Home Schooling

If you are feeling bad for moms all over the world who are tending to their children as they learn the ropes of schooling at home then don't! There are so many pros to being quarantined. Everything has been cut out and what is left are the basic needs.....eating, sleeping, school, work and church. It's actually a huge blessing to not have to worry about setting up play dates, driving to soccer and dance, other extra activities, shopping, socializing, etc.

I'm not going to lie though. When I first found out about school being moved to each home I felt very overwhelmed. First, I don't know the curriculum or how to teach. Second, I don't know how to motivate or make it exciting. Third, I have five kids each with different teachers. Fourth, I work from home for Cotiviti February through May so I also wondered how I would get my work done each day.

It has been a learning curve. At first everyone was all over the house with chromebooks, computer, and ipad. I was frantically running all over to help each one. That went on for the first week. I was exhausted!
Kaden and Sienna are not motivated and fragile when it comes to anything hard. I had an emotional breakdown.
Over the weekend we borrowed a lap top and computer from Lowry Doors and got the art room set up as a classroom. The next week went much more smooth. I can help each of them while I do my own work.We start around 8:00-9:00. Taggart finishes by 10:30. James and Lynnlee finish around lunch time. Kaden and Sienna usually drag it out until 3:00 but I'm still working so it doesn't bother me at all. And with no where to go I don't have to let it stress me out.

Here are some other pros to the quarantine:
NO STRESSING ABOUT: getting kids to the bus on time, making school lunches, volunteering, driving kids to extracurricular activities, getting kids to bed early enough, trying to keep 5 kids reverent in sacrament meeting by myself, arranging play dates, entertaining kids' friends, and running errands. These are all good things and it's not that I don't enjoy them. It just adds pressure and stress to each day.

I was stressed out about the curriculum but I didn't need to stress. Teachers are still teaching. They are still creating lesson plans and posting it on their classroom websites or google classrooms. I just facilitate. Teachers are amazing. I know it was a huge learning curve for Taggart's and Sienna's teachers to figure out the online learning. They have been amazing though! They have videos for each subject and also lots of supplemental websites.

After dinner we have been going on bike rides, roller blading, playing basketball, or soccer four square and it has been so fun! It's nice not having to go anywhere. This is the view from North Lake Park which is a mile south of our house.

Temples

It has always been hard for me to leave my kids. No matter where I went or what the reason. From the day James was born until now it hasn’t gotten easier. Last year and this year were the first time I could go to the temple while my kids were in school and not have that difficulty of having to leave them. It has been the best! I have always loved temples. Getting to go on a frequent basis brings so much happiness into my life so there has been a void on Tuesdays when I would normally go.

I loved this part of an article from President Ballard. “Whether you are able to go to the temple or not, your home is a place you can kneel and pray,” President Ballard said. “You can feel Heavenly Father’s Spirit and you can feel the hand of the Lord in your life on your knees in your bedroom or wherever you find peace to say your prayers. It doesn’t require you to be in the temple to ‘be still and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10). That can happen every day of your life.”
With encouragement from those on the other side of the veil awaiting temple work, “it won’t be long before the temples are up and operating,” he added.

I also loved this from a fellow wife of a bishop. She said:
"I'm here to tell you, the temple is OPEN! But, not in the sense you might be expecting. Let me explain. We all know that in the Bible Dictionary it says "only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness." It also says "A temple is literally a house of the Lord, a holy sanctuary in which sacred ceremonies and ordinances of the gospel are performed by and for the living and also in behalf of the dead. A place where the Lord may come, it is the most holy of any place of worship on the earth."
So we are working on making our home a temple. It has been really good to see what music, media, and stories add to the spirit and what takes it away.

A portion of the dedicatory prayer of the Salt Lake Temple: "Or when the children of Thy people, in years to come, shall be separated, through any cause, from this place, and their hearts shall turn in remembrance of Thy promises to this holy Temple, and they shall cry unto Thee from the depths of their affliction and sorrow to extend relief and deliverance to them, we humbly entreat Thee to Turn Thine ear in mercy to them; hearken to their cries, and grant unto them the blessings for which they ask."

The gospel is exciting. It's fun to see prophecy fulfilled. I know that the Lord hasn't forgotten us and that this is all part of his plan.

Lynnlee's 10th Birthday

Lynnlee thought she would be going to school on her birthday and then coming home and going to Hang Time as a family. Then that night she would go to a movie with Marshall per tradition. Although it didn't happen that way so this will definitely be a birthday for the journal.

We woke her up with presents.

Then we had chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, eggs and orange juice. 

She got these llama pajamas for her birthday and kept them on all day.

Her day wasn't like she thought but it was still fun! She did all her school work quickly so she could play. She tried out her new roller blades and thankfully the rain held off so she could. Grandpa and Grandma Lowry came over for dinner and birthday cake. She chose ninja turtle cake which we think we will now call Baby Yoda cake because he is cooler than the ninja turtles.
She finished off the night with watching a show with Marshall since they couldn't go to the movie theater.

I can't believe she is ten! We had fun reminiscing about her birth. We pulled out the blog book and read about her first ten days of life. She had her first surgery when she was a week old! Through all of her surgeries and check ups she has always had best case scenarios. What a blessing!
She is so kind and thoughtful. She is motherly and a fun big sister to Sienna. She loves art, baking and coding on Scratch.

Home Centered Church Supported

Our first Sunday at home went well. We treated church the same as we would going to the chapel. We had sacrament meeting and primary which included singing time. Everyone got a chance to volunteer in singing time which never happens at regular primary singing time.

I found this on Facebook and I couldn't agree more:

I cannot tell you what a testimony builder this COVID 19 experience has been. Everything our governments are doing is reactive. They are trying to handle the situation as it develops, in varying stages of success.
However, almost everything our church has done has been proactive. Today, the church closed all the temples completely. On the outside, it seemed reactive. However, I see now that the Lord prepared us for this.
Less than one year ago, the church announced that couples no longer have to wait a year to get sealed if they have been married civilly. I just shrugged at the time and thought it was a great policy. However, today I see that the Lord knew the temple closures were coming and He took away the waiting period for couples who had no choice but to get married civilly while the temples were closed.
It solidified my testimony to know that Lord, through our Prophet, is not being reactive. He is being proactive.
*Come Follow Me - giving us time to become familiar with it (even if we are not perfect).
*General Conference - going to be different (even if it wasn't in any way close to our speculations)
*Closing all Temples - but already having a policy in place for couples whose lives are held in limbo!
*Age of witnesses being lowered - baptisms can be witnessed by non-priesthood holders so with 1 priesthood and 2 women, the baptism can still happen.
*Ministering - no longer focusing on visiting people in their homes but, just a general, personal caring connection.
*Online Seminary classes - An amazing tool to have that allow High School kids to continue to learn without having to physically attend class.
*Youth Changes in age - Young Men who were turning 12 this year have already received the priesthood at the beginning of the year instead of after the pandemic (hopefully) ends making them able to pass the sacrament in their homes under the direction of their bishops.
*Also, so grateful for Personal Revelation, Emergency Preparedness and Food Storage always taught by the Church.
IF YOU'RE LOOKING, THE SIGNS ARE EVERYWHERE!!!


I would also like to add:
*The church saves and has savings to make it through tough times.
*"The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives."-Pres. Nelson Wow! This is exactly what we need to help us get through quarantine.
*In the last few years the apostles have been teaching Sabbath Day observance and how we are to spend our sabbath days.
*Come Follow Me is home centered church supported and we have had over a year to prepare for home church.
*The prophet has invited us to seek personal revelation, and hear him. While we are navigating this time of uncertainty we can't go wrong if we are following personal revelation and what the Lord wants us to do individually.

One of my favorite scriptures:

 

 

Inklings

I have been apart of a group called Inklings. Thanks to my mom for finding out about it and inviting me to join in. As a group we have been studying the chapters the prophet asked. It has been in depth and so enjoyable. I am a great scripture reader but I'm terrible at studying the scriptures. I have a hard time measuring my scripture amount each day when I study but when I read I can set a measurable goal and then I feel like I've completed the task for the day. This group has taught me how to effectively study the scriptures. I look back at how much I've learned since October and it's very exciting.
I liked how it was a once a week study assignment so I didn't feel overwhelmed. I really looked forward to Thursday's study. There were a few scripture study nights organized by Emily Freeman throughout the last few months. They were streamed from Facebook. Then the last gathering was held at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi. I got tickets for my mom and I to go. It's amazing the inspiration that was involved with this. Emily was inspired to form this group. Then she was inspired to plan the final Inklings night on March 12th instead of March 19th. She told us all the story of how a few months ago when she was planning the event she debated between the two dates. She prayed to know which date. Then she decided on the 12th and it's a good thing she did. We were all in quarantine on March 16th so the event would have been cancelled on March 19th.
Inklings night was so amazing. We studied the chapters again and she added her insight plus had some guests to add to it. She had study books with the chapters, quotes, words, phrases and song lyrics. I was spiritually filled. Thanks mom for a fun night!

Teacher Appreciation Week

I'm so glad Teacher Appreciation week came before the quarantine started. The committee put on an amazing week for all of the staff at Dry Creek. The theme was "Teachers plant seeds that last forever." An amazing lady on our committee made this flower market and all of these yummy candy flowers. Mixed in were flowers made from coffee filters and fake flowers and plants.

I was over the soda station. I made sure to have a good variety of soda, Italian syrups and cups with lids. I was happy with how it turned out.

Sundance

Trying to figure out the most affordable way to ski is tricky. James doesn't qualify for the Epic School Kids pass anymore. So Marshall and I didn't get passes to Park City. I do think with my bunion surgery only 6 months ago that it was good for me not to be skiing a lot.

James got the 6th grade pass which gets him into each resort one time. He went with friends to different resorts a few times. Marshall took him and Drew to Sundance so James could use his pass there.

It's only appropriate for Marshall to get a picture with this sign. I think the ski runs in this bowl are challenging like it is being a bishop :)

Random Dump

It's time for the bi-monthly random picture dump.

We went to the Museum of Natural Curiosity to see the new Thomas Edison exhibit. It was fun and I don't have pictures of it but I do have pictures of the water area.

Bubble blowing contest at the February birthday party. I think Lynnlee won out of the kids and Marshall out of the adults.

  Kaden got to go skiing with a buddy. The night he tried on the skis everyone wanted to try them out.

 Kaden had a blast skiing with his buddy Hayden.

I saw this idea from Six Sister's Stuff. I gathered the supplies and Lynnlee made them with a little help. I'm so glad they turned out and it wasn't a Pinterest Fail.

We have a few large boxes around the house. James made a chair with it and kept me company while I worked one afternoon.

We went to the library to get books before everything closed down. The minis were playing dress ups and so naturally they wanted to wear them to the library. 

Saturday morning run sky...

Roots Tech and Temples

We went to family day at Roots Tech. We parked away from the Salt Palace so we could take Trax. The kids thought it was pretty great. The only downside was that we thought we had all afternoon and that it closed at 6:00. We got there at 2:00 and found out it was closing at 3:00. We saw a few booths and exhibits and made the most of it. Just ignore my dot head. I had a mole removed and the band-aid didn't blend in very well.

 We got to meet Dan from Relative Race! We love Relative Race so we were pretty excited!

 We checked out the new temple exhibit at the church history museum. It was so fun! You can learn about all of the temples, build temples, color temples, and more :)

We finished off the day with dinner at Texas Roadhouse. We haven't been out to dinner as a family in a long time because everyone is usually too crazy. We have come a long way since then ecause everyone was well behaved and we didn't even have to take anyone to the restroom.

Daddy Daughter Dance

Lynnlee has really enjoyed the new primary activities this year. Her most favorite was the daddy daughter dance. Megan and Sean Moe came and taught everyone some dance steps. Such a fun night for her and Marshall!

 Lynnlee and her friend Lainey...

Sister's Time

Katie came to visit! We had so much fun spending time with her!

 My dad, sisters and I went skiing to Deer Valley. What a cool opportunity to ski together. It's something we've done all our lives, something my dad started and I'm so thankful he took the time and effort to teach us. I can't think of another sport that we all enjoy doing together. It was pretty special.

 It was a beautiful day. So sunny and warm for February. I mean it wasn't spring skiing warm but warm in that we weren't freezing all day. Also no wind which is my favorite.

 This is for the kids...

 Katie and I have ski runs named after us so it was fun to get a picture with the signs.

 This is the ski run that over looks the Heber Valley. We skied at Deer Valley growing up and took pictures here annually.

My mom hung out in the lodge and then joined us for lunch. SO yummy and brought back so many good memories.

One other night while Katie was visiting we went to dinner and a movie. We ate at Zupas and saw the movie Call of the Wild.
It was so nice to spend time with her. The timing was perfect too before the Corona virus madness started.