Hello and happy fresh new week to you Friends!
It felt like the weekend flew by over here. How was yours?
We did a lot of the usuals...running around with errands, church, and out for a nice dinner. Oh and of course watching more of the Olympics! We usually go to church on Saturdays. So Matt & I caught the U.S. mens gold medal winning hockey game Sunday morning. It was awesome! It went into OT and Jack Hughes scored the winning goal and he had some teeth knocked out earlier...so smiling with his medal and no teeth was true hockey style there. Lol We are such hockey folks here up north so we really enjoyed it. It was truly historic as it was the first gold for the U.S. since the miracle team in 1980. Very cool!
We also had Aaron home for some of the weekend and that, of course, is always the best! We played cards, dominos and some video games together. One of the nights he and I stayed up late and had a great heart-to-heart chat until almost 3 in the morning!! We've always been close and I just love the man he has become and I'm so very proud of him. To have him end our chat with "I love you so much Mom" and giving me a huge hug - well as a momma I don't think it gets better.
Now a new week begins....
THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:
ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:
a little piece of leftover kringle from the weekend, coffee
ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:
some errands I need to run and pop in to my Mom's, groceries, calls for hospice and other hospice work, home projects
THINKING ABOUT:
how much I adore my kiddos and the young adults they have become :)
THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY:
running my diffuser and the way it smells so fresh (right now it has lavender, eucalyptus, and rosemary in it)
CURRENTLY READING
I decided not to start the new series I was going to just yet and instead I'm diving into another Comfort Food Cafe book from the series by Debbie Johnson
ON THE TV TODAY:
Jeopardy, old seasons of big brother & the office, the Pitt, Best Medicine, I forgot about When Calls the Heart and need to catch up, Survivor starts back this week and also Ghosts as well, All Creatures Great and Small
ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:
MONDAY - leftover Italian grinder sliders and tossed salad
TUESDAY - chicken soup dumplings and veggie spring rolls we didn't have last week along with Asian pear and veggies and dip
WEDNESDAY -
THURSDAY -
FRIDAY -
*not sure what we're doing the rest of the week yet
TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:
work on scrapbooks, do some yoga stretching, read
TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:
I have been doing extra devotional time - including I am on the Hallow app for Lent. You can find out about it here. This weekend I listened to Mother Olga (she is the founder of the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth) in Boston. And I love the prayer/mantra she prays every day. It's this simple:
Lord, empty me. Fill me. Use me.
Basically asking the Lord to take away all the parts I try to control - empty me from that. Then fill me with His will and where He wants to lead me. And then use me to do the works He wants of me. I love this so much and I am adopting it into my prayers each morning.
I often pray something similar before I do hospice work where I also ask Him to use me as an instrument for what he wants me to do for others in hospice and that when others see or hear me...that they really see or hear Him and grow closer to Him. 🙏🏻
FROM THE CAMERA:
Still buried in snow so I enjoyed a bit more coloring. Again, I love how the alcohol markers are so bright and saturating so even the back of the page is pretty. 😍
For a little while the boys played some WWE so I just sat and watched and caught up on my new magazine. Then I jumped in to play when they switched to some other games. This magazine has so many recipes I want to try so stay tuned and I'll share when I make them. Ruby was more "Mom quit flipping and pet me!" Lol
Here are just a few I have marked: slow cooker beef curry (we both love curry dishes), roasted chicken with leeks & lemon, and moo shu pork in lettuce cups. 😋
By the way, I found those cute air freshners in an etsy shop. It's called Shop Vroom Blooms. They have cork bottoms that you put drops of essential oil on (comes with the freshners) and they smell so good. I picked lemon lavender for the scents. I had gotten Annie one she keeps in her car (hers is a lily of the valley as that is her birth flower). And I kept loving hers when we visited last month. So I had to get some of my own.
PRAYER LIST:
For an end to the conflicts all over the world and anyone living in war & fear. For peace and unity in this country, especially from hate and shootings or violence. For anyone sick, suffering, in pain, fear, loneliness etc ... that God bring them comfort and peace. For Nancy Gutherie to be found 😢
For the Lord's love and peace to fill 2026. ❤️
For Christ's Light and Love to cast out the darkness everywhere and help the world find its way to loving our neighbors as ourselves. 🙏🏻