COVID 19: Part 2 & Easter

Welp, turns out I have more thoughts to share.  No one is surprised.

First of all, something I meant to mention in my last post:

One of the things that makes me most sad about this whole pandemic situation is all the life events accompanied by large gatherings that have been put on hold or cancelled, all together.  Whether a large wedding, a milestone birthday party, a funeral, a months-have-gone-into-planning-this work event, a graduation – there are countless things that have had to be permanently crossed off calendars or postponed till who-knows-when.  As an Enneagram 2, I tend to feel other people’s feelings, and the disappointment/sadness/grief surrounding all these cancelled/postponed/changed life events can be a little overwhelming.  I so admire those who are making the best of these situations, whether it be a tiny wedding ceremony, a virtual birthday party, a drive-by retirement celebration, etc., etc.  Doesn't mean they can't be sad for what they're missing, though...and if they're not, I'm probably sad enough for us both - haha.

Moving on…

Thank goodness for Pinterest and smart/creative friends who share ideas.  Here are some of the ways we’ve been spending our days (or at least a few moments of them):

Starting our garden inside this year!
(But with old seeds, so we'll see how it goes.)

He really liked this activity ("painting" cardboard with water), but was very surprised to see his artwork had disappeared.
Not to worry - he was happy to draw it all over again.

Tried out Kinetic Sand for the first time, and it was a hit!

Thanks to a "hot tip" from a friend, I found this gem (sans accessories - we had all those, already) for free at the end of a driveway.  We were soooo glad for a couple warm days to try it out and are looking forward to more.  He was soaked, but was happily occupied for the better part of an hour!  The first day, I pulled weeds and did yard work in the general vicinity.  The second, I sat in the sun and leafed through a magazine in it's entirety - a small miracle!

Modified this Pinterest hunt, since the green leaves weren't on, yet, and the bugs were sparse. 
A success, all the same!

A friend turned us on to Cosmic Kids Yoga, and it's been really fun.  Jacob now requests "kids yoga," and though he usually watches more than participates, unless I do the whole thing with him, he's getting more involved (and involving more "friends") every time.

*not pictured: countless FaceTime dates, Marco Polo conversations, phone calls, and "fun" mail - so thankful for it all!

I know this is hard for everyone in different ways – some we can pinpoint and acknowledge and some we are unaware of.  My smart, sweet husband sent me out of the house to drive around while he was off work the other day, so I wrote some of this from my car in a sunny parking lot.  The peace and quiet did exactly what he knew I needed it to, though I can’t put into words exactly what that was.

I understand a lot of what I’m feeling stems from various forms of grief.  Our current life situation is not something any of us have schema for or previous experience with, so our brains and hearts are figuring it all out in real time.  Paired with all the physical/tangible changes we’re also navigating, it makes for some truly exhausting moments/hours/days/times.

Easter was an especially weird day for me – I don’t have any other word to describe it.  There were ups and downs, though no real high highs or low lows.  For one thing, it was dark and stormy, but with glimpses of sunshine – a true metaphor for my emotions.  

We had stretched out our Easter celebration, because Bryant worked the weekend (his work schedule has changed as a result of COVID-19 - 12-hr. shifts on a rotating basis...while the days get long, it is nice to have him more full days).  It was strange to not have him with us.  Of course, the no “in person” church thing added to the weirdness.  Jacob was sent to his room in the middle of the sermon, because he wasn’t happy with me for asking him to find something to do on his own if he wasn’t going to play nicely in the room where we were listening to the message.  Disciplining my child in the middle of an Easter sermon was weird for me.  Not meeting for church also meant not being part of the musical worship setting – something I’ve done in various ways for as long as I can remember.  Thank goodness for my hymnal and piano in the basement…it did my heart good to play/hear “Jesus Christ is Risen Today.”

All that said, here are some Easter-time highlights:

This was the most festive our food game got. 
Turns out, Jacob loves these nearly as much as his dad does.

The extent of our Easter morning photos.
Nanny Byers makes the coolest shirts!

Sweet "secret Easter bunny" friends hid eggs in our front yard Easter morning.  Jacob was so excited to go pick them up and see what was inside.  It definitely made the morning more enjoyable for both of us. 
Since I didn't have to take time to fill/hide eggs, we had time for a walk afterward.  Thank goodness for the somewhat-nice morning before the storms rolled in.
(We'd also had a special delivery the day before that included several pre-filled eggs.  We took turns hiding those around the house later in the afternoon.  Such thoughtful people we know. ♥)

A fun Easter craft (thanks to my Cricut).

Jacob invited lots of "friends" to church on Easter Sunday.
Like I said - Easter was a weird day for me.  I was feeling guilty for not having made a special meal, so decided to make the meal special by having a living room picnic while watching the Veggie Tales Easter episode.  It went over well. ☺

I've been missing Runzas, lately, so decided to make some of our own. 
Not quite the "real" thing, but still hit the spot...for everyone!

Praise God for Jesus and the hope we have in Him.  There is joy and comfort in that, no matter the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

On a lighter note:

A friend has been putting together a video summary for each day of the “stay home” order and asked for some “audience participation.”  So, I added a skill (video-editing – ha) to my resume, and put the following together: https://youtu.be/VuJa7rP4rHs.

I’m really glad to have been prompted to do this, because while this may not be the “best of times,” it’s something worth remembering…and really – there truly are parts of it that are “the best.” ☺  Hoping this will bring some humor to your day.  ♥

Hanging in there and hoping the same for you,

Kensy

Favorites of the day:

all the creativity and content that's been emerging, lately

pre-Easter surprises from my husband (our designated shopper)

Surprise Easter delivery from a sweet friend

Our Wedding

Happy New Year!

Hope your 2015 is off to a great start - ours is!

I really can't wait to tell you all about life in KC!  But...we should probably start at the beginning...  So, as promised, I'd like to share a bit about my our wedding.  (Yes, I intentionally left that "mistake" there. One thing I'm getting used to in married life is using new pronouns:

I = We

Mine = Ours

Me = Us

Be watching for those from here on out...since this blog is now about my life that includes my husband, so therefore, it's about OUR life!   Here ends the grammar exposition.)

I'd love to share every detail and every picture and every memory from our "Big Day," but I'll save all that for the visits we get to have in person (wink, wink...the guest room is open...ahem, cough, wink)!  For now, I'll share some highlights from my perspective (and maybe get my hubby to chime in, too!).

Highlights from wedding weekend:

• lovely bachelorette party/sleepover hosted by my amazing personal attendant - complete with fuzzy socks, hot chocolate, and cozy blankets on a super cute Christmas-light-strung deck!
• seriously perfect weather (74 and sunny...at the end of October...in Nebraska...!!!)
• morning of pampering with some of my very favorite ladies
• the music - especially the a cappella verse of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" featuring the beautiful voices of our wedding party and guests
• dancing! - our DJ, Craig Estudillo, did a great job of making everyone feel at home on and off the dance floor.
• my dad's speech - I can't really articulate what his words (and singing) meant to me...but it was very heartfelt and meant a lot. 
• the people - family and friends traveled from near and far to help us celebrate...we couldn't have asked for more! 

AND, of course:

• marrying the amazing man God so graciously picked out to be MY husband!

Bryant's highlights:

• getting to spend time with old and new family
• spending time with "the guys" the night before the wedding (Kensy, here - They were at the coop! ☺ )
• the wonderful ceremony my then-fiancée worked so hard to set up so she could become my wife
• the music - especially the a cappella verse of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" featuring the beautiful voices of our wedding party and guests (Kensy, again - He said, "You can copy that one." ☺ )
• getting to marry Kensy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (He asked for that many !'s ☺)

I know nothing and no one on this earth is perfect, but our wedding day sure seemed to come as close as it gets!

A special thanks to all who helped make it so meaningful, smooth, and wonderful!  Would especially like to thank:

• Harris Academy of the Arts - These musicians happen to be friends and former coworkers of mine...or maybe it's the other way around... ☺ Anyway, they're ultra-talented and nice and experienced and we are STILL getting compliments on their lovely playing.
• My mother-in-law (owner of GreatStitch) who not only traveled hours to be there and helped to make sure everyone was happy and healthy, but who also made this beautiful ring bearer's pillow:

The doily came from one of Bryant's grandmothers, the charms and pendants came from my two grandmothers, and his other grandmother did some hand-stitching to finish the pillow...AND his mom embroidered the back for us.  What a special piece of our day and keepsake for years to come!

• Le Cupcake - I spent some time with the owner of this lovely shop during my student teaching (before she opened the store).  We teachers always got to be her guinea pigs for all the test recipes and she even made cupcakes for my last day!  What they put together for our wedding day was so beautiful...and delicious! 
  

  

  So many yummy flavors!

  

  "The Princess Bride" themed groom's cake!

  
  
  
  
• Allison Garrett Photography - Allison is my godparents' daughter and was the flower girl in my parents' wedding...and happens to be a professional photographer!  She captured our day beautifully (check out the link to our pics - password is "berggren")!  AND I had the privilege of being a musician in HER wedding a couple weeks ago!  ☺  Here's a little taste of her work:
  
  

I could go on and on about this day.  It was truly a dream come true...and for so many reasons.  Thank you for letting me share a bit about it.  ☺  WE are so thankful for all of it...and for all of you.

Wedded blissfully,
Kensy (& Bryant)

Favorites of the day:

maple-glazed salmon and Brussels sprouts

board games

coupons

Squeaky clean!

That's me - squeaky clean, because I've had so many showers, lately!

My uncle asked my cousin if she took soap to one of my showers.

A different cousin brought a shower curtain as a gift to another.

Ha. Ha.

☺

I won't be offended if you didn't laugh at any of the puns.  And for those of you who missed it - I've been fortunate enough to be the "guest of honor" at a few wedding/bridal showers in the last couple of weeks.  I realize I've posted about these on Facebook, but I'd like to include them in this blog, as well, because it seems to have become a sort of "life book" for me, and these are an important entry in that book...and memories I want to keep fresh for a long time to come.

The first of the showers was in Lincoln and thrown by a couple dear friends from college and one of my aunts.  The theme was "All You Need Is Love," and it was such a cute, lovely, well-put-together event!  Unfortunately, I didn't get many pictures of my own of this one, but here's a taste:

No pictured: delicious snacks, cute table decorations, "date night" popsicle sticks, "Favorite Kensy Memories" cards, and a fun (and funny) "Who Said It?" game!

I got to keep the Scrabble tile sign!  My former coopmate (the creator of the sign and one of the hostesses) and I used to play Scrabble together all the time. ☺

The second shower was a pizza party couple's shower hosted by Bryant's family in Oklahoma.  We had so much fun spending time with family and friends, sampling pizza, and sharing recipes!  The decor, favors, food, etc. was all amazing.  Check it all out here!

The third was a dream come true, for me: a Pampered Chef bridal shower!  My mom has been hosting/attending Pampered Chef parties for most of my life, and I've grown up using and loving the tools.  So, it was very exciting for me when my matron of honor asked if she could throw me a Pampered Chef shower.  Again - not a lot of pictures, but be assured we had a wonderful time!

After we had some snacks and played a fun game, I got to be the demonstrator!

I'm just overwhelmed and humbled by the outpouring of love, creativity, and generosity of the host/hostesses and guests of these showers.  It all definitely filled my bucket and made me/us even more excited for our big day!

In other news, I moved almost all of my belongings to Kansas City this weekend, so...I guess that's a pretty big deal.  ; )  Big thanks to my family for helping us start to get settled!

Here we go!
P.S. The guest bed is up and ready for visitors!

I think this will be my last post as Miss Berggren.  Still working on the tie-in for bringing "The Scoop from the Coop" to you from a home that has never housed chickens, but fear not - I will continue posting as often as married life allows.

Thank you all for your shared excitement, love, and support!  It sure means a lot.

Until next time...

With much anticipation,
Miss Kensy Berggren

Favorites of the day:

Bacon Cheddar Potato Soup

wedding details & excitement

This going away/thank you gift from a family I teach:

I often reference the song "Scales & Arpeggios" from this movie, but rarely does a student actually know what I'm referring to.  There's one 3rd grade boy who was/is obsessed with this movie, though, so he picked up on the reference right away...and thought we needed a copy of our own in KC. ☺

Week of ♥: 2014

Hello, all!

I had hoped to be able to say "Hope you're enjoying the warmer weather," but as I'm writing this, it's snowing outside...and has been for a few hours!  It has kind-of turned to rain-ish precipitation, now, and the ground looks like it's covered by a layer of grits.  Or maybe couscous...possibly popcorn.  Regardless of what food it resembles, it's a very wet snow.  (Cue "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?")

Anyway, I hope this finds you well!  Things are pretty great here.  

I want to share some of the Valentine's Day gifts I received last week, but before doing do, can I just say again how blessed I am by the students I teach and their families?!  Seriously.  Not only do I love what I do, but I love who I get to do it with.  (Yes, I know - that sentence ended with a preposition...) I know that's not the first time I've said it...and it won't be the last.  And no - I'm not just saying it because they seem to shower me with gifts at any given occasion. ☺

My Valentine's Day week started with a cute heart Valentine and sucker from one of my new 4-yr.-old students, as well as this coffee bean/rose petal/foam sticker/heart decoration from another student.  Those coffee beans sure do smell good!

Tuesday started with a bag of chocolates from the family I nanny for, as well as this sweet gift and card from a piano student:

Outside
(It's worth noting that this thoughtful 6-yr.-old strongly hinted that this kind of candy was his favorite and he'd cleared it with his mom to maybe have one during our lesson...haha.  I took the hint.  ☺)

Inside
(Though I initially thought he'd drawn a picture of a minion from Despicable Me for me, it turns out that's a picture of me.  I guess I wear my glasses more often than not on his lesson days.  Not sure what to say about the hair...or lack thereof.)

The next day, an equally thoughtful boy student walked in with his arms very full, exclaimed, "Happy Valentine's Day!" and presented me with some beautiful Gerbera daisies and a candy bouquet!  I thanked him again at his lesson yesterday, and told him the flowers are still alive and well.  His response, "Yessss!" with a fist clench.  ☺

This gift was unrelated to Valentine's day, but I'm including it here, anyway, because I received it in the same week.
One of my adult students took a trip to Cabo, Mexico a few weeks ago, and she brought this precious hand-painted Nativity set back for me!  She said she saw it and immediately thought, "I think Kensy would like to have that."  She was right.  ☺

On Thursday, I walked in to find a box from FTD on my piano bench.  Inside were a dozen roses...complete with a vase!

The note said they were sent a day early, so I wouldn't have to take them along on my road trip to visit the sender the next day. ☺

Lisa and I exchanged Valentine's gifts that night.  You may remember the fact that we gave each other gifts in the same little mailboxes last year...?  Well, this year, we both unintentionally gave each other striped socks (among other things).

Mine are the fuzzy ones...she sure knows the way to my heart!  ☺

THEN, on Friday, I walked in my room at the studio to find a half dozen cupcakes from my favorite cupcake shop, Le Cupcake!

These came from the same sweet, thoughtful sender as the flowers...and I took them along when I went to see him that evening.  ♥ What a yummy Valentine's day dessert!

I also received a couple Valentine's Day pictures/letters from a couple families.  They sent those out instead of Christmas cards/letters.  Great idea, huh?

In other news...

I was somewhat recently introduced to a pretty awesome company called GreatStitch and got to help them prepare for a party idea that was more recently featured on a national blog.  (I painted the table legs! ☺)  Check it (and them) out!

http://www.karaspartyideas.com/2014/02/vintage-airplane-birthday-party-cashew-brittle-recipe.html

That's the scoop, for now!  Enjoy what's left of the week and the weekend to come!

Gratefully,

Kensy

Favorites of the day:

the power of prayer (keep them coming!)

smoothies

technology