COVID quarantine week 4

Hello!!!

It has been awhile since I've updated my blog. Here goes. I might find some pictures to post at some point.

Today is Tuesday, April 7, 2020.

On March 13, 2020 the government of California pretty much shut down the state. Our church services moved completely online. Elijah's state gymnastics meet was cancelled even though they were trying to limit the number of spectators per gymnast in attendance. Esther's state gymnastics meet was also cancelled. Those are the things that I can think of that disrupted our lives.

What has changed for our family? Not too much really. Yes, Eric is working from home. His 9 hour work day is more like 14 hours, but he is helping with some of the madness. I'm still teaching the kids. School is still in session for us. The big changes are with our afternoon activities. The gyms are closed so the kids do not have gymnastics 4 days a week. They are literally crawling the walls. Eden is walking and loves being outside so we are trying to balance time for her outside. Ezra needs attention and does crazy things to get it. I miss my BSF discussion group and the other parents in the gym. I don't mind being home but I do miss adult interaction.

The good. We have spent time together as a family. Most days we sit as a family for lunch and dinner. As a family, we are doing our BSF study. We are still able to eat fairly well and whole foods. We still have TP from before this mess started. We have refused to be driven by fear and are going to store when needed for our usual groceries. When it isn't raining, yes, it has rained a lot in the last four weeks, we have enjoyed time outside walking our long driveway and exploring coyote trails.

I would like to say that my house is clean and sanitized. That I've done massive amounts of 'spring' cleaning and that I have a huge load of treasures to take to the thrift store. I would like to say that all the half done projects around the house have been finished. Oh and the boxes that have been sitting around for the last year. I would like to say I have them all unpacked and everything has its place. Reality is the house is messier than normal. No sanitizing going on here. Boxes are still untouched.

Other than not being able to leave, not much has changed in the Miller house. Oh, Eden is walking!! The boys are exercising their creative juices with LEGOs. The house is a mess. The bathrooms still need to be cleaned. Laundry baskets are full of clean clothes. BUT we have had good meals. We are safe. We are healthy.

Elizabeth

August Recap

Back to School!!

The month of August with pictures.

The way I'm relieving stress and anxiety.

Official first day with our Charter School

Blessings,
Elizabeth

Y State 2017

Miss E spent most of the 2017 Spring season nursing injuries. She was well enough to pull everything together and compete for the last meet of the 2017 Spring season; Y State. Here is her meet.

Blessings,
Elizabeth

School Year Recap

A Brief Update/Reflection

 

My how all three kids have grown since August 2016!! Growth comes in ways other than physical, but that is where it is seen the most. 

Miss E is now sporting braces along her top teeth. We are patiently waiting for one of her bottom teeth to erupt to avoid oral surgery. She is still a gymnast and will be competing level 4 again in the fall. She upped her hours in the gym to 16 hours per week in July. She is still our avid reader. She independently read over 10,000 pages this past school year. Daddy does not like books at the dinner table so we are often telling her that she can continue reading after she eats. She has learned that reading can be used as a procrastination tool, too. She has a very compassionate heart and loves serving the Lord through song. She helps lead worship in one of the children’s classes at church.

Little Man is definitely building arm muscles with gymnastics. It is pretty impressive if I do say so myself. He had a great time competing for the first time this past winter and is looking forward to the next level and competition season. Gymnastics has been really good for him and he works really hard in the gym. In school he grew a lot in reading. With a little bit of help, he read 10,000 pages. He read over 5,000 pages independently. For this guy, this is pretty impressive reading. He is our active child. Always busy doing something that involves movement; be it handstands in the living room, climbing trees, making forts, wrestling with his sister, playing soccer in the road, or just running to chase Dad as Dad leaves for work, this kid is never still. He has a sweet spirit and a heart to talk with the Lord about everything. He blows me away as he brings his requests to our Father.

Baby E is a charmer. He has pretty much everyone wrapped around his little smile. He distracts the girls at the gym, even coaches, as he flirts with them or back at them. He has friends everywhere; young and old. He is two, so he is testing his independence and will let you know what he wants. Baby E is very physically active. He rides scooters, peddles a bike with training wheels with very little help, and pushes himself around on the plasma car. He can pull his legs up to his chest while hanging on a bar, has mastered jumping, and loves doing push-ups. He spends a lot of time watching gymnastics so maybe that will be in his near future, too. He truly is a joy and I can't wait to see how the Lord shapes his little personality.

Blessings,
Elizabeth

Finishing the Winter Season

Conference Championships

&

Level 4 State Championship

Little Man finished his first competitive gymnastics season strong. We did have a few learning moments in his last two meets though. One very important skill for men's gymnastics is counting. When you do more swings on the rings or high bar or more turns on the mushroom than is required your score will get dinged pretty heavily. He lost two ribbon colors with these mistakes. He took everything in stride, his coach was disappointed, I said live and learn, other parents were really upset that the extra 'effort' was not rewarded **big smiley face**. Now that everything is settled from the season, we move on. Little Man leveled up, he will be doing level 5 this next season with bonuses!!

Ribbons
Green = Superior
Purple = Outstanding
Yellow = Excellent
Orange = Good
White = Fair

BlackJack Men's Championship, Las Vegas

Meet #3 had us traveling again, this time out of state to Las Vegas!! This meet was HUGE!! The BlackJack Men's Championship & Winter Cup Challenge is a national meet. There are two parts to the meet; Junior Olympic and National Team. Little Man competes at the JO level.

We stayed at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino where Elvis definitely has a presence.

Little Man did a great job. This time around he was given an actual score, for simplicity I adjusted his score to the ribbon color he is used to getting. He did get two medals; vault and parallel bars.

After Little Man's meet we were able to watch the Winter Cup finals. It was really cool to see some of the Olympians we heard about from Rio compete. The Men are intense and so much fun to watch.

Ribbons
Green = Superior
Purple = Outstanding
Yellow = Excellent
Orange = Good
White = Fair

Blessings,

Elizabeth

First Season Level 4 Highlights {Fall 2016}

Here are the highlights of Miss E's Fall Season; a little late. The season was rough, but she made it through. Miss E had three preliminary meets. Her goal at each meet was to get an All Around score of at least 30. With an AA of 30 she advanced to Sectionals in which she needed an AA of 32 to move on to state. She hit her minimum AA scores and competed at the state level. The state meet was rough. As Mom, I wished we were afforded the option to sit it out.

All of that is now behind us. She worked really hard and has improved immensely over the winter and spring months. Right now we sit at the cusp of summer and have a lot to look forward to. She will compete in the fall again as a Level 4, but she is stronger and determined to move on.

Blessings,
Elizabeth