Hello, Reader.

August arrives this weekend. Can you believe it? Are you ready?

Although we have no major holidays during the eighth month of the year, there are still plenty of opportunities for fun celebrations and fond family memories. I'm sharing just a few of them in this week's link list. Enjoy!

Free resources for you this week:

• Aug. 4 - Hooray for Kids Day: children are a blessing, as this coloring page reminds us
• Aug. 5 - Work Like a Dog Day: use our conversation starters to cultivate a strong work ethic
• Aug. 10 - National S’mores Day: try some of our delicious variations on classic s’mores​
• Aug. 14 - Financial Awareness Day: track fiscal responsibilities w/our bill payment checklist
• Aug. 18 - Messy Art Day: a great opportunity to encourage creativity in your children​
• Aug. 23 - National Cheap Flight Day: try our best tips for flying FREE (as cheap as it gets)
• Aug. 28 - Forgive-Your-Foe Friday: love, do good, bless, and pray for your enemies, as well

What I'm reading this week:

​Let Me Be a Woman is a collection of letters Elisabeth Elliot wrote to her daughter as she was preparing to marry. It has been decades since I last read it, but I enjoyed it just as thoroughly the second time around. The first time I filtered it through the perspective of a young woman preparing for marriage myself. This time, I read it as a mother of daughters who are themselves of marriageable age -- one of whom tied the knot less than a year ago. It would be a wonderful book for moms and daughters to read and discuss together, although that is not something I've done (yet). Mrs. Elliot does touch on many topics I've discussed with my own girls over the years.

What we're eating this week:

We had our monthly family potluck last night -- Italian themed -- and my youngest daughter made this delicious tomato bruschetta for the occasion. Despite the fact she'd prepared a double-batch, it was one of the first dishes we polished off.

On the podcast this week:

I plan to get back to regular podcasting in August, but I'm sharing one more from the archives while I'm still on my summer break!

Loving Life at Home: Episode 62 ​I AM NOT ENOUGH (& NEITHER ARE YOU)​ Despite the fact the world proclaims with one loud voice, “You are enough!”, that has never been the way things have played out in my life. And do you know what? It’s liberating to admit that fact. Listen Now

Progress on last week's goals:

Three of the items on last week's to-do list I finished completely, including: ✅ attending my monthly book discussion group, ✅ hosting an Italian-themed potluck for the extended family, and ✅ getting new glasses (progressive bifocals).

I also made slow but steady progress on the other goals: I ✅ took grandkids to the science museum and library (but ❌ not the zoo), ✅ walked 3 (but ❌ not 7) miles, ✅ reduced my inbox down to just 60 (but ❌ not 50) emails, and ✅ sent 1 (but ❌ not 2) boxes of stuff to Goodwill.

I also ✅ recorded 1 (but ❌ not 7) chapters of ​Glad Tidings​; however, I ❌ didn't edit any of them. Part of these unfinished goals will get punted to next week. The rest I'm just going to let slide for the time being.

Personal goals for this week:

• reduce inbox to fewer than 30 emails
• record at least 3 more chapters my audiobook
• edit at least 5 chapters of those recordings
• finish one new Christmas stocking
• speak at homeschool conference in Henderson
• fly to Colorado to visit my husband's parents
• hem picnic blanket
• crochet trim on thrifted orange dress

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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, hit reply and let me know. 😊