Happy Friday, friends! I'm linking up with Andrea and Erika for this weekly blog post of all my favorites from the week. There are a lot from this week, but don't be intimidated, I'm holding myself back from sharing it all right here in one post.
First up, I have something serious to say before I move on to the "fluff" that so often fills this post each week. I think most of you know my personality by now. I'm a "look on the bright side", always positive, always prayerful/praying, seemingly happy type of girl. Notice that I said "seemingly", because even though it may appear that way, it's not always the case. I stuff a lot of things down deep and only talk about them with Jesus, Mom and my best friend.
Nothing has happened to me personally to be saying this right now, but I feel like I need to acknowledge the fact that I know life isn't always pretty and fun. I have some friends who are really engaged in a battle right this moment, as I write this at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday night. One dear friend has had a recent breast cancer diagnosis, and another friend is in battle over the mental wellbeing of her precious teenage son. I have other friends who are facing issues over work issues or they have issues with their grown kids. I say all of that to say that life is so very hard, friends. I say all the time how I do not know how people make it who don't know Jesus as their Savior and Redeemer. I know I wouldn't be able to stand on my own without Him in my life.
Do you know Him? If you ever want to talk about this, please reach out to me in some way. My email address if allboys@gmail.com.
On a much lighter note, I thought I'd share some highlights from this week.
Oakley's favorite spot is near me. Each morning, we have this routine where I let all the dogs outside, then she and I go upstairs and I close my bedroom door to keep her contained where I can watch her. She is getting so big! I love how she sits and think she is such a beautiful little girl. Her brown eyebrows are my favorite. I took this picture on Monday and on that day I started decorating for Christmas. I love this time of year! I was so anxious to get it all out and have it in place by the end of the week. It takes me a little longer now that I don't have help anymore—help being in the form of Jonah and Noah.
Tuesday was my favorite day on social media— #onedayhh — where you document a normal day, hour by hour, on social media. I posted things like this: drinking coffee at five a.m....
...running errands and admiring the leaves...
...coming home to find another toy destroyed by Crash...
...and finishing out the afternoon with my sister by finishing our dad's outdoor Christmas lights. I wrote a blog post on Wednesday dedicated to the same thing, in case you'd like to read what that day in the life looked like for me.
This picture above is my favorite picture of our sons! This was twelve years ago, so their ages were 6, 6, 9 and 10 (in order of Jonah, Noah, Drew and Graham).
Veteran's day is one of my favorite holidays. Apparently, I am a very nostalgic and patriotic person.
Some of my favorite memories are the years we went downtown to the annual Veteran's day parade with Dad and Trish.
My favorite bonus son turned eighteen yesterday! Alex has been in our lives for fourteen years now. It's hard to believe it's been that long, but the earliest picture I have of him is from when he was in kindergarten. Isn't he so handsome?
My favorite season is here in our house! I spent the week decorating for Christmas and I finished this last night. I could do this without the help of my sons if I wanted, but it is so much easier on me when I wait for them to help. I'm so grateful for them.
Other favorites from the week include:
My Kroger reopened!
I found my favorite drink while I was there—zero sugar ginger ale.
I talked to one of my favorite people on earth TWO times this week—one day for about twenty minutes and anther day for over an hour and a half! I love this dear friend and she is a "newer" friend of mine who greatly reminds me of my sister Lisa. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Dedee.
I saw my sister Trish TWICE this week! I love it when that happens.
I have talked to my mom, my mom-in-love, my dad, two sisters and two friends this week. Quality phone conversations are my favorite.
How was your week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all. ❤
Please tell your dad, "Thank You" (from a blog reader- that may seem creepy, lol) for serving in the military and specifically Vietnam. Your dogs are all so cute! You are right, life is hard and I need to spend more time in prayer for my concerns and for those of people around me. Happy Friday, friend!
ReplyDeleteI agree. I often think how do people go daily without Jesus
ReplyDeleteThank you, Maria! I will tell him. I have a whole list of things to talk about today, and one thing is how everyone commented on my Facebook post about him yesterday. Have a wonderful weekend, friend!
ReplyDeleteJen- Right?? I say it all the time! I'm so glad I know Him and that I can trust in Him and lean on Him. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteI try to keep my blog "light" and fun too, but there are sure some tough times going on out there. Hope you have a good weekend!
ReplyDeleteLove how you always aim to keep your message/blog focused on Christ. Thank you! And thank you to your dad too, for his service & courage. 💕
ReplyDeleteTanya- right? I keep mine light for that reason. I love to encourage people and I always pray and hope that when they've read my post, they feel uplifted and that it brings a smile to their face. I hope your weekend has been good so far!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bri! I always appreciate your kind words. I believe that you have the spiritual gift of encouragement...it's one of my top three gifts and I can usually spot it in other people. ;) I love to share about Jesus and my prayer and hope is that I always point back to Him. I hope you're having a great weekend, my friend.
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