More Quarantine time

I started Monday morning with a walk around the neighborhood. I love the sunshine, fresh air and seeing the beautiful flowers and trees. 

My friend Angelica is so sneaky. I sent her some money as a thank you for all the help she gave me when I first moved to Chicago and didn't have a job. She shared her car, groceries, etc. and was so helpful. We sent the money back and forth on Venmo and then she finally kept the money and sent the kids gifts and books from Amazon. It was like Christmas morning. They were soo thrilled.

This is a car track.

This camping chair is ripped, but Aaron said we could still sit in it. It works fine for Aaron and me, but when Eli tried, he fell right through. We laughed and laughed and then Austin and Eleanor wanted a turn too. 

The boys asked if they could sleep on the air mattress. It was fun for many nights!

Eleanor has been removing her PJs every night. Aaron suggested maybe she was getting too hot and to try a nightgown. Aaron picked up a few things from Wal-mart and this little girl was thrilled when her dad walked in the door with this nightgown. She doesn't want to take if off in the mornings now.

I ordered these magnatiles a few weeks into the quarantine and they've been a hit. 

On Thursday, we watched the live stream of Grandpa Volk's funeral. I cried listening to the kind words his children said about him. I'm so grateful we could still feel apart of the funeral.

I tried a new recipe for Banana bread and it was delicious and healthy.

 Eleanor was excited to help me.

I've been wrapped into the news so much that I decided to pick up a book. I read this when Eli was a new baby and loved reading it again. Maybe I'll read it every Mother's Day. The book is full of quotes about motherhood and what an important job it truly is. I was uplifted as I read it.

For Earth day we planted wild flowers around the yard. We can't wait to see them pop up. I made this flower crown out of all the dandelions in our yard. 

Eleanor napped while the boys and I walked a mile to a food truck selling funnel cakes! It was tasty! And then we walked back home a mile hoping we walked off said funnel cake.

Sunday: It was another beautiful Sunday at home. My favorite part is singing the hymns together and participating in the sacrament. For primary we colored and cut out these name tags and put our names by Jesus Christ. I pray we can always have Jesus Christ printed on our hearts. 

The boys left love messages for me on the sidewalk. I love them!

Little Eleanor. She has started turning on these lights after I leave her for her nap. She loves her hedgehog. When a family friend gave us a blanket and this hedgehog when Eleanor was born, Aaron's goal was for Eleanor to fall in love with this stuffed animal. Mission accomplished. She loves her hedgy. 

I've been wanting to visit the cemetery where Oliver Cowdrey is buried and where a monument to the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon stands. The cemetery is about 30 minutes away. Today was the day! It was beautiful to walk around the cemetery and try and imagine the stories of the people buried there. 

We drove to another cemetery a few minutes away and found where David Whitmer is buried. I love being surrounded by so much church history and want to better study the lives of the saints that lived here. 

We also found this monument with the last name King. Austin was excited to learn that King's first name was Austin! He was the Governor of MO at one time. 

This week was different in the best way. I took time to really study my scriptures. We had a better, focused Come Follow Me lesson each day. I read an uplifting book about motherhood. I'm reading a General Conference talk each day. I focused more on my spiritual wellbeing instead of the news and it was extremely noticeable. 

Making memories

This week was a good one. We laughed more and enjoyed some warmer days after it rained a few days. 

I had the boys try on several pairs of shorts and then they decided to put both legs in one leg of their sweats. They laughed and laughed as they raced around the house, causing us all to get a good laugh. Aaron finished painting all the ceilings!!

Monday: FHE was reading about King Benjamin and then acting it out. 

We loved studying this week about King Benjamin and as we studied his teachings in the Book of Mormon, we felt like we were listening to General Conference. :)

Austin found a recipe for Applesauce Breakfast cake and asked if we could make it. Eli's been working on fractions. He read the directions to Austin and Austin mixed the ingredients. Their goal is to practice making this over and over again so they can eventually make this on their own. 

The rest of the week was spent doing school work, grocery shopping, organizing and watching BYU TV. We've become big fans lately. It's nice having something we all enjoy watching together and we don't have to worry about inappropriate content. 

We decided to spread a little joy to our friends so we filled brown paper bags with paper hearts and a few Hershey hugs. Eli and Austin enjoyed jumping out of the car, dropping off a bag on the doorstep, knocking on the door and running back into the car. We then waved to all our friends and let them know we missed them. We miss our friends so much! We enjoyed seeing familiar faces. 

The boys have been wearing an eye patch for 1 hour day. They completed their sticker chart so I took them on a date for an ice cream treat. I was going to take them individually, but they begged to go together. DQ has a new dipped cone - cotton candy. They were thrilled to get their own! 

Saturday: we went to Wallace State Park, about 30 minutes from us. It was beautiful! The weather warmed up and we enjoyed a hike together. A few moments during the hike, we felt like we were back in Colorado hiking because the hike had some hills!! All the other hikes around here are completely flat haha. Austin asked me today if we can go back. The park is free and we know fresh air and being in nature is so good for our souls, especially right now. 

I dropped off a paint sample at my friend's house and she had this as her doormat. I loved it.

We are enjoying our Sabbath days so much. Tonight in family council we talked about things we feel we are doing well during this time and things we can improve on. Something we all feel we are doing well is our Sunday worship. I love the spirit in our home. Sometimes we watch Music and the Spoke Word. Today Eli asked to sing Christmas songs for the opening and closing song of our sacrament meeting and it was lovely. We dress up in our Sunday best and it definitely helps with our reverence. Our sacrament meeting is simple and short. We then have a primary lesson and my favorite part is singing time around the piano. Every week we've been singing, "Do as I'm doing." 

Right now is a unique time to be a missionary. They can't go out to proselyte so they're doing lessons over Facebook and Zoom. The sisters asked if we'd take a picture of our kids holding up a sign answering, "How do you feel Heavenly Father's love?" They are making a video for the ward.

Austin: At the temple

Eleanor: When I sing "I Am a Child of God."

Eli: When it is quiet. 

I pray they feel Heavenly Father's love for them DAILY!!  

The weather was beautiful once again so this afternoon, we went on a walk to the temple. We enjoyed seeing other families from the ward on the temple grounds and we waved to them! We also found this beautiful nest with 2 little Robin eggs. So cute!

And that's a wrap from our week. Eli's birthday is next week and he has a countdown. 

A few goals we've accomplished during this time:

Austin - has learned to ride his bike without his training wheels

Eleanor - is improving each day with her potty training

Eli - has learned how to skip rocks

It's the little accomplishments each day that are keeping us recharged and happy!