The last week was such a refreshing week for me. I feel like I finally got some footing. The last year has felt like drowning, and I haven’t been able to blog or write or even create a safe routine for my family outside of simply surviving. I know that I am beating a dead horse by repeating this- I feel like every single one of my posts starts out with “this has been a hard year…”. But it has. And I don’t know how long “hard” will last, or if it will get harder or easier. All I know is that the last week was almost perfect and I’m going to take the refreshment that it was and turn it into a fun little blog post. Hopefully, this will become a weekly installment on my blog. I would love for you to be able to check in and discover some favorites for yourself!
Today I am bringing to you my FAVORITES. Not just my favorite moments from the last week, but my favorite resources, too. My favorite recipe, favorite song, favorite Christmas gift, favorite kid quote, favorite podcast episode, favorite blog post, favorite book I’ve been reading…you get the picture!
FAVORITE MOMENT: Hiking on Christmas Day. Sure, the gifts were nice and all…but 65 degrees in Ohio on Christmas Day?!? That’s the best gift EVER! The kids managed to hike two full miles! I’m so proud of them!
FAVORITE KID QUOTE: This one goes to Kiah.
Pastor, preaching a sermon: BUT! You see the passage says here, “but…”
Kiah (very loudly): MOM! We DO NOT say BUTT!”
FAVORITE PODCAST EPISODE: Journey woman’s Fruit of the Spirit Series, but especially this one on self-control. If you have any time to listen to podcasts, I HIGHLY recommend the entire Fruit of the Spirit series.
FAVORITE BLOG POST: My friend Jasmine at Making Restorations wrote a blog post that I’ve NEVER seen anyone write before. But I think it should become a trend. Her entire blog post details everything that her family spent that week. She just put it right out there in the open. And I’m HERE FOR IT. I feel like talking about money is so taboo and I highly dislike that. I think that if we were more transparent about how/when we spent our money, a lot of things would change. Accountability, for one. Anyways, I LOVED this post and that she put it out there. And I’m thinking I will do the same sometime this year! What do you think?
FAVORITE INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT: It’s so hard to choose just one! But, friends…if you aren’t already following my sweet friend Patty, please go follow her! Our kiddos are in Kindergarten together and we both teach part time at the school. This woman is incredible and I LOVE her Instagram stories and her feed! Plus, she has us ALL counting down until her husband gets back from deployment!
FAVORITE BOOK: I’m currently working my way through a stack of Christmas books from the library. This week, I’m reading Last Christmas in Paris. It certainly isn’t lighthearted chick-lit like most of the other Christmas books I’ve read, but I can’t put it down!!!
FAVORITE RECIPE: I’m actually not a huge fan of holiday food. I feel like we eat it once a year because it’s the holiday. But give me regular old weekly comfort food any day. Tonight I made Spanish Noodle Skillet (which my husbands family calls Goulash). Its basically this recipe, but I don’t put the chili seasoning in. And I throw in a block of cream cheese. YUM.
FAVORITE CHRISTMAS GIFT: Since Christmas was this past week, I’ll just give you a little run-down of our favorite gifts:
First up…Theo’s favorite gift is this tactical knife. He spent at least 15 minutes telling me why this knife was so wonderful and how it will come in handy. He was VERY picky about every aspect of this knife…something about the fixed blade and the
I’m going to cheat and share TWO of my favorites! I hinted at this incredible set of tassel earrings and was so so thrilled to find them under the tree!
And I ordered myself this gorgeous necklace with my kid’s initials on it. Just keep in mind that the price goes up for each initial you add.
The toy that the kids have already gotten the most use out of? This cash register. It’s not even a fancy cash register- it’s more a calculator with a drawer. But the two bigger kids have played with it NONSTOP since Christmas Day. I’m pretty sure one of them is sleeping with it in bed right now. And the best part? Tera has started using it to add! She asked me this morning what 12 + 12 was, and I told her to go put it in her cash register. She came back a few minutes later telling me it was 24! Total win!
And that’s all for this week! Let me know what else you would like to see on a future Friday Favorites!
Looks awesome!