Spring is Here! Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!  

I hope y’all have had a really great week!  It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve been in this space with Friday favorites. I have been looking forward to this one all week; it’s been too long!

There is so much to catch up on – so let’s jump right in.

This post contains affiliate links.  That means that I will earn a commission if you choose to purchase through said links.  For more information, see disclosure. 

Spring Weather, Mostly

First things first – it is finally beginning to feel like Spring around here.  That said, we are still having some pretty cold mornings which are throwing me off a little bit.

We’re ready to get outside and enjoy all that Spring has to offer, but there have been several mornings where it just feels so cold to be playing outside.

That said, we’ve been trying to take full advantage of the afternoon sunshine and getting outside at least at home to enjoy it.

And we’ve got to get started on our Spring Bucket List, am I right?

Women’s Conference

The big reason I was MIA last Friday and much of the weekend, was because I had the opportunity to attend a women’s conference with some girl friends of mine from church.

And it was incredible.  It was actually my first time being away from the Littlest as long as I was.  And while I was a little nervous about it – I had to just make a choice to do something that was going to be best for me and in turn, best for our family.  Even though I didn’t stay at the conference over night, I was still away for bed time and away again before everyone woke up in the morning.

Jen Wilkin was the keynote speaker of the conference and not only did I learn so much from her Bible teaching, I was able to worship with women I love, and left feeling so full.  It was both refreshing and challenging in the very best ways.

If you read my March goals, you know I’ve been reading her book, Women of the Word, which talks about the importance of biblical literacy and I think it was a really timely read just before the conference.

And man, taking time to meet with the Lord, spend time in prayer and in his word, and being encouraged by other women was such a great blessing.

Laying Aside the Hustle

One of the things that I felt really challenged by last weekend was my own need to lay down the hustle and to take time to rest in the finished work of Christ.  I could talk a lot about this, but ultimately, I just saw a lot of my own overwhelm and non-rest stemming from a self-imposed need to do all and be all.

That’s really easy to do as a SAHM these days – the perceived need to take care of everyone else, to keep the house tidy and beautiful, to get coffee with friends, sneak in some physical fitness, to spend time with God, and for me, even to work hard to grow this blog.

And I’ve found myself searching for balance and realized that much of my overwhelm comes from trying to balance all those GOOD things – in MY OWN STRENGTH.

And I was not created or designed to do that.  I have limits – and that is for my good.  So rather than fighting against my limits, I’m asking God in this season to give me wisdom to prioritize the BEST things in the sea of good rather than trying to hustle in my own strength to do all the things.

There’s a reason why simplicity is so appealing.

A Spring Cleaning Challenge

Another thing that I’ve been enjoying this week is my friend Jaclyn’s Spring Cleaning Challenge.  You can take a look at it here.  Basically, it’s a 10 day challenge to get you ready for Spring by deep cleaning those areas in your home that you might have missed.

To be totally honest, I’m using it as a guide for myself, but no way am I able to get to it in just 10 days.  But, it’s a great guide and you can grab your own copy here!

And while we’re talking about Spring cleaning, my friend Em also shared her home cleaning schedule this week and it’s another really great checklist you can use to get into a cleaning routine in your home.  (Em has 3 boys at home – so this was really useful for me!)

Our April Calendar

Last, but certainly not least, we are busy making plans for our April calendar and I can tell that we are definitely transitioning out of winter and into the Spring/Summer adventure season because our weekends are filling up quickly.

We’ve got play dates, weekend trips, family visits, and all sorts of fun and exciting things coming up and we can’t wait.

That said, some of our other regular activities are coming to an end or taking a break for summer (like BSF and library story time in April) so we have a little more flexibility for new things on our calendar.

Hopefully all of our activity (and the beautiful sunshine will be some good motivation for me to get/stay organized and intentionally plan ahead over here.

Do you find yourself more busy this time of year, too?

In Case You Missed It

And, wow.  I just went back to look and it’s been since March 1 that I posted a Friday Favorites post – so longer than expected.  In case you missed it, here’s what’s been on the blog since then:

Our Favorite Egg-Free Roll Out Sugar Cookies

My March Goals (which, spoiler alert, won’t all get accomplished, but I’ll be posting an update soon, I hope!)

An Easy Easter Craft for Kids – Cross Resist Art

Our Spring Bucket List (with a printable if you want to join us in the fun!)

50+ Non-Candy Easter Basket Ideas