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?

Remembering Grandma Vivian

“The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” 

- Isaiah 40:7-8

This month, my Grandma would have been 92 years old. Honestly, it was hard to celebrate Mother’s Day and remember Grandma’s birthday all in the same week. It doesn’t seem like she’s already been gone for two whole months.

I miss my Grandma so much.

Back on March 10, 2020, my Grandma Vivian Bartholomew passed away at age 91. It was such an emotional week, because I had to say goodbye to my Grandma, Covid-19 lockdowns began in the United States, and it was my birthday. What a whirlwind. Thankfully, my Mom called on Sunday night asking if we wanted to say, “Goodbye” to my Grandma and give her my love. I went first and through tears gave my love to my Grandma. It was hard to see her struggling to breathe, but I knew she needed me to show my love to her in her final hours on Earth. Then I brought my phone into the family room, so all of my girls could tell their Great Grandma they loved her and say goodbye too.

I’m so thankful I was able to see Grandma one last time.

As a result, of the current Coronavirus pandemic my family hasn’t even had the opportunity to have a funeral service for Grandma. My Mom and her sister, Estelle, are waiting for the current crisis to end before celebrating Grandma’s life.

One of my favorite memories of my Grandma, happened back when I was in high school. My family traveled to visit my Mom’s Mom (Grandma Vivian Bartholomew) who lived in Springfield, Oregon. While we were in town, we also had the opportunity to spend time with my Mom’s sister and her family.

One day, I had been at my Aunt Estelle’s house and we were all getting ready to go somewhere together. Maybe the mall? I can’t remember. As we opened the doors to my Grandma’s car, my Aunt Estelle’s dog jumped inside the backseat of Grandma car.

Oops!!

My Grandma doesn’t like dogs and was mad he was in her car. She swore and insisted we get the dog out of her car. I was in shock!! I had never heard my Grandma say a bad word. Unfortunately, I was too shocked and dumbfounded to be of much help getting dog out of Grandma’s car.

Sorry Grandma. 

Even as Alzheimer’s Disease wrecked havoc on her mind, Grandma remained sweet, kind, strong, loving, gentle, and always reading a book. I’m so thankful to Grandma and her love of books. It’s truly a lasting legacy, which is being passed down generation to generation and won’t be easily forgotten. Just like their Great-Grandma, my girls are always reading books. I have so many precious pictures where my Grandma is reading a book or the newspaper to one of my girls.

Thank you Grandma for loving me and my girls so well. I love you so much and miss you terribly!!

Click here to read my Grandma’s obituary.

God’s Faithfulness in Isolation

“ The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” - Psalm 34:18

For the past 14 days, we’ve been in a self imposed quarantine.

That’s right.

There was a possibility my family was exposed to Covid-19, so we decided it would be wise to quarantine ourselves for 14 days. Which included staying in our house and not going to the store or anywhere else where we could possibly pass this on to more vulnerable people. The days were so long and began to run together unlike anything else since the social distancing and initial lockdown began in mid-March.

We’re praising God, because none of got sick and we’re all healthy!! What an answer to prayer!!

For months, I’ve been nervous and worrying about this global pandemic. However, knowing this threat had reached my house was almost more than I could bare. It was hard for me to sleep, just waiting for the inevitable to take place. Even when I was overwhelmed, God was with us. I’m here to testify to His goodness as He gave me strength for each and every day.

My poor girls have been stir crazy. For the first ten days, we didn’t do anything except homeschool and other activities inside our home. In the finals days of our self-quarantine, we let the kids ride bikes and play in the driveway while we watched to make sure they stayed at our house. Yesterday, my girls couldn’t wait to ride their bikes all over the neighborhood and burn off all of their pent up energy over the past two weeks!!

As a result of our isolation, we’ve already finished 7 puzzles in just 6 weeks. Don’t judge us, but some 1,000 piece puzzles we finished in just one day. It’s a nice distraction when there isn’t much else to do.

This extra time also gave me a chance to plan out upcoming 2020-21 Homeschool Year. Jon even ordered all of our curriculum for next year, which was a huge thing off my To-Do List! Additionally, I’ve been organizing like crazy and trying to make room for all of our new books. I’m so excited about our new school year!!

As a result, we’ve received tons of packages.

One day we got excited for the boxes to arrive, we left goodies for the delivery man who has been working hard during this time of crisis. We all yelled, “Thank you” through the screen door. Truly any amount of human interaction was life giving to our weary souls.

In the final days, I had to go to the store, so I put on my mask and gloves to run to the store. Honestly, I felt silly wearing everything, but I didn’t want to spread germs to anyone else if I could help it. I felt ridiculous in my white mask and black gloves trying my best to not touch my face until I got back in the car and could sanitize my hands first. Life is so strange right now.

Off and on throughout our self-quarantine, I’ve been scared. However, God was with us. The Bible says, the Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. It was our theme verse over these long days at home. I’m thankful God will continue to be with us until all the worldwide lockdowns come to an end. Life might be crazy right now, but He is still God. He has not changed.

Praying this encourages you while we all continue to wait for this crisis to pass.

Launching My Monthly Newsletter

For weeks, I have been working on something new for all of you!! I am thrilled to finally share this news publicly. At the end of this month, I'll be sending out my very first Monthly Newsletter!!

Like I said above, my newsletter will be sent out at the end of each month. It will be an email filled with encouragement for your soul, delicious recipes, and other fun things I won't share anywhere else. Trust me, you don't want to miss this!!

As a result of social distancing, many of us are feeling isolated and alone. I want to offer you some extra encouragement during this time and a chance to have a break from the daily grind of life. I'm so thankful, God has given me the opportunity to pour into your lives in this way.

To Sign Up...

To sign up, visit my “Living a Changed Life” blog. Scroll down to the white "subscribe" box on the right. Enter your email and you will be added to my list of subscribers. Then at the end of each my you will receive my monthly email newsletter!! Sign up now, so you don't miss out!!

I'm so excited to stay connected with you in this way.

Homeschooling Q & A...Part 1

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, life has changed drastically. This must be so hard for those of you who are at home “crisis schooling” right now. The homeschool community is here to help you in anyway we can during this time. Last week, my sisters told me their children's’ schools have been canceled until September when the new school year will hopefully start again. I was devastated for my niece and nephews. On top of everything else, my sisters had lots of questions about homeschooling. I answered their questions and told them I would support them anyway I could as they navigate school at home. As a result, I decided to share all of these incredible homeschooling tips with you too. I hope it is helpful as you try to figure out your new normal with your kids being home all the time.

In case you don’t know, I’m Jen Newsham a homeschooling Mom of 5 girls!! I have been homeschooling now for almost 5 years. My oldest Olivia is in 2nd grade, Sophie is in 1st grade, Matilda is in PreK, and my twins Evelyn and Zoey are almost 2 years old. Long before I had children, God called me to homeschooling. Click here to read more about our Homeschool Testimony now.  I'm excited to connect with you!!

Finally, if you have additional homeschooling questions, please leave them in the comments below and I will try to get back to you as soon as I can. If I get a lot of questions, I will share them as well in a Question & Answer...Part 2.

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Homeschooling Q & A...Part 1 

What time do you work on homeschool each day? 
We do Bible time and Reading with the twins, but then during nap time from 1-3pm, I do book work with the big girls. So Math, Language Arts, Science, and Handwriting. It’s too hard to try and help the big girls when the twins need my attention too. It’s what works best for us at the moment


How many hours a day, do you work on school? 
For the most part, I do school for roughly 3-4 hours per day, but it’s broken up into different periods of time. Bible time in the morning for 20 minutes. Book work from 1pm-3pm while the twins nap, such as math, language arts, science, and handwriting. Reading school books and the girls Read-Alouds from 7pm-8pm right before bedtime. Also, once or twice a week my sister-in-law teaches the girls Art for an hour or two. This is what works for us right now, while the twins are still so little.


Do you stager the kids work so you aren’t trying to help everyone at once? 
Olivia, Sophie, and Matilda work together on our group subjects like Bible, Read-Alouds, and Science. During nap time, we work on individual subjects and their “book work”. We do math first, because Olivia and Sophie can work independently while I help Matilda. Overall Matilda’s curriculum is the easiest, so I try to get her done first so then I can focus on helping the big girls with language arts. I have educational games and activities set aside as “school toys”, which Matilda can play with quietly when she’s done with school. Finally, Olivia and Sophie take turns waiting as I help them work through their spelling and everything else.


Do you do every subject everyday?  
No. On Monday through Friday, we work on Bible time, Language Arts, and Reading. Then we break everything else up, so Monday, Wednesday, Friday is Math. Tuesday and Thursday we work on Science and Handwriting. Once or twice a week, my sister in law teaches Art. Do you follow a lesson plan for Bible time or just read out of the Bible to them? I read the Bible or listen to it on my phone on the Bible App. Then we practice our memory verse and sing fun kids worship songs on my YouTube playlist. Then we pray. We keep it simple, because the twins are with us. Right now we’re reading through Matthew and do one chapter at a time and then talk about it together. I also created YouTube playlists with Kids Worship Songs, so we can sing our Bible verses and dance to Vacation Bible School songs. I've listed them below and you guys are welcome to use my playlists with all kinds of songs..Educational, VBS, and Disney Dance music.

**Jen's YouTube Playlists** 

Kids Praise Songs 

For the Girls (Educational & Disney Dance Music)  

What do you do with your twin girls when the big girls are learning? 
It can be a struggle, because my twins want to do whatever the big girls are doing. As we work together, I let the twins use colored pencils to draw. I also have puzzles, Lincoln logs, and board books they play with during school time. The Crayola Color Wonder Mess Free Coloring Activity Pads are great too. Honestly, if the twins wake up early I have them watch Cocomelon on YouTube or another show which holds their attention for a little while until I can finish. I understand it's not ideal, but sometimes necessary under certain circumstances.

Additional Resources 

A few weeks ago, I compiled a list of “Free Homeschooling Resources”, which I hope will help you as you teach your children at home. There are fun story times from Space, art tutorials, exercise, lego stuff, worship, and more. If you have other online resources which you’re using right now, please leave me a comment so other parents can use it as well.

Our Thankful Jar

Three weeks ago, our lives changed in some very drastic ways. I lost my Grandma, a global pandemic was issued for Covid-19, I celebrated my birthday at home while social distancing, our vacation was cancelled, we lost power, we missed our friends wedding, church was cancelled, and so much more. I understand it could have been worse and I kept telling myself it wasn’t that bad.

However, I was devestated!

In reality, I was sad and grieving over all the losses I experienced in just a matter of days. I felt overwhelmed with anxiety and despair, not knowing how to properly cope with everything going on in the world around me.

On top of everything else, I started to worry about my husband (who is a commercial pilot) like never have before. Each day, I looked online to check the number of Coronavirus cases are in the states he was scheduled to be in. Long ago, the Lord taught me to trust Him with Jon's life as he works as a pilot. Unfortunately, I had a momentary relapse as I tried to regain control of my life in any way possible.

I continued to read my Bible and found comfort in God’s word and a willingness to pour out everything before the Lord. On Beth Moore’s twitter account on March 24, 2020, she said,

“Something I’ve done when my mind is bombarded with unknowns in a specific crisis. I make 2 columns with these headings: What I don’t know / What I do know. And I start listing. Though the list of what I don’t may get long, it shrinks beside the sheer divine power of what I DO.” 

 - Beth Moore 

I loved this idea!!

Quickly, I opened my journal and started writing two lists, “What I don’t know” and “What I do know”. It was hard to write down all my worries and questions. However, as I listed out what I know about God, it far out weighed my worries and concerns. This practice also helped to comfort my grieving soul. If you’re struggling with overwhelming circumstances right now, I encourage you to try this, because remembering who God is will give you the strength You need for each and every day in this new normal.

Honestly, when I am moody, my family’s mood shifts as well. In an effort to get us all back on track, I wanted my family to practice thankfulness again. So, I created a Thankful Jar. It’s nothing fancy!! I found an extra clear vase in the garage, then wrote “thankful on a piece of printer paper, and taped it inside the vase. Then I cut up pieces of white printer paper and put them in a snack bag labeled, “I’m thankful for…”. Our thankful jar lives on our kitchen counter. We’re using this jar, until we’re out of lockdown as a way to show our love and appreciation for those around us. The girls immediately jumped onboard and starting writing things they are thankful for on different pieces of paper. I had to ration out their paper, because I was afraid they would use it all in one fell swoop. I’ve been trying to do the same and write down things I’m grateful for each week.

As you all know, life hasn’t been anything like we planned this year. However, I can’t wait until this pandemic is over and we have a chance to remember everything God has been doing in our lives throughout these long and isolated months in quarantine practicing social distancing. Don't forget, God is always with you!!

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!" 

- Psalm 118:29

Waiting Is Not Easy

As the Coronavirus rages around the world, I’m in lockdown waiting for the outbreak to become more manageable and allow us to move around without restrictions upon myself or my family. Honestly, everything reminded me of another season in my life when I spent a lot of time waiting. Can you guess what event I’m talking about?

My twin pregnancy!!

That’s right, back in Spring 2018 my midwife put me on “modified” bedrest for more than 10 weeks, as I waited for my body to go into labor, so Evelyn and Zoey could be born. If you want to take a minute and go read my twin birth story, I’ll wait until you get back. Just click here to read, "Evelyn & Zoey’s Home Birth Story". I just love birth stories and it’s awesome to remember how God was involved in each and every step along the way.

During my twin pregnancy, once I reached 30 weeks my contractions started to come more and more frequently. My desire was to have my twin girls at home, but if I wanted to do that I needed to reach 37 weeks and not go into labor early. As a result, my midwife place me on “modified” bed rest, which meant I would have to get off my feet every 1-2 hours for at least a half an hour or more. I could not believe what Lincey was saying!! Didn’t she know that I had three other kids to take care of and a husband who is gone for many days at a time as he worked in Dallas or Houston!? How on Earth was I supposed to do this?

I felt so discouraged.

For the next 7 weeks, my mission was to make sure my baby girls stayed put and let myself relax enough to ensure I wouldn’t go into pre-term labor.

Honestly, I was terrified my body would go into labor early while my husband was out of town. On top of that, waiting to see if my body would go into labor was hard. Every twinge, ache, and pain, which happens all the time during a twin pregnancy, I thought could be my body going into labor. Throughout those seven weeks, every time my husband was gone, I was often overcome with anxiety, fear, and worry. To me, the unknown is torture and waiting around for my inevitably labor was overwhelming.

During these days, I clung to God’s word. I wrote Bible verses on notecards and did my best to claim the promises in God’s word. One of my favorite verses is from Lamentations...

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."” - Lamentations‬ ‭3:22-24‬ ‭ESV‬‬

To God’s glory, I reached 37 weeks!! What a relief. As long as I continued to stay healthy, I could finally have my baby girls at home. I wish I could say they came right away and the wait was over. However, that just wasn't the case for me. I continued to wait another 3 weeks and 3 days until my body finally went into labor. To my delight, both of my girls were born at my house just as I dreaming about for months. What an answer to prayer!!

I’m wanted to share this story with you and testify to God’s faithfulness, because we’re all struggling right now in lockdowns and waiting for life to return to “normal”. The days are long and life is challenging as we try to find our new normal.

In my own life, it helps me to look back and remember what God has done in the past, because it gives me courage to walk forward in my current situation. Times are tough and I pray you would turn to God as you wait for this crisis to pass. Sit down and write out what you remember about who God is and what He has done in your life. As you remember God's faithfulness in your life, He will fill you with courage to help you be brave on the hardest days. I hope and pray, even though life is overwhelming, you will look for God in the hardships. Only then can the Lord begin to transform your sorrow into joy, which will be your strength in the coming days.

Don’t forget, waiting is not easy, but worth it.

Evelyn Rose & Zoey Faith