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Hello, Reader.

In a season that seems to speed by -- gardens to plant, spring cleaning to accomplish, schoolwork to finish, graduations to attend, gifts to order, vacations to plan -- here's a reminder to slow down and savor the season as much as you can.

My husband and I have been walking a mile daily ever since my cancer diagnosis, and several of our kids have begun walking it with us. The azaleas and dogwoods in our town are in full bloom right now, and those family walks have been both a balm to our souls and a feast to our senses: warm sunshine, beautiful blooms, fresh air, good conversation, and aerobic exercise all rolled into one. I highly recommend walking as a way to enjoy spring to its fullest.

April brings with it lots of cause for celebration. One of the most marvelous -- Easter -- will get a dedicated link list in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, this week's resources will help you celebrate some of the lesser known holidays this month.

Free resources for you this week:

• April 7 - National Fun Day - for 50 frugal ideas for family fun, download our bucket list.
• April 10 - National Poem in Your Pocket Day - a perfect time for reading a few of our favorites​
• April 13 - Palm Sunday – color Hosanna in the Highest & discuss Christ's triumphal entry
• April 15 - Micro-Volunteering Day – a list of 50 small but impactful volunteer opportunities​
• April 19 - Bicycle Day - go for a bike ride, then color this fun, free printable​
• April 23 - World Book Day – try these tips to foster a love for books in your children's hearts
• April 26 - Audubon Day – a great day to download our Audubon State Bird coloring pages​

What I'm reading this week:

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​Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins My husband read Sunrise on the Reaping aloud to the family last week, which kept us on the edge of our seats from the opening chapter to the epilogue. This Hunger Games installment not only describes Haymitch Abernathy's turn in the arena as a tribute for District 12 in the second Quarter Quell, but it also provides a backstory for several other characters we grew to know and love from the later books. ​Catching Fire is my favorite of Collins' original series of three books because of the spirit of cooperation shared by several key characters, and I love this newest addition for the same reason. ​

What we're watching this week:

My kids needed to catch up on Season 4 of The Chosen, so my husband and I went on a date to see the first installment of Season 5, The Chosen: Last Supper, at the theater over the weekend. It was superb. Seeing these depictions of the triumphal entry and Jesus' cleansing of the temple and his breaking bread with his disciples made those Biblical accounts spring to life.

And watching Christ's followers puzzle over his words while trying to reconcile their lifelong expectations of the Messiah with what He kept telling them was about to take place made me feel for them like never before. How hard it must have been to live through the roller coaster highs and lows of that first Holy Week without benefit of the Bible letting them know how it all ended!

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On the podcast this week:

Loving Life at Home: Episode 78 ​7 WAYS TO RUIN YOUR MARRIAGE​ Instead of taking my usual approach and discussing ways to nurture your marriage and make it better, today I’d like to examine some very common and very foolish habits that will tear down your home, put unnecessary strain on your relationships, and ruin your marriage. Have you ever been guilty of doing anything on this list? Listen Now

Progress on last week's goals:

Last week, I ✅ hosted Grace Girls (link?), ✅ organized my closet, ✅ boxed up a donation for Goodwill, ✅ posted a new podcast episode (after a 3-week break!), ✅ met with my oncologist (circulating tumor DNA test showed no sign of disease in my bloodstream 🙌), ✅ volunteered at the CCC Sale (4-11PM shift), and ​✅ finished piecing together my quilt (glimpse it here).

However, I did not ❌ design and order graduation invitations, ❌ submit senior bios for graduation programs, or ❌ complete assigned pages for yearbook. In other words, I finished everything except the graduation stuff. But I have until Saturday to meet those deadlines, so I'm carrying them over to this week and will do my best to mark them off by the weekend.

Personal goals for this week:

• finish senior bios, invites, and yearbook pages
• install new water filters
• replace broken childproof locks on stovetop dials
• attend daughter's choir concert
• reduce emails in my inbox by 70%
• submit receipts to co-op bookkeeper for purchased supplies
• put away all my CCC purchases