reads for your Mother’s Day weekend

All of my featured posts for this week  are related to Mother’s Day and the love for our mothers and our children. And some of the lessons we’ve learned as mothers and children.

Why Mother’s Day Is For the Birds from A Holy Experience- Goodness, I loved this post. I think one of my issues with Mother’s Day is that it can feel so forced and like such a Hallmark holiday. I truly don’t need a day for my children to celebrate me. It makes some people hurt and makes some feel great, but we all know the truth. And the truth is that being a mother is far from perfect, and no holiday is going to change that. I’m so thankful for His grace and His goodness, to get us through! And I’m so thankful for the opportunity to raise my children that He blessed me with.

The Truth About Step-Mothering from The Things I’m Learning- Anna has the sweetest heart. You should absolutely be reading her blog. She wrote a fantastic post about what it means to be a “step mother” to her boys. I’d love for you to read it.

Mother’s Day Is For Everyone from Courtney DeFeo- I just love Courtney’s heart for moms and for kids. This is a beautiful post about how Mother’s Day may be so hard for some and so joyful for others. And I love the sweet words she wrote to her girls.

When I Think This Mom Gig is Hard from Home With the Boys- Erin wrote a great post about perspective and the ways we can think of other mothers around the world and how we can support them through Compassion International.

So God Made a Mother: When The Giving Tree is Really The Giving Mother from A Holy Experience- Another post from Ann Voskamp this week, but this one just gave me chills. I loved the way she described mothers and the things that mothers do and the ways that mothers give. It’s a beautiful post.

Top 10 Favorite Skinny Mother’s Day Brunch Recipes from Skinny Taste- As always, Skinny Taste has the best low-calorie recipes and this list has all Mother’s Day recipe ideas.

My Advice: Take the Damn Photo from Classy and Fabulous- Sarah wrote the sweetest to-the-point post about why it is so important to just get in the picture with our moms and our kids. Take pictures! You won’t regret it.

Fifty Two Shades of Shay: Blogging from Mix and Match Family- Shay put together a great list of tips and advice from some amazing bloggers. If you are interested in blogging or growing your blog, this is worth checking out. I was honored that she included me in that list.

Coming Unglued from The Averitt Fam- Sweet Jill linked up with us for Build ‘Em Up and I just love her wisdom and insight for how to handle those moments when we come unglued.

 

The Her Kentucky blog is hosting a really neat link up for you to share your story of Mother’s Day. They’re inviting everyone to share the joy and the sorrow and to simply share what Mother’s Day means to you.

 

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reads for your week(end)

With all of the fun events from the past week, I forgot to share some of my favorites with you. One of my very favorite things to do on this blog is to share with you some of the amazing women and blogs I’ve found. So here goes, a little bit late!

1. Sister Fitness

Okay, y’all. You need to add Sister Fitness to the list of blogs that you read. My sweet, stunning friends (who are also sisters), Hillary and Natalie, are the writers behind this blog. But they’re also the fitness instructors of an incredible fitness class and ministry at Madison Park Church in Anderson, Indiana. They have beautiful hearts for fitness, faith, and community. They also share their hearts in their blog posts and have been linking up with us for Build ‘Em Up.

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These two girls were great friends of mine in high school, and I just love what they’re doing. Y’all… you would not believe the number of women that show up for their classes every week. It is incredible. I just wish I lived closer and could attend their class more than once per year!

To see a fun introductory video about what they’re doing, look at this post. And you can even take one of their classes online! So fun!

2. Courtney DeFeo

I’ve shared my deep appreciation for what Courtney DeFeo is doing before, but I really want you all to subscribe to her blog. She has put together a great group of contributors, including some great friends of mine. And Courtney, herself, is a fantastic writer and a beautiful sharer. (And I’ll be posting over there once per month.)

If you’re looking for some encouragement and some life-giving reading material, you need to subscribe to her blog!

3. Living With Marble Countertops, a cautionary tale from Life{in}Grace

This post made me laugh and it was super informational. I love Edie’s voice, and love her style. If you’re considering a kitchen remodel or are building a house, like we are, this is a great post about marble countertops.

 

 

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reads for your weekend

So, the disappearing blogger award goes to me this week. Every time I take an unplanned blogging break I always really enjoy myself, and I find that it would be so easy to fall out of habit.

It’s been a wild week in our country. And at times I’ve felt very unsettled, and at other times I’ve just shut off and walked away from all forms of social media (and didn’t even pick up my computer for 3 days) and ignored everything that was happening.

We’ve been soaking up the sun this week and just having a whole lot of fun. It’s not that I can’t have fun and blog about our fun at the same time, but sometimes I just love not picking up my computer. I owe about 30 people an email response, and have some things that really do need my attention.

But… while I’ve got your attention, I wanted to share with you some of my favorites from around the blogosphere this week.

1. A Ginormous Givewaway from Pinterest Told Me To

I’ve told you about my hilarious, stylish, adorable blog friend Sheaffer before. Her fantastic blog hit 1 million page views, so she’s hosting a ginormous giveaway! Pop on over to see what it’s all about it. I promise you don’t want to miss it!

2. Miriam Joy’s Arrival from Marital Bless

I love birth stories and I love Leah’s blog. Leah just had her precious third baby and I always love reading her birth stories. And this one was no different- definitely made me cry.

3. Walt Disney World Tips and Tricks from The Shull family

Okay, okay. So I link to Shay all the time. But I just love her blog. I’m either always nodding along and saying, “yes! Me too!” Or I’m taking notes because I’ve learned something new. I love her post on WDW trip tips. We’re planning to go in mid-January 2014 (when Hayes can still go for free!) and this was perfect timing!

4. It’s Called Working Out Because It’s Hard from Big Mama

Oh my goodness, this made me laugh so much. Big Mama has been doing Smart Barre in Texas, which I can only assume is just like Pure Barre, which is extremely difficult. I imagine myself looking like my svelte, gorgeous instructor, but I know I don’t. And I know that I sweat and shake and want to scream. But I loved her post because I could relate so much!

5. Braylen’s Perfectly Pink Princess Party from Life in the Green House

My friend Jennifer put together an adorable princess party for her sweet 3 year old baby girl. Every detail is so cute!

6. Staying Organized During a Build/Remodel from Sunny Side Up

This was just perfect timing, and Erin has the best organizing tips! If you’re building, remodeling or just love geeking out over organizational tips, this post is for you.

What have you loved this week?

 

 

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reads for your Easter weekend

I have a lot of posts to share from this week, but there was so much goodness this week! Enjoy!

Why I Want to Subscribe to Your Blog and Why I Hope You’ll Subscribe to Mine from Chatting at the Sky

I just love Emily’s post about community in the blogging world, and how important community is to a blogger.  (And if you want to subscribe to my blog via Bloglovin’ I’d love that. And I’d love to subscribe to yours, too! Leave the link in the comments and I’ll do it!)

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Skinny Easter Egg Cake Balls from Skinny Taste

If you have some extra time in the next few hours, these Easter egg cake balls from Skinny Taste look delicious and they’re certainly adorable!

The Joy of Playing With Your Kids from Life in the Green House

I loved the post my friend Jennifer wrote for our Build ‘Em Up series. Our kids are just waiting for that perfect opportunity to open up to us, and the conversations can be so sweet.

A Relationship from Tales of the Trees

My friend Megan is a beautiful writer and this one is a re-post, but it’s worth the read. Loving Jesus isn’t about “religion.” It’s about “relationship.”

DIY Gold Dot Vase from Hi Sugarplum

A super easy, super cute gold polka dot vase idea. I love gold polka dots!

Great Neighborhood Homes from House of Turquoise

This may be my favorite house ever. Or at least for this week. I think I pinned nearly every image in this post. And it kind of reminds me of the layout of our future house. It’s so open and bright!

Easter Egg Coupons from The Larson Lingo

This is just so cute! They’re little printables to put inside Easter eggs for “coupons” for various things that may apply to your family. So adorable!

What Would You Look Like? by Beth Moore

I absolutely love this post. It touched my heart in a big way and I love how much grace Miss Moore shows us all when she encourages us by telling us that there is no right or wrong way to love Jesus, as long as we’re loving him. Our story doesn’t have to involve giving up everything and moving to another country to be a missionary. We can touch lives right where we are.

Sunday Morning Madness from Glamorous Life of a Housewife

Our family is often hit by the Sunday morning madness that sweet Whitney describes here. And I just love the beautiful way her heart was touched on a Sunday that got off to a bad start.

The Pharisee in Me from Kelly’s Korner

Kelly wrote a gorgeous, honest post about our natural, human tendencies and the way we should strive to be.

The Football Party from The Thomas Family Days

My sweet friend, Michelle, hosted the most adorable party for her little boy. Michelle is so creative and she does every single little project with SO much love. She enjoys being creative, but that never ever takes away from the fun she has with her kids and her joy in celebrating them!

52 Shades of Shay: Makeup from The Shull Family

I am absolutely loving the name of Shay Shull’s new weekly series to feature different parts of her life. 52 Shades of Shay. So cute! This week she showed us her makeup stash!

 

 

 

 

 

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