Moments together

Even though the kids didn't have school for the second week on January, it was really nice for them to have a break for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  Aaron was off too, so we started our day at the gym. After a workout, I took Adelaide to ballet and then we all headed up to Duane and LeeAnn's house for the afternoon. Aaron really wanted to go ice fishing. The pond was frozen so the kids pretended to ice skate, play soccer with a chunk of ice and Aaron fished. He did catch a fish! I need to get the pictures from his phone. 

Since it's been freezing, Adelaide and I decided to go the mall in KS and walk around. The mall isn't super close so we don't go often. I didn't even realize that the play place doesn't exist there anymore. We didn't even buy anything, but enjoyed looking around. 

My parents gave us this puzzle for Christmas and I started it during our snow storm, but never finished it. My goal this year is to have dinner on our dinning room table. We tend to eat at the table in our kitchen and it's too small for us. I started this puzzle several times on our dinning room table and then decided to borrow a friend's card table so I could leave the puzzle out. The kids helped me and I loved having something around to do as we chatted about their day. 

Austin had a music concert this week. He played the recorder. He was worried because he didn't know the part perfectly, but I told him to do his best. He goes to the gifted school once a week so he misses music class periodically. With some hesitation, he did go to the concert and he did awesome. I'm impressed how much the kids learn in a few months.

Austin's art:

And the Chiefs are headed to the Super Bowl - again!! This will be the third year in a row. I've talked about this before, but we actually don't watch football on Sunday. We have watched the Super Bowl the past few years since the Chiefs have played. Our friends had a party since we weren't sure if the Chiefs would actually make it this year. Well, they won. They're headed to the Super Bowl and we had a fun evening with friends celebrating their victory!

Eleanor is 7!

The kids went back to school the second week of January. We really did love having them home with us. It was nice for everyone to get back into a good routine of going to bed early and waking up early and ready for school. 

Adelaide was excited to get back to ballet class. We grabbed lunch together after class. Lunch dates with her are my favorite. 

 

The kids got home from school and headed outside. They had indoor recess so they were excited to get outside and jump in the snow. 

Eleanor made a snow cone. They had lots of snowball fights.

On January 15, Eleanor woke up as was 7! Yay for birthdays! We love Eleanor's smile with her two missing front teeth. She's learning so much in gymnastics and has fallen in love with the Harry Potter books. When she gets home from school, she immediately goes to our craft corner and starts creating something. She has made a million art projects for Aaron to take to work. I love that she still loves to pretend with Adelaide. They recently made a fort in their bunkbeds. Eleanor was invited to a birthday party recently on a Sunday. She cried because she loves birthday parties so much and has seen her brothers get to go to birthday parties. We talked about the importance of keeping the sabbath day holy and she agreed that it was best to not go to the party. She was excited when a few days later, she received two birthday invitations for a Saturday!!

Birthday presents!

Adelaide and I ran to the school and we were able to have lunch with her on her birthday. After school, she wanted to play with her presents, make her quilt together, and decorate her cake. She requested Mexican food for dinner!

Austin helped her make her lego set!

Eleanor brings a lot of happiness in our home! We are so thankful she's a member of our family. She's already talking about how next year she'll be 8 and will be able to be baptized!

Happy Birthday big girl!

So much snow

A big storm was predicted to come to the KC area and it started showing up Saturday afternoon. I was so grateful that we were already home from Colorado and we could cozy up in our house during the storm. It started with ice and then the snow moved in. Church was cancelled so we were able to have church today in our home. It felt like we were back in 2020 living through Covid. A special memory for our family is that Aaron was able to bless the sacrament and Eli was able to pass the sacrament for the first time in our home! 

Each day we weren't sure if the kids would go back to school. Monday and Tuesday they had traditional snow days. Aaron's office was closed too, but he did have work to do from home as well as a test to study for. The kids spent as much time outside as possible. The bundled up and had the best time sledding, playing in the snow and then coming inside for hot chocolate. They had multiple cups a day. The snow continued to fall and the road weren't cleared so the kids ended up being home the whole week! They did have a few things to do virtually on their i-pads, but once they were done, they were back outside. It was nice to sleep in a little and ease into a new year. They did practice the piano, work on crafts, listen to audible books, help with their chores, play games, watch movies and help me in the kitchen. I loved being able to organize the house, bake bread, clean out the closets and prepare for a new year. I went on lots of walks and enjoyed crunching through the snow. I even baked cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Adelaide loved the extra time with her siblings and had the best time having someone to play with. 

We did venture our for Eleanor's birthday treat. She turns 7 on January 15 so she was able to get frozen yogurt with her friend Charlotte and Adelaide. We had some coupons since the kids have been reading. The boys went sledding and then joined us for frozen yogurt too. It was a fun afternoon. 

I finished a book - "Mostly What God Does" by Savannah Guthrie and set some goals for myself including not checking in on social media until after I've read my scriptures and prayed for the day. I also set a limit on my phone to only allow me 15 minutes each day on social media. My calling right now is involved with social media so I really do know there is a lot of good that is shared on it. I was just off balanced in scrolling away with it for too long each day. I've been at this for 14 days now and I feel better already. 

Welcome 2025

As I start a new year of blogging, I've decided to focus on the blessings of each week. Sometimes I wonder if I'm capturing what I should and then I look back and feel grateful for the memories I've written down. I love looking back and remembering the little moments of each week. 

Eli has been so excited for 2025 - the year he will turn 12! Some updates in the Church were made several years ago and now the year that youth turn 12, they can attend the temple and not have to wait until they are 12. Eli has been counting down the days until he could get the priesthood and attend the temple. Aaron and Duane ordained Eli as a deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. Aaron received permission from our Bishop to ordain Eli in our home. I love the memories we've had in our home with baby blessings, sacrament meetings during Covid and now this.  

Our Christmas gift to Duane and LeeAnn was dinner at the Plaza and seeing the Christmas lights. We grabbed Cheesecake to take home for dinner. It was magical! 

Thursday evening we went to the Kansas City temple!! I was excited for Eli and I remember attending the temple for the first time. I cried as I watched Aaron baptized Eli for our ancestors. I've been excited for Eli to be so excited to attend the temple and I couldn't hold back the tears of joy I felt being in the temple together. He was beaming!