Day #115-#117

I ran down to the wharf Tuesday morning. It was early and steamy on the water and I just can’t ever run down there without being grateful for this beautiful place. 

We ran out of milk that day and the girls enjoyed waffles and pancakes that I had made and frozen. Because we are healthy, healthy, healthy, Delaney put a chocolate chip into every waffle indent. 

I took a picture of Frankie’s head that day because I realized I’d forgotten to write about it when we went camping. The area of the Potomac River we swam in had these small wooden jetties that jutted out into the water and then tapered off. Frankie must have swam right into one of the jagged jetties. She came over to me crying and blood was running down her forehead. She also got her shoulder and hand, poor girl. We’re putting lavender and coconut oil on her wounds so hopefully it doesn’t scar too badly. 

It’s been soupy hot, so we’ve just stayed inside, lazily riding out our quarantine. I meant to send this to my dad because the girls were playing with these monkeys he got them when he came out for his honor flight. 

We’ve had a lot more ants this year than we have in years past. We’re trying to buckle down and keep our floors super clean to alleviate the problem. Delaney spilled... something and we had to gently remind her to clean it up. The girls love this little vacuum my dad got us. 

I should subtitle this post “all about gifts.” Lexi and Cade gave us a Longhorn Steakhouse gift card for Christmas and since we’re stuck safe at home, we decided to jazz up our day with delicious food. We did curbside pickup and it was delish and different.  

Frankie broke out Lu’s old guitar. 

We are in full on new carpet mode. Our formal dining room is our collectall spot. We’ve got a lot of stuff upstairs. 🤦‍♀️ We’re still just bringing loads as we come down all day, so it hasn’t been a lot of work at all. I’m hoping to paint our closet tomorrow and after that every ceiling in the house will be done. Can’t wait. 

Delaney took a 3 hour bath. She wanted to wear the mermaid tail, but that would have definitely gotten too messy. She settled for goggles, homemade bath bombs, and bubbles. We sent this pic to Charlene because she gave the girls this kitty bubble bath. #gifts

For youth activities one of the talented boys taught about sketching. Addie was sketching her eye using a picture on the iPad that she had in front of the computer. Creative and fun. 

This morning the girls found my Belly Books I sometimes write in when I was pregnant with each of them. They had fun reading through some of my cravings and looking at ultrasound pictures. 

I try to act on spiritual promptings right away. Sometimes I do that, but then it’s a multi-step process. So at least a year ago i was feeling like I wanted to be closer to Christian. I ordered this mother/son journal, because what 22 year old doesn’t want to write letters to his mom back and forth? So I acted quickly, but then once it came, I fizzled. As I’ve been new carpet prepping, I found this again and filled out 3 pages. I gave it to bubba and asked him to do 3 pages and get it back to me. He came while I was tutoring Ruby. He brought the girls ice cream (#gifts!) and filled out not only 3, but 6 pages! Absolutely made my day!

We get to FaceTime with this handsome fella several times a week. For about a week now he cracks up anytime anyone says “Mimi.” It’s his favorite word and I love it so much! When Lexi and Cade say it he laughs hysterically, when one of us on FaceTime says it he usually gives us a smile or quick laugh. He’s so much fun and we just miss his guts. 

We watched Hamilton again today, this time with closed captioning and it was a whole new experience. We’re just extra and basic, we know, but we ❤️ it so much. Delaney played Cool Math while we watched. 

We took my dad some milk and visited for the first time in over a week tonight. The girls tried really hard, and mostly succeeded in social distance visiting. 

They haven’t complained much at all, but as we left we talked about how they hope Brenna’s results come back quickly so we can get back to an intermediate level of Covid life again. 

I had to buy milk earlier this week, and seeing everyone interacting carefully and with social distancing and masks still gets me emotional. It’s so very different and shows a level of care and respect, and my heart is feeling especially tender. My neighbor and friend  Lauren’s husband passed away unexpectedly yesterday. Their youngest daughter is Addie’s age and I’m so sad for them. Another ward friend’s mom, who had cancer, passed away semi-unexpectedly today. Another friend and family in our stake lost their boys that were Christian’s age just a few weeks ago in a terrible accident. My heart breaks for all of them. This is such a hard time already, but then to go through these unimaginable losses, it’s just devastating. I have faith and pray and just wish there was more I could do. It’s a helpless feeling. 

Christian’s roommate now has a coworker that has tested positive. They’ve closed the Wildewood pool because of Covid. A young friend in Virginia tested positive. And another pool has had an incident and those lifeguards are having to be tested. Numbers are surging, but deaths are going down. That seems like a good thing, but like everything else right now, it’s not that easy and there are lots of different opinions and information going around. Unrest continues. 

We cling to each other and to our covenants and our relationships with our Savior and Heavenly Father.