Snapshots

Our Spring Break plans were foiled, as we are carefully and courteously joining the world in staying at home to “flatten the curve”, and reduce the spread of the COVID19 pandemic coronavirus that is sweeping across the globe. We have friends and family all over who have tested positive and it’s really just an interesting time. 

Kasey have the children a color-your-own cardboard pirate ship.  Mutiny was immediate and the older children quickly enforced directions on what color everything should be. They worked on it more than the young ones! I colored with them—super satisfying. They say coloring is a relaxation technique...haha perfect timing, K!  Thanks for the fun! 







It’s gorgeous outside. Our faces are pink to prove it. It feels wonderful outside and what a blessing the timing of this gorgeous spring warm spell is.  We are watching the world green up again right before our eyes. Temps are perfection.  We explained to the kids that THIS was the weather for 75% of the days were like for us growing up in CA. The children cannot wrap their brains around it. Really, it’s been so long since I’ve been to California, I hardly believe it myself, and wish I had not taken it for granted.  We are definitely doing the weather justice this week by spending every moment outside and soaking in those golden drops of sunshine.  



Muffin Mania: 

Move over, “freshman 15”....we’re going for golf and gaining the “COVID 19” by baking all the things. We started with homemade soft pretzels, and then moved onto muffins.  We’ve made banana chocolate chip, cran-bran and blue-bran, so far. Gwen’s famous pumpkin cream cheese will be next! 

LEGO competition—Corbin made a jumbo version of a lego stack. 

We’ve made two trips to sonic this week for our big outings. That’s it. Just hours and hours of each other and the sun. That’s what spring break is all about, anyway. 

Now, if Reese finishes her English essay that’s due by midnight tonight, we should be free from school work until Monday! 🙌🏻

Stay safe, everyone. 

And STAY HOME/away from other people. 

Meg Reads

This was a quick, fun, read. Not really any new content, but good reminders and ideas to reinforce the self reliant concepts I’ve been teaching/offering to my children for years. 

A few things:

Corbin expanded his lawn mowing business to include our yard. I debated over whether to pay him for this, but since this chore lies outside of regular contributions, we are offering him a (small) commission.

Reese and Quincy are about to experience what economic crisis looks like.  Everyone on quarantine = no one needs a sitter and their source of income has come to a screeching halt.  No work = no cash flow.  

Reese still has her bathroom cleaning business and picked up a second client on the lane to start up this summer.  I’m hoping this economic stall generates some creativity and ingenuity for them.  They begged me to get chickens again yesterday. I think they do not remember the part about raising chicks and waiting 4.5 months until they begin producing eggs.  My car desperately needs a detail and I’m just waiting for a bored child to jump on the opportunity before them. 

We spent hours in the garden and greenhouse, yesterday. Thanks to my dad, the lights in the greenhouse are up and running. My neighbor, Mr. Terry (who built those beautiful dressers for us) collects donations for the Shriners and gave us bunch of long fluorescent bulbs a couple years ago, that they had no use for. They’ve been sitting in the greenhouse collecting dust since then, but yesterday, my dad helped me change the bulbs out and hang up the fixtures.  

The kids each joined in with other work and the result was 98 peat pots of seeds started. We just used what we had lying around out there...the pots are old and dry, and the seeds are so old, who knows how many of those old seeds will actually germinate, but if they come up, the return on the children’s time-only investment will be pretty great. 

Quincy found a 6+ year old bag of mammoth sunflower seeds and worked them into the “soil” along the back fence line.  The boys moved rocks that the restoration company dumped into our lawn back into

The rock beds (because evidently, the restoration company is not coming back to finish the complete mess they made with that).  The littles scooped potting soil. Reese sorted out a bin of seeds that was pulled from our garage shelves after the fire, but boxed up by the restoration company, but boxed up upside down so all the seeds fell out of their packages and mixed together. It was fun to test the kids’ knowledge of seeds. They recognized peppers, beans, corn, peas, cucumbers, watermelon, and carrots seeds (yes...they were all mixed together 🤦🏻‍♀️ but all of the squashes are too similar. So Reese packaged them up in a mixed bag of squash seeds that she labeled, “Mysterio Seeds” 😂😂  

Everyone contributed and I sang a Mother Mantra, “Willardsons are hard workers!” enough times that I hope they all believe it as gospel.  Great job, Willies. 

Me Want Cookies

This is what Reese wore today. Quarantine/Social Distancing is not for everyone, but Reese is definitely making her best life with the circumstances! 

Sloane Rides a Bike

Sloane has been zooming around all over the cul de sac on her balance bike for well over a year, but recently has been working hard to figure out pedals.  We all have worked with her, and today, I told her to get a running start and just balance on the pedal bike. She kept trying to start pedaling from a standstill. Soren patiently circled the island with her over and over.  But after an hour at it, I offered her $1 if she could circle the island twice without putting her feet down. Well of course she couldn’t do THAT without just getting a running start and trying to coast all the way around, and when she started to wobble, she decided to try out the pedals while already moving and it finally clicked! Off she went! Great job, Sloane! Best $1 ever spent. And great job Big Brother Soren for guiding and teaching her how fun it is to ride a bike! 

Quarantine Education

I wish I was a homeschooler right now.  

The district kindly sent home chrome books for all of the k-12 students so they can do online education. 

Truth be told, I hate it so much. I wish I was homeschooling. I wish I was coming up with our own curriculum. My kids are SLAMMED with schoolwork.  Completely underwater in assignments.  

I received 32 emails from teachers and the district yesterday. Passwords and logins and QR codes.  

Can’t they just read a book?   I wish I was the mom posting videos of kids doing yoga or go noodle for pe time or reading charlottes web together, or playing an online  model UN or mock presidential election designed to teach civics to children. Nope. 

Reese spent 9 hours doing assignments yesterday. 

Yesterday was the day “off” to prepare for the week.  Instead, we watched their little google classroom workload pile up with an eternal checklist. and more work arrived today. Soren in first grade and has been going strong for 2.5 hours. He has to submit video answers to conversations, photos of assignments, and comments on group discussions. 

I’m busy keeping the 3 little ones engaged in one room away from the front guest room where Aaron is working from home, and bouncing between children who all have assignments to “show this presentation to a parent” or “do this creative activity with a parent” or “have your parents watch this video and answer questions with you.” I finally just stepped away long enough to record my feelings on this cuz I’m already over it. And there are 2 kids at my door asking for me. 

I love teaching. But I feel zero control over the education my children are getting right now. That’s all good and fine enough when I’m not the teacher. 

But if I’m going to be “home” schooling I would love to legit homeschool and come up with our own schedule and learning agenda.  Everyone keeps losing free websites and resources for at home learning. Ummmm there’s seriously no time for that. They’re slammed with assignments and the sound of my email notification causes a visceral reaction because it’s another teacher assigning more assignments to “keep the kids busy”.  

We don’t want to be busy. We want to bake cookies and prepare dinner together. We want to read books and plant the garden and have all the “freedom” that homeschoolers brag about. There’s no time for anything because we are spending hours on accountability.  It’s over scheduled and way over managed. Like PE. Can’t they just go outside and play?  Nooooo they had to create an exercise log and document that they’re doing an approved fitness activity for 60 minutes. Normally PE is like 20 minutes long. I’m an educator at heart and a homeschooling mother at heart. Why not research this illness or the benefits of social distancing since that is why they are quarantined. Have them learn about shh stores are out of products and the economical effects of pandemic flu. Learn about vaccines for crying out loud. If we are going to “drastically change our learning” let’s actually do that for the better.  

This isn’t better. It’s horrible. 1st graders having to check in with video commentary every 15 minutes is not ok. Or maybe it’s ok for some people but it an education I choose. 

Give the children time to play. They will learn. I’m not saying do nothing all day or to treat home learning like a snow day/vacation. I’m just saying that the kids are 100% focused and not even 1/4 of the way through their work loads and we are approaching 1/2 way through the school day. No one has taken a break yet. And poor Reese still has a pile up packed on from yesterday to catch up on because I forced her to stop and eat dinner and eventually just made her go to bed. 

We are on day 2 and I went into this with so much hope and excitement to see my children more and be a  part of their learning.  Wind in my sails is gone. I hate this. It feels like busy work. Full time busy work. Except for the math and one if Corbin’s writing prompts....the rest is just vomiting back information into quizzes to check a box that they did their work. It’s not learning. 

I’m already hating this so much I’m giving it 2 weeks to work out the kinks and then pulling at least my younger two from public schools the rest of the year because this is not sustainable. I have an entire spreadsheet just for logins and passwords for the 40+ programs we have to navigate. Nope. 

Gotta go.

Hail Hail the gang’s all here

Family Scripture study was interrupted this morning by LOUD banging of rocks against the house. 

Hail. Large hail. Lots of it!  The thunder and lightening freaked Quincy out and she wailed from under her blanket that it was the end of days. 

Aaron delightfully reminded Q that lucky for her, her mama hasn’t been called a doomsday prepper for nothing, and we are TOTALLY PREPARED mentally and physically for a disaster. Bring on the storm! We turned out the lights to read by flashlight with the hope that embracing the storm would reel the children back in from the sea of distraction they were immersed in. 

Sometimes a patent casts a net and it just comes back empty. Quincys wailing continued to compete with the sound of thunder and quarter sized hail pelting the windows and siding. It was so loud that we were shouting to be heard over it and finally gave up. The kids ran to the French doors and out to the back deck to explore. Reese filled a cup and Q exclaimed, “a blessing from heaven! It’s raining pebble ice!” 😂

And with that we began our day. By 2pm it was 72* sunny and just gorgeous outside. 

Another in the Fire

Christians sure love to sing about fire, water, light, and darkness.  So here are a few of my favorite that preach the enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and finding joy and and beauty, purpose, hope, and gratitude in and for our trials. 

Another in the Fire

Hillsong United

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qCzY-gyup70

There's a grace when the heart is under fire
Another way when the walls are closing in
And when I look at the space between
Where I used to be and this reckoning
I know I will never be alone

There was another in the fire
Standing next to me
There was another in the waters
Holding back the seas
And should I ever need reminding
Of how I've been set free
There is a cross that bears the burden
Where another died for me
There is another in the fire

All my debt left for dead beneath the waters
I'm no longer a slave to my sins anymore
And should I fall in the space between
What remains of me and this reckoning
Either way I won't bow to the things of this world
And I know I will never be alone

There is another in the fire
Standing next to me
There is another in the waters
Holding back the seas
And should I ever need reminding
What power set me free
There is a grave that holds no body
And now that power lives in me
There is another in the fire, oh
There is another in the fire, whoa
There is another in the fire, whoa
There is another in the fire, oh
I can see

And I can see the light in the darkness
As the darkness bows to Him
I can hear the roar in the heavens
As the space between wears thin
I can feel the ground shake beneath us
As the prison walls cave in
Nothing stands between us
Nothing stands between us

There is no other name but the name that is Jesus
He who was and still is, and will be through it all
So come what may in the space between
All the things unseen and this reckoning
And I know I will never be alone
And I know I will never be alone

There'll be another in the fire
Standing next to me
There'll be another in the waters
Holding back the seas
And should I ever need reminding
How good You've been to me
I'll count the joy come every battle
'Cause I know that's where You'll be
I can see the light

And I can see the light in the darkness
As the darkness bows to Him
I can hear the roar in the heavens
As the space between wears thin
I can feel the ground shake beneath us
As the prison walls cave in
Nothing stands between us
Nothing stands between

There'll be another in the fire
Standing next to me
There'll be another in the waters
Holding back the seas
And should I ever need reminding
How good You've been to me
I'll count the joy come every battle
'Cause I know that's where You'll be

Count the joy come every battle
'Cause I know that's where You'll be
I'll count the joy come every battle
'Cause I know that's where You'll be, sing it again
I'll count the joy come every battle
'Cause I know that's where You'll be
I'll count the joy come every battle
'Cause I know that's where You'll be

Raise a Hallelujah 

Bethel Music 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e3RRU25dpPg

I raise a hallelujah, in the presence of my enemies
I raise a hallelujah, louder than the unbelief
I raise a hallelujah, my weapon is a melody
I raise a hallelujah, heaven comes to fight for me

I'm gonna sing, in the middle of the storm
Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar
Up from the ashes, hope will arise
Death is defeated, the King is alive!

I raise a hallelujah, with everything inside of me
I raise a hallelujah, I will watch the darkness flee
I raise a hallelujah, in the middle of the mystery
I raise a hallelujah, fear you lost your hold on me!

I'm gonna sing, in the middle of the storm
Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar
Up from the ashes, hope will arise
Death is defeated, the King is alive!

Sing a little louder (In the presence of my enemies)
Sing a little louder (Louder than the unbelief)
Sing a little louder (My weapon is a melody)
Sing a little louder (Heaven comes to fight for me)
Sing a little louder (In the presence of my enemies)
Sing a little louder (Louder than the unbelief)
Sing a little louder (My weapon is a melody)
Sing a little louder (Heaven comes to fight for me)
Sing a little louder!

I'm gonna sing, in the middle of the storm
Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar
Up from the ashes, hope will arise
Death is defeated, the King is alive!

And of course Tauren Wells is a favorite in the Willy House with Hills and Valleys 

I've walked among the shadows

You wiped my tears away 

And I've felt the pain of heartbreak

And I've seen the brighter days
And I've prayed prayers to heaven from my lowestplace
And I have held the blessings
God, you give and take away

No matter what I have, Your grace is enough
No matter where I am, I'm standing in Your love

On the mountains, I will bow my life
To the one who set me there
In the valley, I will lift my eyes to the one who sees me there
When I'm standing on the mountain aft, didn't get there on my own
When I'm walking through the valley end, no I am not alone!
You're God of the hills and valleys!
Hills and Valleys!
God of the hills and valleys
And I am not alone!

I've watched my dreams get broken
In you I hope again!
No matter what I know
Know I'm safe inside Your hand

On the mountains, I will bow my life
To the one who set me there
In the valley, I will lift my eyes to the one who sees me there
When I'm standing on the mountain aft, didn't get there on my own
When I'm walking through the valley end, no I am not alone!
You're God of the hills and valleys!
Hills and Valleys!
God of the hills and valleys
And I am not alone!

Father, you give and take away
Every joy and every pain
Through it all you will remain
Over it all!

Father, you give and take away
Every joy and every pain
Through it all you will remain
Over it all!

On the mountains, I will bow my life
To the one who set me there (to the one who set me there)
In the valley, I will lift my eyes to the one who sees me there
When I'm standing on the mountain aft, didn't get there on my own
When I'm walking through the valley end, no I am not alone!
You're God of the hills and valleys!
Hills and Valleys!
God of the hills and valleys
And I am not alone!
You're God of the hills and valleys!
Hills and Valleys!
God of the hills and valleys
And I am not alone!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8iDuZv_5MQk

We prefer the acoustic version 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p4rRCjrAyCs

Remain is a older catchy song from when Tauren was singing with a group called Royal Tailor. This was one of the first songs in the Christian pop genre that pulled us in to the Christian radio station And we Kelly coming back for more uplifting lyrics than regular stations we’re offering. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HHbfdYUIcec

For King and Country are our favorites. They’re coming to the AMP but it’s on a Sunday 😫😫😫 

Sadly, we will have to catch them another time.  What I love about these guys is that they play normal music with lyrics that are empowering instead of degrading. If music can draw my children closer to the Savior and help them understand their worth, their mission, or just feel better in general, it’s a huge bonus. Of course I still listen to and enjoy most genres of music, but the older my kids get, the less I want them singing sir mix a lot 🤣. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iXGuWHb5INk

Fix my Eyes

Hit rewind
Click delete
Stand face to face with the younger me
All of the mistakes
All of her heartbreak
Here's what I'd do differently

I'd love like I'm not scared
Give when it's not fair
Live life for another
Take time for a brother
Fight for the weak ones
Speak out for freedom
Find faith in the battle
Stand tall but above it all
Fix my eyes on you, on you

I learned the lines and talked the talk
But the road less traveled is hard to walk 
It takes a soldier
Who knows his orders
To walk the walk I'm supposed to walk

And love like I'm not scared
Give when it's not fair
Live life for another
Take time for a brother
Fight for the weak ones
Speak out for freedom
Find faith in the battle
Stand tall but above it all
Fix my eyes on you, on you

The things of Earth are dimming
In the light of Your glory and grace
I'll set my sights upon Heaven
I'm fixing my eyes on you, on you
I'm fixing my eyes on you, on you
I'm fixing my eyes

Love like I'm not scared
Give when it's not fair
Live life for another
Take time for a brother
Fight for the weak ones
Speak out for freedom
Find faith in the battle
Stand tall but above it all
Fix my eyes on you, on you
I fix my eyes on you, on you
I fix my eyes on you, on you

Corbin’s primary talk

Corbin read this verse and this talk that he wrote in Primary on Sunday. Gotta love his reference to Star Wars 🤣🤦🏻‍♀️  

Garden/Yard Reconnaissance 2

I used to curse the hens for tearing up my garden, but after 1.5 years of no chickens, I missed my ladies and their all natural fertilizing, rototilling, bug eating, dinner providing, greatness.  

I have spent so many hours Saturday blowing leaves and pulling weeds. The kids helped out/played a lot this Saturday and it was glorious for them to just run around and be outdoors for hours on end. I was wearing jeans and tennis shoes but still pulled a fat tick off my leg at the end of the day. 

It was really therapeutic to work in the soil again. I wish I’d had the capacity to get seeds started and use the greenhouse in February. So far, March has been so warm I don’t know if I’m the effort of getting started will prove its worth. I also don’t know how much emotional bandwidth I’ve got in me for failure right now! 🤣 

This “after” pic here was after I removed the leaves that were waist high  and filled the space entirely. It looks so huge without all the leaves. I wish I’d taken a before pic. It was crazy and you’ve never seen so many leaves in your life. I ran out of gas before finishing the other side. Next weekend. 

This one shows progress on the play set side still a ways to go but it’s so nice to see they yard taking shape after such a long dormant season. Come back to life, Willy Backyard! 

Irish 10K

This year (left) vs last year (right)! I didn’t think it to be possible, but I shaved a couple minutes off my time! PR! 🎉🎉 55:43 chip time and a (barely) sub 9 minute mile.  This is exciting stuff right here.  Double that and add 10 minutes for the last mile and my dream time goal of 2:05 half marathon is looking pretty tight, but possible! 

Reese and Quincy at the KC temple

The Shaws graciously added Reese and Quincy to their brood for a day at the Kansas City Temple.  Julie took these pics of our funny bunch afterward. 

They went to Costa Vida after and enjoyed a pretty peaceful drive home 🤣 Thank you Shaws for giving our girls the opportunity to serve in the temple! 

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

My friend, Simone, introduced me to this bit of cookie perfection. I use only semi-sweet chips and I salt the tops as soon as they come out if the oven, because I believe that’s what should be done to every chocolate chip cookie.  Here’s the recipe, compliments of Simone and Stephen H. You’re welcome. 

Monday in March Madness

1) 3 cheers for early voting. I don’t look forward to the presidential race. It’s like watching a terrible dating show where they’ve brought out all the suitors and they are all terrible, and the contestant is still peering over at the curtain nervously asking, “uhhhh what else ya got back there? Wait what? This is it? Is there NO ONE ELSE?!” 


2) My contribution to helping Reese be on time to seminary is to help Aaron get out the door. The man wakes up early but he does. Not. Rush. Ever. I try to press a week of shirts once a week for Aaron. This is a labor of love.  This week, I taught Reese how to iron, and she also made a contribution to speed up the morning routine. If she had more time, I would regularly commission her to do this chore and win win win. 

3) Reese has been working HARD, lately. She’s taking every babysitting and bathroom cleaning gig she can get. She’s got a monthly financial savings goal and she’s killin’ it. She’s got a plan to buy her car with cash and this is a plan that makes her mother so proud.  Need a sitter? Your bathrooms cleaned? Your doggy walked? Give Reese a call to put her to work and pad her car savings fund. She is hard working and eager and is on the lookout for more opportunities to work. 

4) I spent a couple hours trimming all the liriope on Saturday and cleaned out the front rock beds—filled up a trash bag full of house debris: staples, nails, metal, roofing H clips, several old roof shingles, broken ceramic tile, glass, melted hunks of metal, insulation, loads of trash including cigarette butts and monster drink cans and Gatorade bottles galore, and an entire roll of framing nails. 


5) Lady/Grammy had a birthday! Reese, Julie and Finley S are her ministering sisters, so they planned a spring crafty day for her and invited Q and I, too. We made burlap bunnies and stuffed painted muslin carrots and covered eggs in book pages and moss.  And we ate Shaw magic cookie bars so it was just the best time ever! I love you mom! Happy Birthday! 

6) What do a twitching eye, 3 cold sores, restless legs, blown up neck glands, and Raynaud fingers have in common? 

No idea, but they’re all flaring up at once on me. None of  the blood tests I had done yielded any new or telling information. 






7) for today’s naptime project, Sloane helped me start re-assembling new 72 hour kits for our family. 

I spent $36 on food and everything will last until the end of the year, so we will swap it out October General conference weekend. I took a pic of the food so I will know exactly what to buy again!without having to think it over. Easy and done. I probably should add more protein. Maybe I will add some peanut butter crackers. That would be easier than some of the other meal ideas. It feels great to have SOMEthing again. My emergency “doomsday prepper bunker storage room was so well prepared for disaster. It destroyed me to watch it all get thrown in a dumpster.  


8) I’m slowly beefing up our first aid supplies as well. There’s already a box of N95 masks in there, but a couple of washable N99 masks and a multipack of disposable carbon filters will arrive soon. I don’t really care that I sound like a paranoid alarmist.  I have always felt called to prepared to help and lift another in the event of a disaster.  We could’ve survived a pandemic quarantine for weeks down there. Haha!  And then I had my own disaster and I learned a lot. So here we go again with new and improved knowledge. Water, First aid supplies, and food are the current focus.  Below are some of the recent inspired purchases I felt to add to our supplies. 

I miss the peace I once felt knowing I had all of this already taken care of, but I’m trying to be patient and listen and research so the efforts I can make are the best ones. We’ll get there again and we will do it right. 

9) Today, Reese had an after school study group from 4-6 at the Bentonville library, Soren had soccer in Bentonville at 6, Q needed to be at OPYO rehearsal in Downtown Rogers at 5:50, and Corbin had soccer at 7:15. I made an early dinner (pork tacos, I ate mine in the car), took the triplets with me to deliver Q in Rogers, Aaron too the boys to soccer, I came home and bathed the triplets, unclogged an overflowed basement toilet, bleached the    Bathroom, then cleaned the bottle of shampoo that Esme emptied and smeared all over my glass shower door during the 1 minute I left her unattended in the shower to go get a towel. I put the Littles to bed, went back to Rogers to get Q, Reese stayed home and continued on homework until 10:30 when we made her call it and go to bed. the boys came home wind chilled to the bones, showered and went to bed and I am sitting for the first time since the swings at Dave Peel Park, this morning, and the restoration crew will be here in the morning. Let the March Madness begin!