April Round-Up!

I typically have around 40 photos in my round-up posts, but this month I only have 18! I'm not sure if that's because we've been at home all month or what, but it's different for sure. Anyway, here are some of the things we were up to in April.

When the kids bring home artwork or projects from school, I tape them to the book nook door for everyone to enjoy. All of these projects are from late February and early March, and I decided it was time for them to come down. I need to be better about doing artwork with the kids so I can have pretties on my door again. 

Brenson and Brecklyn are my two early birds. Sometimes, they get up before 6:00am! They've gotten really good about entertaining themselves for a little while until others in the house get up. It's not too unusual for me to find them reading together early in the mornings. 

I mentioned a few posts ago that Mrs. S, the kids' PE teacher, is allowing the kids to track and submit distance for running club. I know this creates extra work for her, so I am so grateful she is doing this for them. Brenson reached the 50 mile mark this month and was recognized in a video on the school FB page. He was really cute when he saw a photo of himself and his name in the video (please ignore his overgrown hair!).

Speaking of hair, both my boys are in serious need of a haircut. Sadly, all barbershops and salons in our state were forced to close temporarily due to Covid-19. Hopefully, they'll be able to open back up soon! 

Chloe turned 11 years old during the time we were quarantined. We wanted to do something special for her, so we made a banner and drove to her house. I texted Lisa to have her open the door, and we sang Happy Birthday to her as soon as she saw us. She was just tickled!

Since we've spent so much of the past six (plus) weeks isolated, we have had several extended family bible studies through Google Meets. There have been a few technical difficulties, but it's been really great to all "meet" up together and spend a little time in God's word and singing.

When we built this house, we didn't consider that someday Chris might have to work from home and need a dedicated office space. He has worked in our bedroom most of the time he's been home, but he's also tried working upstairs. Neither option is great, but he's doing his best to make it work. One great thing about him working from home, though, is that he doesn't spend 1.5-2 hours everyday commuting to and from work. When he's finished working for the day, he is home and can immediately engage with the kids or whatever needs to be done. They have loved this extra time with Daddy, and it's been great for me, too!

At the end of March, we had a hailstorm that did some pretty serious damage. Just about a week ago, we had another hail storm! This time the hail was smaller, but there was a lot of it! Craziness!

 

Hailstorms aren't the only thing we've experienced lately . . . we've also had a few tornados! Since tornados are pretty common here, we know the drill when the sirens begin to sound.

After a big storm one night, Chris and I got out to go for a walk. The sky looked just incredible!

And just a few minutes later, it had changed (still amazing, though).

Brenson has been a little accident prone lately. He cut his thumb in the garage, dripped blood from the garage to my bathroom to get a bandage, then went back outside without saying anything. I only noticed because I saw the blood dripped everywhere! Thankfully, he didn't need stitches. Just a few days later, he was playing barefooted outside and skinned a chunk off his big toe. Once again, it bled quite a bit but didn't need stitches. I'm gonna have to put this boy in a bubble!

One of the most exciting things that happened this month is that Brooke and Brecklyn both learned to ride a bike without training wheels. It's been coming for a long time (for Brooke, especially), but she was still so happy to be able to do it!

Brecklyn was a little more timid, but she got it done, too!

And finally, we lost a beloved man this month. Mr. Allen passed away on April 17th. He had struggled through some health problems recently, but seemed to be doing much better. He passed in his sleep. We have been just heartbroken about this as he has been part of our lives for 15 years now. Our kids all loved him so much and would hug him every single time they walked in the church building. 

Allen and Brooke in 2015

Allen and Brecklyn in 2015 . . . it's hard to believe he won't be sitting in that chair waiting to greet us ever again 😢.

I said it often throughout this whole strange time we're living in, but I can't imagine going through this life without a hope in things greater. Knowing that Allen loved the Lord and was always striving to do what's right brings great, great comfort to us right now. Knowing that this world isn't all there is for us also brings great comfort, and I'm so thankful for hope.