March 23, 2020
Sunday, March 22,2020
Dear Family and Friends,
A lot has happened since I last wrote. Caden got home from his mission to Texas on January 23rd. About a week before that, we received permission from Oregon Department of Human services to move out of state and to take Anni with us. For any of you who don’t know, Anni is almost three and has been living with us since she was seventeen months old. We had been wanting to get back to Idaho for family reasons, but normally they wouldn’t allow a foster child to move out of state, so we were waiting to figure out a way to keep Anni with us. Once we received permission, things started moving really fast. Four days after we received word, Amy and the kids moved back to Rexburg. I stayed on until the end of January at Harrison Family Medicine.
We are renting a house out in the country. This is the first time we have rented since 2002, and it is a little different. The house is pretty small for a family of nine, but everyone is being relatively patient with each other, and we are getting along just fine. I am building houses again, and hoping the economy doesn’t totally collapse. I’m sure whatever comes, we will be fine.
On January 31st, the roads were covered with black ice. My two oldest kids were driving to a party, and a high-schooler tried to pass them, lost control of her car, and hit ours. The airbags deployed resulting in a totaled suburban, but no injuries. We are still trying to sort out the insurance coverage, but have bought a new (to us) car and are doing fine.
It is kind of ironic that one of the main reasons we wanted to get back here was so our kids could be back in the public schools. Now, after five or six weeks, the schools have closed due to the corona virus. Having already home-schooled for six months, our kids were under no illusions about what studying at home would mean, and unlike their friends, they were not excited about the announcement. Mostly we are dealing with boredom. The snow is melting, and Amy and the kids have started pruning trees and dreaming of what we will do to beautify the place.
It has actually been nice to have the schedule slow down so much. All extracurricular activities have been suspended, along with all church activities. So where were were busy three or four nights a week with sports and other things, we are now all at home every evening. I like it.
Holding church at home has been interesting. We assign family members to give talks, lessons, and perform musical numbers. We have been blessed to be able to take the sacrament at home, and the talks have been outstanding. Our Sacrament meetings have been among the most spiritual meetings I have ever participated in. After Sacrement meeting, we have Sunday School, which is an attempt to meet the interests of kids ranging in age from 3 to 22, and two forty-something parents. The memorable part has been singing time. Our fourteen year old and our seventeen year old daughters have each taken a turn a leading singing time. Activities have included singing songs while stroking the face of the person sitting next to you, and marching while we sing primary hymns. I can’t say it is particularly spiritual, but it has certainly been a delight to be together, and has produced some hilarious memories (and pictures).
Yesterday, the boys and I started a chicken coop. It will be large enough to house 20 chickens. Please don’t think that we are freaking out about the current conditions of the grocery store shelves. I think our biggest motivation is to have something for our kids to do. Chickens are pretty light work, so we are also looking into buying a milk cow. That would keep the kids busy. So, if any of you have a nice gentle Jersey you would like to sell, then let me know.
The house project has been progressing. I have started building kitchen cabinets, and have purchased land to build on. As soon as the snow is off the ground, I’ll get building permits completed and break ground.
Hope you are all well.
Shawn
Dear Family and Friends,
A lot has happened since I last wrote. Caden got home from his mission to Texas on January 23rd. About a week before that, we received permission from Oregon Department of Human services to move out of state and to take Anni with us. For any of you who don’t know, Anni is almost three and has been living with us since she was seventeen months old. We had been wanting to get back to Idaho for family reasons, but normally they wouldn’t allow a foster child to move out of state, so we were waiting to figure out a way to keep Anni with us. Once we received permission, things started moving really fast. Four days after we received word, Amy and the kids moved back to Rexburg. I stayed on until the end of January at Harrison Family Medicine.
We are renting a house out in the country. This is the first time we have rented since 2002, and it is a little different. The house is pretty small for a family of nine, but everyone is being relatively patient with each other, and we are getting along just fine. I am building houses again, and hoping the economy doesn’t totally collapse. I’m sure whatever comes, we will be fine.
On January 31st, the roads were covered with black ice. My two oldest kids were driving to a party, and a high-schooler tried to pass them, lost control of her car, and hit ours. The airbags deployed resulting in a totaled suburban, but no injuries. We are still trying to sort out the insurance coverage, but have bought a new (to us) car and are doing fine.
It is kind of ironic that one of the main reasons we wanted to get back here was so our kids could be back in the public schools. Now, after five or six weeks, the schools have closed due to the corona virus. Having already home-schooled for six months, our kids were under no illusions about what studying at home would mean, and unlike their friends, they were not excited about the announcement. Mostly we are dealing with boredom. The snow is melting, and Amy and the kids have started pruning trees and dreaming of what we will do to beautify the place.
It has actually been nice to have the schedule slow down so much. All extracurricular activities have been suspended, along with all church activities. So where were were busy three or four nights a week with sports and other things, we are now all at home every evening. I like it.
Holding church at home has been interesting. We assign family members to give talks, lessons, and perform musical numbers. We have been blessed to be able to take the sacrament at home, and the talks have been outstanding. Our Sacrament meetings have been among the most spiritual meetings I have ever participated in. After Sacrement meeting, we have Sunday School, which is an attempt to meet the interests of kids ranging in age from 3 to 22, and two forty-something parents. The memorable part has been singing time. Our fourteen year old and our seventeen year old daughters have each taken a turn a leading singing time. Activities have included singing songs while stroking the face of the person sitting next to you, and marching while we sing primary hymns. I can’t say it is particularly spiritual, but it has certainly been a delight to be together, and has produced some hilarious memories (and pictures).
Yesterday, the boys and I started a chicken coop. It will be large enough to house 20 chickens. Please don’t think that we are freaking out about the current conditions of the grocery store shelves. I think our biggest motivation is to have something for our kids to do. Chickens are pretty light work, so we are also looking into buying a milk cow. That would keep the kids busy. So, if any of you have a nice gentle Jersey you would like to sell, then let me know.
The house project has been progressing. I have started building kitchen cabinets, and have purchased land to build on. As soon as the snow is off the ground, I’ll get building permits completed and break ground.
Hope you are all well.
Shawn
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