Homeschooling

This week was our first full week of "homeschooling." I actually love it. It's a nice balance of learning, and being together, and enjoying lots of time together. Eli's teacher checks in with him daily and it's nice when he doesn't want to do something and I can say, "Let me check with Mrs. Arens." 

Austin is loving preschool time - he made these big EARS as we work on vowel sounds. 

The teachers from Liberty Oaks had a parade and drove through the neighborhood to wave to all the kids. I didn't expect to get so emotional, but I cried when Eli's teacher shouted, "Hi Eli! I miss you!" All the cars had signs like, "We can do this! We've got this! We miss you so much!"

I had to take a screenshot of the comment Mrs. Arens made about Eli's new teacher. ;)

We find time to be outside DAILY! We ride our bikes over to the swimming pool and play in the parking lot. 

Messages on the internet right now have made me laugh over and over again. It has been REALLY nice to get so many house projects done - Aaron finished priming and painting the ceilings in two bathrooms. He also racked up all the leaves and cleaned up the backyard. We're ready for Spring!

Other activities include blowing bubbles, putting together puzzles and creating art on the sidewalk. 

A lady walking her dog even made a comment about our stain glass art. She said, "I like this! I noticed it yesterday. It's very pretty!" It made us all smile. 

We wrote messages on the sidewalk - Be Happy! and Don't Worry, Be Happy! 

We also dropped this note and small gift on our friends' porch. The boys rang the doorbell and then we ran away as fast as we could. 

Here is our YW activity via zoom - we did a line dance and then played a game. It was very entertaining! The girls loved it. 

Austin completed this all by himself! He's good at focusing to get a job done. 

We decided to check out the 8 Witnesses Monument. Aaron and the boys have been there before, but Eleanor and I hadn't. We love exploring all the church history sites in this area.  This is taken from the website about the Monument.  "The monument stands majestically near the graves of two of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, Christian and Peter Whitmer. Several other of The Eight Witnesses are buried in the general vicinity at Richmond and Excelsior Springs, Missouri. The monument honors all of the Eight Witnesses to the Book of Mormon...the testimony of these eight men appears in each copy of the Book of Mormon, declaring that they saw and hefted the Book of Mormon plates. Like the Three Witnesses, none of the eight ever denied his experience, though some became disaffected from the Church."

And more art. We had just enough chalk to do the sidewalk leading up to our door.

Afternoon color time where even Dad joined in!

Eli's teacher assigns him about 1 hour of work to do on the ipad and then I'm finding more worksheets for him to do at home. I appreciate technology, but Aaron and I both want our children to have "traditional learning" like we had as kids so we supplement a lot at home with worksheets and real books, instead of everything on a device. 

I use to love these as a kid - they're little gel tablets you put into water and they magically GROW! We did this for our science class.  

Here is the last of racking up the leaves! 

We all helped and we were all glad when it was finished. 

On Saturday the weather was beautiful! Aaron returned from dumping all the leaves and said, "Everyone, get in the car right now. It's so nice outside!" And he was right! It was warm and sunny. I miss the sunshine of Colorado. The past few weeks there have only been one or two sunny days a week, and I crave sunshine! We enjoyed a hike that's close to our house. 

Eleanor is learning how to use the bathroom! She looks so big and then when I see her sound asleep during her nap time, she still looks like my baby! :) I told my sister that for the past 7 years (Eli turns 7 in a few weeks!) I've been home (nearly!) every afternoon for nap time. We've missed a few days here and there, but overall, nap time is very important to us. Because of this schedule, being home during this time of the pandemic hasn't felt too drastically different. I do miss exploring with my kids and going to the library and park and seeing our friends for playgroup and church... but on the bright side, we really have been so happy at home. Eli misses his friends. Austin doesn't miss having to go to the grocery store with me each week. Eleanor sings songs she misses from nursery. I like that I'm not constantly yelling, "It's time to get up! Please hurry and get your shoes on. You're going to miss the bus!" One of my take aways during all of this is the importance to not be so rushed all the time. I pride myself in getting a lot done, but I know I fall short in other areas because of it. 

For church on Sunday, we had a testimony meeting. We shared our testimonies about the Restoration. Eli, Austin and Eleanor shared their thoughts as well and the spirit was felt. Aaron had a work obligation after our sacrament meeting so I taught the kids primary while he was gone. Here we are coloring pictures about Enos. 

I enjoyed listening to Music and the Spoken Word. 

The count down for General Conference has begun! 5 more days! Yay!! We are all feeling so excited and so ready to hear from our prophet and General Authorities. 

This scripture in The Words of Mormon brought me to tears last week as I felt grateful for Mormon's example to listen to the spirit, to trust the Lord and to do his will. 

Words of Mormon 1:7 - "And I do this for a wise purpose, for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things, which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will." 

Rest of Spring Break

After Alex and her family headed for home, here is how we spent the rest of our Spring Break:

- We played outside as much as possible each day. We missed the sun shinning, but we were grateful the rain stopped for a bit so we could get outside and take in some much needed fresh air.

Mrs. Arens' sent home some worksheets for the kids to do. By this point, we knew Eli wouldn't be going back to school until April 3. That has changed now, and schools are closed until the end of April. Some states have even closed school for the rest of the year. I'm balancing being a homeschooling mom and I enjoy it. I've always loved teaching my kids preschool so now we're just taking it up a level and incorporating 1st grade work! Here is math time with some M&Ms.

And here is Aaron conducting a science experiment. 

Austin can ride a bike!! I love watching my kids learn new skills. He's been practicing a little bit each day and he's getting better and better. 

We've played lots of games and done lots of puzzles. My favorite part is being together so much during the day.

More bike riding practice!!

On Thursday afternoon the weather was so WARM that we decided to have a picnic for dinner and bask in the sunshine. Also, Eleanor has become obsessed with this bee costume and she loves to put together singing and dancing shows for us. She likes Aaron to sit on this motorcycle while she does her performances. 

As I was cleaning out my diaper bag, I found a talk Eli wrote for primary. 

Grandpa Volk popped over for a few days. He was supposed to go on a work trip, but it ended up being canceled. He brought a few things to deliver to their new house. We were SO grateful for his help in putting up our new screen door! 

We really have been doing our best to stay at home as much as possible to avoid spreading this virus. On Saturday evening, I did run to Target and it's crazy to see so many shelves empty. This is the shelf for puzzles!! I haven't been the best about having food storage, but I have had enough to last for several months. I see people panicking to get food and I'm grateful for the example of my parents to be prepared for a time in need.

We did enjoy church at home again. I love the spirit we feel in our home as we sing hymns together and partake of the sacrament. The kids sang, "My Own Sacred Grove." They memorized the words to that song and were going to sing it next Sunday at church. They sang it for Grandpa Volk instead! This time at home has allowed us to pause and focus more on each other. I recently finished reading all of the previous General Conference talks from Oct. 2019 as well as the chapters in Doctrine and Covenants that President Nelson asked us to read as we prepare for General Conference in April. We are SO excited for General Conference, probably more than ever before. 

I'm grateful for the kindness of so many people. When we're out for walks or playing outside, everyone waves and says hello. The people in Missouri are generally very friendly anyway, but I feel like more than ever, everyone is smiling and waving to each other as a way to say, "We're all in this together."

I spoke with a lady from our ward last night who is 80 and lives alone. I called to check in on her and said, "I feel like I'm in jail." It broke my heart thinking about people that are extremely lonely during this quarantine time. Each night I fall into bed exhausting... I'm trying to keep up with my regular homemaker duties as well as making sure we're getting our school work done and using our time wisely. I'm working on being patient with everything, including myself and having patience is definitely not one of my best qualities. ;) 

Daily News

Everything is constantly changing around here. There is a pandemic happening in the world right now (COVID-19) and it's caused everything to close. Our dear Prophet even sent an e-mail informing us all that we would not be meeting at church on Sundays or having weekly youth activities. Even the temples are closed. We're having home centered church right now and I'm grateful we have this time at home together to be still. During last General Conference, President Nelson said that General Conference in April will be historical as we reflect on the First Vision Joseph Smith had 200 years ago. I'm amazed that now we're asked to stay home to avoid spreading this virus. I've also been struggling with technology and have questioned if anything good has come from it as I hear about people addicted to video games and pornography and I, myself, waste time on social media some days. During this time of being quarantined at home, I've felt so grateful that we can use the blessings of technology to watching Book of Mormon videos, and work on family history, and do educational based apps online. I want to keep a better record about all that's happening during this pandemic so I promise to write more. 

Here are some pictures from our week:

Austin, Eleanor and I went to this Midwest Genealogy Center where I was able to meet with a lady who was born in the Czech Republic. She was able to help me translate some of my records that are written in Czech. I felt so connected to my ancestors. As we walked in and I explained to my kids that I was working on some work for my ancestors, Austin said, "Mom, are they your ancestors or my ancestors?" It was so cute. I told him they are both of our ancestors! 

When Angela was here in February, she helped me find some home decorations. I found a candle that fit to finish off the decorations. 

AUSTIN GOT HIS GLASSES! He looks to handsome and smart. He was excited to join the glasses club with Eli and me!

Eli got home two hours early on Thursday and then Spring Break started! The weather was so nice so the boys rode their scooters and I pushed Eleanor in the stroller as we walked to get frozen yogurt. The boys finished reading 10 books so they each had a coupon for $3 off and each got their own frozen yogurt. Usually we share so this was an extra special treat!! :) We walked 2 miles to the yogurt shop and 2 miles home. It was a long way and I'm impressed the boys did so well.

Aaron finished painting the ceiling in the dining room and piano room. I've been so excited to have it done. He went to work and then I climbed on the latter to pull off the painters' tap. I CRIED when the paint on the wall came off. WHY!?!?! I feel like we're working so hard to get our house projects done and just when I think we have one project done, more projects pop up. I was devastated, but the ceilings do look really nice. 

On Friday we walked/scooted over to the temple. Then we ran around the church parking lot. 

This made me laugh. During this time of being quarantined, everyone is rushing to the store and there is no toilet paper. 

We cleaned our house all day on Saturday and then a friend I met at the park last summer was having a little birthday party for her twins they adopted two years ago. I was surprised they went ahead with the party during all of this virus situation, and I was hesitant to go, but I also wanted to be a good "missionary" friend so I ran over quickly with Austin and Eleanor. We didn't stay too long and there weren't a ton of kids that attended and we washed our hands a million times after the party was over. The kids had a fun time!

Alex and Bryan and their kids arrived to our house on Saturday evening. We were SOOO excited to see them!! They originally wanted to go to Nauvoo, but on Saturday, all the church history sites closed. We were excited to have them join us for church at home!! We had a sacrament meeting together and then I taught the primary lesson and Alex taught singing time. It was a happy memory together!!

 "Hold to the Rod, the Iron Rod."

The weather was cold so we drove over to the temple and went on a quick walk.

On Monday, we went to Farr West and Adam-ondi-Ahman. These are self-guided Church History sites that are outside so we felt safe touring them. On Monday evening, we picked up Joe's BBQ for dinner. We weren't able to do a lot of KC tourist things, but BBQ was a must!

March 17. St. Patrick's Day! We ate an entire box of Lucky Charms for breakfast and everyone was happy.

Alex gave us all haircuts and we played lots of games. 

We all cried when Alex and Bryan and their kids drove away. We LOVED having them visit for a few quick days. It was so good for our souls. 

I cried going to bed on Monday night as I felt so much gratitude for Heavenly Father's timing in our lives. A year ago, the kids and I were preparing to fly out to see Aaron for Spring Break. I was also working like crazy to get our house ready to sell. With this pandemic in the world right now, travel restrictions are in place. The stock market has fallen. The news reporters are predicting a recession. I'm so grateful that during all the uncertainty in the world right now, we are feeling more and more settled in Kansas City.

I feel Heavenly Father's love so much right now. I know He is aware of us and I'm grateful we can have this special time to be together as a family.

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