Kallen’s Story Continued -

COVID definitely messed up a lot of things but looking back on it, for our family I am actually really grateful for all of the time together that we got as a family of FOUR before becoming a family of FIVE. Kate was forced to finish 3rd grade from home, and I ended up having to work remotely due to COVID restrictions in our area. Kevin worked from home a couple of days a week, and Karsten’s last year of preschool got cut short so she was home with us as well. While there were logistical challenges that came with all four of us being home at the same time and trying to complete school and work, there were definitely a lot of wonderful benefits. One major benefit was the amount of family togetherness that we got this past year!

There were lots of art projects, walks around the block, chalk artwork all over our driveway, and occasional weeknight dinner pickups from a local restaurant. The girls got new bikes, and I got the first bike that I’ve had since I was a kid. Karsten learned how to ride her bike without training wheels, with some instruction from Kate and a LOT of stubborn persistence. The three of us girls, plus Kevin, started having regular nightly bike rides around the neighborhood. We spent lots of summer evenings just hanging out on our back porch.

We decided to go ahead and travel to the beach for our vacation. We booked a condo last year, obviously before knowing that our country would be going through a pandemic. Thankfully, the town where we had a reservation was still allowing travelers to come and the beach was open. We had a great time and all talked about how much we love vacations together. After finding out that the girls school start date was going to be pushed back by a few weeks, we found a DEAL for a beach house in Sunset, NC and ended up booking another beach week. We later proclaimed that it was our favorite vacation ever.

We had no idea that our lives were about to change so suddenly. But God did. And I know He gave us this summer to soak in so many sweet moments as a family of four.