November 22 - Isn't crazy how just when you feel that things can't get worse, somehow they do! Actually, I'm just talking about the Coronavirus right now. It has now been 9 months that this small little virus starting wrecking havoc all over the world. I remember in June thinking that it was scary and so horrible that my state had gotten to the point when there was an average of 300 new cases diagnosed in a day. This month we are now averaging over 3,000 new cases a day! Of course, we are doing a lot more testing which accounts for some of that rise in new cases. However, at this point, most of the hospitals in the state are over 85% full, especially in the ICU's, because of COVID cases. In fact, they have started designating other facilities to be used in case overflow space is needed. Healthcare workers are working an insane amount of hours. To help combat this, the state just approved a Nursing Apprentence license to be given to senior students before they every graduate! It will be a temporary license, and they will still have to complete their schooling and pass the NCLEX in order to be fully licensed. Several of our students are looking to apply for this. My boss, Randy, currently has COVID and is very sick.
What makes the situation even scarier is the fact that it is not isolated to my state, it is the same in every state and pretty much every country in the world! There are mandates to wear masks everywhere but your own home and the governor just pleaded for everyone to remain at home whenever possible and refrain from visiting anyone. Many pharmaceutical companies are fervently striving to come up with a vaccine against the virus.
We just had the presidential election, and it was a bitter battle. In fact, it still isn't over because even though Joe Biden won, our current president, Trump, is insisting on a recount of the votes and is refusing to leave office until he proves that the count was accurate. Because of the Coronavirus, the majority of voting was done by mail and President Trump feels that the mail-in voting allowed for padding the counts. The nation is sorely divided - Republicans vs Democrats - and political views between the parties are widely separated.
In the midst of all of this, President Nelson, our beloved prophet, felt inspired this week to give a worldwide message that was so beautiful. He talked about some of the hard trials he had to deal with in his life, one of which was watching his wife die from a heart attack while sitting right next to her. Even though he was a skilled heart surgeon, there was nothing he could do to save her. He reminded us that even though we are in the midst of hard times right now that there is always something to be grateful for.
He then issued the following challenges:
What timely and worthwhile advice! It is absolutely phenomenal to see and hear all of the things people are grateful for instead of seeing posts that are angry or discouraged. He is such a wonderful man, and so in tune with what is best for Christ's Church.
Quarantine: We got a notice from the school that Kalel had been in direct contact with a student who tested positive for COVID, therefore he had to go into quarantine for two weeks. He was a real trooper! We gave him a cooler full of drinks and food, made sure that he had adequate things to watch, and had his computer so that he could attend school and do his homework. I was very proud of how well he handled it. All of the rest of us got tested for the virus - it was NOT fun! They take a swab and stick it clear up your nose until it touches your brain - ok, not quite, but it felt that way! Kim was so kind that he took a picture of me getting the test. Fortunately none of us got sick or had a positive test.
Virtual Game Night: I found a website that would enable us to play games virtually, so Cyn and her sister, April, joined Robin and me for a night of fun games. We even had Julie Elegante and Marilyn join us! I wasn't nearly as good as seeing them in person, but it provided us the opportunity to have just a small amount of normalcy in our lives. We had a great time playing games and visiting over the internet. How blessed we are to have the technology to stay in touch!
Parrishes visit!
We had a quick but wonderful visit with the Parrish family as they were driving through on the way to his parent's house for Thanksgiving. We are all very good and wore our masks. It was so great to see them. I miss them so much!
Kalel Shaves: Kalel begged Kim to teach him how to shave (I can't believe how much he is growing up!) He consented to allow us to document the who experience, so we videoed it so that we would watch over and over. Actually, he just such a great job that we didn't even get to laugh much/
Bouncy Horse, Boxes, and Little Miss: Little Miss just loved to ride on the bouncy horse. She has no fear when she is riding it, rocking and bouncing until the frame comes clear off the floor. However, she is not content to just ride her horse, she is also good at "fixing its engine". She climbs under the horse and reaches up like she was under a car and adjusts imaginary belts, hoses, and screws. For some reason, she also insists on getting the drawers out of a cabinet and placing the drawers all over the horse and frame. We haven't figured out why, so we just sit in amazement wondering what she is thinking.
She is such an imaginative child. One day she found a piece of beadboard and placed it on a chair in my office. She climbed into the chair and placed her pretend breakfast on it and used it as her table.
Deck update: We worked hard to get some work done on the deck before winter. and I'm very happy with the progress. As you can see from the pictures, Shandra and Kiaya were the best workers! We finally got all of the planks attached on the lower level so that it looks like a real deck! Work will now go on hold until spring, but I have hope that it will actually get done one day.
Throw-back: Kim found this cute picture of nieces and nephew when they were young. Aren/t they adorable?
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| Denileigh, Casey, Ben, Mickel, Heidi |
Kim's Memes:
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