Count Your Blessings

The high from our vacation has worn off. I've been feeling frustrated and annoyed with this pandemic. Instead of getting better where we live with the vaccines, it's a whole lot worse. I know it will just take a little more time, but I was really enjoying the idea of this last quarter of school being a little more "normal". I guess it's better now than over the summer to have this high a number of cases, but it's getting really annoying!!

Karissa has to quarantine until April 30 because she came in contact with someone who tested positive last Thursday. Her principal called me Sunday morning, as I was getting ready for church. That put a slight damper on the day. So far, she's not sick, which is a blessing, but regardless of whether or not she's sick or even if she tests negative for Covid, she cannot return to school until April 30. She's going to miss her last two weeks of tumbling, which she can make up, but we were going to be done with that class after April and her friend won't be with her at her last two classes now. Just about every single day I receive an email from Austin's middle school and Karissa's middle school that there was another positive case confirmed. Once in a while, I hear the same from Erik's and Victoria's schools. What's with the middle schools?? And why is Michigan exploding with positive cases now?? 

Somehow, though, so far, our family has been protected from actually getting sick from Covid. Jason finally got his first vaccination, so hopefully, he can make it to the next one before something changes with our luck in that. 

I took Austin to the doctor last week to see if all of his constant coughing was asthma. The doctor said most likely not and that he probably has allergies and to keep giving him the allergy medication we've been giving him, or try a different kind. The day I took him, he was starting to cough less, as is always the case when you see the doctor, the symptoms seem to disappear, and he is still coughing a little less since then. Yay! I did a deep spring cleaning of the house over the weekend, including a very thorough vacuuming job and carpet cleaning. Plus washing stuffed animals, throw blankets, and dusting. Jason and the kids helped which made such a big task a whole lot easier. I've been enjoying my very clean home these past few days!

Here are some random pictures I took that just made me smile when I didn't know what pics to post for this blog and they are evidence of the many blessings I have.

We have a new roof! The first update in our big home improvement project!

Austin enjoys practicing his cello at home and is getting really good for online orchestra, most of the year!

What Victoria was doing while her afternoon math class was on- dying her hair! (She had already completed the work and understood it, so I let her do it...)

Horsing around together!

Leia decided to curl up in the clean towels....

Erik helped with 3-year-old Jacob when we watched him for a couple of days on the weekend. His mom is recovering from her 3-week stay at the hospital on a ventilator for a very bad case of Covid. She had a 3% chance of getting off it and coming home. Not quite a week later, her husband went into the hospital for emergency intestinal surgery. He was still in the hospital when this picture was taken. He's home now recovering with his wife and 60 stitches in his stomach. Let's count our blessings!