Finishing up February

This made me laugh and continues to make me laugh. 

Last Monday was President's Day so it was great to spend the holiday with family. We love Alex's house. My parents were driving through CO and we ended up meeting with them for lunch. It was totally planned last minute and we're grateful we could see them!

Eleanor loves to give her papa hugs. We had lunch at McDonalds!

Can't believe these two will be 4 soon!!

The boys made me these cute Valentine's. 

On Tuesday, Austin had preschool and Eli had a two hour delay which means he didn't have school until 1:15. I had two passes to play for free so Eli and Eleanor got to play while we waited for Austin to join us. The kids loved it!

Austin made this cute hat at preschool.

Wednesday after getting Eli from school, I took the boys to see Lego Movie 2. We ate that entire bucket of popcorn. It was our dinner. On Thursday, I had parent teacher conferences for Eli and my friend kept the kids. Austin made this great Lego tower. Eli's conference was great. He's learning lots and kind and loves learning. 

I made muffins for breakfast and Eli loved them. He wrote me this adorable note that made me smile and smile. It's fun watching him learn to write and express his feelings.

We cleaned and went swimming on Thursday afternoon. Friday I had decided we'd have a relaxing day at home to recharge and then around 2 a.m., I woke up not feeling well. I had the flu. :( It was miserable. The boys watched Netflix all day and I slept whenever Eleanor slept. Thankfully, I started feeling better after about 12 hours and I ordered pizza for the boys for dinner while we watched yet, another movie. I finally started feeling better and as we got ready for bed, Eli puked all over. It was back to being miserable again. He was up until 1:30 a.m. I really didn't think we'd make it to his basketball game on Saturday, but he woke up and was ready to go. He loves playing basketball. He played the entire game and right at the end, started walking instead of running. I could tell he was still not feeling well. We came home and rested some more and then a kind friend delivered Costa Vida to us! We were so thankful!! We took baths and all went to bed early.

This after bath photo of Eleanor shows that she does have hair after all. :)

I was so grateful we were all feeling better and could attend church together. We needed it. We arrived home feeling uplifted and ready for a new week. I snapped these pictures after church. I love these kiddos. I feel like I'm really struggling being a single parent right now and I hate when I feel this way. I really wanted to thrive instead of just survive while Aaron's been gone - there have definitely been moments when I feel like we're thriving, but most of the time, I feel like we're just trying to survive until Aaron's home. I'm probably feeling this way especially after the rough week of being sick. I had a thought come to me early this morning to make sure and express gratitude more often. I know that always changes how I feel about everything. 

These hugging pictures are my favorite. I know as we move, it will be tough saying goodbye to friends, but as long as we have each other, we'll be fine!

Valentine's Day!

Last Sunday afternoon, I drifted off for a little nap and then I heard Eleanor wake up. Austin came in to tell me she was awake and I asked him to go in a talk with her for a minute. Sometimes Austin likes to find ways to get out of quiet time, but he really is a thoughtful brother. They were quiet for a while and when I went in to check on them both, Austin told me that he went and got some toys so the two of them could play together. Eleanor was happy as could be. It made my mother heart happy!

Monday: Austin is participating in preschool at Monkey Buziness - it's for three weeks and it's so fun for him to get excited for "school."

He claims he doesn't need naps any more, but he fell asleep on our drive to pick up Eli from school. After school we were excited to have Papa and Grandma arrive at our door! I cried watching Austin hug Papa for so long. These little boys sure miss cuddles from their dad.

Eleanor loves Papa hugs too! My mom stayed with us over night while my dad had meetings. It was so great having her with us. We went swimming and I loved having another adult around to help with little things like holding Eleanor while I prepared dinner. ;)

Wednesday evening we had a pizza party with our friends the Greens and sister missionaries. Three people had birthdays that week so we celebrated together!

Thursday: Valentine's Day! I love this holiday. We had heart pancakes for breakfast!

Austin made me this cute picture at preschool. He had a little party on Wednesday and he was so kind to share his Valentine treats with Eli and Eleanor. 

It worked out for me to attend Eli's class party on Valentine's Day. My neighbor came and sat with Austin and Eleanor while I was at the school. I loved the one on one time with Mr. Eli. He's growing up so much. I cried on the drive home from school. He's been through a lot of change and time away from his dad for only being 5. We're proud of him! For our Valentine's dinner, we met up with the Bensons at Kneaders. It was great family date!

Here are some of the Valentine's Eli received from his friends. He was glowing and asked if we could read them together over and over again!

On Friday we stayed home. We all needed a day at home to regroup and rest. It was lovely!

Saturday: Eli had his basketball game in the morning and he really is improving. He dreams of making a basket this season. He did make one at practice and was excited. Dream big, little one! 

On Friday afternoon, I found out that the AF basketball team was playing Utah State at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The Bensons went to collage at Utah State so I asked them if they wanted to go to the game together. It was a kids day so tickets for $2/kids. The Bensons wanted to join in so I bought all the tickets. Friday evening as we were getting ready for bed, I had a promoting that said, "Temple." I know the prompting came from the Holy Ghost and so many times recently, the promptings I've received have been one word. I suddenly remembered that a couple in our ward was getting sealed on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m and they had invited me last month. I wrote the reminder on my fridge calendar but not in my phone. I was conflicted on what to do! I had already arranged for a babysitter to be with Eleanor during her nap time while I took the boys to the game. I texted my friend Friday evening and said I wouldn't be at the temple. I felt like my boys needed the quality time with me. My friend didn't reply to my text message, but I was glad I had let her know so I wouldn't worry about it all night. Saturday morning I woke up, and immediately thought about the temple again. I had done so much arranging with our friends to plan a fun afternoon together and I didn't want to bail on them. As I prayed, I knew it would be a hard choice, but that I should rearrange my plans and be at the temple. Besides, I already had a babysitter so it would be an easy rearrangement. Teigan was so kind and offered to take the boys to the game. My babysitter came earlier and I was able to be at the temple after all! And it was so special to be there. The couple has a 1 year old and I cried as he came into the sealing room all dressed in white. My friend was so excited and grateful that I was able to be there and she told me in a text message that I had been in her dream the night before. I'm sooo grateful families can be together forever.

Eli and Austin were so understanding! As I cried and explained everything to them, they both instantly say, "Oh it's fine mom." I've had other situations like this happen when it hasn't been easy to act on the promptings I receive, but I know it's always worth it. As I prayed that evening, I prayed that by acting on the prompting to be at the temple, my children would realize how much the temple means to me and how important it is to act on the promptings of the Spirit, especially when it isn't "easy." 

I was able to rush back and be at the final 15 minutes of the basketball game. AF lost, but everything else turned out perfectly. I'm grateful for great friends, the temple, understanding children and promptings for the Spirit.

Birthday dinner with the Greens! They're so kind to invite us over for dinner. Eleanor insisted on being at the kids' table even though she kept dumping all her food. 

On Sunday after church, we headed up to Denver to spend a few days with Alex and company!