THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for the sense of hearing. What's one thing you're thankful for?

QUARANTINE DATE NIGHT

I woke from a nap yesterday afternoon and let the little Ws know they were in charge of making dinner. They kicked things up a notch and told us they were taking charge of Family Fun Friday. The end result? A quarantine date night for me and Tim!

The kids sent us to our room later in the evening and brought us dinner in bed, including a sneaky DoorDash delivery of the breadsticks we love from Fazoli's, then closed the door and ate together at the dining table. They took turns coming in to see if we needed anything and eventually cleared our plates. (Sidenote: I think we both get a Fazoli's freebie if you use my referral code, BETHAN3111, for an online order. Their breadsticks are so yummy!)

We were sent to the living room next and found they'd rearranged furniture for a cozy movie night. The couch was pulled close to the TV, a couple blankets were folded on it, and the coffee table was set in front of us with a couple slices of cheesecake from Fazoli's (which is actually made by The Cheesecake Factory) and water. The TV had an old Fred MacMurray movie, Son of Flubber, loaded and ready to go.

They said the rest of the night was ours, then shut themselves in the boys' room to hang out for the duration of the evening and we didn't talk to them again until this morning. Such a fun way to spend a Friday night!

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THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for all the pastors, including many who have figured out live streaming on the fly, who have spent the last several weeks teaching in empty homes and sanctuaries, continuing to provide spiritual guidance, encouragement, and a sense of normalcy to church families whose faces they can't see. What's something that you're thankful for?

A DEHYDRATING EXPERIMENT

We frequently dehydrate apples and bananas, but that's about as far as we've branched out in our food drying activity. My dad and grandpa have both shared some of their successful dehydrating ideas, so we finally tried one of them this week.

Monday afternoon, at my grandpa's suggestion, we put two trays of pineapple in our dehydrator, one fresh and one canned, and let it run for about 24 hours. The end result was dried pineapple with two distinctly different colors and textures. The fresh pineapple was yellow and crispy. The canned was orange and chewy. The canned was also a bit sweeter than the fresh. They were both good, but most Ws preferred the canned version. 

If you're looking for a dehydrator, we have an older model of the American Harvest Snackmaster that we're happy with. If you already have one, what are some of your favorite things to dehydrate?

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THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for hot tea made with fresh mint. What's something you're thankful for?

LONG-DISTANCE LOVE

We're about five weeks into this season of social distancing, three since our governor issued an executive order to stay at home unless doing essential business, which means the Ws haven't gone anywhere or spent time with friends in quite a while. 

Tim has continued working full-time, but has otherwise been home. Silas left for work one week, worked remotely for two weeks, went in for a few hours one day during week four, and just left for a brief time at work today in week five. Devon's continued his job helping an elderly couple in town, taking extra precautions so they never come near each other, but has otherwise been home. Naomi and Tyler haven't left home at all in almost five weeks. I've left for two grocery shopping trips in a month and don't plan to leave for another two weeks or more, but have otherwise been home. The only other exception to us being home is taking several walks around our neighborhood. We miss people, of course, but understand this won't last forever. 

It can feel like forever, though. Of all the Ws, I suspect that forever feeling is probably strongest for Silas. I don't know the exact date he last saw Natie, but it's been about four weeks. That's a long time when you only live 15 minutes apart. FaceTime has made it possible for them to talk regularly and interact with each other's families, but it's obviously not the same as hanging out in person. I've told him this is similar to (although obviously not exactly the same as) the experience of many couples who have long-distance relationships, whether because they're going to school in separate states, one travels a lot for work, or another is deployed for long periods of time. The good news is this time apart will be relatively short in the scheme of things. 

One of the ways they've stayed connected during social distancing is to mail letters back and forth, which reminded me of the early days of Tim and I dating. 

Prior to the start of our relationship, I'd committed to spending a summer in Russia. That meant saying goodbye at the end of the school year so Tim could leave Ashland to spend a couple months working in Portland and I could leave the country. One of the things we did to feel connected during that time apart was to buy journals. We spent the summer writing to each other in them, swapping to read what the other wrote when we eventually reunited. Nine weeks without seeing each other, seven and a half weeks without any contact of any kind. It was so hard! 

I pulled those journals out yesterday and skimmed over their pages for the first time in several years, remembering the details of our lives during that season - fun things we were doing, decisions being made, interesting experiences, what we cared about, who we spent time with, stressful situations. The time apart wasn't something we'd have chosen, but we were intentional about finding ways to invest in our relationship when we couldn't be together.

If you find yourself unable to be with the person you're dating because of the pandemic (or for any other reason, for that matter), I encourage you to find ways to stay connected beyond screen interaction. Keep up with those video chats, for sure, but also have something tangible you can look back on later to remember how you kept your relationship a priority while you were separated.

RANDOM PICTURES FROM THE FIRST HALF OF APRIL

Just a little glimpse of life during the first half of the month.

4/1 - The little Ws serenaded Papa for his birthday, which was my dad's first FB video chat.

Silas enjoyed seeing the puppet a friend made and wanted to show him.

4/2 - Naomi, Devon, and Silas hunkered down for a game of Monotony ... I mean Monopoly, while I made dinner.

While the bigs played board games inside, Tyler levitated outside.

And flipped.

And was just his cute self.

The day was mostly good, but there was a small amount of time that required being locked in my room with the "first aid kit" my wise husband gave me at Christmas. Emergency chocolate is a real thing. 

Getting a marital pep talk. This one may have been pre-recorded for a group of gals, but Judy's given me countless private pep talks in several areas of my life for many years. Twelve years ago, almost exactly, I sat in on one of her "To Love Their Husbands" series at the church office back when it was in Tualatin. I'd been married to Tim for just shy of nine years at that point and still have a particular point she made all those years ago come to mind on a regular basis. It's good stuff. Not always comfortable or easy, but good stuff rarely is.

Now, coming up on our twenty-first anniversary in June, I've been watching the "To Love Their Husbands" series she's recording during this pandemic. I've been meeting with her for 14 years, which means she knows all the junk in my life. I'm so grateful for her gentle way of validating how women feel and giving comfort when life's hard, while simultaneously pointing a steady finger back to the Lord and kindly calling us out when we need to be reprimanded.

4/3 - Tyler asked me to play a game in a school book with him. He won, of course.

Smiles with Naomi and Tyler.

Silly faces with Naomi and Tyler.

Smiling girls.

Silly girls.

Just hanging out.

The end caps watching The Andy Griffith Show.

The middles watching Ralph Breaks the Internet.

4/4 - Tim cleaned out an old computer that had water spilled on it.

Devon enjoyed some time spent chatting with friends.

4/6 - Streamed church again. Took a picture for social media because our church is adding a stream of pictures at the end of each weekend service to help our church family feel connected while we're all apart. 

All 6 Ws went for a walk after church.

Raise your hand if your family had a vehicle similar to this station wagon at some point. Tim found a car just like the one his family drove out to Oregon in. My family also had one, but it was all white.

 

This goofball ate lunch outside.

Post-dinner walk with just the adults.

4/7 - A friend's been posting a bunch of coronavirus-related memes on Facebook each morning. This particular morning Tyler joined me and read all of them. In case you're interested, she puts those posts on a public setting so anyone on Facebook can get some morning laughs.

Naomi was looking all grown up, so I made her pose for a picture.

We had to throw in a side shot so Pam could see that Naomi was wearing shoes they bought together during one of their outings.

Just some masked man who sent me his picture.

4/9 - I set a goal to not leave home, except for walks, for two weeks. This was day thirteen and I went on a huge shopping trip. New goal? Three weeks. Why did I cave a day early this time? Because I'd gotten dressed. Couldn't guarantee that would happen the next day.

A friend set up a chat for the gals who sit near each other at church. Or sat, as the case may be. And will sit again, someday. Several couldn't make it, but a few could and the rest will join another time. So thankful for a chance to visit with them!

4/10 - The Pampered Chef shirt that turned into jams, my trusty, plaid jams shorts, and two different kinds of slipper socks were my outfit for the day. After pulling an unplanned all-nighter, there's no way I was getting dressed or leaving home on Friday. It's a good thing I went grocery shopping the day before!

Tyler got some happy mail yesterday that included this portrait of him with the friend who sent it. How sweet is that? I snapped a picture of it while he worked on a return letter today.

We started a book while Devry and Michael were here last month, but didn't have time to finish it before they left. Thanks to their awesome grandma's cooperation, we were able to video chat each weekday afternoon as I read whatever chapter was next until we finally read the last chapter this afternoon.

The book was good, but all 6 Ws have also enjoyed the time spent chatting about our days with all three of them, seeing what Devry's created, having Michael show us the tooth he lost, and laughing at all the funny filters they use. And I've loved the chance to visit with Cindy.

I got a message from someone a few doors down saying he was putting some Lego sets in his yard and wondered if our kids wanted any. Naomi and Tyler blitzed right over. "He's amazing!", Tyler shouted as he went out the door, before he even knew what was available. They split the loot with a neighborhood friend, each little W coming home with a set to play with and one to eat. Good neighbors, happy kids!

4/11 - This is the face of a kid who decided to work ahead and finished his sophomore year about thirty seconds before this picture was taken. Way to go, Devon!

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EASTER & RESURRECTION SUNDAY - 2020

I boiled eggs yesterday afternoon and all 6 Ws gathered around the table later in the evening to use all the dyeing options Naomi had set up. I always sit and visit while other Ws dye eggs, but I participated this year. Tim always participates, but just sat and visited this year while the rest of us dyed. Three kids chose to participate, the fourth ended up decorating more eggs than I required them to dye. Lots of laughter, a little irritation, and 54 colorful eggs later, we finished. The family that lives together, dyes together!

I dyed seven eggs, which is probably more than I've dyed in as many years. This green and blue B's my favorite because, well, green and blue. If only I'd made a W to match!

This morning was time for some Easter fun. I have a rule that egg hunt pictures be taken before the hunt, not after, so everyone is still in a good mood. Someone thinks it's funny to dress matching because, with the exception of their 20th anniversary celebration, it makes their spouse twitch to match. Let the record state I got dressed before Tim this morning.

The sibs before they headed off to find eggs.

With the egg hunt and baskets (which are just small collections of candy and snacks I either toss in paper bags or set in piles on the table) done, it was time to hunker down in the living room and celebrate Resurrection Sunday online. Our church has always streamed their services, but in this season of social distancing they've asked people to post pictures on social media and tag the church if they're streaming. The church then does a stream of those pictures when the service is over. We wouldn't normally be home streaming, and we wouldn't be posting pictures of ourselves streaming if we happened to be home sick or something, but we love seeing so many other people from our church family and are contributing to this attempt to help us all feel connected until we can gather in the building again.

As a sidenote, I don't think I've ever bought Costco's desserts, but I spontaneously called the little Ws from the store during my giant shopping trip on Thursday to see if they'd rather have tuxedo chocolate mousse or cheesecake. I figured it would be a bright spot in a funky season of life, a worthwhile indulgence.

They voted 3 to 1 for cheesecake. I felt bad for the 1, so I bought both. Evidently this is what pandemic-style Easter Eve and Easter looks like for the Ws. Earned some "cool mom" points, which I'm always in need of, and have enough mouths to feed that I couldn't be as gluttonous as I'd have been on my own.

Tuxedo chocolate mousse on Saturday night.  

 Cheesecake, with strawberries from WinCo, on Sunday night.

Clarification: I've eaten both of these things before, but don't think I've ever spent my own money on them. Also, churros don't count as a Costco dessert because they come from the food court instead of the main store. 😉

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for Mario C., the Amazon customer service representative who quickly and kindly helped me when I was super frustrated after being locked out of my account and the only online security question I was repeatedly given was for a Visa gift card that's long gone. What's one thing that you're thankful for?

WEDDING DRESS TIME

I was sorting through some old things yesterday and came across my wedding dress. Naomi asked if we could both try it on, so we did. 

So fun! I remembered that she'd tried it on once before, but hadn't realized it was so long ago. She's grown quite a bit since then!

JUST A BRAG ON MY HUSBAND

I've always said one of the things I appreciate most about Tim is that he's willing to do whatever it takes to put food on the table. It doesn't matter if it's something totally new to him, his level of education exceeds what's required for the task, or the job is only short-term. His work ethic has been a huge blessing to our family!

As most of you know, the last several years have been interesting in the employment department. Tim overcame multiple obstacles to get his BA (2001) and MAT (2005) which led to a career as a teacher. After several years of teaching, he persevered through challenging circumstances and went on to get his IAL (2013), allowing him to be a school administrator. Then, despite getting awesome grades and rave reviews from everyone - students, classified staff, licensed teachers, administrators, and professors in his admin program - along the way, as well as having multiple situations where he was told during interviews that a district wanted to hire him, he couldn't land a job for several years.

People often asked if we should just accept that education was a closed door. We were certainly open to Tim moving on to something different, but no other doors opened. We're not a flashy family and live comfortably on less than most people would assume a family of six needs, but taking an entry level job at minimum wage just wasn't going to cut it. Meanwhile, education continued to feed our family and pay our bills through subbing during the school year and God always provided temporary jobs when subbing dried up in the summer. So we just stayed the course.

Until we didn't.

Tim was presented with a new opportunity. He took it. We committed to giving it one year, then we'd reevaluate.

It's now been eighteen months since he joined the International Union of Operating Engineers and he loves it. He's learned new things, met new people, and had new experiences. He's been a crane oiler, elevator operator, and passed the first of multiple crane operator license tests he plans to master. He's lived in the Gorge part-time working on a railroad, driven to Eugene each morning to work at Hayward Field, worked high on the new Multnomah County Central Courthouse with a great view of the Willamette River, and been part of a project on MLK in Portland. Each job lasts several months and has different shift hours, so our family has had to acclimate to a new normal from time to time, but it's been a positive experience and we're grateful for this season of our lives.

As for me, I'm so very thankful for a husband who works hard, never complains about funky hours or long days, and always contributes to household and family responsibilities when he's home. I'm really proud of how he's always kept a positive attitude in the midst of unstable employment. He's grabbed this mid-life career change by the horns, choosing to cheerfully look forward to a new season and make the best of it instead of wallowing in frustration about what feels to me like a whole lot of wasted time, money, and sacrifice for the previous season. He just does the best he can with whatever's in front of him, then rolls with the punches.

Why has it taken me so long to say all this? The career change wasn't a secret and he didn't mind if I shared the new situation if it came up naturally in conversation, but he specifically asked that I not make an announcement. So I've restrained my chatty self, resisted the urge to use part of my huge daily allotment of words, and respected his wishes.

A few days ago I asked for a picture of him in one of his union hats after work. He complied. Later I asked if he minded if I did a blog post saying I was proud of how he's handled his career change, as doing so would naturally require talking about the fact he's no longer working in the education field. He declined. Then he changed his mind the next day. So now I've told all of you why I think he's awesome.

And now I'll show you how difficult he makes my life.

I asked for a picture and got this cheesy face.

Tried again and got this nonsense.

Begged and got something closer to normal.

Finally got him to laugh and snapped a picture.

And that's that. Just a steady, hard-working guy who does whatever it takes to pay the bills and makes time with his family a priority. 

What? You want a picture of him on the job? Ok, fine. This was from a few days ago, his first day on a warm, internal elevator after months on a cold, exterior one.

And now that's really that.