Life is certainly different due to the pandemic, but we've been able to thrive in the midst of it.
~ Luke ~
Luke has been doing well keeping up with high school. He's a very responsible student and we're SO grateful for that especially as school routines have been different the past 8 months. He told us last night that he feels like high school is more demanding compared to middle school where he felt like the amount of work was similar each year. His favorite class is science because he enjoys the labs and his favorite teacher is his Personal Finance teacher because he's fun. I'm also super grateful for two of his elective classes: Personal Finance and Skills for Living. Skills for Living is the current name for "home ec". I think both personal finance and skills for living are wonderful for high schoolers in prepping for adult life!
Luke is learning another important life skill: driving! He's been taking drivers ed online the past few weeks and will be wrapping up next week. When his online school day lands on the same day as drivers ed in the evening, it gets to be a lot of time on the laptop, but he's powering through. He won't be able to take his permit test until he turns 15 in February, but he'll be ready!
How else is Luke keeping busy? He's been going to youth group in Stewartville on Wednesdays, plays lots of xbox with friends and cousins, and is a very sweet big brother to Jace (which is especially a blessing to me when I'm making dinner!). He and Brent also play a Star Wars game on their phones together (don't ask me the name???). The plan in Minnesota is for high school basketball practice to start the week of Thanksgiving and we hope that COVID doesn't interrupt the season too much, but we'll take it day by day, just like all life plans right now.
~ Nora ~
Nora is also doing very well back at school. She gets to go five days a week in person. Her school has only had a couple cases of COVID and they are quarantining close contacts to keep spread under control. So far, no quarantine required of anyone in the family.
We weren't so sure how Nora would handle being back at school after six months at home, but she is really thriving! She likes her teacher and has adapted to a new school. (Second graders were moved to a different building to allow more space for each class.) Her only disappointment this year is not being able to have Talent Development (TD) classes for reading. She is an avid reader and loved the opportunity to be challenged last year in TD. Nora's favorite classes art and music and she loves all of her teachers. With the structure of school during the pandemic, she spends her entire day with the same classroom of kids and has made some new buddies too 😍
As for life outside of school, Nora's favorite things do to are to read, draw, play piano, and play Minecraft or Roblox online. We also signed her up for an online art class through Community Ed that she'll start soon. She also started piano lessons with a teacher in Stewartville! She has a great foundation from all she has learned from Gma Ruth and is really enjoying her weekly lessons with Skaran Studios. She practices daily both because she wants to and because she reports her practice time weekly with her teacher. I can really hear her progress each week.
Nora is also a fabulous big brother to Jace and they have lots of fun together. Unfortunately Nora and Luke don't connect as much any more, but they get along...most of the time. I only had a sister and Brent only had brothers so we're interested to see how our kids' brother-sister relationships develop over time.
~ Jace ~
Little man. What oh what can we say about him 😉
Jace has been going to daycare three days a week since the end of August. He had a few weeks of shy drop offs but he now goes happily into daycare when Brent drops him off. He loves Jon (daycare provider), Kya and Aiden (Jon's oldest kids), and Finn (their family dog)...or at least that's what he tells us about. When we ask him what he did at Jon's he says play downstairs, trucks, basketball, and throw ball for Finn-y. Jon also has a park behind his house so they get to play there often. We're just so very grateful that Jace gets to spend his days at Jon's 💗
Jace is home with me Tuesdays and Fridays and he's been getting out more than he had been during the spring/summer. We try to get visits in with grandparents, we run errands, and grab lunch with friends. I've learned that he's happiest in the car when we continue moving. He gets more antsy on the days that we have multiple stops.
Jace continues to be a chatterbox and is saying many more sentences these days. He gets more shy when others are around, which honestly, sometimes we welcome 😆 Just last week, we were eating dinner and Jace was interrupting (his way of feeling like he's part of the conversation) and continuously gabbering. Troy and Ethan came by while we were still eating and Jace got very quiet. I told them they are welcome anytime so we can get a few words in without having to talk over Jace 😉
Jace is still obsessed with trucks, animals, books, his lamb-y and blanket (aka B), his pacifier, and food....all.the.food. Last night while I was making lasagna, he must have requested 10 snacks as he browsed the cupboard and fridge. Thankfully, Luke and Nora helped redirect him and Brent got home from work to help too.
We hope this update finds you healthy and thriving in our strange, pandemic world right now 💓
