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.