Oh my goodness! I just read over my last blog post from two weeks ago - it sounds like a lifetime ago. I realize the Coronavirus (COVID 19) has impacted the entire world and everyone in it to varying degrees, but here's how it went down on the O'Gwin side of the house . . .
Wednesday morning, March 11, I woke up feeling that I needed to find a way to go to the temple with Chris. My dad was supposed to be flying in for Spring Break and I thought maybe we could go when he was here. However, the more I thought about it, I realized in order to do that I'd be leaving my dad stranded with the kids and no car. So instead, since the girls were starting their Spring Break that Friday and Chris also had a four day weekend, we decided I'd come up on Thursday, head up to the Birmingham Temple for a session, and then get back late that night.
On Thursday I got a call from Aly saying that the BYU campus would be closed for the rest of the semester and classes would be starting online the following Wednesday. She did not want to come home but wanted to stay local. I didn't know how to feel about that and was so glad I was going to the temple that evening to be able to ponder and seek guidance . . .
The temple was so peaceful - just what I needed. I also felt impressed while I was there that I needed to let Aly make her own decision and learn from her experiences rather than try to force her to come home. While driving home from the temple we received word that all Latter Day Saint Temples would be closed (other than for live ordinances, which shut down a few days later) beginning the very next day. I am so grateful for promptings from the Spirit that allowed me to go to the temple one last time before the closures. Oh, how Heavenly Father knew I would need that extra spiritual strength over the next few days! We also spoke to my Dad on the phone and made the decision that with things getting so crazy so quickly it was probably best if he canceled his flight to come out to visit.
So yeah, things were getting a little crazy, but it hadn't hit too close to home yet and so we continued on with our 4-day weekend plans. On Friday we went kayaking as a family at the local state park. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time. We also found out that day that "out of an abundance of caution" the girls' Spring Break would be extended an extra week, and that school would resume on March 30th. The girls were ecstatic.
That evening we had a family fire with hot dogs and gourmet s'mores. One of my favorite family traditions.
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| The Smoke Got in Kate's eyes . . . 😫😂 |
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| Kate and one of her burnt marshmallows . . . she was having issues. |
So, Saturday Lise got to take the SAT - since school wasn't technically canceled and we were just on Spring Break, the test went forward. Meanwhile, I decided that I should probably stock up on a few groceries at the store. Things weren't too crazy yet (although the shelves have gotten more bare as time has gone on, even with the restocking). Chris and I also did some yard work and went on a date that night to a restaurant, Bonefish Grill. (A few days later everything went to take out only. Who knows how long it will be before we get to actually eat in a restaurant again?)
As all church meetings had been canceled "until further notice," that weekend was also the first weekend that we had church at home. It was actually a very spiritual/emotional event for me. I was filled with so much gratitude:
- for the priesthood which has been restored to the earth and that I have a worthy priesthood holder in my home who could administer the sacrament to our family
- for a living prophet who had prepared us for this time with "home-centered, church-supported" gospel study and the Come Follow Me program.
- for the blessings of following the prophets' council which helps us build upon a rock & be ready for a rainy day (or a hurricane!!) & that we need not fear.
Interestingly enough, that Sunday Chris & I ended up having temple recommend interviews to get our recommends renewed. What a strange experience it was to go to the church and have it be so empty on a Sunday, and yet it was a sacred experience at the same time, to be able to reaffirm my commitment to the gospel and think of the eternal blessings of the temple, which extend beyond any mortal trials we may be experiencing.
** Funny Sidenote: We had set 10 am as our time to have church. As Chris and I were rushing to get the kids ready and brush our teeth, Chris said, "It's amazing! I'm almost going to be late for my own church!!" 😂
** Funny Sidenote: We had set 10 am as our time to have church. As Chris and I were rushing to get the kids ready and brush our teeth, Chris said, "It's amazing! I'm almost going to be late for my own church!!" 😂
Monday we went to a pool party at a friend's house. Social distancing was just starting to become a thing, but we kind of decided to social distance with a few other families. 🤔😬😁
Chris had found out over the weekend that his school was going virtual and we were hoping he would be able to stay in Florida with us. Unfortunately, he was told he had to go back and quarantine in his apartment. 🙄😣 So he headed back up Monday evening.
Since everyone's schedules were different, we decided to move our Come Follow Me study to 7:30 am to help us stay on a schedule and so Chris could get it in before starting his online schoolwork. Even though the girls are sleeping in longer than they do for school, they have been really struggling to wake up and coming down as blanket blobs for scripture study. Chris meanwhile was required to wear his uniform to online school but rebelled by wearing shorts. Way to stick it to the man!
No worries though, Kate was wearing camouflage pants to make up for Chris' lack of obedience. She's got you covered. Back at home, we started working on some projects. We went through everybody's clothes to see what they had outgrown and what they needed for summer. Kate needed a couple dresses, some shorts, some sandals, and a swimming suit so we headed to the local outlet store to see what we could find. It was a very successful trip and we scored everything we needed. (I have no idea if those stores are even open anymore! It felt like every day I would do something that seemed normal, just to find out the next day that it was taboo and had been shut down.)
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| Clothes for goodwill |
We also found out early that week that the girls would be starting online schooling beginning March 30th and that Seminary would be online for the rest of the year. Lise was not very happy about that. (These pictures were homemade memes posted on the seminary bulletin board by their teacher in the church. How true they are now!)
Now, let's jump back to Aly for a minute. Once she found out she had a five day weekend, she was dying to go on an adventure. One of her good friends needed to get back home to Colorado with all her stuff so Aly offered to take her (after borrowing Grandpa's car) - road trip! Well, this all seemed well and good, except that this weekend happened to be the weekend that the poop hit the fan, and while driving to Colorado may have seemed totally normal a few days earlier (or even the day she left for the trip!) by the time she got back everything was completely whacked out, grocery stores were completely empty, and Utah had an earthquake that rattled everybody's nerves even further. She ended up moving in with Chris's brother and his wife to quarantine for two weeks. I am so grateful for family who live nearby and were willing to take her in. Quarantine has been a challenge for Aly, to say the least, but she has been able to get out running, work on her virtual school, watch a buttload of Netflix, and even do a little hiking.
So yeah, despite the craziness life moves on and we've tried to maintain as much normalcy as possible. Tuesday happened to be St. Patrick's Day, so of course we had to celebrate that as the true Irish O'Gwin's that we are. 😉 We got the St. Patty's Day lucky charms and everybody got a pot of gold (and silver) treasure.
We also had one last trip to the beach with friends before they all got closed. (Things were shutting down faster than we could keep up with stuff. We had debated going to a movie over the 4-day weekend with Chris but that never happened . . .)
It was actually a lovely day to be at the beach - 80's, big waves for boogie boarding, not too many people, and windy. Kylie and Maddy couldn't get enough of the waves!
Kate had to be buried in the sand because "it's tradition!" They made her into a sea turtle this time.
Once Kate had unburied herself from the sand, she and Mark found a piece of driftwood to throw sand at. 🤨😆 And once they had it covered with sand, they had to protect it at all costs. They spent the rest of the time building a huge moat with a wall around it to protect it from the waves. Whatever keeps them happy.
Of course, the older girls were happy just to hang out in the shallows talking. Although, Ellie and Lise did go out swimming a little earlier and the lifeguard thought Lise was in a rip current and rushed out to save her! Lise was fine and wondering who this complete stranger was talking to her. In the end, she thought it was embarrassingly funny. Overall a great last day at the beach. Hopefully, we'll get to come back sometime this season . . .
During this week, there were more major developments for Chris. First of all, the Coronavirus had an outbreak on Maxwell, AFB - the same place Chris' school is at! Luckily, he hadn't been to school in over a week, but still. The other thing is that the geobaching students (soldiers living away from their families) made their argument heard and were given permission to go home to their families to do their virtual schooling. This was such a huge relief to me and such a tender blessing for our family. I had kind of put myself into a "well, I guess we're going to have a 2-month impromptu deployment" sort of attitude, but as soon as I found out Chris could come home I immediately felt 100 times better. As the virus was continuing to spread and no end in sight, we decided to move Chris out of his apartment in case he never goes back. (We had to keep the apartment because the military said to be prepared to come back "just in case", but whatever. It's fine.)
We found out on Friday, March 20th that Chris could come home. He had a major paper to write that weekend (he's actually been writing a paper/week for the last 3 weeks and just turned in his thesis! So glad to have that out of the way. Only two papers left to go!) So anyway, I rented the UHAUL truck on Friday but didn't drive up there until Saturday afternoon to give him time to write. I got up there no problem and we got him packed up and out of there in a couple of hours - he had done a lot of the packing before I got there and of course had to do most of the heavy lifting with only minimal help from me. My guy's a stud. Anyway, it was kind of eerie being out on the roads when you knew everybody was supposed to be mainly staying home. The lack of cars on the highway, along with falling gas prices, was just another reminder of how not normal our new normal was becoming.
We spent the rest of the weekend unpacking Chris' stuff and setting up his home office in our bedroom to get him ready for school again on Monday.
This past week has been our "extended Spring Break" week, which has been pretty chill since there's not much we can go out and do. But seriously, after the previous week, I was perfectly happy to just chill and let things settle! We have managed to stay busy, however. In addition to writing (& editing!) a 31-page thesis (Chris & Stacy), we've done the following . . .
. . . played with our Lego Dragon/Fairyland (Kylie). . .
. . . watched a whole lot of Phineas and Ferb and sidewalk chalked Ducky Momo on our driveway (Kate) . . .
. . . done a lot of GPP workouts and organized memory box letters (Stacy) . . .
. . . worked on online Seminary and her FLVS driver's ed course and did a whole lot of face timing with friends (Lise) . . .
. . . mowed and edged the lawn (Chris and Kate. It was Kate's first time. Go Kater! Also, doesn't our island look beautiful with the yellow and purple bushes?) . . .
. . . finished a 1000 piece puzzle (combined effort) . . .
We have also gotten some take out, watched "a few" movies, etc.
And now here we are, two Sundays later, and about to start virtual schooling tomorrow, which I'm sure will be another huge adventure. But as I sit and look back over the past couple of weeks, all the craziness that has occurred and all that has yet to occur, the main thing I feel is the calming peace of the Spirit. I am completely aware that having the gospel in your life does not mean that nothing bad will ever happen to you or that you will not be affected by the calamities in the world. But what I do know is that because of our Savior, Jesus Christ, I do not have to go through these challenges alone. I can see His tender mercies and guiding hand all over the place in recounting the past two weeks. In addition to that, I have been sustained by His peace, which passeth all understanding. I know that no matter what the circumstances in the world may be, the Lord's purposes will move forward. He has prepared us for this day. He is at the helm, and we will weather this storm together. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to be a part of a worldwide fast with all the members of the church around the world and I can't wait for General Conference this coming weekend. It's going to be epic!
