Perfect Day date with the hubs

Perfect day date with my love. My mom watched the kiddos for a couple days so we could get some uninterrupted work done at home. She kept them longer and told us to enjoy a Saturday together. It was a much needed adventure. We rode his motorcycle about 14 miles on the hwy and down country roads to one of our favorite places, Coopers Rock State Park. it's a nice ride uphill in the mountains. We then parked and walked/hiked around a bit, taking fun pictures at random abandoned lodges, jumping over cliff rocks, and keeping an eye out for rattlesnakes. We rode down and then grabbed dinner and sat by Cheat Lake to eat with the sunset skies looking down on us. It was perfect. So grateful to be soon celebrating 12 years of marriage with this hunk. It's now always easy, but the word and watering of our marriage garden, is always worth it. Also, huge shoutout to my mama! I think the kids also had more fun at grandma's house, than we did. Win win for all! 😍❤️ My mom 

Wellness Wednesday - Adventures in Fairmont, WV

Every Wednesday at the Kid's School, is Wellness Wednesday. During this time of quarantine where they have home-based school, their teachers have been emailing and posting assignments on a daily basis. Every Wednesday however, they lighten the school work load a bit and encourage the kids to do a wellness activity, whether that be get outside, do some yoga, or whatever makes them feel "well". To follow suit, even though we play and get outdoors often, I try to oblige and so some extra wellness fun with the kids on Wednesdays - weather permitting. This week, we had some fun in the sun and headed to Fairmont. We picked up our favorite pizza from Mountain State Brewing Co. and drove down to Prickett's Fort State Park, only to be told that the road was being re-paved and so it was closed. Since we were already in Fairmont, we changed plans and headed to a Civil war trail and park that is parallel to the water. We love Palatine park for many reasons including their splash pad, riverfront views, awesome family friendly move nights and cultural programs in their pavilion, playground, and trail that has lots of civil war history. Since we were also in Fairmont, we took the liberty to head to our favorite ice cream spot, Dairy Creme corner, which is a local favorite. They have the only WV blackberry soft serve ice cream that I know of made with WV blackberries. We picked up the ice cream and took it to the park where we walked around. We then headed home for the younger girls to take a nap, then headed out for a bike ride. All in all, it was a fun and wellness wednesday indeed.  

Quarantine Chronicles 2020

Day 57 of Quarantine/Social Distancing and my five children, husband and I are still alive. David has been working from home for 7 weeks, i've been also working from home and seeing clients via telehealth.. We've been supervising "homeschooling" for 4 kiddos (5th, 3rd, 1st, and Pre-K) while keeping a energetic 1-year old occupied. It's been interesting to say the least. Despite some struggles with trying to keep the kids quiet with David is in a conference meeting, or when mama has to talk to to a client, despite lots of indoor time with spring rain showers and even May snow, Despite lots of parenting and disciplining happening in our home in what many would call a stressful, unprecented time, we are all alive and well. Some days the goal was to survive, but some days, thank God we thrived. Some fun things we've been able to do:

1) Said "Yes" more. So often it's easier to say No when the kids ask to do something because it's either a hassle, adds work for me, isn't convenient, don't have time, etc. etc. During this time of being home, I made a better effort to say "Yes" a whole lot more. Mom, can I help you crack the eggs? (my thoughts: Ugh, it's easier if I just do it), my response, "Sure you can Faith! Let me see you do it!"  "Mom, can I help you pressure wash the house?" (My thoughts: This is actually really fun for me, I want to do it, plus I'll have to teach me how), my response "Alright, let me know you how and then you can give it a try ok?!"  Saying yes isn't easy, in fact, it often does come with a little extra work, maybe a little more clean-up on my part, but watching the kids as they learn to do something new, the pride in their eyes, the feelings in their hearts knowing they just "did it", it's worth it every time.

2) Lots of outdoor time. 1-2x a week the kids and I get out to a local trail or state park for some hiking and good outdoor time in the sunshine. It's been good for my soul, their little legs, our Vitamin D levels, and it has given us a sense of calm, peace, and wander.  I love the quote "Not all who wander, are lost" and getting outdoors definitely settles our spirits.

3) Appreciated our home. I've never appreciated our backyard as much as I do now. This is a hard time for many and every time the kids have played in our yard, I find myself thanking God for our little home with a yard as I know many don't have an outdoor area to play in during this time. Our home is not very big, 1400 square feet for a family of 7, but it's cozy and the layout works for us. While i'm always on the search for a larger home, I've come to appreciate our home. We send the kids to play in their rooms every day so we can have quiet time in the family room to work. We have a boys room, girls room, and our bedroom. Our family room serves as a playroom, tv room, and it's where our desktop computer is. We utilize our covered back porch and I often see clients there or in our dining room. At the end of the day, I've found myself feeling so grateful for our home.

4) Home Projects. We planted a garden, pressure washed our house, pressure washed our deck, stained our deck, re-arranged furniture, cleaned out closets, de-cluttered some areas, cleaned the gutters, pulled weeds, cleaned the garage, got rid of old toys, and made a huge donation of goods/clothes to a local foster care closet.

5)