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Hello, Reader.

My son sent me a copy of the weather forecast, and it cites 100% chance of snow this weekend. That's a rarity for our part of Texas -- I'll believe it when I see it -- but I'm sure it'll be snowing somewhere this week, so I'm sharing some of my favorite snow-themed resources in today's link list. Stay safe, keep warm, and enjoy!

Free resources for you this week:

• ​Merry Mitten Activity Pages - a fun way to keep your little ones learning, even on snow days
• ​Snowy Books to Warm Your Heart - 12 winter-themed picture books (check your local library)
• ​Let It Snow! - fun things to do when it snows (especially when you see it as rarely as we do!)
• ​"If Kisses Were Snowflakes" - this is the kind of blizzard I could really get behind!
• ​God Makes the Show Fall Coloring Page - a pretty printable based on Job 37:6
• ​All Things Winter - my “Let It Snow” board on Pinterest has even more ideas for frosty fun

What I'm reading this week:

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I started reading The Paper Bag Christmas aloud to my kids and grandkids in December, but only finished it yesterday. In it, two brothers discover the true spirit of Christmas in an unlikely place -- at the children's ward of a local hospital while serving as elves to a very unconventional Santa. Little did they know when they began their volunteer work how powerfully they would be impacted by the people they met and the events that unfolded in the days and weeks and years that followed. This beautifully told story moved me to tears multiple times. So if you read it, you may want to keep a box of tissues handy!

On the podcast this week:

I didn't drop any new episodes this week, so I'm linking another oldie-but-goodie from the archives:

Loving Life at Home: Episode 55 ​SMOOTHING THE WAY TO ADULTHOOD​ We begin training our babies the minute they come home from the hospital. The goal is not to raise children, but responsible adults. All too soon, they're ready to test their wings and fly. When that day comes, will your child be ready? Will you? While no formula can guarantee a successful launch, today I'm sharing tips to help smooth your child’s passage to adulthood. Listen Now

Progress on last week's goals:

I only finished ⅔ of my goals last week: I ✅ watched all the required training videos to work the polls in March's primary, ✅ deep cleaned my pantry (so satisfying!), ✅ wrote a bunch of snail-mail letters, and ✅ ordered supplies for my craft class.

But I have not ❌ officially started a new drawing course with my homeschoolers nor ❌ finished making their lesson plans for this term.

Personal goals for this week:

• pack for upcoming cruise (another way to deal with snowy weather -- head south before it hits!)
• go over co-op lessons with the daughter who'll sub for me while I'm gone
• work on lesson plans for my students at home
• start sketching with my students at home
• tidy the costume corner of the garage
• clear off my closet desk
• find a fun craft project to work on during our trip

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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. 😊