It's amazing how much you can still enjoy the outdoors from inside the comfort of your own home. We've come to appreciate the breeze and rain by way of opening the window, the birds and squirrels by watching them play on the other side of the pane, God's expansive world and diversity of animal and plant life by way of the Planet Earth series, the design of our solar system through our study of astronomy, the sunrise and sunset with a view looking down opposite ends of the street and a closer intimacy with creatures all over the globe through some of the stories we've been reading. All without leaving our apartment.
Here in DC we were issued with a stay-at-home order on April 1st and at this stage it is looking to continue until at least the beginning of June (just extended last week). We are allowed outside to exercise and for trips to the supermarket and pharmacy and so the kids and I have been heading outdoors for a ride or walk most days and enjoying the beautiful Spring weather. Spring in DC really is spectacular! The streets are lined with flowering blossoms and filled with sweet fragrance and the warm weather has meant the kids have particularly been enjoying climbing trees and jumping in puddles. As for Zai, his first question when we get outside is simply, "Can I run?" We played hide-and-seek amongst the trees in National Mall a few days ago and Mia threw herself down in the lush green grass like she was flopping into a cushy bed while Eden remarked, "I feel like grass never existed since (before) this day!" 
On one of our family outdoor adventures we took a step back in time to explore the Dizon (JR's mum's) family history in DC. For many years, JR's Lolo (grandfather, now in his 90s) made his living by running a hot dog stall in the DC metropolis. The kids and I had done some research into the exact location of the stall and had worked with JR's family and the local libraries to uncover a couple of old newspaper articles in the Washington Post about it (link here if you're interested). And so, one Saturday morning, we jumped on our bikes and headed to downtown DC with a couple of old photographs to determine exactly which corner the stall had been on. JR remembers getting hot dogs, Jolly Rancher candy and Mountain Dew from the stall when he was 9 years old and I don't think ever would have imagined walking the same streets decades later with his wife and children. It was a fun way to explore some local family history.
Since our last blog post, our beautiful Mia Clarita turned 5 and we celebrated with her choice of American cereal: Lucky Charms (basically bright coloured sugar in the shape of unicorns), a delicious vanilla cake that we made and decorated together and yummy local pizza.
Looking ahead... we have booked our return flights home to Australia on July 29th (arriving in Melbourne) and so the countdown is on to enjoy these final weeks in the US as best as we can. JR has less than 2 weeks left of the internship and then we plan to visit some friends and family in the south of the US in June before enjoying our final 3-4 weeks in DC. We'll finish off our American adventure with a family wedding in Florida before flying back to the homeland. All of this is of course dependant upon restrictions and COVID-19 developments and ultimately the Lord's will.
In these very different times where we are constantly reminded that we are not ultimately the ones in charge of our lives I have been learning to love the limitations of life, as the book of Ecclesiastes teaches us, and to treasure the gifts that we have been given each day.
Much love from the five of us xxxxx
