Leftover Book Fair books – Buy One, Get One Free sale at school. He remembered to bring his own money.

His preschool-made version of Brown Bear, Brown Bear.

Making waffles for our sweet friends visiting.

Last Page of Reading Homework for First Grade! (Shirts are optional in the summer.)

Picked just for me.

An owl and his trainer in the parking lot after school. Cool.

Field Day Tug of War.

Impromptu after-school play date. With water balloons.

Teamwork.

Our patio picnic last night.

 

Sooo…how are you?

I don’t know where you are, but around here we have 4 more days of school. (Thinking about this for the final day.)

In some ways I cannot wait.

In some ways, I’m a leetle nervous.

You may have seen some of these calendars on Pinterest to help you theme your days…instead of endless stretches of nothingness. Which can lead to bickering. The boys can be rough, too.

Here is our rough draft for the summer:

Make Something Monday: Recipe, craft, build something, science project

Trip Tuesday: Library, Museums, Art Camp, Park, Cheap Theater

Wet Wednesday: Swim, Water Balloons, Water guns

Thoughtful Thursday: Write letters, make cookies, serve people

Fun Friday: Pinterest ideas, Play dates, H2O Days at the Zoo

Other stuff for our family:

Summer reading program

Homemade ice cream

Dry clothes in the sunshine

Picnics and cook outs

Camping with friends

Farmers’ Markets and Gardening

Eat at When Pigs Fly BBQ… Heard it’s amazing

Dan’s Graduation Party (wanna come? bring food)

Practice, practice, practice reading and writing

Watch fireflies on the patio

Time with extended family

Jump rope

T-ball and Baseball

Run through the sprinkler

Riverfest

Bike rides

Chore Dance Parties

Pray for summer teams as a family

Play soccer in the street

Make this from Pinterest…and this

Adult Specific:

Trip to Colorado for my cousin’s wedding (sans children)

Make curtains for the office

Paint Side table

Date Nights

He loves when I choose driving time to take selfies.

 

Okay, what’s on your Summer Bucket List? I love hearing others’ plans!

 

Free Kids Day at Watson Park! This Saturday from 9:00 – noon, there will be plenty of free kids’ activities at this fun park  – like learning how to fish, riding the train, and trying archery.

Then you will have time to break for lunch and head to the free Kite Festival in Derby. From 1:00 to 4:00 at High Park there will be vendors and attractions, including face painting and a candy drop. Plus plenty of air space to fly your kites.

Do you know about NERDSday Thursdays at Reverie? The second Thursday of every month, Reverie hosts a discussion “involving three nerds passionate about their topic.” Things like auctionneering, urban farming and board games. Love it.

Since we missed the RSVP on that last one, what about Game Night at Reverie?

Mead’s Corner is hosting some fun musicians in the next few days.

Are you a biker? Do you know we’re in the middle of Bike Month? Check out the event calendar. (Thanks Wichita on the Cheap!)

Hey Garage Salers: This weekend is the Derby City-wide sale! (I had no idea there were calendars for this.)

And you know about $1.50 movie tickets at the Palace on Tuesdays, right? Okay then.

 

Have a good one!

 

Finally got the garden officially planted

 

Hello, Tiny Snail

So teeny

My backseat view the other day

The river is only a block from our house

On a Mother’s Day walk

Sweet boy gave me a flower

I don’t know how they scored this. So fun.

This was seriously our entertainment yesterday. Neighbor’s sewer pipes needed fixing, which included digging in our yard.

Yeah, it was 10 feet deep. That’s a lot of dirt.

What do you do with mint?

Color makes me happy.

 

And your week?

 

 

 

During times like Mother’s Day weekend, we get to celebrate the joy of what is.

For so many, though, the joy of what is to come is the only thing to assuage the pain of now.

No matter what kind of weekend you had, let’s fix our eyes on Him and our True Home:

“Heaven is our home.  Paul said, ‘As long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord…We would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord’ (2 Cor. 5:6-8).

Paul said we’d prefer to be in heaven, our true home.  Home is the place of acceptance, security, rest, refuge, deep personal relationships, and great memories.

God’s people, aliens and strangers on earth, spend their lives ‘looking forward to a country they can call their own’ and ‘looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland’ (Heb. 11:14, 16 NLT).  The capital of this heavenly country will be a ‘city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God’ (Heb 11:10 NLT).  This city will have all the freshness, vitality, and openness of the country with all the vibrancy, interdependence, and relationships of a city.  A city without crime, litter, smog, sirens, seaminess, or slums.

Heaven will have an endless supply of fresh water and delicious food.  No famine or drought.  Christ promised we would eat and drink with him – along with Abraham and others (Matt 8:11).  We’ll meet and converse with other inhabitants of heaven.  Not only Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but Moses, David, Ruth, Esther, Mary and Peter.  I look forward to conversations with C.S. Lewis, A.W. Tozer, Jonathan Edwards, and Amy Carmichael…

God gave Adam and Eve creativity in their unfallen state that was twisted but remained when they fell.  He will surely not give us less creativity in heaven but more, unmarred by sin, unlimited by mortality.  We will compose, write, paint, carve, build, plant, and grow.”

(Alcorn, Money, Possessions, and Eternity pages 113, 114).

Mead’s Corner is hosting a WSU Jazz concert tomorrow night!

My friend was sweet to pass on info for her CSA and fresh meat supplier, Zaycon Fresh. If you enter your city, state and zip here, you can find out if they deliver super fresh meat in your area.

My friend is performing in Annie Get Your Gun through Christian Youth Theater this weekend. Check out showtimes and get tickets here.

My friend told me (you are correct in gathering these posts would not happen without my friends!) the neighborhood behind Bradley Fair is having their area-wide garage sale starting today. See you there.

To celebrate Children’s Book Week, Curious George will be at Watermark Book’s Story Time this Saturday at 10:30!

Until May 10th, get half-priced Frappuccinos at Starbucks from 3:00-5:00. This link is fun.

Mamas get in free for Mother’s Day this Sunday to some fun places!

Apparently, River Festival Buttons are going up in price. Boo. Today is the last day to get them for $5!

 

Of course bike rides, board games, yard work and gathering around the table with people you love are some of the best ways to save money and be intentional. Have a great weekend!

 

Friday night was lovely.

My friend is growing salad. In a box.

A little help.

Playing school.

New screen door.

Yesterday morning.

This morning.

 

How were your 7 days?

I watched this show once in a while growing up.  It was completely unrealistic.

 

 

But even now, years later, I can recall how it made me feel when he sat down at his computer and typed his reflections at the end of an episode. Something about watching him wrap up the lessons he was learning in a poetic way intrigued me.

When I headed to college, I was planning to be an English teacher. Words are very important to me and I had wonderful teachers invest in me. So why not put them together for a career?

I remember watching in rapt fascination as a professor talked about literature and poetry as if it were gold. He would get choked up describing meter and symbolism and how the written word was a form of art.

I agreed.

But nothing, nothing, has ever moved me like His Word.

I talked with a friend yesterday. She is mentoring a younger girl and together they are working on memorizing Scripture. She had put a fairly long section to memory and was so excited to have it hidden in her heart.

Know how she did it?

One or two verses written on a notecard, kept in her car. Every time she drives anywhere she works on it. Reading at stoplights and reciting as she drives.

No one will ever be able to take that away from her.

This world can be confusing and harsh and the fact that this isn’t heaven is proven daily.

But when we read His Word…

 

Everything comes into focus. We experience that all Scripture is God-breathed and alive. Our thoughts are replaced with His, which are infinitely higher.

And we are literally being transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Words are powerful.

His Words are all-powerful.

 

————————————————–

 

Ever thought about Scripture memory? I’m not naturally good at details: any practical tips to share?

 

 

I have seen friends on Facebook talk about Bountiful Baskets. Apparently, very fresh produce for cheap. There is not a subscription, so you have to be available at your computer during the time they assign portions. I would love to know about your experience if you try this!

I talked about book clubs last week, and wanted to pass on another one my friend gave me a heads up on. While not free, it includes a meal and supports a local store!

And just because it is so charming, the lovely April Newsletter from The Spice Merchant.

Do you know about 2nd Saturday? It is an initiative to “Shop Douglas, Shop Local” every month. Buy a reusable cloth bag for $5 and receive discounts from participating vendors. So fun!

Did you know about Jazz Night Tuesdays at the Donut Hole?

Or the Hot Art for Cool Kids Camps at the Wichita Art Museum? Only $5 friends! (And you know their admission is free all day, every Saturday, yes?)

If you’re going for garden produce this year, keep this in mind: Sedgwick County Master Gardeners and the Kansas Food Bank partner each year for Plant a Row for the Hungry. When you’re harvesting, keep them in mind and check out their drop off locations. Let’s give from our bounty!

The Kansas Grown Farmers Market is already in full swing Saturdays from 7 am to noon April through October.

And the Old Town Farmers Market opens this Saturday May 2nd!

 

Have a great weekend!

 

 

 

Our beloved AeroPress.

The official Smoothie King in our house.

Homemade Shelves!

Perennials are so lovely and budget-friendly. Buy once, enjoy every year!

Exploring some deep roots.

One boy in each tree.

The seniors from my class at the Y have a Potluck Birthday Celebration about once a month. Last week they sent both boys home with flowers and we finally got them planted.

A couple of our sweet neighbor ladies are gem hounds. They gave our family a pass to the Gem & Mineral Exhibit. I was afraid I would have to fake interest in rocks, but it really was cool. I love seeing people in their element.

Spinning the Gem Wheel. They used their own quarters and won a cool-looking rock.

Making polished spheres.

Rock cutting

Digging for treasure.

I realize I’m way late to this party, but free Online Printables? These are making me deliriously happy.

I mean, seriously.

Can’t wait to decorate with them!

I love Him.

 

How you?