Never in our lives did we EVER think we'd live to see a pandemic! It's hard enough trying to adjust to this “new normal” or whatever you wanna call it, but there are so many thoughts and emotions associated with these unprecedented times. Work, our children and their education, changing routines, no social interactions, etc..

Despite the drastic changes, there have been so many take aways in the past 2 months.

1. Anxiety/fear of the unknown - For obvious reasons, there were so many “unknowns” when all of this went down. But this helped remind us, who was/is in COMPLETE control, our Lord and savior Jesus Christ! Us going to church, praying, growing a relationship with Him was preparing us for this! “If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.” Psalms 91:9‭-‬12

2. We had to accept our new reality, which is grieving the loss of our old reality- Once we acknowledged that yes, this is some crazy ish, and we can't believe we’re living through this, we had no choice but to face this “new normal”. Why? Because we still had a life to live, bills to pay, kids to raise, etc. As the circumstances around us have and are changing, the routines in our home will follow suit. For me (Chenée), it took me a few weeks to accept this because I am so detail oriented when it comes to Max and Peyton’s daily routine. But as soon as I accepted that our routine has to change to adjust to the change of the current times, that helped to ease my anxiety, and gave me wiggle room to adjust.

3. We’ve slowed down- Before this, was Peyton's dance, Maxwell's piano and golf, birthday parties, baby showers, church events, you name it, we lived off of a calendar from one day to the next. Now, we are sleeping in, playing family games, baking, cooking more at home, spending quality time with the kids, and increasing our intamacy with eachother. This has helped us get back to the basics!

4. Saved $$$- It's been amamzing seeing how much money we’ve been able to save since we can't eat out now. We just stock up on food, and cook at home, as exhausting as it is. On top of all that, both of our jobs have been SUPER busy since all of this happened, which is a blessing to be employed right now. We've saved so much $ that we took advantage of the market to refinance the house, complete some home projects that we weren't able to afford before, AND we purchased a new vehicle. We give all praise to God for seeing us through this financially, because none of these things would be possible without Him!!!

5. Focus on the kids mental health- We couldn't even imagine what this would be like as a child. So we've poured our focus on them and their mental health. We’ve altered our routine that we've worked so hard thoughout there life to create, to allow them to be as comfortable as possible. If that means waking up later than normal, going to bed later, playing the Xbox and/or watching TV a little longer than usual, whatever makes them feel comfortable, within reason, we've catered to. Keep in mind, we still have to find balance with these things, as well as teaching them life skills through chores and spending time with the Lord. We still have to train them up in the way they should go, we're just conscious of their mental health!

With all of these takeaways, one thing that has and will always remain the same is God's love for us, no matter what!!! His protection over us through all of this has been overwhelming! And we are forever grateful for His grace and mercy during this time! This scripture below is by far the BIGGEST takeawy of all!

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord . “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11