Coronavirus Craze

We are making history.  This will be in all the future history books.  The time when the whole entire earth shut down.  Beginning in China, we watched the interactive maps online of the Coronavirus spreading across the planet country by country.  As we anticipated it hitting the United States, all international travel was stopped.  Things began shutting down one after another.  The schools shut down till May 1st with the possibility of not returning till fall.  eLearning has taken over or zoom classroom meetings and homeschool assignments.  Restaurants were ordered closed except for take-out & delivery.  All non-essential businesses were ordered closed.  All outdoor playgrounds and public places like movie theaters and roller skating rinks are closed.  Airlines shut down and credited/refunded tickets.  Beaches were closed and spring break plans squashed.  All nursing homes are on lockdown since the elderly are particularly at risk of catching the virus and developing life threatening pnemonia related illnesses.  Spring soccer, all clubs, sports, Kaylee's gymnastics, all cub scouts and boy scouts everything has been cancelled.  The NBA and March Madness has been cancelled.  The Olympics have been postponed till summertime of 2021.  All churches were ordered to not gather.  Gatherings were ordered by the government to be under 10 people in a place at one time and all people keep a social distance of 6 feet between one another. Surgical masks for the healthcare workers went into a shortage.  People like us began sewing face masks for the healthcare industry to help with this shortage.  Even Kaylee and Jaxton have helped sew.  The government has passed three laws which assist employees who are infected by the virus or must care for a child out of school or family member infected with the virus.  Businesses are receiving tax credits and aid to help during this shut down that is affecting the entire economy. Toilet paper is on a shortage, as are cleaning supplies as everyone in the world is trying to stock up on these essential items last minute.  It is the craziest of times.  Our annual business conference in Las Vegas was cancelled as well as our spring break trip to Destin, Florida.  The kids and I are isolated at home trying to keep busy and find things to do this week, which is our spring break.  When school starts up next week we will be trying to homeschool according to the teachers' instructions and direction and through zoom online meetings.  Nate is navigating our 40 employees and their various needs and desires during this crazy uncertain and germy time.

Never before has the world been so shut down.  Never before have we all been in such isolation and afraid to give a high five or a hug.  Never before have we not been allowed to visit grandparents or family members like this. 

China is recovering while the United States is currently at its peak.  But we will recover.  It will take some time, but things will return to normal in a few months.  This is a time that we will all remember, the year 2020, the uncertainty of the world...

Hearts in the Window

The coronavirus has caused a lock down in most all nursing homes and long term care facilities.  Grandma Great Martha and Great Aunt Marion are in the Lutheran Life Villages in Kendallville.  We miss going to see them on Sundays and were planning to take shamrocks to hand out to the old folks, but with the lock down we couldn't do that.  Instead, we decided to join the "hearts in the window" for the Coronavirus and put paper hearts all over their outside window.  It was a joy to see these sweet old ladies, but somewhat sad to realize that we could not hug them or sit with them.  They put their hands on the window and we did the same and we talked briefly through the window.  The kids will remember this experience more than Grandma Great, but we still hope that we brought joy to these ladies today.  

Kauai Luau - February 6

We couldn't come to Kauai without seeing a real live luau.  We found one with great reviews and it turned out to be one of the great highlights of our time on the island.  The Smith Family Luau.  The Smith Family has been tilling their land for generations, and have beautified their space with every type of flower, tree, and vegetation that is natural to the island of Hawaii.

Kauai Trip Day 5 - February 6

Princeville Resort is utterly beautiful.  We are surrounded by the magestic mountains of nature.  We woke up to a breezy morning with fog settling on the mountain and the waterfalls ebbing and flowing with the nights' rainfall right before our eyes.  We began our day eating a fancy breakfast buffet out on the balcony overlooking Hanalei Bay.  Birds were chirping and flying onto our table.  It was chilly but crisp and perfect sweatshirt weather.  After a slow morning we went down to explore the beaches below the resort.  Nate spent time with his sharpie drawings relaxing on a lawn chair listening to the beach waves, while I read my book next to him.  We enjoyed the sand in our toes and the breeze in our hair.  We ventured along the coast through Hanalei Bay.  We had to hike over and under tree roots all along the edge of the jungle beach shore.  We remembered doing this same hike along the coast as newlyweds.  We also remember swimming across the river that feeds Hanalei Bay.  Looking at that river today it seemed so incredibly dangerous.  It could sweep us out to see or under the current so easy.  Maybe the current and tide is up with this rainy weather, or maybe the river has changed over the last 15 years.  We decided not to attempt that swim this time. 

Kauai Day Four - February 5

Day Four of Kauai happened to be a rainy one.  But the rain is what keeps this island greener than green.  So that made it ok.  We began with some exercise and our breakfast buffet.  Then we enjoyed a nice drive around the island.  Lots of traffic, but great scenery as we got to experience the coast all the way around.  During our drive we decided to catch up on Hawaiian history and culture to better understand the place we were experiencing.  We began to learn about the Hawaiian Queen and how the US unrightfully took her power and overthrew the Hawaiian government.  The Hawaiian Islands were essentially taken over wrongfully.  It was a fascinating story full of corruption.  It sounds like a few years back President Clinton apologized officially to the Hawaiians for this wrongful takeover and attempted to give soveriegn land back to the Hawaiians.  It became a very messy story, but fascinating.

We stopped at the Bistro Lighthouse for dinner in Kaleuea, a town full of history.  We studied the history of this town, which began with Hawaiians on a sugar plantation.  They sought laborers from all countries, including China, Japan, Polynesia, Guam, and many others.  It became a hodgepodge of cultures all mixed together with the Hawaiians.  The Queen came to Kaleuea and honorably hammered in the first stake of the new railroad.  It is an important town.

After dinner, we headed up to Princeville Resort, the same resort we stayed at on our Honeymoon fifteen years earlier.  It looked the same but different.  We were young and inexperienced and likely did not take the time to notice much.  There is so much to see and notice now!

Kauai Day Three - February 4

Day Three in Kauai began with some great exercise classes at the Grand Hyatt Fitness Center.  Nate enjoyed his Pentonx Bike Virtual classes and I enjoyed Zumba and Barre like never before.  The dancing was so much fun and knowing that I would never see any of those people again, I danced my heart out with little worry. It was great to just let myself go and enjoy the music and flow with it.  Afterward, the Hawaiian instructor asked me if I had done much Zumba and I told her no.  She suggested that I should look  into becoming an instructor because I was so good.  What a confidence boost!  I plan to take more classes at the Y and maybe look into becoming an instructor one day!

Following our exercise, we enjoyed another buffet breakfast and then headed out to the pool.  We spent most of the day at the pool, with fun beverages and sunshine.  The pool had a waterslide and lazy river that we enjoyed much!  We made some friends, Bea and Bill, who were on their honeymoon and spent several hours talking and hanging out and sharing stories at the pool.

Following our pool time, we got showered and headed out to explore Waimea Canyon, apparently the second largest Grand Canyon in the United States.  Could something like that possibly fit on a little island in the middle of the Pacific?  We took a side highway up the canyon, and every lookout that we stopped at was less than fascinating.  We began to wonder if this really was worth the trip.  Finally, the side highway connected with the main canyon highway.  We almost turned around to head back south, but decided to go up north up the canyon a little further.  We made it to a large lookout point with a parking lot and signs.  As we headed up the stairs to the lookout we were overcome with amazement.  The most beautiful scene was before us.  The most magnificent green mountains huge stood before us with the largest and deepest valley below.  An amazing landmark that we almost missed!  The beauty of this earth is beyond amazement and miraculous.

Kauai Day Two - February 3

Day two of our fantastic trip we were awake early to watch the sun rise over the water.  The most beautiful morning.  We could see the stars so clearly in the sky as the dark transformed lighter and lighter into day.  The miracle of this earth is fascinating.  We enjoyed a late morning breakfast buffet and spent the day out on the beach.  The waves were super strong and massive, almost dangerous.  It was a lot of fun to jump the waves and try to ride them before they crashed.  If you missed the right moment, the waves would grab hold of you and shove you up the beach.  I got water up my nose several times as the waves swooped me off my feet.  But oh so fun!  The beach is my happy place, no doubt.  We just spent time reading and relaxing out in the sun.  There is a saltwater lagoon that we spent time in afterward to wash off the sand that was stuck everywhere.  Refreshing!

For dinner we went out to Paco's Tacos over by a golf course overlooking the sea.  Fantastic food, great ambiance and a live Hawaiian singer with his guitar and ukulele.

Anniversary Trip to Kauai - February 2

It's happening!  We are headed to Kauai!  After 15 years, we are headed back to the place we called our honeymoon :-).  The kids are all situated.  We have Kaylee, Nathan, and Owen staying at Grandma's house in Kendallville.  We have Jaxton with Mike & Kim Routsong and cousins.  Cooper is staying with Jordan & Lauren; and Dawson is staying with Melissa & John Owen and Jace.  They have school all week, so we are hoping things are not too complicated for those they are staying with.  Hopefully no one gets sick or there are not snow days :-).

We got the three sent to Grandma's Saturday night.  We left early, around 3:30am, and left the other 3 sleeping at home.  They will be picked up by their respective relatives throughout the morning.  We flew from Fort Wayne to Charlotte, and then to Phoenix where we caught a quick bite to eat at the AMEX Centurion Lounge.  From Phoenix we headed straight to Lihue, Kauai and landed around 3pm Hawaii time, 5 hours earlier than Indiana.

The plane ride was long and sleepy, but here we are!  We were greeted by roosters and chickens everywhere we looked :-).  Apparently they are protected here.  We also enjoyed a silver convertible to enjoy in the sun.  We headed to our hotel, the Grand Hyatt located at Poipu on Shipwreck Beach.  A beautiful place to relax and regroup.

Day 1 we ate dinner at the Tidepools Restaurant which is located surrounded by tidepools and large fish.  We were right on the water.  Food was just alright, and overpriced, but the ambiance was fantastic.  Glad to be here with Nate and to try to relax our minds from out normal craziness.

Sing Happy Birthday to Cooper

Cooper wanted an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen for his birthday. We went to pick one up and all they had was a New Year’s cake. He carefully removed the words “new year” and we drew in cursive “birthday.”  We added his name and his age to customize the cake. He loved it!  We took him out to his favorite restaurant, which also happens to be Nate’s favorite restaurant. Chipotle. Afterward we went to monster ice cream to get rolled up freshly made ice cream cups. Yum!

Oak Farm Animal Care

We had the opportunity to take care of the Oak Farm farm animals at the middle school on a Saturday. The animals are cared for daily by the students but on weekends there is nobody at the school. That’s when families sign up to help care for the animals. Jaxton works with the alpacas daily. He hast to scoop the poop from the previous day and throw down fresh straw. He has to feed them and often take them on walks. He has so many funny stories about the three alpacas and there are three different personalities. It is so fun to hear him talk about them. The farm also has lots of coats, sheep, two donkeys, a cow, and lots of ducks and chickens and baby checks. Also take animals have a pen in the van that needs to be completely scooped out from the day prayer and two wheelbarrows and wheeled outside and dumped. Then fresh straw or sawdust or both must be laid in each pen. Water from A hose from a well Hass to be filled in each animals bucket and fresh hey or food has to be filled. In order to do any work on the indoor pen we have to learn the animals to the outside pen with treats. This was hilarious and tricky to accomplish, but Jaxton what is the expert here. We were able to layer all the animals to the outdoor pen and close the gates in order to do work on the barn. A hose from a well has to be sealed in each animals bucket and fresh ham or food has to be filled. In order to do any work on the indoor pen we have to learn the animals to the outside pan with treats. This was hilarious and tricky to accomplish, that Jaxton was the expert here. We were able to layer all the animals to the outdoor pen and close the gates in order to do work on the barn. At one point the sheep got back into the barn but the gate was open in the barn and they started to walk around the barn. We quickly closed the barn side doors to keep them pinned inside of the bone and then LURD them with treats back into their pen. Jaxton Cooper and Kaylee split up with me and we worked hard scooping poop and feeding and watering the animals. Throwing down staff from the loft of the barn was probably the most coveted job.

All of this time little Nathan sat on a bench inside of the barn and cried. He cried and cried and whined and whined and cried louder. He absolutely hated this work. He assured me he would never be a student at this school and never would work with the animals. Our work went on as he cried in the background.It was quite the experience! Hard hard hard manual work, but satisfaction in knowing we were caring for the animals and that there was no one else that would do this job that day. It was an obligation and we were motivated to get it done in a timely manner but also to do it well. So grateful for Oak Farm middle school and the opportunities given to the students. And also grateful for the opportunity our family had to help.

It was quite the experience! Hard hard hard manual work, but satisfaction in knowing we were caring for the animals and that there was no one else that would do this job that day. It was an obligation and we were motivated to get it done in a timely manner but also to do it well. So grateful for Oak Farm middle school and the opportunities given to the students. And also grateful for the opportunity our family had to help.

Cooper turns 12

Cooper is 12 years old! Where did the time go! Here are some fun things about Cooper at 12 years old.

1. Cooper’s closest buddies these days include Ryan Kaczynski, Pierceton, Tyler, and his basketball team friends. 

2. Cooper is not a big breakfast eater lately but enjoys taking soups for lunch. He loves tacos for dinner. 

3. Cooper is big into basketball these days. He just completed The oak farm basketball season as the point guard for his team. 

4. Cooper is a passionate kid with a lot of self motivation and determination for success. He has an inner drive that anybody would envy. It’s exciting to see His interests develop and watch this self motivation create opportunities for him. 

5. Cooper still hopes to someday on Simplx or at least work there full-time. He is passionate for the family business.

6. Cooper heads up the sixth grade newsletter once a month. He delegates outs articles, games, riddles, and other writings to the sixth graders in his class and he is passionate about putting the newsletter together every month. 

7. Cooper’s favorite show these days is the Mandalorian. He also enjoys watching studio C comedy put on by BYU students. Sometimes he thinks he is older than he is and wants to watch movies out of his age range. We keep him in check :-) he also enjoys playing clash of clans on the iPad.

8. Cooper is a pianist. He has a passion to learn popular songs that people can recognize. He’s learned songs from the greatest showman and popular songs on the radio and he enjoys getting a rise out of people when he’s able to play a popular song. He is very talented musically.

9. Cooper is a pianist. He has a passion to learn popular songs that people can recognize. He’s learned songs from the greatest showman and popular songs on the radio and he enjoys getting a rise out of people when he’s able to play a popular song. He is very talented musically. 

10. Cooper is a planner. He loves to plan trips and plan the schedule. He is always giving us ideas of how the scheduled day should look or how we can make everything work into a timeframe. He is very good at finding solutions to the schedule :-)

Happy happy birthday Cooper we love you so much enjoy your year!

Suzuki Piano Recital

The three older kids participated in their winter piano recital for the Suzuki program at the downtown library on a beautiful grand piano on stage. It is a wonderful opportunity to hear them perform all that they’ve practice so hard to accomplish. They all have the majority of their music memorized, which is just amazing to me. In the car I asked Kaylee if she brought her music and she responded no. Initially I panicked But she responded “mom I don’t need it.”  So amazing! 

Kaylee played Up On the Housetop and Children’s French Song from the Suzuki program.  Cooper played Canon in D and then River Flows in You. Jaxton played Minuet in G Major and then he played a new complicated and beautiful version of Carol of the Bells.

Simplx Winter Party

The Symplex winter party was a fun and fantastic success! This year it was held for the first time at a venue other than our Symplex warehouse. It was held at the downtown PNC building on the 25th floor overlooking the entire city of Fort Wayne. It was a beautiful venue in the heart of Fort Wayne which is symbolic for Symplex grounding here in the city. At 41 employees, all but a few were able to come And most brought their significant other or spouse. It was really fun to meet everybody’s significant other and to interact with everyone in a setting away from the day-to-day grind of work. Everyone was dressed up fancy and socializing and enjoying one another’s company. Amy put together a photo booth and Michelle put together a painting project for the burn unit at Lutheran Hospital. We stenciled small motivational boards for the burn unit children. and most brought their significant other or spouse. It was really fun to meet everybody’s significant other and to interact with everyone in a setting away from the day-to-day grind of work. Everyone was dressed up fancy and socializing and enjoying one another’s company. Amy put together a photo booth and Michele put together a painting project for the burn unit at Lutheran Hospital. We stenciled small motivational boards for the burn unit children. there was a cocktail bar, which is new for us :-). We shared a slideshow put together by Madie of the entire year wrapped up into one video. My goal is to get that put into a photo book for the lobby for the year of 2019. Nate and I spoke briefly about each of the employees and our gratitude for each one of them and all of us as a whole. Of course we surprise everyone with a large basket full of personalized goodies.  It’s employee received some kind of Canvas or picture frame with a painting or quotes on it that represented them to us. And we also filled their baskets with winter items and other personalized items for each one. The kind words spoken by the staff concerning the company was inspiring and motivating to keep moving forward. It’s certainly not always easy to run a business and a family and balance everything and take care of all 41 employees. It’s difficult to make everyone happy or two always have a smile on your face. It’s a challenging fit but hearing the words of our staff and their gratitude, enhances our desire to serve them and to continue sharing interdependence with one another through Simplx Security. We are grateful for the opportunity to provide for our staff and also grateful that they can provide us a balance between work and home. I also realize that the company is ever-changing. Every Christmas party we see this specifically as the group changes in the dynamics change. It will never be stagnant and never stop changing; I look forward to what the future holds.

Simplx Winter Party

The Symplex winter party was a fun and fantastic success! This year it was held for the first time at a venue other than our Symplex warehouse. It was held at the downtown PNC building on the 25th floor overlooking the entire city of Fort Wayne. It was a beautiful venue in the heart of Fort Wayne which is symbolic for Symplex grounding here in the city. At 41 employees, all but a few were able to come And most brought their significant other or spouse. It was really fun to meet everybody’s significant other and to interact with everyone in a setting away from the day-to-day grind of work. Everyone was dressed up fancy and socializing and enjoying one another’s company. Amy put together a photo booth and Michelle put together a painting project for the burn unit at Lutheran Hospital. We stenciled small motivational boards for the burn unit children. and most brought their significant other or spouse. It was really fun to meet everybody’s significant other and to interact with everyone in a setting away from the day-to-day grind of work. Everyone was dressed up fancy and socializing and enjoying one another’s company. Amy put together a photo booth and Michele put together a painting project for the burn unit at Lutheran Hospital. We stenciled small motivational boards for the burn unit children. there was a cocktail bar, which is new for us :-). We shared a slideshow put together by Madie of the entire year wrapped up into one video. My goal is to get that put into a photo book for the lobby for the year of 2019. Nate and I spoke briefly about each of the employees and our gratitude for each one of them and all of us as a whole. Of course we surprise everyone with a large basket full of personalized goodies.  It’s employee received some kind of Canvas or picture frame with a painting or quotes on it that represented them to us. And we also filled their baskets with winter items and other personalized items for each one. The kind words spoken by the staff concerning the company was inspiring and motivating to keep moving forward. It’s certainly not always easy to run a business and a family and balance everything and take care of all 41 employees. It’s difficult to make everyone happy or two always have a smile on your face. It’s a challenging fit but hearing the words of our staff and their gratitude, enhances our desire to serve them and to continue sharing interdependence with one another through Simplx Security. We are grateful for the opportunity to provide for our staff and also grateful that they can provide us a balance between work and home. I also realize that the company is ever-changing. Every Christmas party we see this specifically as the group changes in the dynamics change. It will never be stagnant and never stop changing; I look forward to what the future holds.

Oak Farm Basketball

Cooper participated in the Oak Farm Montessori school falcon basketball team. He was on the fifth and sixth grade team and was appointed point guard for the team. This has caused him a lot of motivation as well as stress and determination to do well. He has led the team in a positive way. Oak Farm had seven wins for the season and Cooper scored many of those points. He is definitely a team leader And looked up to by his peers and coaches. Nefy Hathaway was his coach. She is also Owens toddler classroom teacher. She enjoys seeing our kids in their different respective elements. Nate was the official photographer for the team and didn’t miss one game. Congrats on a fantastic season Cooper we love you!

You Are Enough

A friend of mine sent me a surprise package in the mail following some deep conversations. We all have good days and bad days and it’s constantly changing. Sometimes those harder days can’t get me or anyone feeling extra down on themselves.  We question our worth and our performance in all of the aspects of our daily life. Sometimes we can forget that we are special just the way we are. There is no need to compare ourselves to another’s personality or another’s successes. We are enough just the way we are. Thank you Emily! 

Cake Time for Kay

This is still our off year for friends parties. We celebrated Kaylee‘s birthday with extended family at our house. What kind of cake did she choose? Shopkins! We found a fun shopkins cake to try to copy and I think it turned out fantastic! She and I worked together to make the cake and the fondant frosting. Fun time! Here’s to another year Kaylee!

Happy Birthday Kaylee

Happy Birthday Kaylee!!!  Here are some fun things about Kaylee turning nine years old:

1. Kaylee’s favorite foods are cereal, bagels with cream cheese, and oatmeal with chocolate chips. She also loves salt and vinegar chips with cottage cheese.

2. Kaylee’s best friends these days include Sarrazine, Estella, and Prestley from school. She keeps in touch regularly with her long distance best friend, Keegan.

3. Kaylee’s favorite types of books are graphic novels. She enjoys dog man, the babysitters club, Nancy Drew, and any book about cats!

4. Kaylee is a peacemaker. She is always willing to compromise and keep the peace. She is constantly surrounded by loud, arguing, crazy boys who always want to be right or who always want to be first. She is patient and waits her turn or helps to compromise in every situation.

5. Kaylee enjoys being a teacher. She loves to play school with her younger brothers and act as the teacher while they are her students. She prepares work for them and teaches them cursive and math. They do this so often together that we have had to designate a specific box for all of her school and teacher items in her room.

6. Kaylee still is a cat lover. She loves our little cat mittens. She also loves to draw and do art. Open art is her favorite part of her week at school.

7. Kaylee enjoy Spanish also. Somehow she has developed a very authentic Spanish accent when she speaks. She can roll her tongue better than anyone her age! I love her interest in the Spanish language.

Happy Birthday Kay!!!

Cousin Sophia

Kaylee got a chance to go visit her cousin Sophie near Indianapolis. Sophie is a couple years younger than Kaylee but they are the best of friends. It is special for them to have one another. I think they will always remember the memories they create as cousins. Sophie has strawberry colored hair and Kaylee has blonde hair. Kaylee is a little bit older. We joke that the girls could be Elsa and Anna :-) Sophie and Kaylee went bowling together and spent lots of girl time in Sophie‘s room. So glad these girls can be cousins and friends!

Winter Break Roller Skating

We all went roller skating to pass the time during winter break.  So much fun.  A little bit stressful but fun at the same time. Owen went around the track once with me in the little kid skates and he was done for the evening. I ended up just chasing him around the arcade games till he fell asleep to the noisy crowds.  Nathan was on a roll!  He figured out how to skate with the little kids skates on, and around and around he went, over and over. He had the most fun of anyone in our family. He was super excited! Dawson had on regular skates and he used a walker contraption to steady himself. He too got the hang of it quickly and went around and around. He got sidetracked with the arcade games and frustrated with the tickets and prizes. But the skating part was fun for him. Kaylee was at a friends house. The big boys had fun but without more of their buddies they got a little bored.  We are going back rollerskating at Oak Farm Connects night in Auburn in a couple weeks. So we all got a little bit of practice and it should be a whole lot more fun when we’re surrounded by a community of friends! Fun way to pass the winter break!