Lent Day 29

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Fast: After breakfast, take a walk. Leave the dishes, theroutine, the things on your to-do list. Take everyone with you but tell them it’s a silent walk. See how long you can all just listen to the outdoors.

Pray: Set a timer to go off every hour today. Offer a prayer of thanksgiving for the gift of your husband (or wife!).

Give: Do one of “his” chores today. Don’t tell him you did it.

Daybook~a Burst of Spring & a Beautiful Dance to Start the Week

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Outside My Window ...
spring is bursting into bloom. It's truly beautiful in Virginia in the springtime.
 
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I am listening to...
Karoline telling Sarah Anne that she's her "best friend forever." I'm sure Sarah Anne wonders if that means she destined to spend her life being awakened by Karoline so that Karoline can play.
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To Live the Liturgy...
this week will be focused on preparing for Holy Week. I want to be certain that I've gathered what I need before Holy Week begins.
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To Fit and Happy...
Mike has started working out with me. At first, I  wasn't sure about having him in "my space," but it's actually kind of romantic:-)
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I am thankful for ...
a grace-filled weekend where God gave me a beautiful glimpse at how He is working in lives of my children.
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From the kitchen ...
Greek yogurt and strawberries with raw honey for breakfast.

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I am wearing ...
 new pjs that just so happen to match a new mug a sweet friend brought me yesterday. Life IS Good and it's nice to have friends who remind me.
DSC_0443
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I am creating ...
a book (or two or three)! Have you heard the happy news?  My Dad came up this weekend to help me tri-locate and he brought a new-to-me-laptop. It's his contribution to the book-writing effort. Now I'm not tied to this desk. I'm sure Danielle will be happy to know that.
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  On my iPod...
Taylor Swift's Fearless. I spent the weekend ferrying Mary Beth around and listening to this album with her.
You Belong with Me made me laugh until I cried--only friends from high school will understand why.
And this one is just a very sweet mom-and-daughter song.
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Towards a real education ...
I've got some thoughts on celebrating van Gogh's birthday--it's today, but Friday is our art day so we'll save it until then.
National Gallery of Art notes
Starry Night shaving cream idea that Mary Beth really wants to try
Sunflower Art

Books to read:
Camille and the Sunflowers
Vincent's Colors

Van Gogh Activity Pack

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Bringing beauty to my home ...
I think I'll just go back to this thought, from October, when I truly could not move about my house at all. Right now, my hands are so full, literally, that I need to remind myself of this pretty much all day, every day:
Ever notice how beautiful a house becomes when Mama smiles? I have and I'm endeavoring to make my house so beautiful much, much more often.

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I am reading  ...
Genuine Friendship

and

I'm reading through my Google Reader using this very cool new Google trick. I know some people prefer "just the text ma'am," and read through their blogrolls right on Reader. But I'm really visual and I appreciate the look of each individual blog. This feature is lots of fun and makes actually visiting the blog so easy.

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I am hoping and praying ...
one of my children is being protected by his guardian angel and will be comforted by his Savior.
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Around the house ...
I'm going to keep on keeping on, trying to create and maintain a peaceful, ordered, pleasant place for us all to grow. I think sometimes that I expect that my house will look the way it did when I was growing up. But we were a family of four, with two little girls. We were all gone all day and a cleaning lady came in often enough to make things pretty darn near perfect. Homeschooling a big family is God's way of curing me of perfectionism.I'm a stubborn patient. He, thankfully, is the Great Physician.

(Yes, this and the "beauty" note are the same as last week. This is my Daybook and I really do use it to organize my thoughts for the week and to remind myself of the things I find noteworthy. This housecleaning thing is a work in progress for me and I need to keep reminding myself...)
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One of my favorite things ...
the smell of spring right after it rains. 

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A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:
the weekend left us with one knee injury and one shoulder injury so we'll start the week at the doctor.We absolutely need to get out in the garden--I'm still lamenting that the pansies didn't get planted last fall. Is it worth it to do it now? Saturday is Little League baseball Opening Day.
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Here is a picture video thought I am sharing~

This brought tears to my eyes this weekend. Mary Beth is in white.It's worth clicking to get to youtube and clicking "HQ" to watch in high def.
 



Be sure to visit Peggy for links to more daybooks.