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Hello, Reader.

Five of our teens and young adult children spent five days in California last week exploring five different national parks. They were able to admire all sorts of amazing vistas and observe a wide range of flora and fauna in its natural habitat. It was a perfect setting for celebrating "National Wild about Wildlife Month."

My husband's work schedule required the two of us to stick closer to home during that time period, although we did enjoy a lovely afternoon at the Dallas Arboretum over the weekend. We didn't encounter any black bears or blue herons on that short trek, but did spy a rabbit and several squirrels scampering among the beautiful summer blossoms.

Aren't you thankful God created such a wonderful world for us to enjoy? I hope you get a chance to go spend some time outside this summer soaking up the sunshine and admiring whatever wild things you encounter, whether you travel far from home to do so or venture no further than your own backyard. In the meantime, I hope you'll enjoy the following link list, curated with wildlife enthusiasts in mind.

Free resources for you this week:

• ​As a Deer Pants for Water Coloring Page - features the words of Psalm 42:1
• ​Animal Mates Matching Quiz - can you pair these critters up correctly?
• ​Nature Photo Safari - grab your camera and go explore the great outdoors
• ​Baby Animal Name Game - how many animals can you identify by the name of their young?
• ​Outdoor Scavenger Hunt - we laminate these BINGO cards to use every time we camp
• ​All Creatures Coloring Page - they all look to God to provide for their needs, as should we
• BONUS: a fun video of the baby squirrels we rescued, raised, and released several years ago

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What I'm reading this week:

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​The More of Less by Joshua Becker As a woman who is married to a quasi-minimalist (and has mothered several more), The More of Less wasn't my first exposure to the idea that giving away anything you aren't actively using is better than holding onto such stuff "just in case." Yet I remain unconvinced that the extreme minimalist lifestyle is morally superior to (or any less focused on material possessions than) that of a thrifty, resourceful, and organized packrat -- especially when it comes to art & craft supplies. 😊 Still, if you'd like to pare down your possessions in a relatively painless way, Becker practical tips for doing so -- along with pointers for convincing reluctant family members to participate, as well.

On the podcast this week:

I haven't published a new podcast episode this week (yet), but here is one I broadcast nearly a year ago dealing with children's chores. Chores are a great for building life skills -- and they're also a great option to keep in mind if you have any kiddos complaining of boredom this summer!

Loving Life at Home: Episode 57 ​ON CHILDREN'S CHORES​ I’ve been fielding a lot of questions on this topic lately, and I realize I haven’t shared much about how we handle chores at our house, so today is the day! I hope you’ll listen in. Listen Now

Progress on last week's goals:

Thanks to God's grace and summer's relaxed pace, I finished everything on last week's to-do list (again!): I ✅ hosted a teddy bear picnic for grandkids, ✅ lengthened the sleeves on my son's jacket, ✅ hemmed a summer dress for me, ✅ reduced emails in my inbox to less than 150 100 messages, ✅ finished A Grand Investment Volume 3 (now in our shop), ✅ recorded five eight more chapters of my audiobook, ✅ went to Dallas, ✅ replaced my Mom's broken mini-blinds, and ✅ witnessed the baptism of two of our grandkids.

Personal goals for this week:

• organize laundry room cabinets
• tidy up boys' bathroom cabinets
• play pickleball with friends
• teach sewing class for my daughters-in-law
• record last 8 chapters of audiobook
• cut emails in inbox down to <50

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Thanks so much for all your help! I'll be back next week with more links, reviews, and resources. If you have any special requests, please let me know. 😊