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Hello, Reader.

February sort of snuck up on me while I was recuperating from last week's surgery. And it brought a lot of reasons to celebrate along with it (not the least of which was Friday's successful and minimally-invasive lumpectomy! )

Thank you for all your prayers. We're still waiting on the pathology results, but I'm feeling stronger every day and am thankful to have that leg of this cancer journey behind me now.

Now, back to this week's link list: February sure packs a whole lot of fun into four short weeks. I'll be dedicating next week's newsletter to sharing Valentine's Day resources. In the meantime, here are a few lesser known holidays to add to this month's calendar (along with printables to help you observe them in style).

Free resources for you this week:

• Feb. 6 - Ronald Reagan Day – here’s a coloring page devoted to The Great Communicator
• Feb. 7 - Send a Card to a Friend Day – these free printable greeting cards make it easy
• Feb. 14 - International Book Giving Day - check out my favorite sources for free books​
• Feb 18 - National Caregivers Day – our prayer guide will help you intercede for caregivers
• Feb. 20 - National Love Your Pet Day – this pretty coloring page features Proverbs 12:10
• Feb. 24 - National Fake Mustache Day — celebrate by taking our Mustache Trivia Quiz​

What I'm reading this week:

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Based on a series of lectures Allison Friederichs Atkison did on the topic of communication for the Great Courses, How to Say It: Words that Make a Difference provides a good reminder to choose your words with care and precision. I especially enjoyed the chapter on etymology and the author's comments on masculine and feminine ways of communicating. If you love words and writing (like I do), you may want to give this course a listen (included free with Audible Plus membership).

What we're watching this week:

My kids are big fans of You-Tube sensation Jimmy "Mr. Beast" Donaldson and have been faithfully watching his new Mr. Beast Games competition ever since the 10-episode series debuted in mid-December.

So, at their insistence, I binge-watched the first 8 episodes during my convalescence (which provided lots of fodder for some frank family discussions about honesty, integrity, leadership, strategy, and good sportsmanship) and am now eagerly awaiting the final two episodes, which we'll watch as a family as soon as they're released.

On the podcast this week:

Loving Life at Home: Episode 75 ​EMPHASIZE YOUR HUSBAND'S GOOD POINTS​ Pop quiz: Which would you prefer? (a) That your husband focus his thoughts on your loveliest, most noble & praiseworthy traits? (b) That he ignore your good points completely & concentrate instead on your most annoying and bothersome flaws? So treat him as you'd want to be treated! Listen Now

Progress on last week's goals:

Although my recovery has been steady, it's incorporated a lot more sleep and considerably less activity than I anticipated, so quite a few items on last week's to-do list that didn't get any attention at all. Here's the scoop: I ✅ had lumpectomy + lymph node excision (surgeon only took six, for which I'm so grateful!), ✅ enjoyed seeing the kids/grandkids who came to visit me afterwards, ✅ made 12 new jars of Winkie's Tonic (still percolating), ✅ appliquéd two purses for two more granddaughters, ✅ recorded my podcast (albeit super late), and ✅ reduced my inbox to 80 (❌ not 10) messages.

Stuff that remained undone: I ❌ did NOT attend local ministry dinner (husband said no way--I needed my rest), ❌ didn't clear off my desk, ❌ didn't mend my son's blue jeans, ❌ didn't fix any broken jewelry, ❌ didn't write any personal letters, and ❌ didn't walk 3 miles (although I ✅ did shuffle through a half-mile loop around our neighborhood three separate times since my surgery, ace bandages and lymph drain firmly in place, holding tightly to my husband's arm and stopping to rest midway through 🐌 ).

Personal goals for next week:

I'm resisting the urge to add a lot of new to-do items this week. Instead, we'll see how many of last week's neglected goals I can accomplish in the next seven days.

• mend bluejeans
• write personal letters x 3
• repair jewelry x4
• clean off closet desk
• chip away at email (goal: cut backlog in half, from 80 to 40 messages?)
• walk 3 miles (maybe just six more half-mile loops?)
• attend friend's 70th birthday party
• send new scripture memory challenge to kids/grandkids