The last two weeks have been full, fun, and a little exhausting!

I was able to spend a couple of days in Savannah with my husband on a work-related trip. The weather was beautiful, and we had a great time exploring the historic district (i.e. lots of walking, a bit of shopping, and some good eating!!)

I was home for a day, then headed to Columbia, SC for two days with my daughters at their school’s state-wide fine arts competition.

They placed first in band, handbell choir, handbell ensemble, and choral group, so they’ll be headed to the national competition in a few weeks.

This past week was their spring break, and we spent the first half of the week in Virginia visiting my family.

As I’ve mentioned a time or two (ha!) it’s my older daughter’s Senior year. I can’t believe that she’ll be entering the final quarter of her high school career this week. I know these next two months are going to fly by!!

On to several good posts I’ve found lately…

Jordan tells us How to Effectively Share Your Faith with Your Friends.

Ruth shares Six Words My Husband Needs to Hear.

Find 6 Solutions to Screen Problems at iMom.

I enjoyed Rachel Joy’s Modern Farmhouse Spring Living Room Tour.

Chelsea shares a Simple Spring Tablescape.

And Potato Chip Toffee??? Yes, please!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

It’s fine arts season here for the next month! Our daughters will be at a state fine arts competition with their school next week. They had a concert Thursday night so parents could see their performances ahead of time.

Our girls are in a number of events, including a saxophone/clarinet ensemble. If you’d like to hear what that sounds like, I’ve uploaded it here. (It is rather long, by the way…) I’ll share more of their performances later.

I guess I was hungry while I was putting together this post because I kept gravitating toward sharing recipes. By the time I had three of them, I decided to make it all about food this week!

I put this Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup in the slow cooker Sunday morning, and we had it for lunch after church. It was really good!

I’m going to be making this Mexican Street Corn Salad soon, though I’ll adapt it for the stovetop instead of using the grill.

These Pizza Sausage Balls look like a fun party (or anytime!) food.

Almost all of my favorite sweet flavors are in these Peanut Butter Chip Brownie Cupcakes.

No one else in my family eats broccoli, but I still think I might make a pan of this Broccoli Cheddar Chicken and Rice Casserole all for myself!!

If you’ve tried a good recipe recently, let me know what it was! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

March is here, y’all!! This year is going by way too fast!

It was a quiet week around our house. My husband was in cold, snowy Minnesota, so it was just the girls and I at home. Next week, though, is a different story. Our daughters have their first two soccer games as well as a fine arts concert at school. Looking forward to all of it!!

Here’s what I found share-worthy this week.

Laura proclaims I Am a Homemaker.

Mary Ann says Some Kids Are Simply Born Strong-Willed.

Stacey shares 7 Mindsets That Might Be Stealing Your Joy.

Michelle tells us Who God Says You Are: 17 Scriptures About Our True Identity.

If you’re looking for some new podcasts to listen to, check out Karin’s list of The Absolute Best Christian Podcasts for Women 2019.

And speaking of podcasts, Episode 235 of the Don’t Mom Alone podcast was especially helpful for me this week. Marissa Henley, a cancer survivor herself, shares tips on Supporting a Friend with Cancer.

Should you want to update your spring wardrobe, you might want to check out The Main Street Exchange. I ordered three skirts from them recently, and I liked all of them!! Their Willow Olive Skirt is a nice basic, and I know I’ll get lots of wear from their Anna Skirt. The Nicole skirt seems to run a little small, but it’s SO comfortable!! Both the Nicole and Anna skirts are lined, and appear to be really well made. One of my daughters also has their Kyra Denim Skirt. [Not a sponsored ad, by the way; just wanted to share this company!]

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

Last Saturday was a fun, successful day!

The girls’ school varsity basketball team got third place at the state tournament. (Our daughters are the fourth and fifth players from the right, number 1 and number 2.)

Since our older daughter’s a senior, it was her final game, so it was nice for her to finish with a win!

Then our younger daughter competed with the school cheerleading squad in their state competition, and they got first place!! (In the second picture, she’s fifth from the left.)

Here she is in the middle of the other two sophomores on the squad.

If you want to watch the performance, I uploaded it here. In the first stunt, my daughter’s the flyer in the back. She’s in several of the stunts; I don’t know how she does the one where she falls straight back and the other girls catch her. Don’t think I’d ever reach the point where I was confident enough that they’d catch me!!

And now both daughters have started practicing with the girls’ soccer team at school, so we’re off and running to the next season.

On to some good posts from the past week…

Elizabeth shares the meaning of God’s name as Our Dwelling Place.

I love the list of phrases Kari shares as she encourages us to Impact Teenagers by Speaking Life.

Ashley lists Top 10 Things Kids Want from Their Parents.

I got a doughnut pan for Christmas, so when Nikki shared a link to these Triple Chocolate Donuts, I knew I wanted to try them!

I finished six books this month!! I was pretty excited about that!

Here are three non-fiction books I read.

Give Them Wings: Preparing for the Time Your Kids Leave Home by Carol Kuykendall is probably the best book I’ve read on preparing yourself for the empty nest. She included lots of practical examples, and assured readers that ultimately you will make it through the transition, and things can be great on the other side! Part of the book emphasized balancing expectations, which I really need help with (as evidenced by this week’s post). I’d recommend this book for any parent with a child in their last two years of high school or later.

Crazy Little Thing Called Marriage: 12 Secrets for a Lifelong Romance by Greg and Erin Smalley is one of the best marriage books I’ve read in awhile. It’s full of practical ways to keep your marriage on track.

Abide in Christ by Andrew Murray was thought-provoking and encouraging! I marked and underlined a number of passages. Know that it was originally published in 1895, so it’s definitely written in more of an old English style. I like that it was arranged in 31 short chapters, so I tried to read one each day of the month. He digs deep into what it means to abide in Christ by studying John 15 from many different angles.

I also read three fiction books.

Fatal Trust by Todd M. Johnson was a very entertaining legal mystery, one of my favorite genres at the moment.

The Domino Effect by Davis Bunn was about the investment banking industry and a world financial collapse, but I’m afraid that much of it was over my head!

I liked Elixir by the same author much better. It dealt with the pharmaceutical industry, but there was a lot less technical information and more action in the storyline.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

In an ongoing tradition, we spent last weekend in Myrtle Beach. We’ve been taking this “winter weekend getaway” as a family for years now. We tend to eat at the same restaurants and do the same activities every year…which may sound boring, but is actually lovely, because there are few decisions to make! We mainly spend time relaxing.

Lisa tells us 6 Ways Your Child’s Misbehavior Makes You a Better Parent.

Ayanna tells us How to Find Joy When Marriage is Hard.

This is an older post, but I needed to hear what Jennifer shares in Hospitality: Overcoming Obstacles.

Amy shares 6 Steps to Finally Get Your Digital Photos Organized.

I’m not normally a big fan of banana bread, but this Dark Chocolate Banana Bread (with Coconut) might change my mind!

We have a full day today. The varsity basketball team that our girls are on plays in their state tournament – and our younger daughter also has her state cheerleading competition at the same location. Looking forward to watching our daughters compete!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

Brittany reminds us How to Be Present When Life is Busy.

I enjoyed Elizabeth’s post on God as Our Guide.

Kaitlyn challenges us in I Dare You: Buy the Flowers.

Leslie has Winter Birthday Party Ideas: 10 Party Themes They’ll Love.  Also  check out How to Throw a Starbucks Birthday Party on a Budget.

If you’re looking for ways to save money, check out Julie’s list of Best Things to Buy in February.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

Denise lists 10 Ways to Create a Home of Warmth and Grace.

Chrissy has 5-Minute Easy Valentine’s Day Treats for Kids.

Aisha shares 15 Cute Valentine’s Day Crafts for Kids.

Marquis tells us 12 Ways to Strengthen Your Marriage in 2019.

I loved following Christina’s project Old Entertainment Center Turned American Girl Dollhouse.

Last weekend I mentioned that our younger daughter played her last JV Girls basketball game. Here she is scoring; she’s number 10 in the white uniforms.

I also talked about it being Senior night for our older daughter. It was her last regular season home game. Here she is shooting two free throws. Later in the game, she hit a three-pointer (when I wasn’t videoing, of course) and she was so excited!!

Here she is after the game with the other three Seniors on the team. Yes, she’s the shortest one!

Last night we drove to Columbia, SC to watch her last regular season away basketball game. So hard to believe that this part of her life is coming to a close!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

Susan tells us How to Raise Thankful Kids in an Entitled Culture.

Nannette writes about The Dust I Can’t See.

Kaylene shares 4 Ways to Get Through Hard Times.

We don’t like to think about the awful things that could happen to our daughters, but in this day and age, it’s a conversation we need to have. I saved this iMom article 7 Threats to Your Daughter’s Physical Safety to discuss with my girls, especially now that our oldest drives and both of them often go places without me.

If you’re already thinking ahead to Valentine’s Day, you may want to revisit my list of 14 Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Your Kids.

While I’m in the middle of a couple of books now, not much happened on the reading front in January!

In non-fiction, I actually finished Cozy Minimalist Home by Myquillin Smith right at the end of December. This was such a practical home decor book – and don’t let the word “minimalist” scare you! Myquillin doesn’t say you have to get rid of everything you own. Rather, she emphasizes making your home work for the way your particular family lives, keeping things simple and clean, shopping your house, and learning when you have enough. It’s a simple formula for even this decor-challenged person!

In fiction, I read Death Wears a Mask by Ashley Weaver. It’s the second in the Amory Ames Mystery series. I think I liked the first one better, but this one also kept me guessing “who-done-it” until the end.

So I’m writing this post on Friday morning. Tonight our younger daughter, a high school sophomore, will play for the last time on the JV Girls basketball team (she’ll only be eligible for Varsity next year). Then our older daughter, who’s a senior, will play her last regular season home game on the Varsity Girls basketball team. All that to say, lots of feelings and emotions to process for this mom!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

Rachel writes hey, tired mom of teens, this is for you. And from where I sit as a mom of teens, let me just say that six weeks into parenting an 18-year-old, 18 is my favorite year of all the teenage ones so far!!

Mary shares advice for When You Want This to Be Your Best Year Yet.

Ashley lists 5 Tips for Better Marriage Communication.

Shannon has Snow Activities for Families Living in Warm Climates (although I think these sound fun even if you have actual snow outside!)

I loved this list of 24 Unforgettable Birthday Traditions.

And then there’s this t-shirt that might be appropriate for me to wear some days!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!