And then there was COVID and lockdown/quarantine-March through May

In February, we knew the Corona Virus had migrated from China to the US and other parts of the world. Shortly after Daniel and Sara's wedding, the world was ordered to stop in order to stop/slow down the virus. Anything that was deemed "unessential" was ordered to close. Immediately we were encouraged to stay home. If we had to go out, we needed to keep "social distance"of six feet from other people. The first few months we were told that the experts did not recommend ordinary public from wearing masks. I wore one anyway . Months later, the experts reversed their edict and said masks were definitely needed for anyone. (This made me wonder if they knew what was for the best or not?)

Our world was turned upside down. John's business basically hit a huge stopping block. In order to save money, they shut down his office and he moved his office into our spare bedroom. Everyone was ordered to work at home. The economy tanked as everything was at a standstill. Personally the kids' and my lives changed drastically. I no longer had a part time job. We couldn't meet for co-op, church, playdates, field trips, or (for Abbey the worst part) swimming. The worst for Elijah was that all his neighborhood friends were not allowed to play with anyone else. It was a pretty depressing time. 

So how did we fill our time?  

By....

Cooking! Abbey became quite a cookie baker

learned how to make bagels and found a second hand bread machine, which I made a lot of bread with

We did some arts and crafts.

I painted several pieces of furniture.

Made a new wreath for our door.

We went on lots of walks and bike rides(for Elijah). These were taken as we walked around the Art Museum.

Our house at Holden was such a blessing! I thanked God so very much for giving us a place to go to. At first, the beach was closed, but we had the pool. Eventually, the beach opened back up. 

The boys played football and basketball outside.

One of our many neighborhood walks.

Solomon didn't mind COVID at all, he has rather gotten used to us being around all the time

We played lots of cards, Chinese checkers, and Farkel.

The kids stayed in touch with their friends with Zoom and their phones/iPod. Abbey did dry land everyday with her swim team via Zoom. Our Bible study, co-ops and growth group all met via zoom.

We had family game night and grandkid night via Zoom.

Abbey also met a couple of times with an Olympic swimmer, again...via Zoom.

The strawberry fields were stripped empty everyday. We went early one morning to get some.

We had a "social distance visit" with Mom and Dad.

There was a shortage on vinyl gloves, luckily I had stocked up before COVID hit.

This became my shopping look.

One blessing of the pandemic is a closeness between Abbey and Elijah. When they were all each other had, they were forced to see the good in being together!

We still had some moments of stir craziness, and just plain sadness with our own pity party.

We survived. Things started letting up around May, but this darn virus is still going strong. At this writing, (Nov. 11), we may well have to crank zoom up again.....yuck and double yuck!

The newly Mr. and Mrs. explore Charleston with us~ March 15,2020

After a night in an air bnb, Mom, Dad and John, Jr. were ready to head back home. John, the kids and I decided while we were in Charleston, we would try to take in some history. We wanted to go to Fort Sumter, but were not able to. We decided to take a horse carriage ride and explore the area. To our happy surprise, Sara and Daniel decided to join us. We had such wonderful time.  Our guide was entertaining and very knowledgable, and Sara filled in with some interesting details. It was a lovely day.

We had quite a bit of cake left over, since the bride and groom never got to have the "first slice" ceremony, we suggested they do it there...yes, at the battery of Charleston. They both went for it with gusto, such fun to watch. John and I are tickled with our new daughter in law. She's beautiful, smart and loves to have fun!

Welcome to our family, dear Sara!

I'm so happy that Sara's dad got to see her get married before he passed away. Although does make me sad that we didn't get to have a celebration, I'd much rather her dad get to be there. God was faithful! I look back at the invitations I had made, addressed and had ready to go...oh well, it's not that important in the grand scheme of things.

and tried on my dress one last time before returning it to the store...