7 Things I Learned This Summer

I’m so excited to take part in “What I Learned” hosted every quarter by, Emily P Freeman: an author, podcaster, and co-founder of Hope*Writers an online community for writers. Honestly, our summer was busier than I expected with a mini vacation aka our camping trip, starting our new 2020-21 school year, and attending my brother-in-law’s wedding in East Texas. All things considered, it’s been good to reflect over my summer as a new season is just around the corner.

7 Things I Learned this Summer

1. Covid-19 has become personal. 

Throughout the summer, this global pandemic has gradually became much more personal, because lots of people I love have had Covid-19. This disease continues to rage with little sign of letting up. As I said, some of my own family and friends have been sick with this virus. It’s been hard to be thousands of miles away feeling helpless watching those I love struggling through the challenges presented as a result of this sickness. It’s just been heartbreaking. As a result, I’ve been on bended knee on their behalf asking for healing and God’s grace to rain down on them during this time. I know God hears each and every one of my prayers and I will continue to lift them up in constant prayer. 

2. My Mom came to visit!! 

Before we started our new 2020-21 homeschool year, my Mom flew to Colorado for a week long visit!! I hadn’t seen my Mom in almost a year and I was so thankful to be able to spend time with her this summer. We played board games, ate delicious food, went shopping, and my Mom even taught the girls how to sew a pillow. They each got to pick their own fabric and Mom helped each of them make their very own small pillow. Even though it was so hot, we had an incredible visit and can’t wait to see you again. We love you to the moon an back Mom!!

3. I’ve been reading lots of books.

Do you remember my blog post last month? It was called, “Cultivating a Love for Reading” where I shared my own reading struggles. It’s been good to see how God is helping me overcome my reading struggles in some amazing ways. One of them being, I’ve read and listened to more books this summer, than any other time in my life!! I’m so thankful with God’s help, I have been able to make reading books a priority this summer. Seriously, if I can do this...anyone can!! All that being said, here are some of my very favorite non-fiction books I read this summer.

1. “Cozy Minimalist Home: More Style, Less Stuff” by, Myquillyn Smith

2. “Susie: The Life and Legacy of Susannah Spurgeon“ by, Ray Rhodes Jr

3. “The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn’t, and Get Stuff Done” by, Kendra Adachi

4. “Educated: A Memoir” by, Tara Westover

5. “A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II” by, Sonia Purnell 

4. Camping with small kids, meant no one got any sleep.

 Back in July, after being in lockdown for several months, we thought it would be fun to take the kids camping for a few days. We all needed a break from being at home non-stop, so camping seemed like a good way to let the kids have a break while still social distancing ourselves from others. Even though we were all in one tent and up at the crack of dawn, it was fun to get away. To my surprise, the girls can’t wait to go camping again next year!!

5. My twins reached some big milestones!!

This summer, my twins turned 2 years old!! Additionally, over the past few months, they have each reached some big milestones. The twins are now in their own big girl bed and they said, “Goodbye” to their pacifiers. It’s been an exciting few months and I am so proud of them. Honestly, it’s been hard on my heart, because I still want to pretend they’re my little babies FOREVER!! Pray I can enjoy each stage of life with them, not wishing us to be too far ahead or behind. 

6. Summer haircuts are the best.

After several months of the salons being closed, things have slowly started to open up again in Colorado. As soon as they began to open up again, my sister-in-law, Hannah and I had a fun girls day going out to get out hair done. It’s been so hot here and we were each excited for a little change. My hairdresser was so kind and gave me one of the best haircuts I’ve ever experienced!! It was such a fun way to celebrate the new summer season. 

7. Josh and Katya’s Wedding!

As summer began to wind down, we got to go to Josh (my brother-in-law) and Katya’s wedding in Longview, Texas. I was nervous about the current pandemic, but so thankful we were able to go see our family and friends during this time. Of course their were challenges, but at the end of the day we’re praising the Lord for His protection over us as we traveled to and from the wedding. It was a joy to watch all my girls walk down the aisle as flower girls!! We’re thankful to be apart of Josh’s big day and so excited Katya is officially apart of our family.

Now it’s your turn, what have you learned this Summer?

10 Things I Learned This Spring

I’m so excited to take part in “What I Learned” hosted every quarter by, Emily P Freeman: an author, podcaster, and co-founder of Hope*Writers an online community for writers. I’ve been in lockdown/quarantine since mid-March. As a result, this spring 2020 I want to shift my focus slightly as I process the “10 Things I Learned during Covid-19” instead. I hope you enjoy this special twist and can relate to some of the things I’ve experienced this past quarter.

10 Things I Learned during Covid-19 

1. I love puzzles. 

It’s true, I love puzzles and I’ve always wanted my own puzzle table. At the end of last year, my dream came true! My brother-in-law, Josh, gave us back an old table of ours which I quickly decided would be the perfect puzzle table in our homeschool room. Now, we’ve been in lockdown since mid-March and we’ve put our puzzle table to good use. To date, we’ve finished 8 quarantine puzzles, which has helped us exercise our patience and perseverance with each and every puzzle. My sister-in-law, Hannah, even helped me finish a 1,000 piece puzzle in just one afternoon.  

2. Laughter is the best medicine.

Laughter has truly been the best medicine throughout this global crisis. The memes have been hysterical and bring me joy when I don’t feel overwhelmed and like I can’t do this anymore. We’ve also been listening to some hilarious songs, which help me not to feel so alone. Click the links below to check out their music videos now!!

“Wash Yo Hands” by, Danny Gokey 

“Quarantine Life” by, Matthew West

3. Where is all the toilet paper?

Honestly, I never thought this would be an issue. However, shortly after the United States lockdowns began, all the the toilet paper started to disappear. There has never been a time in my life when I could not find toilet paper. Yet, this global pandemic has everyone spooked and suddenly all the toilet paper was gone. I prayed over our toilet paper and that it would be enough for all of us until I could find some again. I’m thankful, because the Lord answered my prayers and helped me to find a new package of toilet paper before ours ran out at the house. Praising the Lord for His goodness in our life!!

4. I’ve been craving comfort foods. 

Not knowing what groceries would be available at the store, made it hard to meal plan. I tried my best to stick to some simple staples which I had on hand. Overall, I’ve just been craving comfort foods like crazy: chicken pot pie, lasagna, noodles and sauce, Chinese food, and so much more! Not the healthiest foods, but I’ve tried to make do with what I could find.

5. Our 14 days of self-imposed quarantine was the worst. 

At one point this Spring, our family need to be in a 14 day quarantine and it was so hard. It was the most challenging for the kids, because we stayed home day after day, not going to the store or for our daily walk. I tried my best to have a good attitude, but by day 10, I felt like I was going to go crazy! I was just as moody as the kids and longed for a break. God protected us from the Coronavirus and gave us strength to finish strong. I couldn’t not have done it without Him.

6. We’ve finished lots school. 

We started our 2019-2020 school year later than normal. However, as a result of almost 2 months in quarantine we’re almost done with school. I’m very thankful for my girls hard work, which has allowed us to get so much homeschool done with just 2 weeks left!! Additionally, Hannah, was home a lot and she had fun teaching art to the girls. On top of everything else, I’ve even had time to plan out our curriculum for next year. What an answer to prayer!!

7. Zoom calls with our family has been priceless. 

It took a while for me to get on the Zoom bandwagon. However, last month Jon’s family decided we should do a Zoom call, so we could all be together. At first it was hard, but once my girls went to bed it was fun to spend time with family and “be together” with one another for a little while without the global pandemic looming overhead. As a result, we enjoyed it so much, we have decided to do lots of Zoom calls over the past few weeks. They’ve been such a blessing!!

8. So many packages.... 

Haha!! I almost didn’t want to write about this one, but it’s so true. The amount of packages being delivered to our house has grown exponentially since the quarantines began. Anything you can think of...diapers, wipes, school curriculum, necessary components for science projects, and so much more!! Seriously, it’s become such a regular occurrence, my girls will get upset if we don’t have any packages delivered that day.

9. I miss church.

We’ve tried our best to participate in online church, but it’s been challenging with the kids. It’s take awhile, but recently I’ve realized just how much I miss church. The gathering of believers, worshiping God, and growing in my love of God through a Pastor’s teaching. I’ve missed this so much and I can’t wait until God’s local church can meet again once this global pandemic has ended.

10. God is here! 

I’m not alone, because God is here. He has been faithful to Be with us each and everyday. I couldn’t do this without Him. He even worked out each and every detail for Jordan and Hannah’s wedding. He blessed them with the most incredible wedding and it was truly a testimony to God and His goodness. No matter what life looks like right now, remember God is with you. You’re not alone, because we’re all struggling to navigate this “new” normal right now.

Now it’s your turn, what have you learned this Spring?

6 Things I Learned This Winter

I’m so excited to take part in “What I Learned” hosted every quarter by, Emily P Freeman: an author, podcaster, and co-founder of Hope*Writers an online community for writers. Honestly, winter was crazy for me and my family, because we just moved into our new home in Colorado. Thankfully, we were able to get our stuff unpacked quickly. However, it takes time to settle in after a big move. Ever since the New Year began, we've been honing in on a good routine for our family, which has given us time to work on homeschool while my twins are napping.

6 Things I Learned This Winter

1. Photoshoots in the snow with small children aren’t ideal. 

For Christmas, my brother-in-law, Josh, and his girlfriend, Katya, came to visit for for holidays. We were so excited, because Josh’s plan was to propose while he was in town!! Josh told Katya the plan was to take family photos, which was just a cover for the surprise engagement. The morning of the proposal it was really snowing outside, so we all got bundled up and headed to do our photoshoot. Honestly, it was freezing cold and in most of our family pictures my poor girls aren’t very crying and upset. We were happy to be there for Josh and Katya, but I won’t be doing another winter photoshoot anytime soon.

2. I can’t listen to true crime podcasts when I’m home alone. 

Every week, I listen to The Popcast with Knox McCoy and Jamie B Golden. Back in January, they released an episode called, “True Crime in Pop Culture”. They recommended lots of different true crime podcasts, books, and tv shows. I started listening to true crime podcasts before when we lived in Hong Kong, so I was excited to have some new true crime recommendations from Knox and Jamie. So, I downloaded some new episodes and starting listening. It’s safe to say, I listened to way too many true crime episodes, because by the end of the night I was scared and couldn’t go to sleep. From then on, I’ll decided to limit my true crime podcasts to when my husband’s home, so I’m not scared to death!!

3. “Let’s Take the Long Way Home” by, Gail Caldwell is a MUST READ. 

During one of my Hope*Writers Tuesday Teachings, Marion Roach Smith taught us about writing memoirs. She also recommended some of her favorite memoirs one of them being, “Let’s Take the Long Way Home” by, Gail Caldwell. I was so thrilled to find this book on Hoopla and started listening right away. I couldn’t put it down and listened to the whole book in just one day!! The way Gail shares about her friendship with Caroline Knapp is incredible. I gave it five stars on my Goodreads and can’t wait to read Caroline’s known memoir called, “Drinking: A Love Story”.

4. Taking care of myself, by making my writing a priority again. 

Last year, I joined Hope*Writers to gain support from a writing community as I write my very first book. It’s an exciting time and my girls can’t wait for my book to be finished, so they can buy it. They’re so funny. I’m thankful to be able to make my writing a priority again as I write on my blog, email my girls, and write in my book. I am a writer and I’m thankful to God for helping me to remember who I am.

5. Don’t question Colorado’s ability to produce snow. 

Recently, my family moved to Colorado. In the first week, we snowed for four days straight. I love snow! Honestly, I was excited to have so much snow which welcomed us to our new home. Then, things seemed to taper off and we didn’t have as much snow as I thought we would in the coming months. We didn’t even have a white Christmas. What’s the deal? So I started thinking to myself, “Come on Colorado can’t you do better than that?” In just a matter of weeks, I’ve learned I should never mock Colorado, because in February we have had record snow fall and for over two weeks. My bad!! I will do my best to not question you again. #snowfordays

6. The stomach bug sucks. 

We’ve had an unwanted visitor the past week, the stomach bug. I did not invite him into our home, but he came to visit and wreak havoc upon our lives anyway. Everyone was sick, no one was spared. Each time I thought it was over, I cleaned and sanitized everything praying this would be it for us. Only to be woken up at 1 am to find, someone else was throwing up again. So many sleepless nights and caring for my girls allowed them to “share” the stomach bug with me, my husband, and my sister-in-law. I tried my best not to get mad, but there comes a point when you’re just over it. Praying for healing for my sister-in-law Hannah and that this stomach bug would leave our home, never to return again.

Now it’s your turn, what did you learn this Winter?