Mr. and Mrs. Volk: 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!