Today

Today was a slow day.  We did the home church thing and Mike gave a great lesson.  He always does such a good job and the kids listen.  We talked about Samuel the Lamanite and as always, we are reminded to follow the Prophet.  It's really cool how easily we were able to fall into this quarantine thing and keep up with church at home.  Our Prophet really does know the way.  The inspiring move to have the Come Follow Me program is pretty amazing.  We aren't the best at it, but we're figuring it out.

We're still sorting pennies, so we did that after our "church meeting" while we watched Ephraim's Rescue.  My mom's brother is married to one of Ephraim's great granddaughters, so it's cool to watch that show with her and her family in mind.  Jason and Nathan thought it was pretty sad.  And it is.  It's hard to see people suffer as they were trying to do what was right.

As we sorted, I found a cool Lincoln/JFK penny.  I guess it is a commemorative coin. Lincoln is on the front, but JFK's face is printed on there too, tiny on the side.  It was a pretty exciting find.  I had never seen one before and didn't even know they existed.  It's not worth much more than a dollar (according to google), but it really is cool to add to our collection.  We came across 4 wheat pennies today too.

When that movie was over, I tried to keep the kids from fighting as Mike took a snooze.  

We made pork chops for dinner.  Mike smoked them in the smoker and they were delicious.  

Allie made us muddy buddies for dessert and we sat down to watch Mulan.  We wanted to see the animated one because the live action film is coming out.  It was so funny to watch Jason as he fretted and worried over what would happen.  He hates suspense and just wants to know how things are going to end.  That's the way I am.  If things get intense, I want to know the ending so I can just relax and enjoy because I know everything is going to work out in the end.  Even if it doesn't all work out, at least I know to expect that.  So when Jason watched in horror as the bad guys came out of the snow, he wanted to know how it all ended.  I was inclined to let him know it was all going to be ok in the end, but Mike told him he had to watch and wait.  They loved the movie and I was surprised that they had never seen it before tonight.   

Allie, Jason, and Nathan slept out in the backyard in a tent last night.  Jake stayed for a little while on the trampoline.  I think the littles slept like a couple of rocks.  Allie, on the other hand, had such a rough night.  Jason is a snuggler and since they were laying head to feet, he was sleeping soundly on her legs.  He's also a hot body so she just sweltered all night and couldn't move.  I'm so glad she does things like that with them though.  

By now, the house is quiet and all the kids are snoozing.  As much as I love them all, this is my favorite part of the day.  I need peace and quiet from them to recharge. I anticipate this week to be a bit rough.  It's Sam's birthday and although I love celebrating him, it can also be like poking a bruise.

But for now, we've got the day off tomorrow.  The sun will be shining.  Things might be crazy in the world, but in our little corner, life is good.