COVID-19: Week 2

Sunday night I started running a fever. Coughing. Sore throat. Yikes. Got tested Monday. Spent four days in bed. Test was negative, hallelujah! Stayed in bed another day because I was still feeling so weak. Back at life yesterday, carving and building four-foot foam Easter eggs for our church's drive-thru egg hunt next week. 

I have spent much of this morning looking back over the past three weeks. This season feels different for our family than it does for others, I think. We are not "stuck at home looking for stuff to do." We are trying to figure out how to get all the things done that need to be done in a day. Two work-from-home spouses and four school-from-home kids can make things feel a little overwhelming. 

But today I feel a yearning to slow down. A gentle reminder in my spirit that this is a once-in-a-lifetime season. Like a snow day, but with beautiful weather and no end date in site. 

I know things are scary right now. I'm scared sometimes. The heaviness and fear is palpable in the world and sometimes in my heart. 

But in my little home, there is now an opportunity. For conversations. For creativity. For rest. For connection. 

I have one more "push" week before Easter. But I am determined in my heart that I will not take this time with my children for granted. 

It is a gift birthed out of the world's heartache, and I will not receive it lightly. 

COVID-19: Week 1

So this is actually week 2. Week one was a whirlwind of brainstorming and creating content to move our kids church content completely online. It was a very full week, but it was so fun watching the team come together, get creative, and make things happen.

But this was week 1 under the "safer at home" protocols put in place by our Mayor. Here's a copy of the facebook post I wrote about this week:

This has been such a weird week. Writing it out here to remember our #COVIDdays and a new kind of #Thixtonadventures

1. Laundry room makeover was a fun, long-desired project (which means the rest of the house fell into complete disarray). This caused ZERO anxiety because nobody would be dropping by. #socialdistancing

2. I did venture out to Target to get some items for the makeover. I stood on a sticker in the checkout line to make sure I was 6' from the person in front of me (who was also standing on a sticker). The store was more quiet than I've ever heard it, and people still seem obsessed with toilet paper.

3. One of our chickens got sick. I had to take her behind the shed (where the kids couldn't see) and cull her. #neverdonethatbefore

4. Our backyard is basically one big mud hole where the kids played in the sprinkler for hours, two days in a row. #hellowaterbill #keptthemhappyandoutside #worthit

5. The weather is so beautiful. I have been popping allergy meds and braving the pollen. #cantresist #alsoworthit

6. I haven't put on makeup in 3 days. I also haven't looked in a mirror. #sorrykids #sorryhusband

7. In my mind, this is temporary - like only a week or so. It's taking a moment to wrap my brain around the kids being home until April 24. #orlonger

8. This week is one year since my Granddaddy went to be with Jesus. I miss him a lot. The world seems a little less... that's it, a little less... without him. In all the excitement and weirdness of the last few days, there has been an underlying sadness and a reminder that this world is not my home.

"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you: because he trusts in you." Isaiah 26:3