May 2020

May brought more family togetherness, more homeschooling, and more glimpses of summer on it's way.

The month started out with a bang, as Hadley got her first ever turkey!

Bryndel worked hard to complete 1st grade, including reading exams, science projects, and spelling tests.

Piper put in much time & effort to complete 5th grade; including an in depth power point social studies project on Alaska.

Hadley also put in much time & effort completing 7th grade by doing MANY online end of the year projects.

Grandma came for a beautiful Mother's Day weekend!

We made it to Big Falls County Park,

Perrot State Park,

and Merrick State Park for a little fishing.

It felt like it might never happen back on March 17th when quarantine began, but summer is HERE!!!

Piper's elementary school career came to a special end when she was the only on in her class awarded the Presidential Excellence Award for receiving all As in her core subjects in both 4th & 5th grade as well as scoring in the advanced range in Math & Reading in the state standardized test. And while this academic award is much to be proud of, more importantly she was given the 'Polite & Dependable' award within her class 😍

Now it's time to enjoy summer!

April 2020

This will probably be known as thee longest month in history, as the days and weeks all started to run together as we sheltered in place under the WI Governor's 'Safer at Home' orders 😂!! We decided to see how many State Parks we could hike! So far we've hit: Interstate

Where we found breathtaking cliff-like views of the river, as well as beautiful, rocky, hiking paths. We hiked over 4 miles on that day.









Willow River obviously had big, wide water falls, complete with warm sunny rocks to rest and enjoy the beautiful sound! Kyle worked hard to keep Hadley from falling over the falls while hiking. Actually, we worked hard at every park to keep her safe! She didn't earn the nickname, Heedless Hadley, for nothing!

Rib Mountain boasted the 2nd highest point in all of WI! There were many cool hiking paths, some of which even overlooked ski hills that still had snow.

In many ways, it was a great month spent at home and getting out into God's beautiful world.

March 2020

March brought both the lion and the lamb. I was blessed with a long weekend in Naples with Mom, soaking up as much sun, laughter, and peace & quiet (the lamb portion of the month) as possible! The timing of my trip could NOT have been better, as the girls' quarantine break from school began the day after I returned home!

We heard the lion in the cries of students everywhere when they were sent home to be home schooled by... their moms on March 17th! But the lion really seemed to amp up in the cries of those mothers each time the home school year was lengthened, then extended, and finally succumbed to the end of the 2019-2020 school year 😭

Hadley has been such a responsible 7th grader! Getting dressed each morning and logging in to her virtual learning sites.

Piper is the first one dressed and logged in each morning! Her work has transitioned from paper & pencil, to all online learning now, and she's done it all in stride; likely making her that much more ready for middle school.

Bryndel seems to be the most delighted about having me as her teacher. She enjoys school in her PJs and snuggling up with me when it gets hard. With the exception of math games, all of her work is pencil to paper.

There have been a mix of emotions, myself included, much like the variable weather in the month of March. Some days we cannot even believe that we get to eat three meals together and not have to rush around between activities. It feels like a rainbows & unicorn day. Other days, we miss being with our people SO much that it physically hurts not to see them and hug them, and cherish the connections we have with them. That feels like a thunderous blizzard kind of day, maybe with some stink mixed in.

We have learned to take it just one day at a time. To prayerfully put ALL of this at the feet of Jesus. Trust that He is good today, just as He was yesterday and will be tomorrow. To seek out the funny and hilarious, and laugh until we cry. Cherish the family meals, family game nights, and the makeups after the inevitable fights. Find things to be grateful for each and every day. Write actual letters to people we love and miss. We have taken MANY hikes on our land, through the rain with umbrellas, and at several State Parks. More books have been read than ever before in our house, and that's saying something! Kids have even been bored. What?? And they are learning to figure that out too.

Kyle continues to see patients, and is grateful for the normalcy that brings as well as the opportunity to help patients boost their immune systems. Each week the numbers look different, but we are thankful he is still able to help some people!

I am still working as well, but from our lovely home office in the basement, complete with all of Kyle's mounted animals! This might be the hardest part for me, trying to find the balance and time for regular house keeping kinds of things (they eat SO much right now!!!), trying to keep a positive attitude while home schooling, and then sneaking in bits here or there to try and do my job at the church.  A whole lot of coffee and God's grace is getting me through (and maybe a happy hour here & there too, ha).

February 2020

February saw the end of the BB season, the 100th day of school, more sledding, fun school activities, and the blessing of celebrating my Grandpa Jerry's life with family.

Bryndel's shirt sported 100 pistachio shells (Piper made it in 1st grade, and Bryndel was thrilled to wear it!).

Piper's half birthday treats, cheese snowmen.

Coffee date with Had on one of her days off.

Bryndel had some of the best defensive moves on her BB team (She's the one in the air trying to block the shot!).

Piper played hard every single game, including the HS half time exhibition game.

Hadley also finished her season strong!

This is my Grandpa Jerry on his 70th birthday, jumping on our backyard trampoline! At 91, he still had that warm smile and sparkly eyes. I can only imagine his arrival in heaven; well done good and faithful servant.

The girls were blessed with such a special weekend of remembering Grandpa Jerry, with the bonus of being with cousins!

January 2020

2020 is off to a great start!

All three girls are deep into the BB season. Hadley at the line...

Piper letting out her hidden aggressive side out on the court (#52)...

Bryndel played in her first season, even going for some shots (purple jersey & pink shoes)!

Kyle was blessed with the opportunity to bring his love of healthy living to church this month!

Hadley's first show choir season!

Grandma came to see show choir,

Piper getting 2nd place in the school spelling bee,

And Bryndel's Y game.

January also sent Hadley off to winter retreat for church, which left these buddies to hang out!

They missed Hadley, but enjoyed their time together :)

Hadley also advanced and competed in the regional middle school math competition this month. It is definitely winter around here, but we are making the best of it!