For your weekend reading pleasure….

Ponder this post on Growing Up from my sweet new friend Esther at For Such a Time as This.

Laura at Heavenly Homemakers gave me some answers as to what are the most nutritious sweeteners.

Need a little help with organization? Planning with Kids shares 10 Things to Do Before You Go to Bed.

If you have a little girl, you must check out this Princess Tea Party of the Year at TSJ Photography. I was amazed at the stunning celebration she hosted for her daughter’s birthday!

We’ll be filling buckets (and our tummies!) with strawberries as we head to a u-pick farm this morning. Hope you have a lovely weekend!

5 Minutes for Mom is hosting the Ultimate Blog Party 2010 where hundreds of bloggers have linked up to share their blogs. It’s a great way to “meet” new friends and find encouraging and inspiring blogs to read. Here are a few I’ve been enjoying.

This Blessed Life

Because He Gave

For Such a Time as This

The Goodwin Family

Have a wonderful weekend!

Interesting reading this week at the following sites:

Julie at Come Have a Peace talks about fostering spiritual growth in our children this spring.

Find out how to use tote bags to keep things organized at Momma Mindy’s Moments.

Jo-Lynne at Musings of a Housewife is sharing the importance of planning ahead in her series on Raising Responsible Kids.

The Stay-at-Home Missionary is also in the midst of a series; hers is entitled Practical Vision for Young Moms. This week she discusses one of the obstacles young mothers face – feeling overwhelmed.

As I take time to reflect on my Saviour’s death, burial and resurrection during this Easter season, I am humbled by God’s sacrificial love, grateful for His forgiveness of sins and thrilled by Jesus’ victory over death. I trust that you will celebrate with a heart full of the mercy, grace and peace that only He can provide.

Want a bit of reading to stimulate your mind this weekend?

Find a very informative post on Kids & Money: Key Lessons at It’s the Journey on the Way.

Org Junkie shared a cute and creative reader idea for organizing children’s school papers.

If you’re a “mommy blogger,” you’ll want to read Mommy Bloggers and Their Depiction in the New York Times at Dagmar’s Momsense.

Finally, if you’ll allow me a tiny bit of self-promotion, you can read my article on Five Ways to Create Happy Risers at the MOPS website. I was quite excited earlier this week when they contacted me to let me know they had published it.

My daughters and I will be visiting family out-of-state for a few days next week. Hope you’re enjoying a bit of Spring wherever you are!

I recently shared a few photos of our girls taken by my brother-in-law. I also have some friends who take spectacular pictures. That is not a talent of mine, but I am trying to be more creative in using my camera and found 7 Tips for Photographing Children at Mom’s Talk Network to be helpful.

This thought-provoking post was recommended by The Happy Housewife and is entitled How to Make Sure Your Kids Resent You and Reject Everything You Believe, In Three Easy Steps.

Lastly, for the second time ever, I won a giveaway this week! I posted my Crock Pot Macaroni & Cheese recipe at Dining with Debbie’s Crock Pot Wednesday and won a $25 gift certificate to K. Chenault Designs. She offers cute monogrammable items that are perfect for personal use or as gifts. I think I’ve decided what I want to get with my gift certificate and will share it with you later!

Here are some articles that I found interesting around the blogosphere this week.

Simple Mom’s post on 10 Great Authors in Children’s Literature was a good resource for those of you looking for writers of children’s books who consistently produce good stories.

Amy at The Finer Things in Life is doing a series on Mommy, Come Home which deals with leaving the work force and becoming a stay-at-home mom. One of this week’s posts was perfect for those who may not yet have children but want to prepare ahead of time so they will be financially able to stay at home with their children in the future.

Although it may be a little late to use these ideas for this July 4th celebration, I loved the decorations shown in this post – Hooked on Red, White and Blue.

Finally, do you ever feel like a crabby mom? I do, more often than I’d like to admit. Jessica at Life as Mom has some suggestions for being a more cheerful mom.

I would like to add a few more blogs to my reader so if you have any suggestions or would like to share the link from one of your “must-read” blogs, please do so in the comments section.