March

Boy, oh boy, March was an interesting month! Covid19 has turned the world upside down and life has been quite different. My heart is heavy for those going through really difficult times. I hope & pray you and your families are healthy and your needs are met!

It's been four weeks of being at home now, and even though these are strange times, I see the silver lining in this extra slow pace and I'm so thankful for that. We haven't left our house much at all, but to get food and go for a few healthy walks in wide open spaces, but I feel pretty content, especially when there's sunshine pouring through our windows. The kids will bring in bouquets of wild flowers to put in the kitchen window vase and music has filled the rooms of our home, either from the piano, guitar or pandora. Josh and I have been making dinner together more often, and we've had fun watching some old movies... these are good days that remind me of my childhood, actually. And sweet memories are being made right now.

During this season of Covid19 I'm also so thankful for texting & being able to FaceTime and laugh with so many of our friends & family. Laughter is good for the soul and long time friendships are a gift from God! :) The kids have been playing lots of games online with their friends while they FaceTime, too. I'm also so very thankful for hikes with beautiful views right by our house, and the fun of being in our garden with the kids and chickens, or playing frisbee with Westley in our field. I love being out in nature. It fills my heart with joy!

Josh has been working from home full time and I'm loving the quiet time I get with him each morning before the kids get up. And the extra evening hours we've all gained with him have been really sweet, too, since he doesn't have to commute right now. Woohoo!

My younger brother Caleb is staying with us until this virus passes and we are thoroughly loving his company! He also works full time from home, so it's fun to have him join us for each meal at the table and we get to chat off and on throughout the day. I love it!

We all finished this new puzzle, only to discover that Westley had snacked on seven puzzle-piece-morsels that fell to the floor at some point.We hope he enjoyed them! ;)

The boys got on a baseball kick and it just made me smile. I sure love our backyard here.

I've been sitting on a chair in the sunshine a lot lately and this beautiful girl joins me with a few chickens in tow.

Do you know who else wants to be outside all the time? This guy! He loves to just lay out in the big patch of grass near the driveway. With his stick. :)

Jude was sitting on our bed talking to me the other night and I had to pull out my phone and snap a picture of him. I love this teen/braces phase and I just think he's soooo handsome! I love this boy so much.

We went for a beautiful walk up at Bald Hill before "shelter in place" came into effect. It was such a gorgeous night!

Mary's Peak in the view...

We also went up to the top of Mary's Peak on a beautiful sunny day, before it was closed. It was a great walk and we loved having blue skies AND snow!

The kids had fun rolling down that hill of snow. :)

This was Westley's first time playing in snow and he zoomed all over the place with the kids. He had a blast.

When we made it to the top we sat on this big fallen tree and had snacks. But first I wanted to try to grab the sun. ;)

Snack crew...

The weather changed to rain at the end of March. It was trickier to find windows of time to get outside when we got stir crazy. I definitely began to feel a bit of the restlessness of missing our normal routines and leaving the house. But I just kept reminding myself that we have SO much to be thankful for, and as we looked at the updates each day for our community we were encouraged to see that the social distancing was paying off! Lots of tests were being done and we watched the restults online. There have been 19 total cases of covid in our community to date, which is still 19 too many, but we're thankful that our town hasn't seen any fatalities. That's obviously NOT the case world wide, and we are praying for those who have been effected by it, and praying for those who are also being effected financially. But we're also grateful for the health of our community, and praying that we can all stay that way!

Popcorn is a favorite snack around here, and Westley goes wild when he smells it. He isn't much of a foodie, and doesn't beg much, but when there's popcorn, he's your best friend, right by your side! Ha!

After several days of being indoors we ventured out for another walk on an evening when we had a break from the rain. It felt great! Josh and I stood with our faces in the sun and soaked it in. 

The vitamin D is so good for our sun-deprived Oregonian bodies. :)

I love this spot and how dreamy it is as the sun is setting behind Mary's Peak off to the west. Our little valley tucked in below.

Pointing to Grandma's house in the east...

What a gorgeous evening! We could see our new neighborhood as we looked out...

Hiking puts everything into perspective.

More puzzles were completed... and more pieces were devoured by our friend Westley, but we wised up and finished a few more without any losses. :)

One night Caleb and I sang along to 1980's & 90's songs as we did this puzzle. Great memories!! And this fruit puzzle was a fun one.

Caleb brought pearler beads when he came to stay, which has been a GREAT quarantine activity for the kids! They have made sooo many creations, like a pearler bead Nintendo Switch, Westley the puppy, their chickens, mountain scenes, and 3D pokemon & minecraft creatures.

Josh and I had a fancy "date" to the gas station and grocery store to get some necessities. It felt great to leave the house, with make up on and everything. ;) 

"We're out baby, we're out!"

We got another break in the rain days later and went for another social distancing walk and filled our lungs with fresh air. We timed it perfectly because it poured later that evening.

The kids loved playing on this hillside!

Deer along our driveway not minding that we were so close by. :)

Ben designed this shirt and we made it with our iron on adhesives. He says it's his "Fegles Five logo". :) That made me smile. He's been wearing this shirt a lot.

I'm thankful that there's much life to be enjoyed right where we are with those we love most. I hope you're finding joy and peace where you're at too!