Hello, Reader.

Do you love to read? I do! That love for great books was instilled in me from a young age, as my mother would read me and my sister as many books as we could carry every night before bed.

At least, she made a brave attempt to finish the whole stack. She'd inevitably nod off to sleep mid-book and start making up the story instead of reading the words on the page -- something I could not understand as a child but have done countless times myself since becoming a mother!

For I've tried to follow in my parents footsteps by keeping that love for reading alive and fostering the same in my kids -- and now -- my grandkids.

Several of them came over again yesterday for another craft and story time with Grandma. Since yesterday was "National Day of the Cowboy," we read lots of cowboy books, sang cowboy songs, did cowboy crafts (including making stick horses out of scrap fabric and leftover dowel rods), and ate cowboy snacks.

I hope if you are a bookworm yourself, you'll also look for ways to cultivate that same appreciation for good literature in the hearts and minds of the next generation. Maybe today's link list will help:

Free resources for you this week:

• ​Raising Kids Who Love to Read - our best tips for fostering a love for reading in your kids
• ​Pretty Printable Bookmarks - to help you mark your place (several styles to choose from)
• ​10 Ways to Find More Time for Reading - tried & true ways to make space to savor books
• ​50 Picture Books Every Preschooler Should Read - these are some of our family's favorites
• ​Reading Mother - sweet coloring page of mother reading to her little one
• ​Reading Reward Programs - there's still time to participate in many of these programs this year

What I'm reading this week:

In that I'm coming to the end of our homeschool journey, I'm happy to report we're already familiar with many of the joys Martino describes in The Joy of Slow, having discovered them early on by the grace of God. We probably stuck to textbook learning -- especially when it came to math and sciences -- a bit more than this author has done, but we still had plenty of time for great books, open-ended art endeavors, and outdoor adventures, even after each day's 25-30 Saxon math problems had been completed. If you're feeling stuck in your children's education -- either because they spend all day in a classroom or because you're attempting to duplicate a classroom experience at home, this book offers ideas for a wonderfully different and life-giving education.

This week's reader request:

A reader by the name of Delia wrote to ask how she could go about downloading my free full armor of God coloring page, so I sent her the following links. I assume she meant this printable, but I've also posted several other versions which can be accessed here.

On the podcast this week:

I've been so busy taping my audiobook that I missed posting a new podcast episode again this week so I'm sharing another from the archives. Enjoy!

Loving Life at Home: Episode 5 ​My Favorite Ways to Multitask​ Multitasking has gotten a bad rap these days. I wouldn’t be able to accomplish half of the things I do without doubling up at times. So in this week’s episode of Loving Life at Home, I’m sharing 10 of my favorite ways to multitask. Listen Now

Progress on last week's goals:

I accomplished exactly half of the items on last week's to-do list. I ✅ organized all the cabinets in my laundry room, ✅ recorded the final eight chapters of my audiobook (awaiting final processing now), and ✅ played pickleball with friends (an actual game, not just rallying across the net for as long as we could possibly keep the ball in play).

But I did not ❌ tidy any cabinets in my boys' bathroom, ❌ reduce my inbox to < 50 messages (managed to keep the current tally under 100 though), or ❌ give my daughters-in-law another sewing lesson (primarily because one of them couldn't find her sewing machine after her recent move, so we've postponed the lesson until next month).

Personal goals for this week:

• record a new podcast episode!
• make a gift for a friend's new baby
• switch out the red, white, and blue ornaments on my seasonal tree for a back-to-school theme
• reduce inbox to <50 messages
• tidy boys' bathroom cabinets
• make a sample tote bag for craft class at co-op
• get student notebooks ready for the algebra classes I'll be teaching
• play more pickleball
• attend white coat ceremony with my husband at UT Tyler's new medical school
• take a day trip to Efurd Orchards with the family on Sunday
• begin recording audio version of Love Your Husband​

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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, just hit reply and let me know. 😊