Home Church - 3/15/2020

Sunday, March 15, 2020 With no church, we could have slept in, but we really didn't. We got up around regular time and got showered and ready. Reagan suggested that even if we are having church at home, we should still dress up as it is still sacred. Cole balked a bit at that, but when I reminded him that Dad would be blessing the Sacrament and he would be passing it, he seemed to relent. I told him at least dress pants and a white shirt. He headed downstairs and came back in a full suit - white shirt, jacket and tie. Love that boy!!! I had found a template for an At Home Sacrament Meeting Program. We printed that off and Reagan and I chose songs to sing. I had previously asked Reagan and Cole if they would each give a little talk on whatever topic they wanted. We sang an opening hymn, said an opening prayer. Steve conducted the meeting and gave some announcements (there were no callings or releases - ha!). Then, Reagan and I played a hymn to prepare for the Sacrament. Cole stood quietly by while Steve knelt and broke the bread. Then, he blessed the bread and handed the little plate to Cole who passed it to each of us. Steve suggested we have a few moments of silence to think and pray and ponder. Then, we repeated the process with the water. I felt so humbled and blessed to have these Priesthood holders in our home and able to administer the Sacrament to us. After the Sacrament, Steve asked Reagan to give her talk. She didn't have a specific topic, but she spoke of how she had doubted some of the changes that had happened in our church in recent times. She wasn't sure 10 year old boys were actually ready to hold the Priesthood and become Deacons. She wasn't sure that the Personal Progress program should go away and be replaced by general areas to set goals in. She wasn't sure that we should be home having our third hour of church. But, as time has passed, she had realized how wonderful these changes were and how our Father in Heaven had been preparing us for this time when we would hold church at home and be more in charge of ourselves as we are sort of cut off from our leaders. She bore sweet testimony of our prophet and how inspired he has been in leading us and trying to keep us safe in this time of corona virus. Reagan finished up and Cole got up. He spoke of how he was looking forward to time home with our family and how he hopes we will be closer. He also spoke about how cool it was to have the Sacrament at home and how he thinks we have been prepared through our Come Follow Me lessons the last year at home in our "third hour of church" to now do this together. After their talks, we started our Come Follow Me lesson for that week and had a great discussion. 

By way of explanation, at the beginning of 2019, our church leaders changed our weekly church meetings from 3 hours to 2 hours. Rather than Sacrament Meeting (sort of mass - for other religions) for all members, Sunday School, divided up by age and Young Men or Young Women (divided by gender for the youth) or Priesthood or Relief Society (divided by gender for the adults), we jumped to 2 hours each week. One week would be Sacrament Meeting and Sunday School. The next week would be Sacrament Meeting and YM/YW or Priesthood and Relief Society. The next week, it would rotate back to Sunday School, etc. The third hour that we used to spend at church would now be spent at home studying the scriptures through a curriculum called Come Follow Me. The idea was that church should be home centered and church supported, rather than all church centered. Don't get me wrong - we were excited to have our third hour at home and to study with our children, rather than asking them what their teacher taught them. Plus, the adults and the youth and the primary (ages 3-12) would all be studying the same subject matter in order to allow more family discussion and preparation for Sunday meetings. The Come Follow Me curriculum was pilot tested over a four year period in many places around the world. Now, it was being implemented church wide. Yay!

We started 2019 with the Come Follow Me curriculum for The New Testament. It was wonderful to study Christ's life and ministry together each week in bite size pieces. The Come Follow Me manual would point out things in the scriptures, add commentary and ask questions for us to ponder. It was great. We started this year out with Come Follow Me studying The Book of Mormon. It has been great so far. We've read the Book of Mormon as a family numerous times, but this curriculum helped us to get more out of our reading.

ANYWAY - the point of all of this is that I'm so glad that our leaders started well over a year ago to shift from a church centered worship to a home centered worship with support from church. We were well prepared to hold our own church meetings once this crazy Covid hit. 

Then, we talked about our plans for this two weeks that we will be home together. Steve suggested that we each try to satisfy something in each of our four areas (from the Children and Youth Initiative) - Physical,  Intellectual, Social and Spiritual. We talked about how we will be doing our schoolwork for our Intellectual and how we will continue with our nightly scripture study for our Spiritual. He suggested the kiddos do something physical each day to keep their bodies healthy and strong. We also talked about ideas of things we could do, while social distancing, to satisfy our Social area. We talked about FaceTiming friends and family, having alone time with one or more of our family, talking on the phone, etc. Then, we closed with prayer. 

I thought our first at home Sacrament Meeting went really well! We spent the rest of the day doing things together or separately. We played ping pong, watched shows and just relaxed. It's interesting how tiring being home is. I think it is like when you are at the hospital with a friend or family member - it's exhausting even though you are doing nothing but sitting. I think our minds are flooded with thoughts of what is going on with this virus thing and what could potentially happen. We had prayer that night and went to sleep wondering what Monday would hold for us.

A Very Covid Friday the 13th - 3/13/2020

This was the night that we had tickets to see Reagan's bestie - Sophia - in her Chitty Chitty Bang Bang play at school. Well, we learned that the day before - on opening day - they cancelled the play (or postponed it). Sophia was devastated. So was Reagan (although I'm not sure that Reagan could have gone anyway with her hack cough). Steve is getting worried about all of this virus thing. He still has part of a chest cold and is in the age group that is considered high risk. Reagan is considered high risk as a result of her pneumonia. This is getting scary. I sent Cole to school and told him to bring home any books he might need in the future... just in case. I called the dr office right when they opened and the only available appt was at noon. Perfect - we would take it. Steve and I decided to make a run to Sam's Club in hopes there might be some things that Costco didn't have. Pretty much no dice. We bought a few additional things, just stocking up more. Then, I took Reagan to the dr. This time, they took us into a separate entrance and into a difference room. (I think they had come up with different protocols for the virus since our visit on Monday.) After we waited quite some time, the nurse came in and asked when the last time Reagan experienced a fever of over 100.4. It had been Wednesday. Then, they took us to another room where our dr met us. She said that they contacted the state about Reagan's case and that she didn't fit the profile to administer a coronavirus test. Ok - whatever you guys say. I was worried that we were wasting her time because she was so busy - the rooms were all full. She said "You NEVER waste my time!" She said that she wouldn't expect Reagan to be better by now, but she was concerned that she was still lethargic, etc. So, she gave us a Z pack on top of the antibiotic that Reagan was already taking. I asked her about going back to school while she still has this hacking cough. She said "It won't matter, school will be out by Monday." I asked what if school was still in. She said she would keep her home. Ugh - Monday would be 7 school days missed. We thanked her and left and picked up Einsteins again for Reagan to have the smoothie she loves. Then, we picked up her prescription and headed home. Eventually, it was time to pick up the carpool kiddos. Cole got off the bus and said that his teachers sent him home with all of his books just in case. By that evening, the Governor had mandated a soft closure of schools for the next two weeks. Yep - our dr was right. The plan was for the schools to put a "virtual school" type of thing into place over Monday and Tuesday and starting Wednesday, the students would have assignments and would check in online and would complete their assignments and submit them online (which we already do). Plus, I heard from our music lesson teachers. We can come into the studio, but if we would like a remote lesson, they will do that through Zoom - a video conferencing app. Things are getting REAL!!!!!

Saturday, March 14th, 2020 The kiddos were supposed to have their first Spring League Volleyball Game today, but it was cancelled "for now". Everyone seems to be following the lead of the schools being closed. Cole got up Saturday morning and put on his Harry Potter robe. He and Reagan played some games and then he had the great idea of putting up the ping pong table. In our basement, it really only fits in the family room area between the couch and the tv. We put it up (with very little room on the sides). We started playing and everyone had a great time. Reagan continued on her meds and seemed to be perking up. 

With all of the additional food we bought at Costco and Sam's Club, I decided to re-organize the pantry. I pulled everything out, sanitized each shelf and put things back in. My sis has done this for me in the past and is a pro. I kept thinking "Where would Amber put this?" It took hours and hours, but eventually, everything was back in the pantry (along with a few boxes of food that would need to go downstairs in the storage rooms). We had a family movie night and enjoyed being together.

We are always running to activities and meetings and events. Maybe this home time will be just what the doctor ordered for us!!!!

Cole's Jr. Jazz Game - 3/12/2020

Thursday, March 12, 2020. Reagan's choir was participating in a Charter School Choir Festival, so, she would have been checked out of school at 11am to go to the festival and then would have returned two hours after school let out. She hadn't practiced with her choir during the time she was home, she still was weak and lethargic and if she was going to school, I would much rather have had her be IN class - not at a choir festival. So, we decided to keep her home another day. Plus, the dr had said to come back if she was not much better by Thursday. She is better, but not MUCH better, so, I called to get an appt to see the dr. Nope - not one appointment available. Ugh!!! Steve and I had been watching this virus thing and thought it was a good chance that we would be hunkering down and staying home for a while. We hit Costco together Thursday afternoon and loaded up. They didn't have any paper products, but we bought food and treats and stocked up our kitchen and pantry. Well, Reagan was so behind by that time that I didn't want to send her on Friday anyway and she was still having this hacking cough. So, Steve and I decided to keep her home on Friday and I vowed to call the dr office the moment they opened to try to get an appt. Cole had another basketball game in the tournament, so we cancelled music class and Steve and I took him to his game. As we were walking in, we learned that one of the Jazz players had contracted Coronavirus. Well, Steve and Cole were at the game with that player just 48 hours before. Ugh!!!! 

Soon, our court was open and we started Cole's game. We ended up losing this game which threw us out of the tournament. That was just fine for us because this virus thing is scaring us. I officially hate Covid. Plus, with Reagan still feeling sick..... does she have Covid? Could whatever she has develop into Covid? I'm getting pretty worried now. 

Cole still defended well and was as scrappy as ever getting that ball.

He shot well and enjoyed himself and... really.... isn't that what Jr. Jazz is all about?

Thanks to Coach Phil and all of our teammates. We had a great time!

The church sent out an email cancelling all meetings and activities temporarily. That will be weird - no Sacrament Meeting, no Primary or Priesthood or Young Women. No mid-week activities. The upcoming food drive was cancelled as was our planned conference with all of the Ward Primary Presidents in the stake. Nothing more for now. At 8 pm, our family was assigned to clean our church building. Each of the three wards in the building takes one month. So, it was our ward's month and our family had been assigned to help (with four other families) tonight. I double checked that we were still going to clean it and the brother in charge said "We are going to clean it and lock it up. It will be clean while it is unused." I headed over myself and left the rest of the family home. Cole was healthy enough to go, but had so much homework after his game that he needed to get that done. It was a very surreal experience cleaning the church. It was sort of like when you winterize a cabin or something. We were cleaning it really well to lock it up and have it be unused.... just weird. We all said goodbye and shut the lights off and headed home.

Cole's Jr. Jazz Game - 3/11/2020

Wednesday, March 11, 2020 Reagan finally kicked that fever. She was able to do a few problems of math, but struggled to get much done. She was still lethargic and weak. Cole had another Jr. Jazz basketball game of the tournament. We felt like Reagan was well enough to stay home alone, so, we gave her my Apple Watch and Steve and I took Cole to his game. They won again!!! Plus, they had a great time!

Cole continues to improve. He can shoot and he can really defend too. He keeps it away from his opponent and looks for his teammate.

His real strength as a defender is that he is SCRAPPY!!!!!

He will go after that ball and he will not relent until the whistle is blown or until the ball is in his hands.

His moves are getting better. He occasionally tries to dribble behind his back to get it away from his opponent.

He enjoys his team and his coach. Coach Phil is Wilson's dad.

Keep it up Cole!!!!!! We love watching you play!

Reagan is Sick and Cole is Lazy - 3/10/2020

Reagan still has a fever, but she continues with the meds. She was obviously staying home another day. So, we sent Cole to school and tried to get Reagan to do some homework. She tried, but really was so tired and weak that she didn't get anything done. We continued to be concerned about the Corona virus and decided that we would stay home as much as possible and not go to stores or places that we didn't have to.

I wish I had pressed harder for them to test her for this Covid thing. I'm worried that it could be that. Well, I guess we will trust our doctor and give it some more time.

In other news, Cole may be the laziest person ever!!! Ha ha! He has this habit of lying on the floor and grabbing the ankles of anyone who passes by. They then have to wriggle free or drag him across the floor to wherever they are going. Coley!!!! GET UP!!!!!

Cole and Steve go to a Jazz Game - 3/9/2020

As I said in the last post, Cole and Steve had to leave straight from Cole's Jr. Jazz game to head to the Vivent Arena for the Utah Jazz game. The seats they gave the Jr. Jazz players weren't amazing, but it was still a fun night.

Cole is a big Donovan Mitchell fan, so, it was exciting to see him play.

It was a FULL HOUSE!!!! Such excitement in the air - Cole loved it!!!!

The Jazz Bear always gets the crowd going - SO FUN!!!!!

Cole's Jr Jazz Game - 3/9/2020

Steve took Cole to his first Jr. Jazz basketball game in the tournament. They played great!!! He had a shot where he ran full court and sunk the ball into the net just as the final buzzer went off. It wasn't a game winning shot since they were so far ahead, but it still made Cole feel great.

Each player of a Jr. Jazz team receives two tickets to a specified Jazz game. Well, Cole's tournament game was the same night as his Jazz game tickets. Doesn't that seem odd? It seems like if they are going to give the kiddos tickets to go downtown and see a game, that they would not schedule a Jr. Jazz game that night. After Cole's game, they headed to the Jazz game. They missed a bit of the game because of the scheduling of the tournament, but still had a great time.

Reagan has Pneumonia - 3/9/2020

Monday, March 9, 2020 I was determined to get Reagan to the dr. She has had four days of a fever that wasn't subsiding at all. We sent Cole to school and made the only appointment we could with the doctor, which was at 3:00 pm. I asked when we made the appointment about the Coronavirus. The lady said that the nurse said not to worry about it. We went to the appointment and asked the nurse. She said that since we didn't fly in from Asia, South Korea or Italy, Reagan wasn't in the risk category to necessitate a test for the virus. The dr listened to Reagan's chest and said she couldn't hear a part of her chest. She suspected pneumonia. We went downstairs for a chest x-ray. We waited quite some time for the results and to get back in with the dr. Yep - she was right - it was pneumonia. So, they gave us antibiotics (2 pills three times a day) and sent us on our way. The dr said that if Reagan wasn't feeling much better by Thursday, that we should come back. She said that she needed to be fever free for 24 hours before going back to school. I asked about her hacking cough. The dr said to keep her home for a while. Good thing Steve was available to pick up the carpool kiddos because we were at the dr for a long time. Reagan wanted a smoothie to cool and soothe her throat. We stopped by Einsteins and picked up food for her and everyone else and then we hit the pharmacy to get her meds. 

Rest up Reags! We need you to feel better sweet girl.

It's a Baby Shower - 3/7/2020

Friday, March 6th, Reagan couldn't go back to school until she had been 24 hours without a temperature, so, I sent Cole to school and didn't even wake Reagan up. I let her sleep as long as she could. She still had a temperature later in the day, so, we were glad that it was the weekend and she could get better as she convalesced. We put our furniture back into place and tried to get back to normal. Steve took Cole to basketball practice and I stayed with Reagan.

Saturday, March 7th, 2020, we had a baby shower for a sister in the ward. I was in charge of the group gifts, so, I wrapped everything and headed over to the baby shower. 

Our cute Primary chorister, Katie Perryman, is expecting. It's been a minute since this ward has had a baby and we are oh so excited. Kim Hoopes hosted a baby shower for Katie and I was in charge of the group gifts (as usual).

We ate, chatted, opened gifts and gave the soon to be mama some advice.

Reagan had wanted to come to the shower, but couldn't since she still had a fever. With all this Coronavirus talk, Steve was wondering if Reagan had it. We have just returned from Hawaii and we don't know who all was on our flight or if any of them have the virus. Reagan was super lethargic and basically just slept all day or she laid on the couch. She wasn't watching tv, not reading or doing anything. I was sort of trying to get her to do some of the homework she missed Thursday night and Friday at school, but she wasn't able to focus at all.

Sunday, March 8, 2020, Reagan still had a fever, so, Steve stayed home from church with her. Cole and I went to church and then came home to check on Reagan. Again, she was very lethargic and wouldn't get going at all. We thought it best to let her rest. Steve and Cole went with Shannon and Benton to Rachel's house for Andrew and Stockton's birthday party.

Having the Carpets Cleaned - 3/5/2020

 

Well, it's that time again.... time to clean the carpets. We have a 25 year warranty on the carpets we had put in after our basement flood and when we remodeled the master suite. One of the conditions of the warranty is to have the carpets cleaned at least every two years. That way, if we get a stain, 3M will send out a professional to clean the stain and if they can't get it clean, they will replace the carpet. It's time, so, we called Kit and he came to clean the carpets throughout the house.

Most of the furniture from the carpeted areas had been moved to the tiled areas. Our couch was taken apart and pushed over to the tile. We looked like a crazy house because if you came to the front door, you couldn't open it because all of the furniture from the living and dining rooms was there as well as the furniture from the playroom. Crazy!!!! If you looked through the windows, all you would see was furniture piled up from the floor several layers high. That makes for some interesting living for a day or two, but we want as much of the carpets as possible to be cleaned.

We had the carpets cleaned mid-day, so, the carpet needed to dry until the next morning. I tried to put the sections of the couch facing the tv so that we could watch tv, but all of the family room furniture was in the kitchen. Reagan had not felt well the day before, but since she didn't have a temperature and since today was a half day, I sent her to school. When the kiddos came home from school, Reagan laid down on one of the sections of the couch and fell asleep. I let her sleep for an hour or so and then tried to get her up to do her homework. She wouldn't get up. She was exhausted. Truly, she has been burning the candle at both ends. She has been up late working on homework and projects. I've been worried about her health for a long time, but she takes so long to do her homework and she will not leave and go to sleep if it isn't done. By 5pm, I took her temperature and it was 100.4. So, we got her some water and sent her to bed. Hopefully, she will feel better tomorrow morning.

Cole Jr Jazz Game - 3/4/2020

Cole is loving Jr Jazz. He gets to play with his buddy Wilson and he is improving his skills. 

As much as he loves to shoot and to score, he is quite the defensive player. That may be where his skills have improved the most.

After their games, Wilson and Cole like to play some ping pong in the rec center. So funny!

Keep it up Cole!!!!

Young Women Daddy/Daughter Night (er.... Parent/Daughter Night) - 3/3/2020

Reagan's Young Women group had an activity this week that was Daddy/Daughter Karaoke. One of the families had a little karaoke machine and they brought it and the girls and their dads would perform a song.

They were great!!! I really don't remember why Steve couldn't go this night, but I filled in. So, all of the other girls had their dads and Reagan was stuck with me :) They played a "how well do you know your parent" game. Reagan did pretty well. She knew my favorite color and my favorite treat. On the favorite movie, she couldn't remember the name, but knew it was a military lawyer show where the guy says "you can't handle the truth". Yep - Few Good Men is one of my favorites.

      

Reagan and I sang Dancing Queen by Abba.

We aren't the best singers, but we had a good time! 

After each of the daughters and dads sang, the dads had a song of their own. Not going to lie - it was a bit rough, but the point is that they love their daughters enough to engage in all of the activities of the evening. 

The girls eventually joined in with the dads and they all sang together.

After the dads, the girls had their own song. They are adorable!!!!

As we were leaving the church, I noticed on our ward's bulletin board that there were lots of pics of the youth activities. I had to snap a few pics so that I would remember what the kiddos did.

There was the $5 Dinner Challenge.

There was the ice skating activity.

There was the activity where they repurposed old clothes. Reagan took an old, white t-shirt and painted on it. It was adorable when she finished.

What a fun night!!!!!

Valentine's Decor - 3/3/2020

Once all of our Christmas decor comes down, I feel as if our house feels empty, cold and dreary. So, I LOVE putting up Valentine's decor. It's happy and pink and red and bright. It's awesome!

I moved some things around this year, but I don't think we added anything new.

I LOVE all of the custom valentines that we had made and I love to see them throughout the house.

I leave up the winter luminaries with the snowflakes because it is still winter. How I wish White Barn would come out with heart versions of those.

I put the candy hearts near the front door this year - more for those who come and go from our home.

Still loving those white Christmas trees. They have been up for a few years now.

I really love those fairy lights strung on that wall. It's the perfect place to see the pics there and they make me happy!

Oh - I think these heart candle holders are new. They are so fun!

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!!!!!