Another month of being quarantined!

There were a lot of frustrations this month as I was searching for answers on restrictions for work. I realized that being under the leadership of a boss allows for a lot of freedom as you are covered by the guidelines set for you. Being a business owner, you are accountable for your decisions, your brand and your team. Trying to make right decisions weighed heavily on my heart this month. A lot of inconsistent information on ordinances led to tears, confusion and seeking legal advice. Goodness. What is crazy, but also reassuring, about this season is that every single person in the world is experiencing the navigation of new territory… at the same time.

Regardless of the inconsistent information, there were some things that remained the same for us! One thing that has been consistent is the amount spent on our back patio. While it is still under construction, we spend the majority of our time here. In this room, we work, have Zoom microchurch, eat our meal, play, or spend time reading Scripture with all of the windows open. So much life happens in this backroom!

Work hours this month were pretty consistently inconsistent! Wayne and I continued to work around each other’s schedules with the kids home.  We would take turns being on kid duty and then we would switch hats and began our perspective work. Another consistent thing was our Wednesday breakfast Facetime dates with Mima and Papa. We look forward to these morning dates.

Mother’s Day was this month! It was so so sweet! The day started out with Wayne and Alex waking up really early and making me a delicious breakfast spread! The way to my heart is food. Afterward, I got to spend some time in our hammock and reflect on the Lord’s authority in His timing. I was able to spend time remembering the season of waiting for a child. Even though it felt painful to go through, that hammock time was healing because here we are years later with living the Lord’s plan. As I was thinking about all of this, Ethan comes outside and starts playing in the dirt by himself. He doesn’t notice me, so it just felt like I was outside looking in for a bit. Thankful. Then I got to watch Greenhouse church online, snuggle with my littles, watch a movie with my brother, nap, had Bento (my favorite) for dinner, and played Catan with Wayne and Alex to end the day. Full day, but a quality one.

Towards the end of the month of May, we started opening up our circles of exposure. It started with social distance dates!

Ashley’s invited me over for happy hour porch time. We sat on her porch for hours talking about how each of our lives looked during this season, realizing all of the good that quarantine life has brought. I don’t say this to mean there weren’t hardships for each us, but we just talked about how this moment has impacted our self-awareness since there weren’t outside plans or distractions to pull us away. The conversation was that much better with this spritzy blueberry lemon cocktail Ashley made us! YUMZ!

Another social distance date I had was a backyard Bible reading date with Tori. Tori came over one morning and brought coffee and set her blanket next to mine as we sought the Lord together. Yummy morning time!

Quality home time with my littles increased in May, as Wayne’s hours for work and school assignments became more demanding.

Ethan turned 4 this month! GUYS, I HAVE A FOUR-YEAR-OLD! WUT.

All Ethan wanted for his birthday was for his grandparents to visit. (We made a conscious decision as a family and invited them to stay with us at the end of the month. So many more memories on our back table! And so much good food! We had a pancake birthday breakfast and sang happy birthday with a candle-lit donut. Ethan’s cousin (one month apart) Eloisa got to join by Facetime. Other meals included a family pizza party, a BBQ spread, and ropa vieja! I was so, so proud to cook this for my dad since he is Cuban! He gave me the thumbs up, so win! Usually, when they visit, we are usually shooting a wedding or working, so I don’t really feel like we are hosting them. This time was different, I was able to cook for them hosting them. It was such a sweet time.

Around the Carney house, we really try to limit the amount of toys Ethan has, for a lot of reasons. One, we have limited space, so we don’t want the floor full of toys. Two, Ethan is content with household items. He has been seen pretending to be a pirate in his laundry basket boat. I love this because it forces him to be creative. But, the main reason for the limited amount of toys is, we are trying to teach him to be grateful for what he has. If he gets a lot of toys, he loses focus on one toy quickly and moves on to ask for another. We have noticed that limiting his toys allows him to feel like each toy he received is a big deal. For his birthday, mima, papa and Tio Alex got him his first Hot Wheels track and he is in love! I think Tio Alex also bought it partly for himself…because he has been caught playing with it while Ethan is napping. lolz.

While my parents were in town, we also watched a Disney movie together as a family, made a “splash park” in our backyard and played a ton of games. Everythin from Candy Land, Ticket to Ride, Catan online (easier without set up and tear down of the board!) and, my new favorite, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza. During quarantine, we found this game on Instagram and got hooked. It’s a REALLY simple hand-slapping game that is hilarious.

So much quality time with my mama! Since the grandbabies were born, I haven’t had a lot of alone time with her. While she was in town, I got to have a snug session, avocado toast breakfast date with quality conversation, and a (very short) walk (down the street). I hope my kiddos feel this way about alone time with me when they are my age.

Something really heavy that the world is still processing is George Floyd, a black father, being murdered by a Minneapolis police officer on Memorial Day. While there have been other videos that have been going viral, it was almost like this one was the one where everyone simultaneously said, “ENOUGH.” It woke everyone up on their civic responsibility to fight injustices and racism in this country. A lot of us had to face our own white privilege and misconceptions about our system and our race. As I was educating myself on the realities of racial injustice, I was realizing a ton of mistakes. Our family and friends had a lot of honest and raw conversations about this topic and I’m thankful for it because there has been more urgency to be proactive. Wayne and I started having racial conversations with Ethan the day the video of George Flloyd’s death went viral. I was sitting in the backroom crying over what I had just watched and Ethan walked in right after. Of course, he asked why I was crying, so… we began the talks. For our first conversation, we talked about different skin colors in the book, “Welcome to Our World; A celebration of children everywhere.” It is so good. At one point, I felt like the Holy Spirit gave me the revelation that if I am spending this much time in the physical, I should be spending just as much, if not more time, on my knees in the spiritual. If I believe I pray to the God of the universe, then I believe the Lord’s power through prayer for justice and change of hearts.

Later that week was Ethan’s actual birthday! We celebrated him with donuts, sushi, and tacos! That night, we had a few friends over to celebrate Ethan. It was the first time in months that we had friends at our dinner table.

My heart.

Auntie Ashley bought Ethan a DIY cookie cake kit from Publix (instead of the usual birthday cake)! I didn’t even know Publix had these! Perfect idea for kiddos! It comes with a cookie, icing, and sprinkles! Ethan had so much fun decorating the cookie cake…icing and sprinkles got E V E R Y W H E R E!

Longing for a “new normal” in June. One with more softened hearts, more justice, and (hopefully) more hugs.