Hello, Reader.

Easter may be behind us, but there are lots of other April holidays still looming around the corner. Granted, none of them carry the eternal significance of Resurrection Sunday, but they do offer us fresh opportunities to enjoy God's good gifts and common graces, such as siblings, songbirds, service projects, scriptures to color, and soothing sips of steaming tea!

So that's the theme of this week's link list. Enjoy!

Free resources for you this week:

• April 8 - Draw a Picture of a Bird Day – follow this tutorial to draw a variety of species
• April 10 - National Siblings Day – try these ideas for cultivating friendship among siblings​
• April 15 - Micro-Volunteering Day – here are 50 small but impactful volunteer opportunities​
• April 21 - British National Tea Day – celebrate by taking our Tea Time Trivia Test​
• April 25 - National Crayola Day – color some of our free Christian coloring pages​
• April 29 - Poem in Your Pocket Day - you might try carrying one of our favorite poems there
• April 30 - National Honesty Day – try these ideas to help your children tell the truth​

What I'm reading this week:

​Make Your Bed by Admiral William H. McRaven After giving a commencement address at the University of Texas several years ago that subsequently went viral, the author published an expanded version of the speech in Make Your Bed. In it, he shares 10 lessons he learned during Navy SEAL training that have served him well, not just in the military, but also in civilian life. The lessons, in fact, have such a universal appeal, this short book even captured the #1 spot on the New York Times bestseller list. McRaven has since published several other similar titles. I enjoyed his first one so much that I will likely read some of the others, as well.

What we're eating this week:

My son and I both stocked up on avocados this week, neither of us realizing the other was buying so many. So in addition to lots of homemade guacamole, I've been feasting on avocado toast every morning. I still make it just like this, only I now use flourless Ezekiel 4:9 bread instead of bagels. Yum! Those healthy fats are so good for your brain!

What we're watching this week:

I took the three kids I'm still homeschooling to see A Great Awakening in theaters yesterday. Chronicling the life of revivalist preacher George Whitefield and his decades-long friendship with Benjamin Franklin, it is a powerful film which coincides beautifully with our current American history studies.

If you love America, enjoy history, and pray for revival to once again spread across our nation -- and the entire globe -- this movie is for you!

On the podcast this week:

Sadly, I've lost my voice and have not been able to record anything new, so I'm sharing another episode from the archives this week. I hope you'll tune in if you've not already heard it.

Loving Life at Home: Episode 7 ​THE HIDDEN POWERS OF WOMANHOOD​ For all the hype we hear these days about female empowerment, some of women’s most important strengths are going unrecognized, undervalued, and largely underused. I t’s time for that to change. Let's take these five super powers of womanhood and make them popular–and prevalent–again! Listen Now

Progress on last week's goals:

I finished all my stated goals last week, despite feeling a bit under the weather for the past couple of days. Namely, I ✅ gave haircuts to 2 sons and 3 grandsons, ✅ sent monthly Bible memory passage to my kids/grandkids, ✅ decorated my bedroom tree for Easter, ✅ attended services on ✅ Maundy Thursday, ✅ Good Friday, and ✅ Resurrection Sunday, as well as ✅ a passover meal our son and daughter-in-law hosted, ✅ caught up on co-op homework, and ✅ registered for next year's classes.

There's one goal I set for myself at the beginning of the year that I flubbed royally this week, though. Remember my personal moratorium buying new books until (1) September or (2) I've finished all the books in my to-read pile -- whichever comes first?

Well, it's only April, and I ❌ didn't make it. I've read 29 books so far this year (11 physical books + 18 audiobooks), but Audible had such a great sale this past week -- including 85% off several books on my wishlist -- that I just couldn't resist. So I ✅ bought 8 new titles for a grand total of $25, despite the fact there are 60+ hardbound titles on desk and closet shelves currently awaiting my attention.

New goal: No more new books until after I cut that stack in half (or July -- whichever comes first 😉)

Personal goals for this week:

• trim/divide liriope in my garden 🪴
• empty/sort/put away 2 boxes of stuff in my garage 📦
• repair broken seat on wooden bench 🛠️
• review a new history program for Timberdoodle 👩🏽‍💻
• record, edit, and publish a new podcast episode 🎙️
• attend spring concert for local homeschool choir 🎶
• help son host Bob Ross painting party for a few of his college friends 🎨
• ready craft project for Monday's co-op class 🧶
• see oncologist for another 6-month check-up 🩺

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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. 😊