Quick Takes #228: Random thoughts and a bit of shopping

1. Life is good if a bit exhausting what with Dr Daddy currently on-call slide in between two work trips.  Kids are good; busy with school and home projects and all excited for the recent big winds to blow winter out and spring in.
2. Lent is quietly moving along; at the halfway point I'm happy with the reading we are doing and the efforts we are making at being less negative and fearful.  Still looking for focus for almsgiving to do as a family.
3. So excited to share that Lisa of a Pinch of Zest Etsy shop is open; please head over and enjoy her wonderful finds.
4. Speaking of Etsy shops I treated myself to one of Katrina's beautiful mugs! It arrived this week and is beautiful and just the pick me up I needed this week.
5. Prayers for the victims, their families, and the people of London as they pick themselves up and move forward in this sometimes scary world we live in.
6. Waiting to hear if Caitlin will get a spot in the same Pre-K program that Liam attended. Hope so ~ it was wonderful for Liam and as she can already count to 100 and is asking us how to write words we very much want a strong program for her.
7. Have a wonderful weekend!

Please head over to Kelly's for more 7QT's.

Quick Takes #227: Turning 9 and other milestones

1. March is keeping us guessing weather wise with snow today after much of the week in the 50's and 60's!!
2. Elisabeth happily turned 9 and declared that she thinks that her last year in single digits will be a great one!  We celebrate her birthday weekend with cupcakes, the making of a Pikachu cake and a couple dinners.  She also celebrated with friends by going to Build a Bear and then having ice cream from Friendly's.
3. She is very creative; Legos and modeling clay are favorites and she will spend hours creating and building new and different things.  
4.  More adventurous with food and while she definitely has favorites now eats a wide variety of things. She still prefers vegetables raw but otherwise no longer require a lot of accommodating in meal planning. Some favorites include cheese, crackers, kielbasa, bacon and fish sticks.
5. She is  still working her way through all the Magic Treehouse books but is also starting to branch out and try different genres and different authors.  Her favorite subject is Math, though Science is a really close second.  Future career goals still include studying dinosaurs but perhaps working as an illustrator is coming up more and more. 
6. The other big excitement of the weekend was preparing for the building of the loft bed; hopefully this weekend.  In addition to painting and sanding many boards we also got Elisabeth's new mattress ready.
7. With Lisbeth getting a new bed we were finally able to pass her youth bed onto Caitlin who much to my surprise has only occasionally complained about still being in a crib and had never tried to get out on her own (her big sister began self-exit attempts at 18 months).  Her first week in her 'big girl' bed has gone very well with only getting a couple of times and always for legit bathroom visits.

Have a  wonderful weekend and please head over to Kelly's for more 7QT's

Quick Takes #226: Lent and Birthdays

1. Happy March! Blessed Lent!  No actual flowers here but many sprouts and buds about; but also betting we will get one more snow fall if past trends hold true.
2. Lent is off to a good start with me actually having the chance to talk with both Lisbeth and Liam about what they want to focus on in addition to what we are doing as a family.  I posted earlier about what books I've chosen for Lent; am particularly excited about how Bringing Home Lent has suggestions for personal and family activities.
3. Elisabeth is 9 today!! Am definitely planning a separate post celebrating all thing Lisbeth but had to give 'quick take' shout out to my Birthday Girl who made me a mom and filled my life with so much light and laughter.  You have a lot of dreams and I pray you "catch them all"!
4. Today is the feast day for Saint Katherine Drexel; happy name day to those celebrating!! Her mother house has been sold; am hoping to get up there one more time before it closes though I believe her remains are being moved locally to the Basilica in Philadelphia.
5. Posts to check out: Colleen is hosting a great giveaway and Jenny has an excellent post about leaning into Lent.
6. Group sourcing: Any recommendation for a timid reader who made the jump to chapter books with Magic Treehouse and it coming to the end of those?
7. Have a wonderful weekend and send up a prayer for us as we (hopefully) move Caitlin her 'big girl' bed!

The birthday girl at one!!

Please head over to Kelly's for more 7QT's.

Open Book ~ March '17

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah; a wonderful story of loss and redemption. Anya struggled to be a  warm or outgoing mother to her daughters but deeply loved her husband and a promised him that she would begin again to tell their grown daughters the Russian fairy tales she told in their youth.  This book moves smoothly from 1941 Leningrad to 2000 Pacific Northwest and speaks elegantly of the harm that is done when we don't trust those we love with our past and truths.  This is the first book I've read by this author but will definitely be seeking out others.

   
Currently reading Trusting God with St Therese which meets my dual Lenten goals of giving up reading fiction and being less fearful.  While only a third of the way through I am enjoying Rossini's part biography part self-help approach as she highlights how St Therese's "Little Way" is grounded in complete trust in God's love and how we can better strive for that kind of trust in our lives.

As I'm reading Trusting God on my kindle I've also ordered Bring Lent Home with St. Therese as a companion and place I can make notes for future reflection.

Please head over to Carolyn's for more Open Book.