME!

We got some great news today about an extended family member who had a cancer scare and it was an answer to prayers! So glad to hear this!

I worked all day prepping for the holiday open house this weekend. So much to do! I am grateful for this business and my booth. It keeps me busy and my creativity flowing.

My friend Lynnette stopped by with hot homemade bread! Is there anything better?! She is Bryn's new Primary President.

My dad called and his appointment with his bishop in Las Vegas went really well! He really liked the bishop and felt very accepted and welcomed. That's nice to hear.

Day 243: 11-11-20 (Wednesday)

Today is Kameron's Birthday! Kameron is 20!! Let me repeat that...TWENTY! We were able to message Kam several times today. This is the first birthday that we have ever been away from him. It sounds like he had a good day. All he wanted for a birthday treat was a cheesecake. We tried to find a good one to be sent to him but it was a little more difficult than anticipated. Kam also wanted a Costco membership as his birthday gift so we overnighted him a membership gift card, birthday cards, and cash to go get a Costco cheesecake for his birthday. He did and was thrilled. Yay!

The holiday open house starts on Saturday. It has been like Santa's workshop with a very grumpy elf. Christmas shows are fun but they are double the work and exhausting. That was basically all I did today. Tyler took the girls and got them out of the house for several hours so that I could work undisturbed. They were *out* of school for Veteran's Day so it was very much appreciated! Tyler also continued to improve my winter garage painting station. It is pretty amazing! He also found me peppermint ice cream at 9pm (hello period!) which was also much appreciated. He is the BEST!!

We missed attending the Veteran's Day Concert that the high school puts on for the community but Wind Ensemble did a great job via Zoom. It is really amazing what they can do on Zoom!

Day 244: 11-12-20 (Thursday)

COVID cases are sky high in our county right now which seems to be the case everywhere. Kirk and Meki say that Utah is a disaster. Plans are being made to step back from the few things that our church is allowing right now. It looks like we will have to go into stricter quarantine. Not cool.

Tonight was vendor night. I did my complete Christmas overhaul. I worked until late. They extended our hours so that we had more set-up time and I used every bit of it. My booth looks pretty and festive.

I love seeing some of my vendor friends every Thursday!

Day 245: 11-13-20 (Friday)

Another Friday the 13th .... good grief. I feel like every time I turn around there is another one! Today the weather is nasty. We had freezing rain which turned into snow with high winds. Ugh...Thank goodness our house is decorated with Christmas cheer. We are all done except for putting ornaments on the trees.