Happy Friday! I am linking up with Kelly for 7 Quick Takes.
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Grateful for…
- The kids being happy in their first week back at school.
- Having four hours to myself each morning!
- Getting to a better morning prayer routine.
- A husband that works so hard for our family.
- Kind notes from friends.
- The necessities of life.
Praying for..
- The grace to not waste time.
- Those carrying heavy crosses.
- Those who have died unexpectedly and for their families left behind.
- An end to the fires burning in CA and WA.
- An end to the drought.
- All pregnant moms, those trying to get pregnant, those who have lost their babies and for moms contemplating an abortion.
- The souls in purgatory, especially family, friend and those most forgotten.
- Some special intentions.
Pondering…
This week I have been thinking about the use of my time and not wasting it. Now that the kids are back to school I have my mornings free. I have a HUGE list of To Do’s and things I need to work on but my mind is constantly going, “Squirrel!” and I jump into too many things at once and I don’t actually get much accomplished. I hate that! That is why I am such a list maker and planner user. I have been trying to order my day and get the “must do’s” done first. Even if the rest of the day gets crazy, if I at least accomplished a few of the primary things, I don’t need to sweat it.
I am working on my planner posts next week. I have my new 2015-2016 Erin Condren planner and a small traveler’s notebook. I am also updating my Household Binder and Financial binder so lots of planner posts coming up!
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Around the House…
I’m dividing up the house into sections to work on. This week I am working on the entry way. We finally found a system that we like to corral all the back packs, shoes and various items that accumulate in the entryway. I’ll be sharing about it in future posts. 🙂
Family Chit Chat…
This happened –
The first day of school. It’s the first (and last) year we will have all the kids together in one school! We’ve got Bella (8th), Andrew (2nd), John-Paul (K) and Matthew (Pre-K).
Matthew’s first day of school in his cute little uniform. After taking this photo he said, “Okay, you can leave now, mom.” Lol. I’m glad he feels so comfortable there! (After seeing his siblings in that class he was dying for it to be his turn.)
The first day was also John-Paul’s birthday! He brought Star Wars graham crackers to share with his friends.
I had fun making the birthday sign with the help of Picmonkey. 😉
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In the Kitchen…
Everyone has been asking me when I am going to make another batch of granola so I guess that’s what I’ll be making tomorrow morning!
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Watching…
(At the Movies)
I haven’t been to the movies much these last couple weeks, although I did catch this one.
Paper Towns reminded me of the John Hughes movies I used to watch when I was a kid. There are many teen elements but something a little deeper too. The story is about Quentin and his childhood friend Margo. They slowly drift apart and into different social crowds in high school but he never stops having a crush on her. On night, after she breaks up with her boyfriend, she turns to Q to help her seek revenge on those who wronged her. They bond and the following day she disappears. Q follows the clues she left to find out where she went.Q’s coming of age story is better than other teen movies I’ve seen and I like that (slight spoiler alert) that there wasn’t the cliched “happy” ending. That actually made the movie for me. I’d rate this 3 1/2 stars out of 5, Parent note: The movie is rated PG-13. It contains language, crude remarks/ behavior, implied teen sex (nothing shown), partial nudity (a guy’s behind) and a secular worldview.
Listening to …
The movie may not be your cup of tea but if you listen to the alternative music station then you’ll probably enjoy the Paper Town Soundtrack. I know I am loving it. The song “My Type” by Saint Motel is on it and although it’s an older song, it has been one of my favorite tracks of the summer. I dare you to listen to it and not want to dance! I’ll be listening to it in the car as I go on a lunch date with Brian this weekend! Well, only if i have on my earphone since he doesn’t like my music. He is either listening to chant or The Clash. My sweet paradoxical man is just my type. 😉
Reading…
I have not been reading lately since by the evening I am so exhausted I fall asleep after a few sentences. Now that I have more free time to work in the morn, I hope to remedy that because I downloaded a bunch of books on my Kindle thanks to the Kindle deals I found over at ModernMrsDarcy.com. There are some great titles listed!
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Here are my posts from the last two week’s:
There is still time to join the “Be a Heart” Giveaway! It ends next weekend. 🙂
- Saturday Spotlight: Erica of Be A Heart
- 7 Quick Takes (8/21/15): Brunch, Birthday & Blessings
- Operation Clean and Organize: Organizing My Bathroom Shelves and Walls
- Sharing in Sam and Nia’s Joy & Loss: Every Life Matters
- Pinterest Party & Link-up (vol 38): Country Potato Salad – There is still time to link up for the Pinterest Party!
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In the blogosphere…
- How to Raise Good Little Catholics by Catholic all Year
- Eight Ways We Do Catholic at Home {a few gifts for you too} Whole Parenting Family.com
- Catholic Kids Doubting Their Faith and 5 Reasons to Not Worry and What You Can Do by Someday Saints.com
- 10 Tips for When Your Spouse Has an Anxiety Disorder by Call Her Happy
- Why Moms Matter by Raising Barnes
- Postpartum Weight and Misconceptions by A Woman’s Place
- Powerful Bible Journaling: Matthew 27 by The Littlest Way
- My Kids Went to Vacation Bible School and It Made Me Cry by Motherhood and Miscellany.com
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I shot this one with my phone on my morning walk.
So that’s what I’ve been up to lately! What about you? What’s currently happening in your life? Do share.
Have a great weekend!
PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads Letterboxd, Spotify or Instagram. 😉
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Love your beautiful pictures!!!!!!!!!! I, too, am working on organizing my time better and cleaning house–like thoroughly, clean it. 🙂 I am intrigued by some of those book titles, so I might have to snag some of them from the library or something. Thanks for sharing, Bobbi!
Thanks for the kind words, Laura. I love taking photos. I just wish I was a little more knowledgeable about how to improve them but there always seems to be other things that need tending to first. As for the organizing, Ive been at it for decades and feel like I am barely making some progress. LOL. I guess it’s never too late. Thx for stopping by!
I recently finished Dear Mr. Knightley. I enjoyed it but did not love it. I thought about writing a review about because it caused a bit of personal reflection.
Same here, Erica! In fact, I wanted to know what exactly did I write on my review of the book. Here is what I said: “I finished reading Dear Mr. Knightley: A Novel. I am trying to figure out what I feel about it. At first it was a little weird since it was written as a series of letters from an young adult (dealing with a difficult past)addressed to the benefactor that is paying for her schooling and giving her a chance at a better life. The main character, Samantha, avoids the harsh reality of her life by escaping into books. Her conversation is filled with quotes from beloved novels by authors such as Austen and Bronte. At times the habit is endearing but eventually you want to see her speak her own mind and not just imitate the words of another. As she grows and matures, she learns how to do this. As I continued to read, the story became more interesting and I couldn’t put it down. However, the ending left a bad taste in my mouth. At a pivotal moment, Samantha reverted back to her quoting persona and then we are expected to forgive a main character for a terrible decision he made. Part of me was willing to forgive and the other part of me was thinking – hell to the no. However, 99% of the time I root for a happy ending… I just wish it was obtained in a different manner. That being said, I still enjoyed it and will be looking at other titles by this author. I rate the book 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.” I’d be interested in reading your thoughts in a post! Thx for stopping by. 🙂
Thank you for the love, love 😉 also, on your nightstand? All great reads! Well, the two that I’ve read so far 😉
You’re welcome! I’m reading the second of her books now. I think the third has yet to be released?? I’d have to check the date. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!