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Hello, Reader.

The year is ticking right along, and we'll issue in a new month tomorrow. Can you believe it? May brings with it lots of reasons to celebrate: Mother's Day, Memorial Day, the end of another school year, and -- at least for our family -- four graduations!

I'll be sending dedicated link lists for the aforementioned holidays in upcoming weeks, but today, I'm sharing some free printables to help you celebrate a few other fun days in May. Enjoy!

Free resources for you this week:

• May 1 - National Day of Prayer - use of these free printable prayer guides to get started
• May 4 - Bird Day - grab my collection of free state bird coloring pages​
• May 10 - Brunch for Lunch Day - find all my favorite brunch food recipes here​
• May 16 - International Day of Light - a good day for my "Light of the World" coloring page​
• May 21 - International Tea Day - plan a tea party and take our tea time trivia test​
• May 23 - Staycation Day - follow this link for tips on planning the perfect Staycation​
• May 24 - National Scavenger Hunt Day - print lists & get tips for my favorite scavenger hunts​
• May 29 - National Biscuit Day - whip up a batch of our made-from-scratch biscuit recipe​

What I'm reading this week:

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I'm nearing the end of The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw and will likely finish by Friday. Set in ancient Egypt, it tells the story of an orphaned son of a master goldsmith, who finds himself unhappily apprenticed his half-brother, a greedy and abusive stonecutter. I've been reading this story aloud to the kids/grandkids I'm homeschooling every day after lunch. However, the writing is so well-paced and the story so interesting that even my college students have started gathering with us in the living room to listen.

This week's reader request:

A reader wrote me several weeks ago to ask about the student driver sign we used while teaching our kids to drive. That one was 20 years old, came in a curriculum kit that is no longer sold, and somehow didn't survive our last move, so I designed a new student driver sign that I like even better -- just in time to use with my youngest, who got her learner's permit last week.

I shared it as a free printable on the blog this week in case others might like to use it, too. If you'll print it on a magnet, you can put it on/take it off the back of the car, according to which family member is sitting behind the wheel.

On the podcast this week:

Loving Life at Home: Episode 82 ​CULTIVATING CONTENTMENT​ ​ If you've ever found yourself fixated on your problems, stewing about things over which you have no control, or struggling to "rejoice in all circumstances," this episode is for you! ​ Listen Now

Progress on last week's goals:

I finished all the easy items on last week's to-do list: It took about 5 miles of walking per day, but we ✅ explored several Smithsonian museums, ✅ visited the National Zoo, ✅ toured the Capitol, and ✅ made lots of great family memories in DC before we ✅ flew back home.

As for ❌ cleaning out my files and ❌ boxing up curriculum, I've ✅ started but am a long way from ❌ finished, so I'm carrying those two goals over to this week.

Personal goals for next week:

• clean out file cabinet
• box up used curriculum for upcoming book sale
• attend son's nursing school graduation & pinning ceremony
• organize bathroom cabinet
• fill 2 more boxes for Goodwill
• send monthly scripture memory verses to kids & grandkids