“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
– 2 Corinthians 4:17

Today I wanted to share a list of a few things that I’ve found helpful to focus on or do during these unprecedented times.

1. Waking up to do my quiet time. I literally attribute the peace I have over this situation to my quiet time routine. Ever since when we started self-quarantining 2.5 weeks ago, I started waking up to give the beginning of my day to the Lord, and this has been a literal game changer! I’m hoping to share my quiet time routine on YouTube soon, just in case you’re not really sure what to do (but feel free to reply to this email or DM me on IG and I’ll be happy to help share ideas!)
2. Getting creative in the kitchen. I’m still not sure it’s the best idea, but we’ve been trying not to buy groceries and instead eat through everything we already have (we normally do this every so often just to not let our small stock pile go to waste). Sometimes the creative meals with random ingredients turn out great, and othertimes the meal is a flop. But again, I love using what we have (because sometimes I can get lazy/bored with my cooking routine) and knowing I’m not letting anything go to waste.
3. Spending time outside. The weather here lately has been BEAUTIFUL, and I try to spend as much time as I can outside with Malakai (don’t worry, we protect from too much sun). It’s helped not feel so cooped up in the house, and there’s nothing like getting all natural Vitamin D (which is a natural immunity booster).
4. Spending time in the garden. I haven’t been able to spend a ton of time here yet, but I did plant some of my spring seeds (and will probably plant the rest this upcoming weekend) and it’s been so good for my soul! I absolutely LOVE seeing the seedlings pop up in the garden, and getting excited about fresh veggies grown right here at home. FYI, lettuce/kale/spinach/etc. grow really fast (I believe ~15-30 days), they are frost tolerant (so even if it’s still cold where you are, you can plant them) and are super easy to grow! They do well in a raised bed or pot, so I 10/10 recommend trying them out. Plus, they can be used as edible landscaping, too! 
5. Roasting coffee. Daniel and I picked this back up (we just started getting into it the summer before Malakai was born) and I didn’t realize how much I missed it! Also hoping to do a video on this soon, because roasting your own coffee is a LOT easier (and more affordable) than I originally thought. 
6. Marco Polo and FaceTime chats! I’ve been scheduling almost daily (sometimes several a day) video chats, or if I don’t have a video chat scheduled, then I do Marco Polo (think texting but with videos) and it’s been SO good for my extraverted soul. I 10/10 recommend. Even if you’re not an extravert, then I recommend doing this with your extraverted friends… They need it now more than ever!
7. Rearranging the furniture (and my plants, ha). So I recently rearranged our living room and Malakai’s room one day when I was feeling particularly stir crazy, and it was SO helpful! For some reason it totally did the trick in freshening up the space and making it feel different. I also moved my plants around (which is my main decor) and that also changed up the spaces enough that the rooms in our house feel different! It may sound silly, but it helped immensely.
8. Focusing on the positive things of COVID. What I mean, is I’ve been choosing to focus on the GOOD that has come out of this weird time. I’m not saying I’m glad this virus happened, at all, but instead choosing to find blessings during these hard times. So for example: I’m grateful for the extra time with Daniel at home. I’m grateful that I’ve been intentional (and others have been intentional with us) and we’ve caught up with people we don’t talk to regularly. We lost power for half a day, and it made me SOOO grateful to have a home with a fridge full of food, electricity and internet – so many conveniences even within hard times. Also, the perspective that Anne Frank was in an attic for nearly 2 years with other people, unable to make a sound and didn’t have a lot of the things we do…. Yeah, that made me realize that my quarantine is a pretty spoiled one.
9. Motivation to work on home projects. We’ve felt this strong motivation to knock out home projects that we’ve been talking about, but otherwise haven’t done. It’s felt SO good to do and finish these things that have been sitting in the back of our brain, taking up space… Plus, it also helps “freshen” things up (like I mentioned earlier). We’re still pretty slow moving with home projects because Daniel and I are working/being parents full time and enjoying family time, but nevertheless it also feels good to have purpose and things to accomplish during free time. 
10. Being intentional/enjoying a slower pace. Even though I definitely have a drive to accomplish a lot of things right now, I’ve also been letting myself (yes, letting – my nature is to constantly be productive). Last night, Daniel and I had a chips and salsa date night, and just enjoyed slowly eating one of our fave snacks together at the table. In general, we’ve started eating dinner at the table as a family, and it’s been wonderful. We’ve also been taking daily family walks, and I’m just grateful for these moments to just BE. 

Anyways, hopefully my sharing this list with you can be encouraging, and maybe give you a few ideas if you’re feeling stuck.

Please know, if you’re in the “I’m being super productive” or “all I’ve done is watch TV and let my kids watch TV” it’s okay! Don’t feel guilty – these are weird, unprecedented times that we weren’t prepared for. So we’re all trying to figure it out and making it up as we go along.

Do you have anything you would add to this list? What are some of the things you’re choosing to focus on or do during this extra time at home? Feel free to share below!