Be Strong and of a Good Courage

Lizzie and I recently spent a glorious afternoon visiting with my parents and aunt at a nearby cemetery.  It was a perfect social distancing activity as we arranged flowers to decorate family graves, then enjoyed a picnic lunch together and laughed and talked and shared stories for over an hour afterward.

Because I've been to several doctor's appointments lately and Lizzie has been to some mandatory in-person job training, we were extra careful to keep our distance.  That meant no hugging or getting close, even though we really wanted to.  Being unable to hug friends and family has been one of the hard parts of social distancing.  Seeing how disappointing it was for my parents and aunt to be with us but not get to hug us left with more compassion about how hard it must be to socially isolate for those who aren't surrounded with a house full of family members.

The last few months have been hard on everyone.  We've had our share of ups and downs, but we'll focus for a minute on the good stuff.  And if you aren't lucky enough to be currently surrounded by 5 of your best friends, hopefully you can enjoy our experiences vicariously.

We've played lots of games.  Board games.  Card games.  Outdoor games.

"Death Ball" keeps them busy on our neighbor's otherwise unused trampoline

We've celebrated Mother's Day and Lee's birthday.

Don't be fooled by Dillon's apron...Mckay did most of the food prep for our Mother's Day dinner

People were super nice and sent lots of nice messages and treats for Lee's birthday

Friends even decorated our door to celebrate from a distance

We've celebrated "Star Wars Day" (May the 4th be with you) with appropriate-ish hairstyles and activities.

We've worked in our yard and have even been able to help a few neighbors with their yards.

We've cooked and eaten lots of tasty and healthy food.  Yesterday I made some amazing sugar free granola.

We've practiced/reviewed/learned a lot of Spanish.

We've hiked and camped in the nearby mountains.

We've spent lots of time comparing bird species to correctly identify some of the different birds we've seen around the neighborhood.  Most unexpected find?  A turkey roaming the streets.  Most beautiful find? This Western Tanager:

While bird watching after a picnic dinner, the dried blossoms on the trees overhead rained down like a snowstorm

We've had lots of video meetings online.  Church planning meetings for our callings, city planning meetings for me, work meetings for Lee, youth activities for the kids, school instruction for the kids.

The boys escaped for 5 days in the rocks and sand, hiking and rappelling and laughing together.

And despite the "fun" it seems like we're constantly having, there have been lots of hard times:  roller coasters of emotions; lots of disappointments; missing friends and school interactions; upset life plans; canceled vacations; canceled summer camps; canceled activities; difficulties of managing school online; celebrating milestones without friends and family here, and even some physical injury and pain.

But life goes on and we're stronger for the hard stuff, right?  I'm thankful for the glimmers of light that make the dark times seem better.  How blessed we are to have each other...even if we can only give virtual hugs for now.

Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. (Joshua 1:9)