These Are a Few of Our Favorite Things (7Qts)

Are you singing the song from the Sound of Music yet?

How about now?

Now that I’ve got that stuck in your head, how about I share a few of our favorite things these days?

(This post contains affiliate links, the full disclosure is on my About page)

Call Me Blessed

My women’s group is reading Call Me Blessed, and it is an absolutely beautiful read for Lent. Each day is about a different woman from Scripture, and one of the questions that Elizabeth and Kristin Foss ask is “how does her story impact mine?”

I have really appreciated the opportunities it’s given us to go deeper with our own faith while challenging us to broaden our hearts and minds about the world around us.

It’s fascinating to me that many of the women included are unnamed. These women impacted Salvation History but their names aren’t recorded. Was it perhaps because in the moment those around them didn’t realize their importance? Didn’t recognize the value of the interaction?

And if so, who am I overlooking? Who am I failing to recognize?

These are questions I’m sitting with and asking myself this Lent.

Beautiful Art Made By A Beautiful Soul

I am constantly awed by the gifts of other women and the way that they create beauty in all different ways. Look at this print. It’s a hand-stamped linocut by one of my dearest friends. It’s perfect for Lent. She’s got a little Etsy shop, so if you’re on the hunt for any art- check her work out because it’s amazing.

Open-Ended Play

I absolutely love open-ended toys. Art supplies, building materials, objects that can be used in lots of different ways- these are all favorites around here. Charlotte’s birthday was this past week, and she got a few great additions to our open-ended toy collection, including these amazing building rocks.

Their sizes and shapes are all different, allowing for careful balancing or sorting or building. After opening, she probably spent a half hour arranging and rearranging, building and rebuilding, which is pretty great for a three year old.

Color Tablets (and a new freebie)

The color tablets are among the most beautiful of all Montessori works, and my girls have both been huge fans. Charlotte is currently on Color Box 2, which contains both primary and secondary colors as well as black, brown, and white.

I made this fun extension for her, and it’s up with the other freebies over at Payhip (which, for newsletter subscribers, is where I’m slowly migrating all of the freebies to, fyi). It’s a little coloring book that you can make for each of the tablets.

Drain the Oceans

While we haven’t moved on from William’s Titanic Obsession, we have managed to broaden it a little to other shipwrecks.

Drain the Oceans, a National Geographic show, is our current daily dose of screen time. The kids are learning a surprising amount about marine archeology, ancient civilizations, and weather patterns.

William has also discovered that “Shipwreck Custodian” is a real job, and now he has added it to his #lifegoals.

Thank heavens for educational television.

Rain Suits

These. Are. Amazing.

We are never ever going back to traditional snow gear. We will be a rainsuit family from now on.

Here are some of the reasons why these are the best:

• they can be worn in every season, which makes for much more outside time
• they are one piece, meaning less of a struggle to get on
• lightweight- no bulkiness means no complaining in our house, they also don’t get heavy like snowsuits do in wet snow
• the layering happens underneath, so each kid can decide how much they need
• the design is flawless, and they cinch at the waist, hands, and feet, meaning you can buy them big and wear for more than one year.

Funny Blogging Predictions for the Future

I look forward to Kelly’s quick takes every week, but this week’s post was especially funny. Make sure you click on over to read her predictions about the future of blogging.